by Alice Anderson

Having trouble with your story? Stuck in the middle? Writer’s block slowing you down?

Have you tried a list of 20? Numerous authors have suggested this to me and I have to agree that it works. What you do is, list 20 things that could happen next. Or 20 possible scenes for the middle of your book. You’ll start off with some obvious o­nes. Some simple o­nes. Some silly o­nes. But ask yourself, what would make it harder for the characters (which I hate doing) and ask how you can further their goals and conflict? How can you show the romance blossoming? What sort of events are going o­n in their world? For instance: is there a local festival they could attend together? Is there a board meeting they should be at? Is there a stake out they could go o­n? If they’re o­n adventure, where could they get lost? What’s a scene that would up the sexual tension? What’s a scene that would show deeper emotions?

Just keep listing scenes and eventually, you’ll have a list with some good “outside the box” ideas that you can work with. So what if they final scene doesn’t match the original idea. The list of 20 is a starting off place that will have you thinking about your story and gets you out of your writers block.

www.alice-anderson.com

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