Saturday, January 28, 2006

Rainy Saturday and the Plot Problem


I woke up to a wet, dreary, rainy day. And I smiled.

I love these kinds of days. For some reason, I feel much more inspired to write. Maybe it's the fact that I don't have to feel guilty for staying inside. Whatever the reason, I wish I had more of these types of days. Especially since it's Saturday and I don't have to work!

Despite the fact that a solution came to me for my plot problem, there is still one other, niggling detail that I need to solve. And I've wracked my brain over and over, trying to think of what it could be. I feel like I'm hitting a brick wall in my subconscious. I really want to be able to just brainstorm a ton of ideas and then see which ones have merit. I'm thinking this is the perfect time for my chapter's "30-Second Brainstorm" section of our meeting on Tuesday. But I'd really like to figure it out this weekend so I could get to work.

What do you do when you can't figure out a plot problem? Do you brainstorm with a critique group or your best friend or...?

Maybe just reading through my manuscript will jumpstart my creativity. It's worth a try. :-)

6 comments:

  1. I let it sit in my subconsious for a while and then think up a few scenarios, plot them through all the consequences to the end and see what works. Sometimes you have to sratch a bunch of stuff :( sometimes you have to change a couple of words :D

    Good luck

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  2. Anonymous6:05 AM

    I try to make a list of 20 reasons/20 plot ideas that might fit. I let my brain go crazy, silly, think outside the box, etc. and sometimes that triggers it. I never know when it'll hit, but it often takes several days before it does.

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  3. Anonymous9:17 AM

    I clear my mind, then imagine myself as the character in the moments just before the block. Then, as the character with all of his/her history, I decide what I would do next. That logical flow of life decisions helps pull the plot around the character.

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  4. Toni, Michelle, and Jason - excellent suggestions. Thanks so much for commenting. I will put them to good use!

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  5. Melissa - I tend to either do some free writing in a notebook, playing the "what if?" game, OR, like Toni, I leave it in the back of my head for a while and wait for the inspiration to come :-)

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  6. I alternate between brainstorming with a friend who writes in a totally different genre, or else I'll stop writing and read for a while. That always seems to free the muse when she's...uh... constipated for lack fo a better word.

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