Sandra Swanberg

I really hate it when I get stuck in a story. I’ll be writing along just fine, forty pages, fifty pages, and then wham - - brick wall. I know the reason for this. I haven’t plotted enough of the story to keep going or dug deep enough to find the main characters motivation. The thing is, I used to be so good at plotting and making character charts and outlines. But the problem with this method was when I finished with all that preparation, so was the story and my inspiration to write it. So now I’m trying a combination of pantsing (writer’s speak for writing by the seat of your pants) and plotting. This actually is working pretty well because it allows me to at least chart a course without fizzling out but when I get stuck. The downside is I get stuck. I think what I’ll do is just move on to a different scene and then hopefully I can stitch it all together during the revision process. So I’m off to stare at a blank screen for a little and with any luck, hopefully some little black letters will appear if I stare long enough. Happy Tuesday everyone!