by Jason Joyner | Apr 6, 2011 | Blog, bombs under the sofa, fiction, writing craft
No one likes getting stuck.
 |
| What is my next plot point??? |
<--Especially THAT kind of stuck. But I'm talking about getting stuck in a novel, not knowing how to move forward. I hit a standstill recently for two reasons. First, I found through some critique that I was heading down a path I didn’t want with a character. She was supposed to be nicer than what she was appearing. Also, I hit a plot point that has me a little tripped up.
I struggle getting out of these predicaments. I’m a streaky writer. If I can build up momentum, then I can keep plugging along. If I get thrown off track, then it kills that head of steam, and I have a hard time building it back up.
I know that I need to keep with consistency, to keep at it. It just gets tricky to maneuver in those circumstances. I’ve heard it said if you get stuck to “stick a bomb under the sofa.” I can see where that would be helpful. You just have to be ready to pick up the pieces when it goes off.
I’ll get past this choke point – I have several others. Hopefully I can find better ways to deal with this in the future.
My question to writer friends is: How do you get past being stuck in your WIP?
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by Jason Joyner | Apr 6, 2011 | Blog, bombs under the sofa, fiction, writing craft
No one likes getting stuck.
 |
| What is my next plot point??? |
<–Especially THAT kind of stuck. But I’m talking about getting stuck in a novel, not knowing how to move forward. I hit a standstill recently for two reasons. First, I found through some critique that I was heading down a path I didn’t want with a character. She was supposed to be nicer than what she was appearing. Also, I hit a plot point that has me a little tripped up.
I struggle getting out of these predicaments. I’m a streaky writer. If I can build up momentum, then I can keep plugging along. If I get thrown off track, then it kills that head of steam, and I have a hard time building it back up.
I know that I need to keep with consistency, to keep at it. It just gets tricky to maneuver in those circumstances. I’ve heard it said if you get stuck to “stick a bomb under the sofa.” I can see where that would be helpful. You just have to be ready to pick up the pieces when it goes off.
I’ll get past this choke point – I have several others. Hopefully I can find better ways to deal with this in the future.
My question to writer friends is: How do you get past being stuck in your WIP?
—
