Three Reasons We Stall Out on Our Stories

I just read an article by writer and creativity coach Eric Maisel. In the article he says there are three ways we stall out on our stories.

1. We don't show up.
2. The story isn't there — you don't know what comes next.
3. The story doesn't work — the story is going nowhere.

I'm whole heartedly agree with him.  These are three biggies.

Sitting Down
The first just takes some discipline. Sit down, pick up your pen or turn on your computer and write.  It doesn't have to be great, but you don't get anywhere if you don't show up.

It helps it you make the experience something you look forward to. Maybe writing a coffee shop, in the park or out on your deck. I love writing my first drafts in a bathtub.

What Comes Next
This one is harder. You show up, pen in hand and try to write, but get stuck. What comes next? Stephen King once said that writer's block is  . . . not knowing your main character well enough.  (I'm paraphrasing by the way.)  If you know your main character, he says, you'll know what he'll do next.

So, if you're stuck, you might try some writing exercising that help you uncover more about your main character.  I.e. Put him or her in scenes that are unrelated to the story, or write about happened earlier in their life. Write a scene about the scariest moment in their life, or funniest, or most embarrassing. Or, you could just do an interview. Pretend you are in a room with them and start asking them questions.

At the very least, these exercises (for me anyway) get me thinking about new scenes and how to come at the story differently.

Story Doesn't Work
If you're story's not working it's hard to tell sometimes whether (a) there really isn't enough meat there for a story or (b) you need to dig in there and uncover more of the story.

I've had stories that fizzled after 30 pages. I had a great opening and first act, but that's all there was. There are a number of reasons, but usually (for me anyway) it's because the main character's goal wasn't enough to sustain an entire story.

For example, my character might need that PERFECT hair cut. They run into all kinds of obstacles in getting the hair cut, but there isn't meat there for  a full length novel or script. It's a better short story.

Or sometimes, 30 pages in, I discover, is really about someone else. It was never about the person getting their hair cut, but about the world behind the beauty parlor.

Eric's ideas
I could go on and on about the stalling stalling story, and finding ways to restart it. In short, you need to objectively look at your stories to find the issues. And if that doesn't work you can hit up your writer friends to help you noodle your way though.

Or, you can read Eric's newsletters coming up that will be addressing issues 2 and 3.  I know I'm going to be reading them to see if they help shed new light!

Di