Finally got past a block on my story about a lighthouse keeper

I was stuck for a week on a scene where my character finds a message in a bottle. I went for a walk at the local harbor on Tuesday and saw a real glass float tangled in some kelp. That gave me the idea to make the message not paper, but carved into a piece of driftwood. I wrote the whole chapter in one sitting after that. What's a small detail that helped you break through a writing block?

3 comments

3 Comments

schmidt.reese22d ago

Getting out of the house is the best fix for a stuck story. A tiny change in the real world can flip a whole scene in your head. Glad you found your piece of driftwood.

the_nathan22d ago

Totally true. I've had whole plot problems solve themselves just by walking to the grocery store and seeing how people actually move around each other. That driftwood isn't just a thing, it's proof your brain needed new stuff to look at. Staring at the same wall just makes the story echo in your head. You have to break the loop with something real, even if it's small.

ellis.nina1d ago

Honestly, @schmidt.reese is right about getting out. I was stuck on a fight scene for days. Then I saw two squirrels chasing each other around a tree in my yard. The way they moved gave me the idea to make my characters use the whole room, not just stand and swing. Wrote it all that afternoon.