Recently I had a conversation with Sarah Higbee (@sjhigbee) about planning. I\u2019ve made it clear before that I am an obsessive planner. I have to outline the plot, the subplots, the character arcs, the whole shebang before I even think to write. And while for those organized folks out there, this style would work, for someone like Sarah, who prefers to go into writing and see where it takes her, plotting out each step isn\u2019t on the to-do list.<\/p>\n
Of course everyone has their own style of writing and their own system of how to approach the daunting undertaking. No matter what your technique, at some point we all face a speed-bump. A moment where you say, \u201cUh-Oh, that wasn\u2019t supposed to happen.\u201d I\u2019ve found there are five extremely common events that prompt this saying, and I\u2019m going to show you the four fixes for your flub.<\/p>\n
Uh-Oh Moment: Out of Character<\/strong> Uh-Oh Moment: Unexpected Plot Twist<\/strong> Uh-Oh Moment: Dead End<\/strong> Uh-Oh Moment: Unexpected Romance<\/strong> Each problem has its own solution, but as a general rule of thumb, go with\u00a03 A’s: Assess it. Address it. Alter or Accept it.<\/em><\/p>\n When you come across an \u201cUh-Oh\u201d moment, don\u2019t fret. It happens to amateurs and professionals alike. No one is immune. First, take the time to understand what type of problem lies before you and how it needs to be approached. Acknowledge your writing is trying to tell you something and it doesn\u2019t necessarily have to be a negative comment. You can fix it if you so choose, but sometimes the unexpected shock is exactly what your writing needed.<\/p>\n What was your biggest \u201cUh-Oh\u201d moment and how did you resolve it?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Recently I had a conversation with Sarah Higbee (@sjhigbee) about planning. I\u2019ve made it clear before that I am an obsessive planner. I have to outline the plot, the subplots, the character arcs, the whole shebang before I even think to write. And while for those organized folks out there, this style would work, for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26,43,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-how-to","category-writers-block","category-writing-tips"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YHlB-1J","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions\/112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rachelhorwitz.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFix:<\/strong> If you\u2019ve noticed one of your characters is behaving in a way that is contrary to their fundamental personality, you have to weigh the situation. Is this behavior caused by a traumatic incident? Or is it plain wrong? If you feel the OOC is the effect of a benchmark in the story, keep it. If it just doesn\u2019t fit you must edit it out.<\/p>\n
\nFix:<\/strong> For us planners, this may be a striking surprise. When your writing takes over and steers the plot in another direction, it\u2019s not always a bad thing. I actually find this moment endearing. It\u2019s as if your novel is telling you what you had planned is OK, but this will be awesome.<\/p>\n
\nFix:<\/strong> Akin to Writer\u2019s Block, this affliction occurs when you accidentally pen your characters into a dead end. Either literally or figuratively. Readers enjoy sudden changes, so writing an escape route or a piano falling from nowhere to stir the pot is one way to get the train back on track.<\/p>\n
\nFix:<\/strong> Even if this subplot was known to you throughout writing, sometimes characters just grow together. Admit it, at some point, your little darlings take on a life of their own. And they may begin to choose someone you hadn\u2019t intended. That\u2019s ok. As Rafiki says, \u201cYou can either run from it, or learn from it.\u201d<\/p>\n