Writer's Block Exercise - Week 19

Got Writer’s Block?

Yeah, it happens to the best of us.  Life gets in the way and your brain is taken in another direction and before you know it, it’s been days or weeks since you last looked at that book you’re trying to write.  You’ve forgotten little details.  What eye color did you give your hero?  What town was your heroine born in?  Perhaps you need to jumpstart your creative mojo, and that's what this series is designed for. Not to explain writer's block, but to help you move in a different direction.

Rewards and consequences were the basis of my heroine in my McKnight, Perth and Daire series. Charlotte is able to only see ghosts of people who were murdered, because she was once murdered. She was brought back, but now has a very unusual gift. Unfortunately, she’s also now terrified of water. Having once been a swimmer ready to try out for the Olympics, now she can’t even have a bathtub in her hotel room. 

This is a three book story arc. In the first she meets Detective Jonas Daire. In the second book, she reconnects with her old flame, Nash McKnight. And in the third book, they decide to start a menage relationship.

Jonas is the straight-man in this trio of absurdity. Charlotte has a lot of quriks that were fun to write, and I really liked how she uses her ability to navigate through a mish-mash of cases while falling in love with two men. I expect readers to laugh a lot.

#19 That Was Lucky

Let your hero succeed through pure dumb luck. Just make sure the pendulum swings both ways.

>Brainstorm three moments where events could go either way for your hero. What

would the rewards or consequences be?

> Does your hero have any rituals or superstitions? If so, how can they be revealed in the story?

> Does your hero enjoy taking chances? Look for ways to challenge both the gambler and the scaredy-cat.





There’s nothing wrong with your hero catching a lucky break.

In both fiction and life, sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time. It’s often the premise – the meet-cute, the lottery ticket, the ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation. But mid-story luck only works if there really was a chance it could have gone badly.

So if you’re flipping a coin, make sure it really has two sides, with real consequences. And let your villain get lucky too.

Happy Writing!


***John August designed these cards to help writers fix plot holes, spice up stock characters and

rethink your themes.  They, of course, do not guarantee you’ll get published or that you’ll become the next J.K. Rowling, and of course they are only a tool to help you think outside the box. I make no monetary gain with them nor do I expect anything in return.  I do not own the contents in these cards. If you're interested in them, here's the amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Writer-Emergency-Pack/dp/B00R6ZLIOY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502046610&sr=8-2&keywords=john+august