You might simply need some time away from the story. The first draft is often one of discovery, where you’re learning about the story: how to inhabit it, what you intend to say, what it’s about. Taking a break after that first draft is a good way to gain perspective. When you return to the story with fresh eyes, you’ll be able to see the reality of what you put on the page, rather than what you thought was there. Time also brings objectivity. The moments that are working—and those that aren’t—will be more apparent. Clear next steps can invigorate your momentum.
Some writers find a week is enough of a break, while others might take a month. Wait until the specific sequences of words aren’t readily available in your memory. That’s a good indication that you’ll be able to approach the story anew. I generally have several projects that are active at once, so that my downtime on one story doesn’t mean downtime for writing, overall. I shift to another story and just about the time I need a break from that story, I’m eager to get back to the one I put aside earlier.
You might also find it helpful to keep an arsenal of revision techniques on hand. If you find yourself eager to get back to the story, but still feel overwhelmed as to where to start, you’ll have some concrete tasks to turn to. Here are a few I’ve found helpful:
Revise for one element: Pay attention to just one facet of the craft or story during a revision. I wrote a story set in Chicago during heat wave and did one revision focusing only on creating the intense heat. You might do one revision that focuses on character. Another that highlights setting. Breaking revision down to smaller tasks can make it feel more manageable.
Start globally: Look at the larger elements of craft first, such as plot, character, and point of view. Save finite revisions for later in the process when you have the major issues more fully fixed. Otherwise, you could spend a day reworking a paragraph that you end up cutting from the story entirely.
Give your highlighters a work out: Use them to create a visual map of your story. You might mark each moment where you appeal to the senses. If you find you’ve highlighted only once on page two and once on nine, you know you have some work to do in between. You can use this technique for a variety of elements, such as moments where you “tell” rather than “show.” Or you can use different colors for different characters’ perspectives to see the balance.
Cut up the story: Get a pair of scissors and physically cut the story into its different scenes. Lay these sections out so you can see the entire story at once. This visual approach will allow you a different view of the structure and that might give you additional insight as to its effectiveness.
Lastly, be generous with self-forgiveness. Writing is a process. You have to experiment and take risks to find what will work for the particular story you’re revising. You might down a path you don’t end up using in the final version. Or you may fail grandly in an attempt. Some writers dwell on the time lost on such efforts. However, what seem like mistakes are often vital steps that help you understand where you really wanted to go. You can’t always go straight from A to B. Sometimes, you have to visit several points in between to understand just where B is located, and why it’s the important destination.
