A Writer's Woes

The Proverbial Impasse

I am at an impasse right now. The year is 1793. My characters are on a ship to the new United States. Head’s are rolling in France (literally) and the political culture is charged. I’ve done what I wanted to do onboard the sailing ship: the emotional scenes are done, the framework carefully laid. But now what to do? I need to get my characters off the ship, onto land, and traveling West into the interior of the new world. But what to do in the meantime?

My readers need a break from the emotional turmoil they just suffered. Yet I don’t quite know what to give them. I have found a romantic interest for a secondary character which was bothering me for quite some time, but that doesn’t come until a bit later in the story either. So I have to get everyone off the ship, but I can’t very well just say, “The last three weeks of the journey were not noteworthy. Land appeared and all was good.” I have to think of something to pull the story farther along, the reader too. Something to tie up loose-ends and give them more romance to look forward too.

I’m not one who usually suffers from writer’s block. I have the story’s framework in my mind at all times. I don’t have a nugget to mine here though. I will have to search for one. If all else fails, I just start writing and see what comes on its own. I’m 62,000+ words into the story and going strong. Here’s to finishing!

posted by chrmisha @ 1:56 PM