Last week I talked how to blitz your way out of writer’s block. Most writer’s blocks, and problems with story have to do with motivation, lack of greatest fears and greatest dreams of the main character.

Breaking free from a writer’s block involves going back to those elements, and asking:
What could rock my hero/heroine’s world right now?

I showed you how, when I was writing Tying the Knot, I used this question with my heroine — a woman traumatized by her past, who learns to trust again. Now, let’s turn to the hero, and see what he can do to break us free.

My hero is a Native American who’s always been judged by his outward appearance, but inside he’s a total hero. When he meets Anne, he feels as if she loves him for who he is…and is dreaming of building a life with her. He was also a foster child, so family is very important to him, and he has a real heart for the inner city kids, a desire to minister to them.

So, although the plot action wasn’t real high, I could raise the tension by asking…What if the person my characters were falling in love with had opposite values? And what if only the reader saw the train wreck ahead? What if I made them fall further in love…yet privately deepened their motivations for their values? So, in the middle of the book, I have a scene where Noah takes her on a motorcycle ride that ends up with them overlooking the little town of Deep Haven. As Noah looks at the town, he can’t help think about how safe and secluded it is, and while it’s a nice getaway, he is called to the inner city. As Anne looks at the scene, she thinks how wonderful it is to live here, and she’s never leaving. But neither says this to each other, they just assume the other is thinking the same thing.

And we as the reader know that there is trouble ahead.

And then, from that place, I slowly start chipping away at these assumptions, until finally, I get to the big explosion…and the entrance of Anne’s darkest fears.

Think of your story in three threads – plot, emotions, spiritual. Each thread is going to overlap, building tension for each until it’s a giant knot. You’ll have scene of plot tension, another of emotional tension, another of spiritual tension, and the key is to weave these together.

Some questions I might ask myself to know where to go with each thread..
1. Why must my character start on the hero’s journey? What compels him? What are his goals/purpose, and why?
2. What are his deepest values, the things he would go to the mat for?
3. What is his/her greatest fear?
4. What is his/her greatest dream
5.
And the biggest – how I can threaten his goals/dreams or raise his fears in this chapter?

Asking yourself these questions should spark new ideas, and new ways to break free of the barrier holding you back from that NEXT GREAT CHAPTER! Happy Writing!

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