What to Do When You Fall Out of Love with Your Story

By Grace Caylor

Have you ever just gotten plain tired of your novel or story? I know I have many times. It is easy to wind up in a funky place in the plot where you just don’t know what’s going on, the characters don’t know what’s going on, and the plausible reader likely wouldn’t know what’s going on either.

My historical Viking novel, The Thrall’s Sword, started out that way. I’d gotten through maybe 65% of the novel, but, suffice to say, the plot and the theme didn’t make any sense. The supposed “good guy” Erik ended up leaving the villain out in the forest to freeze so that Erik could later save him and show him what grace was. All I can say is, I’m thankful Jesus doesn’t leave us out in the cold. That was not the best allegory, and when I finally realized how absurd it was I decided to scrap that version of the novel and start over altogether.

When it comes to falling out of love with your stories, there are a number of ways to fall in love with it again. In romantic relationships, two lovers often try to find ways to renew the old passion again in their relationship with things such as candlelight, dinner, and a sunset. 

You might not need any of that to fan the flames of love for your story again, but you will need to consider at least one of the following:

1. Scrap It, Then Outline

Sometimes you just need to forget about the first draft and begin anew on a blank page, this time forming an outline to ensure a more organized, goal-focused process.

This is what I did for The Thrall’s Sword. I completely set aside the first draft and then began the work of creating an outline. I hadn’t done an outline for my first draft, thinking that I would just “wing it” and something beautiful might happen. Unfortunately, that was not the case... I learned my lesson: outlines are super necessary. Outlines help you to have a grasp of how your plot will go.

As Caleb Robinson puts it in his online article, “One reason why first-time novelists fail to complete their book is that they don’t plan properly. Sometimes, even just a one-page outline can keep stories from stagnating.”

You don’t need a detailed outline; just a rough sketch of how you want the story to go--exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. If you want to be more detailed you can, but it isn’t necessary. Go with what feels natural to you.

To give you an idea of what I mean, this was my writing/ outlining process: As I went along creating my outline, I would go ahead and write out the scenes that I was most interested in writing at the moment. So, for example, I might have written brief sketches of the plots in chapters 1 and 2, wrote a whole scene in chapter 3, and wrote down a few notes for chapter 4. 

Overall, I would say: Be flexible with your outline. Go where your heart is leading you while you write. I find my best pieces of writing come from me truly enjoying the process.

2. Scrap It, Forget It, and Write Something Else 

Sometimes, when you fall out of love with your novel, this is a sign that you just have to scrap your project all together and write something completely different.

I’ve done this before too. When I was fourteen I began a novel about a very depressed girl who wanted to commit suicide. My goal was for her to encounter Jesus in a whole new way and be forever changed. Needless to say, I don’t think my fourteen-year-old mind and heart could handle trying to figure out how to get this across realistically and effectively. It was also just overall too sad and depressing to write. So, I put that one on the back burner, now able to focus on stories that I was capable of handling and that mattered much more to me. 

Thus, some novels we write aren’t meant to be written, either because we don’t have enough experience in the areas the novel deals with, or it completely bores us, or both. Pray about it. Ask yourself: Can I see this going anywhere where I would want to keep on reading as a reader? If the answer is no, then it is probably time to scrap it and forget about it.

Brainstorm new ideas, or go back to old stories with a fresh gaze. If a story isn’t worth your time, it just isn’t worth your time. Consider carefully how you want to spend your time, dear KPer, and steward it well for the Kingdom.

3. Shake Things Up a Bit 

This one means: you don’t have to scrap your story! You can find ways to shake it up and excite you once again. But how?

Here are my 5 tips for how to fall in love with your story once again:

 1. Read Before You Write 

This one I definitely want to put as #1, because it has really changed the way I write for the better. Reading a chapter or two of a well-written novel right before turning to your novel itself can really add a kick to your story.

Reading a good book helps you get into the mindset of how to write well, drawing readers in with all their attention, emotions, and senses. Once I turn to my novel right after reading an exhilarating story, I’ve found that words flow out of me more naturally and beautifully. Reading is like a “warm up” to writing. It gets the writing blood cells pumping through your veins.

2. Write a Random Scene 

Rather than writing your scenes in chronological order, pick a scene towards the end or somewhere in the story you haven’t gotten to yet. This helps to give you perspective about the things to come in your story; it also fuels you with motivation to come back to the part you were stuck on and keep writing. 

3. Write a Scene from a Different Character’s Perspective

This is also fun to try! Pick a character other than the main character to write a scene from their perspective--whether it be a scene you have already written, a scene you haven’t written yet, or even better yet, a scene that won’t even be in your novel! This gets you warmed up again, more acquainted with your characters, and more excited to write your novel again.

4. Put an Unexpected Twist

Sometimes your plot might get into predictable ruts, where both you and the reader are getting bored with the story because it is just too ordinary or predictable.

Try doing the opposite of what the reader would expect. If the characters are expected to make it to shore by morning, have something turn them off-course, such as a flagrant storm, a fleet of pirate ships, or an angry fisherman (why is he angry? I don’t know, that’s for you to decide). 

Once you have something unexpected, more ideas start threading off one another until you have an intricate plot. You might even connect this new plot with your old plot in some significant way. For example, maybe the fisherman is angry because your main character’s grandfather stole his girlfriend long ago. Think outside the box! Soon you will be getting a kick out of your story, and your reader will, too.

      5. Make it Meaningful

Sometimes you have a decent plot and decent characters, but there isn’t a deep and powerful theme you are conveying through your story. Want to mic drop your readers? Ask yourself: what is the theme of my story? What message am I trying to convey? 

I was very careful in writing my novel, The Thrall’s Sword, to ensure I was writing a story that was worthy of my time and effort. At first, I didn’t really have an intriguing message to convey, but as I was growing in my faith in God I became more interested in pointing my readers to Jesus. Thus, I decided that, since my story was set in the Viking Age, an interesting theme to weave into my plot would be vengeance vs. forgiveness. This theme definitely changed the trajectory of my story, as any themes you come up with are likely to as well.

Nevertheless, dear KPer, this change of theme was what kept me writing my story and finishing it off well, knowing I was creating a masterpiece that would probe into people’s hearts and minds, making an eternal impact. You, too, dear KPer, should consider the depths the Lord may want you to dive into in your novel in order to draw your reader’s attention to our dear Savior and King.

“A Huge List of Common Themes” is a great list of common themes in literature to get your brainstorming process started. I believe Jesus can impact any of these themes in some ways if you indeed want to go the route of pointing your readers to Him.

All in all, these are my suggestions for what to do when that novel or story just isn’t keeping your interest anymore.

Remember that if you aren’t interested in what you are writing, then your reader certainly won’t be. Find ways to make your novel something that you would want to read. Consider what delights you, fascinates you, and keeps you engaged. Write from your heart. Find a message that you want to convey, and brainstorm how to illustrate it to your readers through living, breathing characters.

Shake things up a bit, or scrap it altogether. Scrap it and forget it, or scrap it and start over with an outline. Whatever you do, always make sure that your novel is worthy of your time and worth writing for the Kingdom, dear KPer. Only then can you fall in love with your tale once again.

My question for you is: Which one of these do you want to try for that story that has just plain lost your interest?