Tied in Knots

I have not been plagued by writer’s block. I generally skipped over the myriad blogs, papers, podcasts, and articles about it feeling vaguely superior.

Then I ran into a wall with my current novel, Fatal Cure. The plot is complex. I’m a hybrid writer … I do outline, but only broadly. Within the broad limits of the outline, I’m a pantser, letting the character and situation drive the story.

Nothing seemed to come together. “Write, just write something” didn’t work; the something I wrote was clunky and uninspired. Frustrated, I tried more outline detail: spreadsheet detailing what who was doing to whom and when, calendar of events, and so on. Nada. Rien. Zip.

Finally, just to do some writing calisthenics, I picked a character and a situation in the novel and forgot the outline … And, of a sudden, the writing flowed again, and the outline seemed to make sense.

Feels like the time I almost capsized a canoe … frantic countermoves to try to offset the oscillations. No forward progress. But when I stopped trying to control the situation, the canoe settled down … and then I could make forward progress.

What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Hey there! How’s it going?

The incoming e-mail waved at me.

It continued: If you’re a fiction writer, chances are that you’ve had to fight off a powerful case of plotilitis. Also known as writer’s block, this chronic condition has symptoms that include loss of hair, crippling headaches, and severe concentration problems.

Uhh, yes. I’m stuck right now somewhere between Joe Mayfield at a biotech incubator in Florida and Weezy chasing an hacker in Bethesda, Maryland.

The e-mail continues: And, luckily, we have the solution for you.

I’m all ears 👂👂

Meet our brand-new Plot Generator, which has more than 1 million* story combinations to inspire you. Simply choose from our fantasy, mystery, romance, sci-fi, and drama genres. You’ll get characters, a theme, a setting, and even a plot twist… with just one click of the finger! 

Characters without depth in places the author has no familiarity with, themes considered only superficially. What could go possibly go wrong?