Writer’s Block

I created a chapter-by-chapter outline for another book; however, I’m stuck.

What happened is the same thing that always happens: My characters take on lives of their own and make decisions in the moment that deviates so far from outline that it will bypass key events.

So I’ve been stuck for a couple of weeks trying to create new scenarios that bring them back on track while going with the flow and feeling natural and not forced. I’ve concocted many so far, but they all require the characters to make choices that could seem bizarre, even stupid.

There are too many times in movies when I see a character make such a dumb choice that seems forced to continue the plot, e.g., if the nervous person doesn’t walk toward the creepy sound in the darkness then you can’t have a bloody murder scene.

While I could do something like that, I try not to force them to make such a stupid choice that the reader is wondering how they’ve lived so long without dying from what must be a lifetime of stupid decisions.

So I keep trying to create natural changes that will bring them back to the story. Otherwise, they’ll continue down a path that deviates too much that they’ll never reach the destination.

It’s kind of like herding a large group of people, these characters take on minds of their own and do things I do not expect.