Running Through My Head

Yeah, I'm so cool I run in the rain.

So, if you're a writer like me (the ones who don't fully outline your stories except for in your mind), you run into snags or plotholes more often than the (probably smarter) outliners.  This just happened to me last night with Book 2 of Korin's Journal. It wasn't even the part I was working on.  It was something from the next chapter that I didn't feel was going to connect the way I was going to want it to in Book 3.  My productivity was killed for the night.

So, this morning, I went for my triweekly jog...is that the right word?  Anyway, running is my go-to to think things through with my book, and generally, when I do hit snags, I not only think my way through them, but discover ways to make the story even better with how I approach the solution.  In this case, what was to be a small scene in the next chapter will now be at least a couple times longer and will provide more emotional impact, allow another glimpse at the main villain of Book 2, and tie into exactly how I see Book 3's story flowing.  All plotted in about 3.13 miles.



The point is, for any writers out there, there is always something that can help clear your mind and push through issues like this or writer's block or just pure lack of motivation.  Maybe you already have yours.  What kinds of things help you push through these situations?

Brian Beam