Wednesday's Writers Block Exercise - Week 23

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.

In romance the hero can't really be alone by himself because the love interest has to grow and build through the story. But the story I'm writing now, I've isolated my hero and heroine in an underground bunker, separated from everyone and completely off the grid.

I plan for my hero to go a little crazy because all he knows is technology. And now he's got nothing to work with.

This is a great opportunity for me to put myself in someone else's shoes. As the writer, I'm able to control my emotions because I'm the architect of the story. However, what would I do if I was in the bunker, unable to call for help? I wouldn't be calm, that's for sure.

It can be fun and exciting plopping your hero or heroine into a situation either on their own or out of their comfort zone. I look forward seeing how my own hero gets out of this situation.

#23 Lose the Cavalry

Take away the allies and support. Leave your hero to fend for himself.

>List three ways a person could get help in this situation, then list ways to prevent it.

> Maybe your hero is the cavalry. How could she fail to come to the aid of an ally? What are the consequences?

> Go ahead and send the cavalry - but at a cost. Perhaps the recuers are worse than the original enemies.





If your hero can easily call for help, the stakes won't be very high. So take away her lifeline. No parents, no mentors, no 911.

Or set up the expectation that help is on the way, but then prevent it. Perhaps the reinforcements are stuck in a blizzard. The police show up at the wrong address. The replacement wedding dress is destroyed by ferrets. 

Force your hero to figure this out for herself.

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