The Ultimate Block Buster

Writer’s block. It can make you doubt your best story, drive great material to the bottom of the “I’ll-get-back-to-it-later” pile, and send even the best writers out to permanent lunch. However, there is a way to get past it if you know the simple secret of asking good questions.

Motivational speaker, Anthony Robbins says that the way we evaluate something is by asking questions. This technique can work equally well with writing.

For example, say you come to a place in a piece where you say, “I don’t know what comes next.” This is a perfect time to pull out your questions. What could happen next? What type of situation flows naturally from my plot to this point and beyond? What situation or thread do I need to set up for later in the story, and what is the best way to do that?

If you’re having trouble with a character point, one solution is to sit down with a pen and pad and interview your character—literally. Ask the question, and then write down the answer that comes to you. The answers will always be there, and the best ones will often surprise you.

"'I don't know what comes next.'"

Start with the more obvious questions, and work down into the truly telling soul of the character. Some questions to start with: What is your main goal? What experiences in your life have influenced the setting or the obtaining of that goal? What steps are you taking to get to that goal? Why is it important to you? Deeper questions can include: How does this goal fit into the general scheme of your life? If you could tell me one secret about yourself, what would it be? Have you told anyone this secret? If so, who? If not, why have you kept it to yourself? If you could change anything in your life past, present, or future, what would it be and why? Who is the biggest influence on your life? What is your biggest regret in life? What is your biggest triumph? Lying in bed at night, what do you think about?

Name the one thing you most want in your life. What do you really think of yourself? Why? Who would you do anything to protect? Who would you like to get even with? What did that person do to harm you, and have you come to terms with that? If not, why? If so, how?

These questions can be plot driven, motivation driven, or inter-relational driven, but they should always be open-ended to allow the character to reveal more about him or herself. At some point in the interview you may sense the character withdrawing or protecting information. When that happens, rejoice and keep digging because you are about to not just break through a block, you are about to explode it. More than that you’re well on your way to a much deeper, more truly human piece than you may ever have thought possible.

© Staci Stallings