I talk to so many people who want to write a novel, and often they tell me they get started, get stuck, put it away and never go back to it again.
So here is the elegant, highly sophisticated technique I use when I get stuck in my first draft: I simply say to myself “pass,” as though passing on a question in a quiz. I actually type the word into the document. It’s so easy to get stuck on a scene and stay stuck. It’s much better to pass over the sticky wicket and move on to a scene you know. When I’ve finished my draft, I make a search for all the words “pass.” At that point, I usually know what I need to write to fill in that particular gap.
Simple! Now you have no more excuses not to finish that rough draft!