Build Your Characters
A lot of times we run into writer's block because we're not really sure where to take our characters next. It doesn't even have to do with specific plot points but rather what we need to do to develop the character further. There are several methods for breaking this:
- Write a backstory for your character. Not something that's meant to be read by anyone else. It's for your information only. Write what things have happened in their life to make them the way they are. Some of these things may make their way into your story, but your character ought to feel like a real person. Real people have real histories and events that shaped them into who they are. Flesh it out. Understanding real events that happened to your character will help you understand their feelings. Understanding their feelings will help you make them feel more real, and it'll help you figure out where to take your character next.
- Make your character make a decision. A lot of the story is spent holding a character between two decisions. We dangle them in order to create tension. But they have to make decisions occasionally that tell where they stand in the story overall. If they're hanging between a decision, make them decide. Or have them make a decision that hints at how they feel about the larger decision.
- Outline. I'm a huge fan of outlining. The name of my site comes from the fact that I like to plot on paper before writing. You can do it as you write too. I do it all the time as my stories evolve and change despite my rigid plans. I like to write it because I can draw large charts and map out where characters are, where they want to be, and what events need to take place. It gives you a top down perspective if you have the patience for it, and you may just come up with the idea while you're drawing this. If not, it'll make it much easier to do the two things above.
- Watch people. Go out in public. Get a little vitamin D. Drink some coffee. And most importantly watch people. Be around them. If you can get into an environment where your characters are, will be, or have been; that's even better.
- Interact with people. Go a step further and talk to some people. Friends or strangers. Just other people. But pay attention to the words people say and how they mean them. I know our characters have at least some amount of self-insert, but understanding other people better will help us take our characters deeper in different directions.
Build Your Plot
Above I was specifically talking about characters, but that's just one of the things that hinder our plot. Sometimes we don't know where to take the plot because we don't know what events to put in there to get to the end. You have to craft a fictional series of events that lead your characters through a path of development. It's pretty amazing that you've started or gotten as far as you have, and it's perfectly natural to get stuck when creating story. Here are some tips to coming up with these new events.
- Bring in a man with a gun. This term gets thrown around a lot, but it really does help. It does, of course, need to make sense, so the gun doesn't need to be a real gun. It could be a piece of bad news, a secret that someone was hoping to keep down, a person from the past, or a literal man with a gun. This action usually changes the plot a lot, but you may find it worth it to alter the plot. You may even find it inspiring, like you're writing a new story.
- Everyone has a secret. Something I love to do is chart my characters to each have a secret or resentment that they don't want anyone else to know. Sometimes these come up and sometimes they don't, but when plots get stale, these can be used as a tool to build tension or change the way plots run. It can make it exciting and tense. You'll tug at your readers' hearts and make them hate you, but most of our favorite author's do that.
- Speak about your own life. Often when we take a contemplative look at our life, we see what events lead to something. Especially if we say it out loud. For some talking things out loud lets thoughts flow in a unique way. I can guarantee that you either intentionally or unintentionally write your life into your stories. Your life is what you know, so that's okay.
- Cut or add a character if your story seems to be failing toward the beginning. It depends on your needs, but often too many or to few characters can cause plot problems. For example, you may run into characters who serve a redundant purpose after a change of plans, and your plot becomes clogged up. Or if you have too few characters, you may find that your story has insufficient drive or inspiration to carry on. New secondary characters can often fill this gap.
Exercise
If nothing is working, exercise may be your go to. You're probably not going to feel like it. But people rarely feel like exercising if they're not already doing it, so something has to give. According to the NCBI exercise enhances ones creative thinking independently of their mood. So take a walk around the block or go on a light jog. If you want to stay inside, just open your windows to get some fresh air and do something inside. There's an endless number of possibilities. Regular exercise is not only going to be good for your writing career but also your life in general.
Outline
I know that a lot of authors hate outlining. The most common reason I hear is that writers don't want to feel tied down by a preset path. What I tell people is that the outline doesn't have to tie you down. I change my outline as needed. Sometimes you're writing, and you just come across a much better idea in the process. The reason I outline is twofold. I get to structure my story and make sure that my story stays interesting from beginning to end. The other reason is that if I run out of creative energy, I can just write. Writing is a technical thing at its core. Sentences have structure, scenes have structure, dialogue has structure, and you can stand on all of this structure to get things out until you find your creative energy again.
Honestly, the best way to break writer's block is to just write, and having an outline will allow you to do this without having to be creative.
Honestly, the best way to break writer's block is to just write, and having an outline will allow you to do this without having to be creative.