An impulse as a writer is to get to an ending before shutting down the computer for the day. The productive author might decide not to stop writing until the end of a scene or a chapter. With fiction, the author feels relieved when the character has arrived at a good stopping place. With nonfiction, the author may have finished summing up five ways to declutter a closet, and that’s that.
Once a writer has reached a natural break in the plot or summary, sometimes jumping to the next scene or topic can be a challenge. Returning to a manuscript the subsequent day can feel challenging for the dispirited author. Here are a couple of ideas to help writers get back into the groove:
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- End the day’s writing with a question. Then you must answer the question, so you can resume writing quickly:
Jerome, do you remember your promise to me? Resume with Jerome’s reply, especially if you’re excited to write the response.
Candy, do you want orange juice? Mundane, yes, but Candy’s answer can lead to a meaningful sentence to move the plot forward.
What is the best way to pray? The nonfiction author can answer this immediately. - Don’t have a question? Try a demand:
“Hand over the gun! Now.”
“Stop!”
“I insist you tell me what’s going on.” In all of the above, the following sentence should write itself. - A suggestion works well:
Make time to pray every afternoon. Now, how do we do that?
Set your alarm for 5 AM each day. I won’t, but you can suggest why I should. - Perhaps a promise:
“I told Aunt Mae we’d go to Wisconsin.” So, are we going or not? Why?
Here’s an example of forgiveness. Be ready to share the story.
- End the day’s writing with a question. Then you must answer the question, so you can resume writing quickly:
What are your favorite ways to return to your manuscript after a break?
What I’m Looking For – Megan Brown
Every day’s the manuscript,
and every night a break
during which the question’s tripped,
“Is all this a mistake?”
I do the work of which I’m able,
a shadow of what came before,
but the question’s always on the table,
and every night I face the door
that opens to futility,
actions of a self-deluded fool,
and I must nightly find utility
in what I’m doing as a tool
that gives these days a touch of grace,
that I may leave my world a better place.
(Dear brother Andrew…please don’t doubt how many blessings your poetry imparts!)
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
New every morning,
That’s His vow.
So sip His cup of mercy now.
And trust He never fails to see
Your wounded heart, your bended knee.
Entombed hope He will raise bright
And spin all shade to brilliant light.
Change ash to beauty, grief to joy.
All folly is at His employ
To bring us close to His dear breast,
And leaning, sighing, there we rest.
Karen, thank you. The poem is just lovely!
Thank you, bro. I have a great inspiration in your poignant, heartfelt verse.
I agree with Karen, Andrew!!
Love your poem, too, Karen!
Great post, Tamela. I always try to stop writing mid-scene. That way a quick read through the next day will remind me whose POV I’m in and where I need to go to finish the scene without any sitting there, staring at the screen, wondering what’s next. ha.
Tamela, those are great hacks! I especially love the one about the question. I never thought of doing that and I know it’s going to be helpful. Thank you so much for sharing!
Great tips, Tamela. Thank you! I usually end my day’s writing mid-sentence or mid-scene. This provides me with a trigger point for an easy start the next day. Sometimes it’s a challenge to do this since everything in me wants to finish the sentence or the scene. But, as you wisely said, reaching a natural stop on one day can create a challenge for an easy start the next day.
Thanks again for your wisdom. 🙂
Thank you for the tips, Tamela. I tend to stop in the middle of a scene. I may not be sitting at my computer, but it keeps my mind scrolling through what will happen next. This makes me eager to get back to the story.
Tamela, that is really good! Never have I considered such a tactic. I can’t wait for tomorrow morning!
I go back with an eye for editing the scene I wrote the previous session. After the edits, I’m well into the story again and begin writing with my editor side satisfied and out of sight.
Great idea, Barbara. I usually take a quick glimpse over the last part of the scene to get my bearings.
These are such good ideas, Tamela. I’ll be sharing them with my Facebook group forum.
When I end the chapter, which is where I end my day, I always leave a question, direct thought from the POV character, or a statement that spurs the reader on to the next scene. It also serves to spur me on to the next chapter. I love leaving hooks like that.
I write STOPPED HERE on my manuscript and then go back the next day, backing up about five pages, so I can get the feeling that I had when writing what went before.
These are great tips for getting started on your writing the next day. I love #1 and #2!
Thank you, Tamela. I liked all of the comments; thank you!
It’s daunting to look at a blank page. I must pray every evening prior to writing and in the morning.
Since I have a loose outline, where I stop changes depending on time and I don’t get lost.
Although I like ending each chapter with something I hope will keep a reader want to keep reading … so then I want to keep writing! Haha! Which can be problematic when I have no choice but to stop.
Those are all good.
What I do is summarize my last paragraph or chapter, and show how it will be tied in with the next one–and then do just that.
b(Les)sings
The thought of a blank page is frightening. Every night before I write and every morning, I must pray.