Wednesday, June 26, 2013

What do you do when you're stuck on a stalled manuscript?

Right now I'm working on a young adult fantasy called, Academia of the Beast. I started this back in 2010 when I took a creative writing course at the local community college. First, the words were flying across the page. It was thrilling. It was exciting. 

Then...I was stuck. 

Where to go? I took a long walk and listened to the Braveheart soundtrack. Listening to those Scottish bagpipes did something to me. I was filled with an incredible idea. 

Do you want to know what I did? 

I added a character! 

He's Scottish. He's hot. He's smart and has a very cool secret. 

Still, that's not enough. Simply adding a character will not always add the depth you're looking for. Guess what does. Well, at least this helped me out. I decided to write from his POV (Point of View) as well! 

Voila! 

A new angle on my story and an extra 20,000 words! Sweet! I know that most blogs and books recommend that you kill a character when you're stuck on a manuscript. 

Sure! Why not? It does work. But for me, adding a character works just as well. 

Hmmm...now that I think of it...I might need to kill a couple of characters as well. Just to shake things up. ;)
Good luck!

Prepare to have your mind blown by the awesome story of Ava in, Academia of the Beast! Coming soon!


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