Your Fiction Novel and a Road Block

If you are stuck in the middle of writing your novel and you aren't sure where to take the story or how to end the chapter you're on or maybe even how to end the story, you can try a few of these ideas and see what happens.

The airport is one of the best places to people watch. I often try an exercise while I am waiting at the airport. I will take pictures of people as I walk to my gate (I use my Treo Palm cell phone camera) and then look at them as I wait for my plane. I evaluate what type of character they might be, like how they would react at a funeral or if they were handed flowers by a stranger for no reason. This exercise always helps me look at my own characters that I have created. I remember a character in one of my stories looking a certain way and without realizing it; I photographed a woman in an airport who matched the description I had in my head of that character. I still have that photo of that woman and it really helped me imagine her better, especially in certain situations.

Now I know you can't just go into the airport like we used to be able to but if you're in an airport with an hour wait or so, try this exercise but if you're stuck in your novel and want to try it now, try your local shopping mall.

Let's say you are writing a story about a police officer. Try getting in touch with a police officer and ask them to tell you the most fascinating stories he has seen or heard on the job during his career. This could help put a spin on your story no matter the type of situation. If your story is about a pilot, visit your local airport that has a flight instructor. If your story is about a corrupt mayor in a small town, call your local mayor, tell them you're a writer and you're doing research and you'd like to speak with them. You get the idea. Real stories have been turned into fantastic, sensationalized stories since the beginning of time. Talking to people that are close to your characters professions is a great way to start unblocking those thoughts.

When you are stuck and it looks like there is no way out, try watching a movie that is close to the genre you are writing in. This always gives me new ideas and I am always able to find a movie at my local video store. The same goes for books too. I once was writing a novel about a doctor who was traveling to a distant land and I found a book called "The Physician" that was set in the 11^th century. My novel was similar but way different as it was set in modern times. After reading the book I had a few ideas that while they are similar, no one would ever know that I was inspired by a book with the same type of content.

If you are having a problem with the character and how they will move the story forward, try this scenario. I have always loved stories with characters that get into situations and the situation goes badly for them. For example, a character is a stowaway on a cargo plane and the engines fail. The only other people on board the cargo plane are a pilot and a co-pilot. The stowaway wakes up from a deep sleep to find the two pilots putting on parachutes and they jump out of the plane. The stowaway searches the plane frantically and eventually finds a parachute. Relieved, he quickly puts on the parachute and jumps out of the plane only to find the rip cord doesn't work. Now see, isn't that interesting? The character may fall until he grabs one of the pilots and hold on to his leg until they land safely on the ground but that kind of suspense and excitement and how things don't work all the time is what builds character. Kind of like the bank robber who runs out of the bank runs toward his car and the police shoot out the tires. He then runs a few blocks and finds another car with the keys in it. He jumps in and starts the car only to find that the car is a manual stick shift. The bank robber doesn't know how to drive a stick shift. Problems build character.

So if you have writers block, try an airport or a shopping mall, talking to a professional in your characters line of work, watching a movie or reading a book of the same genre you're writing in or give your characters or your story a problem to overcome. These have always worked for me.