23 things to try if your story isn’t working for you

We've all been there: We're working away on a story, and at first, it's going great! Then, as we get farther and farther into it, we start to feel like something's off... Something's just not working. And we can't really put our finger on what it is. Is it too boring? Is this the dreaded muddy middle? Are the characters just not interesting? 

Sometimes, if we let it, this kind of issue can make us doubt ourselves as writers, and when we're not quite sure how to fix what we think is broken, it can feel like the only solution is to just throw the whole story away.

Not too fast! There are still a lot of things you can try before you decide to put away your story.  

 23 things to try if your story isn’t working for you:

1. Change the protagonist of the story.
   
   
2. Change the main characters’ personalities.
   
   
3. Make your characters’ personalities affect the plot in some way.
   
   
4. Figure out which characters have opposing desires. Let them get in each other’s ways.
   
   
5. Tell the story from the antagonist’s POV.
   
   
6. What’s the conflict? Does it make sense? Is it a strong conflict? Does it make sense that your characters are fighting this battle? What are the stakes?
   
   
7. Change the main settings of the story.
   
   
8. Make your story’s settings affect the plot in some way.
   
   
9. Up the tension and/or suspense. Build up your atmosphere.
   
   
10. Mess around with the tone/mood of the story.
    
    
11. Re-tell your story as a comedy/horror/etc.
    
    
12. Use a different narrative technique to tell the story.
    
    
13. A series of boring events. If your story has too many mundane, boring events that don’t add much to the plot, edit them out or make them more interesting.
    
    
14. Twist some plot. Hidden secrets, betrayal most foul, true identities, etc. Inject some delicious fun with plot twists that aren’t too far-fetched.
    
    
15. Start the story at a different point in the plot.
    
    
16. Pacing and rhythm - Is the pacing too slow? Too fast? Extremely uneven? What can you do to make the story’s rhythm flow better?
    
    
17. Consider a different ending for your story to work towards.
    
    
18. Journal about it: What do you love about it, and what do you think needs to change or be improved?
    
    
19. Backtrack: Where does the story start not working? What decision was made to get to that stage?
    
    
20. Get back to the roots. What is this story about? What are you trying to say with this story? Have you deviated from that at all?
    
    
21. Take a break. Sometimes, we’re just tired and the story’s fine.
    
    
22. Get someone else to read it. A fresh set of eyes can make all the difference. This can be a friend, a writing buddy, or critique group.
    
    
23. If all else fails, put the story into your archives. Maybe one day you’ll go back to it. Maybe you won’t. But you tried, and honed your craft along the way, and every word you wrote for it has brought you closer to becoming the writer you want to be.

Hopefully, these random suggestions can help you find out what the issue is, solve it, and thereby rekindle your love and motivation for your creative writing project. Good luck!

~⭐~

Check out my psychological thriller Apartment. Add it to your TBR on Goodreads!

Grab the 2022 Reflection & Productivity Journal here for $2.00! Try out a full-month sample free here!

Looking for a writing prompt workbook? Check out 101 Writing Prompts.