When I first decided to become a published author, my biggest concern was if I could finish a book from start to finish. With my writing style I love characters so much that most of my book ideas come to me first as a character and not a plot. Which means I have a portfolio of great first chapters sitting on my computer that went nowhere so finishing a book from start to finish was a big deal goal for me to hit and with hard work I’ve been hitting that target pretty consistently for six years.

It’s odd because you think the fear of not finishing would go away with finishing book after book, but sometimes I still feel a twinge of that worry – will the book be finished? So I’m happy to report that I wrote the ending to my latest work Breathings of the Moon, and I’ve once again hit the target of completing another book. Oh Happy Day!

The never-ending story of being a Pantser

I used to be a full-on Pantser writer as opposed to a Plotter. A Pantser is writer who writes on the fly with no planning of the story’s plot or characters (or the bare minimum). It really brings out the creative side of the writer but it can be one of the biggest reasons I found it difficult to finish a plot since I have no overall roadmap on the story.

Pantser writing works best for:

• Starting a new idea.
• Nurturing your creativity.
• Writing sprints.
• Short stories.
• Standalone books.
• Setting the mood to a scene.

Some books thrived on this type of writing method. For example, A Spell of Rowans was about 85% written by the Pantser method. This book was deeply inspired by personal events and it came out in a huge rush; it was the fastest book I’ve written.

But this method becomes very problematic when you have a series like Madame Chalamet to write. The six books needed to work together which took planning ahead and keeping track of key characters and plot points that needed to be resolved in the last book.

The tiresome reality of being a Plotter

I’ve discovered that for myself if I plan too much, I end up getting bored with the story I’m trying to work. If everything is planned down to the period marks, I start rebelling against wanting to write it. However, other writers love spending time with the backstory, and crafting every aspect of their characters lives. It really depends on the writer.

Plotter style works best for:

• Books in a series.
• Epic fantasy or stories with elaborate worldbuilding.
• Mystery stories that need clues and red herrings laid out for the reader.
• Making sure the key points to a plot are hit at the right time in your story.
• Setting beats in your story such as low and high spots when action needs to happen.

The last two books in the Madame Chalamet series (Haunted Grave and Ghastly Mistake) needed to be plotted as they were wrapping various plot lines that had been brought up in the early books in the series.

Becoming a hybrid of the two

While Never Date a Siren was a Pantser written story, the two others in the College Fae series were a hybrid of a Pantser-Plotter method. As I’ve evolved as a writer, I’ve learned that a hybrid of the two types of styles works best for me.

As a Pantser, I will come fast out of the gate with the first four to five chapters before I need to take a step back and start plotting. This allows my creativity plenty of food and time to express itself. However, if I go past five chapters without plotting I will start writing chapters that go nowhere or that I might have to cut later on which means I wasted my time.

As a Plotter, when I outline my chapters I keep to the bare minimum description. If I get too detailed on those plot points, it stifles my creative side. For example, I may know that in Chapter 20 I’ll be having some exciting event between the hero and the antagonist but I don’t know exactly what that will be until I get closer to that chapter.

Writing, of course, is an individual process and this is just what I’ve found that works for me.

What to do when you are stuck with your writing

After wrapping up the Madame Chalamet series, I had an idea for a standalone (Breathings of the Moon). I was really struggling, though, with how I wanted to tell the story of Zoe Underhill. The book wasn’t jelling and after five chapters I decided to seek out help with a developmental editor.

A developmental edit is a review of your book (partial or complete) by an editor who will give input on what is working and what isn’t. You’ll get feedback on the plot, characters, pacing, and theme. If you are seriously stuck on a story, I highly recommend it.

After a two hour Zoom conversation, things got back on track with Moon and with a vision of how the book could evolve it took off once again.

My regular editor, Emma, also gave me some developmental edit feedback on the first three Madame Chalamet books as I wanted to make sure the world was consistent and that anything that didn’t work with the supernatural system was settled before the series was completed. Sometimes you need a third person viewpoint to see those plot holes because as the author you may be too close to the story.

Another method for breaking through a minor writer’s block would be using writing sprints. I’ve found these helpful when I’m overthinking an area of my book or when I hit an area that my creative side is finding boring and doesn’t want to work but is necessary, such as a transition scene where characters are moving from one place to another, and a time jump won’t work.

I’ve used the Pomodoro method for my writing sprints when I get unfocused or need to just get words down. I set 30 minutes aside with a timer and work on certain areas of my story especially those areas where I’ve found myself reluctant to write (such as transitions from one location to another or writing descriptions of settings).

Scrivener templates to help plot my books

I’ve gone into more detail about Scrivener templates here so won’t repeat what they are and where to find them. But I will go into how I adapted them for my own use.

After doing my Scrivener template research and reviewing what I’ve written and what I want to write, I made three separate Scrivener templates that are customized to fit my writing process and what I plan on publishing in the future.

The Light Gray 45 Raven is for my novellas with a targeted word count of 45,000. A novella is 20 chapters with chapter word count around 1700-2000. This would be like book Ghost Talker, Delicious Death, and Spirit Guide in the Madame Chalamet series.

The Dark Gray 55 Raven is my small book sized story with a target word count of 55,000. This is also around 30 chapters, but chapters have a smaller word count of 1700-2000. This would be like Haunted Grave and Ghastly Mistake in the Madame Chalamet series, and Never Date of Siren in the College Fae series.

The Black Raven is a full book with a target word count of 75,000. A full book is about 30 chapters with a chapter word count of about 2200-3000. This would be like my magical realism books A Spell of Rowans and Breathings of the Moon, or A Study in Spirits and Bane of Hounds in the College Fae series.

Why Story Beats are important to your plotting

Knowing the length of the story helps me decide where the story beats of the plot will placed.

Roughly, with a 30 chapter book, I know the first five chapters sets the scene for the character and the inciting incident (“the call to adventure”); and the last five chapters will take the hero to resolution (the end). That leaves 20 chapters and within those I know there will be at least three, maybe five, major incidents (places where the character learns something new, gains a bigger problem, etc…).

With a 20 chapter book, about three chapters sets the scene and is the call to adventure. The last five build to the conclusion. There will be at least three peaks (action-high tension scenes) to the story.

Scrivener has a lot of bells and whistles, which makes it great for authors but it can also overwhelm you if get pulled into over-plotting your book. If you get too stuck in Plotter mode you won’t finish your book. I’ve seen this happen with several people in my creative writing groups.

Solutions for writers who can’t finish

In my writer’s groups I’ve run into writers who couldn’t finish their work-in-progress. Why does this happen and what can you do about it?

Problem: Idea is too big.
Solution: break it down into smaller parts, maybe a short story or a character sketch.

Problem: Character isn’t working.
Solution: Re-think the character by exploring motivations, back story, and how other characters might view them. Seek out a developmental editor.

Problem: Getting too caught up with the world building so much that you don’t write the actual story.
Solution: try writing sprints. Focus on writing a part of the book that excites you such as a certain scene or even the ending.

Problem: Becoming lost to where the plot is going.
Solution: Write the ending or a key scene near the end between the antagonist and protagonist. Go into Plotter mode and write down the key scenes your story needs and see how that relates to the rhythm of your story (tension, lull, excitement etc…)

Problem: Not getting writing done.
Solution: set a daily target, set up a writing sprint, and write!

Problem: You’ve lost interest in your story.
Solution: write a different area of the story, develop a backstory for your characters that re-inspires you, or switch gears and write on a different project.

Problem: You need in-person support and lack excitement about your story.
Solution: join a writer’s group or hire a developmental editor.

Writing can be hard but it’s even harder when you don’t start! In my experience almost all problems can be solved by simply writing. If you are stuck, get the help of a third person, such as an editor or writing group, but keep writing!

Another reason for writing slumps is sheer exhaustion. I’ve experienced this myself so be kind to yourself. Get some rest and do something fun for your brain before demanding that it work again.

For authors and writers, check out all my Writer’s Life blog posts for advice on writing, marketing, and publishing your book.