I Used Art to Unstick My Novel Project
A combined writing/drawing challenge may be just what you need.
I’ve been working on a fantasy novel for a couple of years now, and I tend to work on it in sprints between other, shorter projects.
In December 2022, I cleared my schedule to work on my novel for a month. I was on my second draft and I hadn’t looked at it for a few months, which made the prospect of starting up again intimidating.
After pondering over my next course of action, I arrived at my favorite solution to creative blocks: an art challenge.
I decided that, for the month of December, I would do at least one of three activities every day: draw, write my novel, or prepare to write my novel (e.g. plotting, world-building, etc.). In effect, I mashed together Inktober, Preptober, and NaNoWriMo, with a bit of flexibility to choose between them day-to-day.
I also made intermittent updates on YouTube along the way.
Looking back, it was one of the most successful of my self-imposed creative challenges. I made huge leaps in clarity about my novel and kicked off some writing momentum that lasted for months afterward.
