What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Write Next

On writer’s block, getting stuck, and finding a way forward

So you’re making good progress with your novel, typing away, enjoying the process – and then you get stuck: you just don’t know what to write next. Maybe you have a plan, but you just can’t see how your character gets to the next point; or maybe you’re pantsing your way through and suddenly you’ve lost inspiration.

First, know this is very normal – so much so that I’ve written previously about getting through a draft and not giving up in the middle:

How to Get to the End of Your Novel

But that post is really about wading through the sticky middle of things, when you’ve just lost momentum and the thought of pulling all your plot strands together into one infinitely satisfying ending feels overwhelming.

Today I want to talk about smaller moments that might happen throughout writing your novel, where you look at that blinking cursor, the blank lines ahead, and just think… nothing. What comes next? What would your character do next? Where are all your ideas??