Fiction Writer’s Toolshed | Practical Tools for Authors
You have characters, scenes and ideas. But where do you begin? And what do you do when the energy that got you started runs out?
I’m joined by Ramona Ausubel to talk about Unstuck: 101 Doorways Leading from the Blank Page to the Last Page (opens in new tab). Her book offers ways to begin, continue and return to your writing, with a practical “key” for each doorway.
We talk about collecting details, giving the inner critic less control, and letting an early draft leave room for what you’ll learn later. Then I put Ramona on the spot: I have a novella-series idea and don’t know where to start. What would she suggest?
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Fiction Writer’s Toolshed
Ramona Ausubel Interview – Unstuck: A Writer's Guide | ep 013
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Keep your eyes open for details
Ramona begins with something she’s looking forward to: taking her son to a science fair. A room full of projects, questions and experiments gives her something to notice.
That’s part of her work as a writer. She collects details from the life she’s actually living.
I think of those details as ingredients. A specific thing you notice can make a scene feel lived in. You might not know which story needs it yet. But when the right moment comes, you have something you couldn’t have found by trying to imagine everything at your desk.
Give yourself room to make a rough attempt
I tell Ramona about my “faceless detractor”: an imagined smarter, better version of me who condescends to whatever I’m making.
I tried one of the book’s exercises by writing to that critic. It felt silly at first. Then putting those thoughts outside my head became more helpful than I expected.
Ramona is clear that not everyone will want to write an email to their anxiety. That’s part of why there are so many doorways. You can choose a tool that fits where you are.
She also discusses writing badly on purpose. Giving yourself permission to make something terrible can let you play. Sometimes that rough attempt reveals something you care about enough to develop.
That doesn’t mean the finished work doesn’t matter. Ramona values trusted readers who hold her to a high standard and still welcome a rough draft. Early on, though, she needs to find what interests her before inviting their opinions into the work.
Write the scene you can see
If Ramona doesn’t understand a scene yet but can see what happens a few scenes later, she may jump ahead. Later-draft Ramona will have more information than first-draft Ramona. She can return to the gap then.
Some of those connecting scenes may turn out to be unnecessary.
Her example is a fistfight in a laundromat. You don’t automatically need to show the character waking up, eating breakfast, gathering the laundry and driving over before you reach the fight.
As a reader, I’d often rather discover the laundromat through the scene’s sensory details than be walked through every step of getting there. The point is to give me enough to understand where I am while keeping the scene interesting.
A pause can give you another way in
Ramona compares a burst of writing energy to breakfast. Breakfast got you to lunch. Needing lunch doesn’t mean breakfast failed.
When the first burst runs out, you can look for another source of interest. Maybe you follow a character into their past, explore the setting, or write a moment that happens later.
She sometimes takes a short break from a novel, then returns to the work that already exists. Returning gives her something to shape, and the time away can help her see more.
Begin anywhere, then make a half draft
I describe my idea for Tales of the Black Clock: twelve neopulp novellas, with characters and plot ideas already gathering. I’m stuck on how to begin.
Ramona’s first suggestion is to begin anywhere. Write something you’re interested in now. You don’t have to make that attempt carry the pressure of being page one of a whole series.
Her next suggestion is to give the attempt limits you can work with. She describes having about an hour a day and aiming for 500 words. That lets her picture having a draft after a few months, instead of feeling as though she has to begin and keep going forever.
Those are her example numbers. The useful question is what you can manage in the time you have.
She also suggests a “half draft”: an early version that reaches through the story while leaving some scenes lightly sketched. You’re making enough to learn what the work is doing, then coming back to add what you understand better.
That isn’t a demand to write exactly half the final word count. It’s a way to leave room for later work. A first draft can help you discover the story; a later draft can use those discoveries.
Try a small draft you can return to
This exercise adapts Ramona’s advice in our conversation:
- Choose a place to begin. Pick a scene, character or moment you’re interested in writing. It doesn’t have to be the opening.
- Choose a manageable plan. Decide how much writing time you have and what you want to try in that time. Use an amount that fits your life.
- Write what you can see. Sketch an unclear part briefly or use square brackets to leave a note, then move to a part you can write.
- Return and look again. What do you understand now that you didn’t understand when you began? Fill gaps, add details, and decide which connecting scenes the story needs.
This connects with You’re Strangling Link, Wolverine, and Mario… Stop.: a first version gives you something to learn from and build on.
About Ramona Ausubel and Unstuck
Ramona Ausubel is a fiction writer and a professor at Colorado State University. Her writing and teaching helped shape the approaches in Unstuck.
In the interview, she welcomes writers at different stages of the writing process. She also encourages support for independent bookstores and mentions Bookshop.org as an online option.
Fiction Writer’s Toolshed: Practical Tools for Authors is a Make Exist podcast hosted by Tim Kearney. It offers hands-on training for fiction writers to diagnose writing problems, build their skills, and finish more work.