The Wordslinger Podcast 3 Ways to Know If You Should Finish, Pause, or Abandon Your Book
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Feb 5, 2026 Practical tactics for deciding whether to finish, pause, or abandon a manuscript. Tips for surviving the muddy middle and using outlining tools. Strategies to avoid shiny object syndrome and take productive breaks. How to recognize sunk cost traps and repurpose stalled material. Encouragement to build habits that help you finish more drafts.
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Push Through When The Story Still Drives You
- Do push through the muddy middle when the story still drives you and you have a deadline or deep purpose for the book.
- Kevin Tumlinson advises writing bad first drafts, looping back from the beginning, and using momentum to finish the draft.
Use Outlines Tools And AI Carefully
- Try outlining or using tools like Plottr or AI to plan the next beats when you hit a block.
- Kevin recommends Plottr and warns to vet AI suggestions with your own judgment.
Loop Back To Restart Momentum
- Do loop back to the start when stuck: rewrite and read from chapter one until you regain momentum to continue.
- Kevin says looping helped him turn muddled middles into clearer plots across multiple books.