Pebblepup's Writing Den

So you are stuck. The words aren’t coming. You have no idea how to get your character off their butt and out doing something. Rather than sit and stew about it, think of ways around it. I find that when I am doing my usual morning routine, quite often, my writing process stalls. So I mix up my routine. You can do that too. It does work.
This is true for your characters as well, all you have to do, is to throw your characters’ routines into disarray. This can create conflict and chaotic action. This is a good way to do that.

Think about what your characters’ routines are. Then figure out how to disrupt that routine. Whenever something upsetsour routines or changes them, we become stressed. Stress is conflict.

Adding conflict moves your story along. Throwing routine out of whack can increase the tension in the story. Your characters will suffer, which is why they act to resolve the conflict after all. This need to resolve the conflict is what drives the story. So whatever you can do to keep your characters from solving their problems too soon is what you need to do. Throwing out routines can help you do that. Place obstacles in the path of the way to normal.

My routine is, once I get up. I take my vitamins, visit the bathroom, then head downstairs to feed the cat. I start my coffee brewing and go down to the basement to clean the litter box. That done, I use a hand sanitizer, come back up stairs and pour a half cup of coffee, once the coffee finishes brewing. I drink that half cup, then do my yoga and meditation practice. Then I go shower and dress.

So, that’s my routine. My mornings are quite bland. Well, they are bland until the day when I have an early appointment so I do yoga before I have any coffee at all. That shakes up my routine, and often sparks creativity. Chaos can be helpful. So shake up your character’s routine.

A shaken routine can shift a character’s whole day. That’s what causes the conflict that will drive your story forward. All your characters want is to get back to their usual routine. It’s your job as the author to prevent that.
So get going. Go ahead and push your characters off balance and force them to do things out of order. Make them forgo their usual activities and do something else. This is the only way the story will move forward. Take their world and tip it over.

The results can be quite satisfying. Your characters should scurry around as they try to get back to “normal.” So put as many of your characters at odd with their own lives as you can. Your story will be the better for it.