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When writing becomes a dreaded exercise, or we feel like we'll never succeed at it, we're likely considering one of three possible scenarios. Either we need to stop writing for a while, we need to stop working on our current project and abandon it, or we need to stop trying to be a writer altogether.

Today, we'll examine each of these scenarios in terms of what might make us feel that way, why we shouldn't embrace that scenario and stop writing (or what we should do instead), and even times when we might be right and need to stop, on whatever level that might involve.

First, let's look at the possibility that we may need to stop writing for a while and take a break.

What makes us feel like taking a break?

This may occure if you feel stuck or are experiencing writer's block, or if this particular scene or part of the story is just boring, or maybe you just don't have any desire to write what comes next.

You may even procrastinate. If you find yourself doing the dishes or laundry or mowing the lawn instead of writing, it is a good indicator that you're dealing with this issue.

Or maybe you just have too much going on and don't have the time or brain space to devote to anything creative, let alone writing, which takes lots of energy and focus.

When you shouldn't take a break

Let's examine the reasons why it might not be in our best interest to stop writing and take a break, and what we should do instead.

if this is writer's block, depending on its cause, it may be better to just push through and keep writing than to stop, because stopping could make it worse.

If any of these fit your situation, you may just need to take some time to figure this out. Brainstorm ideas for how to write yourself out of the corner you're in. Maybe even talk with a writer friend and have that person help you brainstorm.

If you're just bored with this current section, you might need to replot or see if that scene could benefit from adding some sort of conflict, changing the location in which the scene takes place, or changing the viewpoint character for that scene. Put it in a different character's head.

I've had to do this on a couple of occasions, where the stakes didn't feel high enough or I was too close to that character for a scene and needed to get a little distance. So, I wrote it from the other character's perspective. On one occasion, I kept the scene in that other character's perspective, because the scene was more powerful that way. In the other instance, I actually revised the first version with the original viewpoint character, but writing it from the other person's perspective gave me insights I didn't have before, and it helped me to get out of the state of boredom with the scene.

You may also just need to skip ahead and write another scene that you find more interesting. Maybe the one you had planned to write is sort of a transitional scene between two more exciting ones. If you skip to a more interesting scene, you may be able to come back and write this transitional one at a later time.

Or try plotting what comes next. Even if you're a discovery writer, look at what you have so far and brainstorm ideas for what could happen after this scene. That might make you more enthused about writing it.

If you’re finding the story as a whole is boring, you may need to shift gears and work on something completely different. Start a brand new story or edit a different project that you've written already. Or go back and edit the beginning of this one. If you have another project that's vastly different from this one, with characters who are nothing like the ones in the current story, getting into their heads for a bit might help you jumpstart your creativity.

Sometimes, even if you’re finding a scene boring or just having an off day as far as writing goes, write anyway. Even if it turns out terrible, which many of our first drafts do, you can go back and fix it later. Plus, tomorrow, if you feel better or you're in a better mood, when you look back at the scene, you might find that it's not as bad as you thought it was.

Even if you did toss out the entire scene, nothing is wasted. If you go ahead and write it anyway, you're flushing out of your system the bad ideas. When we brainstorm, often the first few ideas that we come up with are not so great, or maybe they're cliche. We have to write those down before we can get to the interesting and good ideas. The same can be true for writing. If you're in a slump, go ahead and write the scene anyway. You'll at least flush out what doesn't work, and then if you rewrite it from scratch or revise it, better ideas will come to the surface.

The reason I'm advising you to keep writing even if you're stuck or just don't feel like it, is because once we stop writing, we lose momentum. If you stop for more than a day or two, it can be harder and harder to get back into the flow state or into the “zone.”

Even if I write every day, I write more slowly at first, and then I speed up and really get into the zone during the middle of that writing time. As I get tired, I'll slow down again. So, if it's that difficult to get started, even when you're writing every day, imagine if you take a week or a month off.

However, if you do take a break, don't let fear of that happening deter you from getting back into it.

When SHOULD you take a break?

Sometimes, unexpected life events occur that demand our complete time and attention. Maybe you or someone you love is going through an illness. I don't know about you, but when I'm really feeling lousy, it's hard to be creative. You might not even have the energy to sit at your computer or to devote to figuring out new ideas for a story. Creativity takes a lot of energy. It's surprising, in fact, how much.

If a loved one is going through an illness, you may be the caregiver for that person, and that can demand a lot of your time. Also, you may be stressed because you're worried about this person and whether they're making progress in getting better. You certainly don't want to be working on a story when your entire focus is consumed by concern for someone you love. That's okay. Take a break and get back to the writing later.

Other life events that can derail us can include: moving to a new house, getting a new job, maybe your computer dies…

If you follow my blog and usually keep up with our weekly writer coaching sessions, you've probably noticed I haven't been posting for a few weeks. (In fact, I’ve had to republish all my previous posts, including this one.) That’s because my computer decided to die on me. I was right in the middle of creating a webinar for you guys, when the computer crashed and decided not to turn back on. It was in the hospital for a while, and I thought I had the issue resolved but ended up having to replace it. So, yes, sometimes technology forces you to take a break.

You may also be experiencing extreme stress from some other area of life. That can kill inspiration and creativity…fast. Maybe you have a job besides writing, and something going on with that job is creating stress. Even changing jobs can cause stress. You may have some kind of family situation, financial issues, etc. Extreme stress can make it hard to be inspired, so you may need to take a break and relax and try to resolve whatever the issue is that's causing the stress.

You may also be experiencing burnout. If you have lots of demands on your time besides your writing, and you've been working nonstop, writing, taking care of your family, and all the things, you may just be tired and need a break. When was the last time you took a vacation and just really didn't do anything? If you're not sure of the answer to that question, this may be the cause.

I do want to offer caution, though. If you decide to take a break for any of these reasons or something I haven't listed here, make sure the break isn't too long. The longer you're away, the harder it is to get back into writing.

While you're on the break, if you can, try to refill your creative well. Read other people's books, watch movies, do something else creative that relaxes you. Maybe you like playing video games, and that is your downtime. If you can, during your break, do some of these things just to recharge. And above all, get some rest if possible.

Sometimes, we may feel like we need to stop working on a particular project or abandon the current story we're writing.

Why you may feel the need to abandon a story

If this is worse than normal writer's block, you feel stuck, and you really don't know how to move forward, you may feel like giving up on the project. Maybe you've painted yourself into such a big corner that there's no way you can figure out for your characters to get out of this situation.

Or maybe you've received quite a bit of negative feedback on your book from people that you're having read it, or from publishers to whom you've submitted this story. Maybe you're sharing scenes in your writer's group, you keep getting negative feedback, and you're really discouraged.

You could be feeling like you've lost faith in this story or in yourself as a writer.

And maybe you just don't enjoy the story anymore or even have come to loathe writing it. That's not good!

Why you shouldn't abandon your story

Let's discuss some reasons why you may not want to abandon that story, and what to do instead.

If what you're dealing with is just a form of writer's block, you can overcome this. Remember those tips I gave you earlier? Some of those may work, or get some outside help from another writer. A writing coach or freelance editor could also give you some assistance on this. Either way, try to get another set of eyes on your project. That can often be the catalyst we need to write ourselves out of a tough spot.

Try to go ahead and finish the story. Even if you know something Is broken and you're not sure how to fix it, just write around it. Finishing the story can help you figure out what else needs to happen. Now that you know more details about the ending or what happens next, it may help you to fix this part that was broken.

Even if you're not sure how to fix the story right after you've finished it, you may, after writing several more books, be able to go back to this original one and figure out how to make it better. Once you've learned more about the writing craft, you may be able to diagnose the problem and end up releasing this one later in your career.

Writing a story all the way through gives you valuable experience in how to complete a story. It forces you to go through all the story beats, from the inciting incident all the way through the climax and resolution. That is valuable experience and helps you learn more about how to craft stories, or perhaps how not to.

Why am I encouraging you so strongly to not abandon your story, but to finish it? Well, you don't want to get into the habit of not finishing stories, especially as a newer writer. It can be dangerous to start and stop lots of stories and never get any farther than early in the project.

We can fall prey to “shiny object syndrome.” Usually, it's the middle of the story that trips people up. We get to that part, and we're not so excited anymore. When we have a brand new story idea, we can't wait to dive into that. But after we've been there for a while, maybe the writing gets a little harder. We've gotten through the exciting beginning of the story, and now we're moving into the middle, and it's a lot more work. Of course, we might have great ideas for the end of the book, and we're excited about that, but getting there seems too far away. Then, we have a new idea, and we think, " Ooh, squirrel!" and we want to move on to that one.

This can be really dangerous. For one thing, you don't learn all you need to about writing those middle pieces of the story. The only way to get better as a writer is to practice. So, I encourage you, if you're just starting out, especially, try to finish that first book.

If you look at the statistics of how many people think they want to write a book, the number drops significantly when we look at how many people actually start a book. After that, the number of people who start a book and finish it drops drastically. So, if you finish a novel, whether it's good or not, you've done something that most people who think they want be writers have never done. That should improve your confidence in your future as a writer. You have just accomplished a rare thing, and it's something to be proud of!

When SHOULD You abandon the story?

However, there are instances in which you maybe should abandon a story. Let's look at those.

Maybe you have come to absolutely hate this story and have no desire to work on it anymore. That can be a real thing. But I want to caution you. Every writer I've asked about this says this happens to them at some point during every project they work on.

You may not absolutely hate it, but you really don't like the story right now. This can happen during the writing or after you've finished the book, but at some point, you've been working on it so long or working so hard on it, you just don't even like the story anymore. Or you think it's terrible. Maybe the story in your head is so much more fun than the one that ended up on the page. That doesn't mean it's going to stay that way.

Give yourself time. See if that dislike of your story wears off. Take a break from the project. Do something else. When you come back to it and reread what you've written, chances are you won’t hate it so much. Better yet, give it to a friend to read and let them know you're not looking for advice on this story. You just need to know whether they enjoyed it. Ask what they did like about it. Most of the time, you'll rediscover what was fun about writing this in the first place.

However, if this persists—you have no connection to the characters anymore, you don't even like these people, you're tired of the plot—and you just don't want to write it anymore, then maybe you shouldn't, or at least not right now. Stick it in a drawer. Don't delete the file. Put it away somewhere in a folder and save it for later. You might come back to it at some point and decide to resurrect it, or you may not, and that's okay. It doesn't mean you've failed as a writer. It's just not the story for you.

You may want to abandon the story if you've written several different drafts, and I'm not talking about minor revisions. We're talking about rewrites, here. If you've tried that several times, and it's still not better, this idea just may not work as a story.

Also, perhaps you've completed several books or stories and have begun to be able to tell what works and what doesn't, or when something's fundamentally broken in a story. If that's the case, and you can tell that something serious is broken at the core of this story, you may need to abandon it. Maybe extract some of the ideas and use them in a different project.