Day 22: Talk it Out

Today's goal is 36,666 words and I'm going strong now that I'm over a complete plot block on my story.

When I finished writing last night, I knew exactly what scene was next, but when I looked things over this morning I thought, that's all well and good for today's writing, but I don't know what's going to happen after that. My main character, Elsbeth is somewhere around L, M, N, then there's a huge gap of ignorance and unknown, and I know what is going to happen around Y, and Z.

So I did what any respectable author who is sure of themselves 100% of the time would do. I did something else. I stepped away from the story and cleaned house to prepare for the holidays. I moved away, got distance, cleansed, etc.

This didn't exactly help. Sure, it made me less tied to the story, less invested for an hour, but I came back, sat down, and still didn't have any ideas. And then I talked it out. I told my husband everything I knew and then said, "but here's this huge gap, what do I do?" He, being a helpful and honest soul said, "I have no idea, can I get back to work now."

So I talked it out with myself, and continued to flip the situation over, look at the underside, discuss the antagonist's view point, the secondary character's views, Elsbeth's goals, and then, I knew what needed to be done: Elsbeth needed to go somewhere.

Then I talked to myself about where, what, why, how, who (that journalism class really pays for itself sometimes) and the more I processed the information aloud, the more the blanks started to fill themselves in. Now I have a sense of direction again and I know what Elsbeth will be told in the scene I write today that will push her to go to this new place.

If you're finding yourself stuck thinking about your story, then I hope you'll try just saying it out in the open and see what muses you bring to your door.

Have a tip about solving plot blocks? I'd love to hear them.