When I have a writer's block I put it in a basket with the rest of them. Someday, when I have enough blocks I'm going to build a wall.
When I have trouble dredging up ideas to torment my characters I sit down and interview each one:
Me: So, Debbie, what made you move to Springfield after graduating?
Debbie: Well, I'm not really sure. I almost moved back home, though, when John--you know which one--tried to rape me in my own apartment!
Me: I hear about that, but we're all glad you decided to stick around. Being a minor character can be devastating enough all by itself.
Debbie: Oh, tell me about it. That's the only reason I'm sticking it out, though. I want to be more than a sidekick. I want my name up in lights for everyone back home to see.
Note to viewers: Debbie did not get her name up in lights. She went home defeated, but news around the water cooler is that she's coming back for a vacation and her antagonist wants another shot.
Forget the story! Talk to your characters. Don't have any characters? Talk to your fingers, toes, or other appendages - just don't get weird and talk to your colon. Oh, what the heck; talk to your colon, or even your bowel, too, if it isn't irritable.
When I have trouble dredging up ideas to torment my characters I sit down and interview each one:
Me: So, Debbie, what made you move to Springfield after graduating?
Debbie: Well, I'm not really sure. I almost moved back home, though, when John--you know which one--tried to rape me in my own apartment!
Me: I hear about that, but we're all glad you decided to stick around. Being a minor character can be devastating enough all by itself.
Debbie: Oh, tell me about it. That's the only reason I'm sticking it out, though. I want to be more than a sidekick. I want my name up in lights for everyone back home to see.
Note to viewers: Debbie did not get her name up in lights. She went home defeated, but news around the water cooler is that she's coming back for a vacation and her antagonist wants another shot.
Forget the story! Talk to your characters. Don't have any characters? Talk to your fingers, toes, or other appendages - just don't get weird and talk to your colon. Oh, what the heck; talk to your colon, or even your bowel, too, if it isn't irritable.