How I Write Novels

What To Do When You Get Stuck Writing Your Novel (Part One)

Miranda Beverly-Whittemore
2 min readJun 12, 2022

1 Trick I’ve Used To Write 5 Novels

Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash

The first 100 pages of a book, once I figured out what it’s going to be, are usually a delicious time of writing. In fact, the time I spend flowing through them might be my favorite era in the writing of a book.

But invariably there’s a moment when I realize I’ve written myself into a corner and can’t really keep going. And I don’t always know why.

Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash

Now, since I’ve published five novels, I’m (kind of?) used to this (which is not the same thing as being okay with it!) and I recognize that “getting stuck” like this is part of my process.

In fact, I’m not actually stuck. And I can actually move forward and use what some might call “writer’s block” to reframe the stalled feeling I have, by reminding myself that the book is just talking to me in its own way.

What is the book saying?

The book is saying, “You don’t know enough. Get to know me better.”

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Miranda Beverly-Whittemore

She/her. New York Times bestseller / Author of five novels including: Fierce Little Thing, June, and Bittersweet. https://linktr.ee/MirandaBW