Do you feel like you are walking into a dead-end with your book?

Are you writing your first book & feeling like you are walking into a dead-end?

Everything was going great for a while. In fact, the writing was flowing. It was moving, and you were dancing with it. But now, this whole writing-a-book business feels like a tangled-up ball of yarn that you just can’t untangle. Now, you are feeling as if you have made a mistake. You have run smack into a wall.

Are you destined to feeling resistant? Are you destined to not finishing this overwhelming task of writing your book?

The answer to both these questions is an emphatic No!

When you are attempting your first big project, whether it’s a nonfiction book or a memoir or a children’s book, the process can feel daunting. There are so many things to do, so many things to learn. At this stage, you are not just writing your book, you are also teaching yourself how to write a book.

So, when new writers come to this point where they run into what feels like a dead-end, they get this sinking feeling that they are doing it all wrong. They are making a mistake.

And that feeling can freeze us, paralyze us.

At this point, as sensitive beings who take everything to heart, we are still not able to get a bird’s eye view of where we are. It’s all too new for us.

But when you have been working well for a while and then hit a dead-end with your book, what’s happening here is exactly what’s supposed to happen.

When you write a book, it’s as if you are walking through a maze. You don’t know how you’ll get into the heart of the maze. You don’t know exactly what you are trying to say. So, when you start writing, you feel things out. You take some steps forward. You might make a turn in the maze that does not lead to an opening.

But this is not a dead-end. This is exactly how walking inside a maze works.

Now that you have hit this place, all you need to do is change direction. All you need to do is take a few steps back, reorient yourself and make a different choice.

When you are working on your book, just the fact that you hit a “block” means that you are inside the maze.

You are doing the steps in a sacred dance. You are finding your way into the center. This is how books get written. This is how writers figure out what they are trying to say.

And this is how YOU will figure out what you are trying to say.

Yes, some resistance is about our fears coming up, either fear of failure or fear of success. But equally, especially when we are writing our first book, resistance can also come up because we are not familiar with how the creative process works.

The creative process is not taking Steps 1-2-3 in a linear, straight line, it’s about going round and round in circles till you land in the heart of the material. So, if this is you, this is exactly where you need to be.

But if you are tired of wrestling with the project, take a rest. Take a pause. And then, start to experiment.

This is the point where you need to problem-solve. Maybe, you’ll need to read a book on writing. Maybe, it’s something about the craft that you still don’t have a hold on. Maybe, it’s something specifically to do with the characters. Something about them is not ringing true. Maybe, it’ll be helpful to talk this out with a friend.

You have options. You can try things out. Trial and error works. You CAN do this!

You are a writer. The fact that you have made it into the maze tells us something. The fact that you are trying again and again means that this is possible.

So, keep going. Keep experimenting. Keep persisting.

If you just keep it up, if you keep feeling things out, you WILL find your opening. You WILL find that what seemed impossible is now possible.

And you WILL walk right into the heart of the maze, right into the center of your book.

Ritu Kaushal is the author of the memoir The Empath’s Journey. Set during the first few years after she emigrated from India to the United States, it connects personal stories with practical tools to help highly sensitive people channel their gifts.

Ritu is the recipient of the Silver Medal at the prestigious Rex Awards, presented by the International Confederation of NGOs in partnership with the United Nations in India and given to people creating social impact through their work.