Writing Challenges: 9 Challenges and How to Solve Them
Writing Challenges: 9 Challenges and How to Solve Them
Salmaan Ahmad
May 28, 2025
Having trouble with writing challenges? Coming up with a quality book concept can be exciting, but turning that idea into a full manuscript can be daunting as a new writer. From feeling stuck in your writing flow to not knowing what to do next, many first-time writers struggle with writing challenges to transform their ideas into a completed book draft. But for most of the common writing challenges authors face, we have some straightforward, usable solutions to help you overcome these writing challenges so you can finish your book and become a published author.
The good news is that the writing challenges you face as a new writer are as old as time, but that doesn’t mean that you automatically know how to overcome them. So we have put together a list of the common writing challenges many new authors face, along with some practical solutions to help you push past them so you can finish your book.
1. Writing Challenges — You Have an Idea but No Direction
When the big idea hits, often an author knows instinctively that it will be the basis for a great book. But turning that concept into a workable book idea can be hard since the idea is just conceptual, at best, at the start. Perhaps you even have more than one idea marinating in your mind, so choosing one you can move forward with simply complicates your stalemate.
How To Fix It: The first step in taking an idea and fitting it into the shape of a book concept is to ask yourself, What do I want to communicate with this idea? By answering this question, you may find that you are developing a story, a nonfiction book, or some other retelling of the concept. With the answer in mind, ask next, Who is the perfect reader for this book? The answer to this question will lead you to discover who you are writing for so you can begin to formulate how you want to frame the idea, what kind of book you will write, and the nuances like word choice and voice you will need to pay attention to during the writing process.
2. Writing Challenges — You Don’t Have a Writing Plan
If you hope to write when the inspiration hits you, you don’t have a solid writing plan in place that will help you finish your book. This common misconception that the words will pour out of you simply because you have a good concept doesn’t happen for many writers.
How To Fix It: Setting up a writing schedule will keep you on track and build up your writing endurance so you can finish your book. Instead of looking at writing as a chore, a scheduled daily or weekly writing session will give you a time to focus solely on writing content and allow you to build momentum. Some writers give themselves a word count goal while others go with a time frame. Try out both, if you aren’t sure how to proceed, and see which works best for your writing mindset. Be careful not to be overly ambitious; start with a small daily or weekly goal and add to it as your stamina grows.
3. Writing Challenges — Your Book Has No Structure
If your writing practice includes writing about whatever part of the book topic that feels interesting or compelling when you start your session, you may not have developed a strong structure for your book.
How To Fix It: Spend some time crafting an outline for your book. Creating a framework for your story or book contents will help you find plot holes and fill in gaps in the story, and it will also provide you with a writing direction when your enthusiasm wanes (like it does for every writer, at some point). An outline can give you a plan for your writing sessions while also making sure that you tell the complete story. Since writing isn’t always linear, an outline can provide a specific point for you to begin a writing session, too, keeping you motivated during the process.
4. Writing Challenges — Getting Started Is Scary
Writing a book can feel daunting and overwhelming, and sometimes those feelings can stymie our enthusiasm for getting started.
How To Fix It: Whether it’s a fear of failure or a case of impostor syndrome, getting started writing is a common writing challenge that can be difficult to overcome without a plan. The best strategy to get started is to think small. Give yourself a small daily writing goal to meet, pick one small detail to write about, or choose one topic to research at a time. The more you accomplish over a few days or weeks, the more your belief in yourself as a writer will grow. Use these small stepping stones to build a comfortable writing habit, and before you know it, the fear will turn into confidence.
5. Writing Challenges — You Can’t Write Unless You Feel Inspired
Even with a daily writing goal, some authors can’t seem to find their writing mojo regularly. If you struggle with waiting for inspiration to pick up the proverbial pen, your inspiration may need an overhaul.
How To Fix It: Instead of waiting on the thrill of inspiration to get some words on the page, create an inviting writing ritual to put your brain in gear. Choose a spot to write without distractions and set aside a regular time to devote yourself to writing. Some writers repeat small behaviors that help foster a positive writing mindset, like lighting a candle, drinking out of a special coffee mug to relax, and shifting their minds into writing mode. Keeping specific writing-only rituals helps focus your mind so you can get down to the business of writing quickly.
6. Writing Challenges — You Have Writer’s Block
It happens to even the most seasoned writers: a mental block that keeps you from putting anything on the page. When you can’t seem to make progress, the words and thoughts just don’t come to you and your writing stalls out, you may have writer’s block.
How To Fix It: Mix up your writing routine to get a different result. Change your location, swap out the content you are writing by jumping to a different section of your outline, or even add in a new writing ritual to fan the creative flames. Acknowledging that writer’s block is a natural, normal experience for all writers can help, too, since it allows you to reconfirm that this change in pace is just a temporary hurdle you need to – and will – get past.
7. Writing Challenges — Ideas vs. First Draft
A common writing challenge first-time writers often experience is feeling anxious about writing a not-perfect first draft. It sometimes feels like when you spend any time or energy writing something, like a first draft, it is easy to feel married to the words, ideas, and structure of the piece. This feeling of not writing a good enough draft is easy to stymie even the most confident of writers.
How To Fix It: Changing your mental mindset about a first draft is the best way to overcome this challenge. Remember that the final draft of a book manuscript is often only vaguely similar to the author’s first writing of the book. Initial drafts usually undergo a huge number of improvements, shifting and editing before being finalized, so altering how you view this “first pass” at your book to include necessary and expected editing doesn’t mean that you are not a good writer. It’s most likely the opposite because a solid writer recognizes that every written piece benefits from smart editing.
8. Writing Challenges — You Complete Revising and Editing During Writing
Have you gotten bogged down while you write, making changes, switching up the sentence structure, improving word choices, and thinking about how to fix what you have just written? If so, you have fallen into the common trap of polishing unfinished writing.
How To Fix It: Instead of doing three things at once (writing, revising, and editing), simply begin with the writing. Once your first draft is complete, then look at the draft from a revision perspective to improve the draft’s problems, like missing plot holes, needed character development, scene swaps or creation, and other structural or content changes. Then, once the draft looks good, review it with editing eyes (or engage a professional editor’s services) to seek out the grammatical and presentation errors that need to be corrected. Taking each step singularly allows you to create the best possible draft and lessens the likelihood that you will miss a critical mistake.
9. Writing Challenges — No Publishing Strategy
You may not have planned how to get your book into the hands of readers once you have finished writing. Understandably, many first-time authors focus on writing their book without thinking about how to get it printed or published.
How To Fix It: For writers who want to ensure that their book will be printed exactly how and when they envision, partnering with a printer like Publishing Xpress when your manuscript is finalized is the best way to go. Since traditional publishing houses often take months or longer to bring a book to production, after working with in-house editing staff whose job it is to provide input on books the publisher agrees to work with, many authors find that self-publishing gives them the freedom to write and print the book they imagine since it allows them to make all decisions about writing, editing and printing.
