My two favorite plotting questions are
It’s also very important to remember that everything about the book can change right up to the point where it’s out in the world. If you get to the end and realize that your main character needs something – an object, a character trait, a piece of knowledge – to resolve the situation, you can go as far back as needed to add that thing in. Having a predefined plot is helpful for some writers, but not at all necessary.
My stories always tend to grow organically. The characters develop independently, making me throw my plot grid out of the window. It can be frustrating to try to get to a plot point and the story pulls in another direction like an excitable dog on a lead.
I think my most controversial trick to avoiding plot blockages is that when I run into them I simply… Move past them. As in, I write what I have the idea and inspiration for and then move on to the next moment in the story I have the idea and inspiration for. I jump back and forth and all around the timeline of my plot and slowly fill in the gaps until there’s a cohesive string of chapters and, eventually, a complete book. It means I likely end up discarding far more of my work than those who dedicate themselves to writing point A to point B to point C to (etc, etc), as I often find myself having better ideas that don’t entirely match what I had previously written, but it allows me to keep the flow going and not get caught up on bad blocks when what I really want to get to is just around the corner. Definitely not the method for everybody, but it’s what works best for me!
okay, some quick thoughts…
maybe you,re simply chasing too much of a perfect draft and it,s presenting too high a standard to getting words on a page. in this circumstance, go full stream of consciousness and then fix it in editing. it,s much easier to fix the wrong words than to put the right ones onto a blank page.
if it,s not the drafting but the idea itself that you,re struggling to get perfect enough… just pick something really quickly as a holding idea. a real ,barely-good-enough, solution. write that. it,s surprising how often that turns out to be just what the story needs.
stop and think why it,s slowed. is it because you,re bored. if so, ignore the plot or details you had planned and ask yourself what is the most exciting / interesting thing that could happen next.
sometimes the plot trudges because it,s not connected enough. the writers of south park have a good approach here. if you write you plot out as a sequence of events, you should be able to write ,therefore, or ,but then, between all of them. eg, [this happens] ,therefore, [this happens] ,but then, [this happens] ,therefore, [this happens]. if you find yourself putting ,and then, instead of ,therefore, or ,but then, you,ve lost the connecting thread and it,s all becoming a bit too shopping-listy. go back and rework it so what you,re writing is a consequence and has a consequence.
it,s possible that you have the right people, doing the right things, but it,s still not gelling. in this case ask yourself the following questions… are the stakes high enough - how could they be higher. and am i using the wrong person as the protagonist of this scene. should one of the other characters be driving the action here and have i got the right emotional anchor for this section. what emotions should the characters be feeling. what emotions should the readers be feeling. what emotional change should be happening in this sequence. and have i got the pacing right here. how can i make this section go faster. how can i make it go slower. have i got the dialogue / action balance right.
is it a real block, or are you just distracted. if the reality is that you,d rather be scrolling on tiktok, then just accept that you,ve been bitten and are now one of the zombies. there is no known cure. go back to tiktok and accept your fate [or maybe just put your phone in a drawer during your writing time].
Thanks for your extensive reply, therey are very interesting points.
My post was 5 years ago and I published my debut novel a year ago. I’ll be publishing my second one in the next few months so I no longer feel a fraud. 