When the Story Fights Back

Hey all, taking a little break from editing to write about a little topic I think most writers have experienced.

 

What do you do when the story you’re writing fights back?

 

Fights back? Wilmar what does that even mean? Stories cannot fight!

 

Oh yes they can.

No they can’t.

Yes they can.

No they c–

Yes they can!

 

A story fights back when you, the author, wants something to happen and the plot says, “Nope, that doesn’t make any sense. You lose sir/madam!” Even if you pre-planned out your plot via outlines or The SnowFlake method, there comes a point where you veer off course. It’s not a bad thing, it’s just the natural way of the writing process.

 

You have to think of the author as a director. They call the shots, make sure everything makes sense, get the best performance out of the actors, make the final decision on the art direction, the writer is doing all these roles in the form of text. But once that plot continuity hits a snag, then the whole story could spiral into a confusing mess.

 

So I ran into an issue where I needed 3 events to happen. These were plot critical events that would show character development, introduce a new character, and set up the hook for later story elements. Well the story wasn’t having it. If I made one thing happen, then the continuity of the plot or the characters would run into a snag.

 

“Why did she do this instead of this?”

“Why didn’t the police help out if they were in the area?”

“Who is this random no name character that is spurring this event?”

 

I basically ran into a wall. I had dozens of ideas on how to attack the problem, but none of them made any logical sense. It would make everything more convoluted than it had to be. So what the heck was I going to do? Essentially, every solution that I came up with made the problem worse.

 

How the heck was I going to solve this? I discussed this with my girlfriend, and she said something that flipped the switch in my brain. I snapped my fingers and yelled, “THAT’S IT!” Which made her reel back, thinking I was going to accidentally hit her or something. I wish I could share the details but it would be too easy to spoil the plot. It’s quite an important scene and I wouldn’t want to ruin the experience for you readers.

 

The point is, if you get tangled to the point where the story fights back. Take a time out, call up your trusted friend, and discuss the story with them. Yes, it will obviously contain spoilers, so choose someone who is either very forgetful, or doesn’t mind spoilers. But only discuss THAT scene, don’t start talking about the rest of the story. Eventually that blockage will get cleared out and you can go back to your daily writing schedule.

 

Well that’s my blog post for this month. Next month and… wow, next year. We’re going to put all this writing into practice. The Silver Ninja 2 will be published and it’s gonna be one heck of a ride. Will let you guys know about some website upgrades and the new artwork that’s coming down the pipe!

 

In fact… the beta read has started!  Dun, Dun, du— cough, cough, gack!

Wilmar Luna

Wilmar Luna

Couldn't be a superhero in real life so he decided to write his own. When he's not creating empowered female characters he can be found watching films, reading books, and playing lots of video games. Buy his books here: https://www.thesilverninja.com/purchase/