WRITING TIPS: WHO IS THE HOSTAGE

I assume, as a writer, you have an imagination. If something isn’t happening, there’s always the old throwback–lock yourself away and write.

But becoming a hostage to your story is tricky. It can backfire. You can stare blankly or write something not worth writing. So, flip the script: DON’T LOCK YOURSELF IN A ROOM WITH YOUR STORY, RESCUE YOUR STORY.

Imagine your story trapped, it can’t go anywhere. Plan how you will rescue it. What steps do you need to take to complete it. Map it out. Look at all the ways it could go wrong . . . are you jumping to a conclusion, leaving out some step that could backfire.

Plan your attack. Can you go in guns ablazin’? Or should you sneak in the back, using smoke grenades . . .

If you think of what you are working on as a multi-dimensional object, not a linear, flat story, but as something you can walk around and approach from other angles. Think of what you story needs, write it out and maneuver your pieces for the rescue mission and then . . . carry it out.