I'm 36, a lifelong writer and I know my stuff has a lot of qualities that stick out to people but I also know that by far the thing I struggle with the most is making things "happen" in the story. I tend to not be super confident juggling events. I think I've gotten better in time and I'm fairly good at "context" and setting things up but most of my writing feels like exposition, which can make the story feel abstract and like nothing is actually happening. It makes sex scenes less sexy, action scenes less punchy and exciting, and emotional scenes less compelling or impactful. It kind feels like waiting for the "good" part to start from beginning to end.

I've been forcing myself to write almost everyday for the last year and a half, and while I improve in other areas I always feel so out of my depth with this one. It's like my brain just doesn't work this way, but this happens to be The way to tell an engaging story. I'm wondering if anyone has any tips for how to get better at this, or at least for how to get more confident. I have a few ongoing projects right now that are suffering from this problem, some more than others, and I keep flip-flopping between racking my brain for a solution and telling myself it's best just to to on as I have and fix in editing. Hoping you get some insight or that someone might help me out.