Trust in the process

I hit a writing wall a few weeks ago. A tall, solid, Gandalf-You-shall-not-pass, wall. It's due to the writing of my current MG novel, with a deadline that seemed far away a month ago - and lately has begun to loom like a gigantic shadow monster. I thought I knew where I was going with the story after some careful plotting over summer, and then: Gandalf. 

A timely night out with a good friend, where I was desperately bemoaning my brick-wall predicament, and she reminded me of some wise words - which have since seen me through: "Just trust in the process".

Oh, how I needed this reminder. I find I can all too quickly feel "A failure!" and "Doomed to mediocrity!" when I become suddenly stuck in my narrative; if I can't unlock the what-needs-to-happen-next to achieve the story that's clear in my head yet refuses to be put down on paper. "That's it" I will dramatically wail, "I'm not good enough to write it!" 

Unlocking the next

To remember there is a process - and one that sometimes can't be hurried yet is often integral to storytelling - was just what I needed to hear ... to become unstuck.

To trust in the process - and gradually over time and with work, hopefully doors will become unlocked and walls will come down and the narrative will flow again. 

To enable the process - and it will almost certainly and naturally evolve the story in your head onto the what's next. 

On reflection, my trusting in the process has included:

• Plotting

Return to the beginning and brainstorm the structural ideas again. Even if you're going over old ground, get it down on paper again; draw diagrams, pictures, maps. Relook at your blueprint for your novel and if there are other, stronger ideas that need to be generated, they might begin to emerge through this process.

• Writing

Plotting is all well and good, but often the real magic starts when you write, when you're inhabiting the minds and lives of your characters. Facing the story as they face it will gradually enable a process of ideas and pathways that are still yet to show themselves.

• Editing

Like weeding an overgrown garden, as you go through the book turfing out ideas that clutter and clog the story arc, you can see more clearly the ideas that do work and give them space to shine.

• Time out

Taking time to step away from the story can be part of the process too. Reading other books - all kinds of books - for inspiration; walking, talking, dancing - life outside of the laptop. I often find I become unstuck if I just have a swim, or a cheeky night out...

I suppose, as life in itself is a process, our brains need this time to consider and evaluate, the space to assemble and revise choices, an evolution to recognise the raw truth of the story. And by trusting in the natural creative process - rather than headless chicken panicking - last week I finally managed to bypass Gandalf and his staff for sunnier open meadows and - for now - I think I know where my narrative is going. Still doesn't stop that deadline looming though...!

Alex Cotter’s middle-grade novels THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE and THE MERMAID CALL are published with Nosy Crow. She has also previously published YA novels as Alex Campbell. Find her at www.alexcotter.co.uk or on Twitter: @AlexFCotter