Writing Myself Into Corners
No matter what I'm writing, I always seem to find a way to write myself into a corner. Usually, I end up writing characters into some sort of situation that I totally think will work out - that I can make work - and then it completely backfires on me.
"Oh, this won't be a problem at all. She can definitely kill this dude in the shady alley and not be discovered. Wait a second, why did I write a cop into this scene? What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING?!"
Yeah. Those are the kind of thoughts that go through my head. I don't know why I trap myself. It seems like I instinctively write my characters into problems that I have no idea how to solve.
Right now, I'm writing a story where these two characters need to get to from Miami to Istanbul through alternative means of travel, so that the people who are out to get them... Well, don't get them. I knew planes were not an option. So I had this brilliant idea that they would sneak aboard a cruise ship to Bermuda.
Do you know how hard it is to sneak onto a cruise liner? It's damn near impossible. Passports are still needed. Documentation is still needed. So why did I do this to myself? Why do I keep backing myself into situations I didn't know how to get out of? I do it over and over until my spine is embedded into the brick walls of my own mind.
I wonder how many other writers find themselves trapped in a corner, clawing at the bricks. I don't know. But for as irritating as doing this to myself is, I can't help but be pleased when I do eventually figure out where to go next. When that sledgehammer knocks down the bricks, when a solution is found, I tend to really like the end result.
Trapping yourself into a corner isn't the end of the story. It doesn't mean you just quit. It just means you need to keep your creative sledgehammer right next to your pencil.
"Oh, this won't be a problem at all. She can definitely kill this dude in the shady alley and not be discovered. Wait a second, why did I write a cop into this scene? What am I doing? WHAT AM I DOING?!"
Yeah. Those are the kind of thoughts that go through my head. I don't know why I trap myself. It seems like I instinctively write my characters into problems that I have no idea how to solve.
Right now, I'm writing a story where these two characters need to get to from Miami to Istanbul through alternative means of travel, so that the people who are out to get them... Well, don't get them. I knew planes were not an option. So I had this brilliant idea that they would sneak aboard a cruise ship to Bermuda.
Do you know how hard it is to sneak onto a cruise liner? It's damn near impossible. Passports are still needed. Documentation is still needed. So why did I do this to myself? Why do I keep backing myself into situations I didn't know how to get out of? I do it over and over until my spine is embedded into the brick walls of my own mind.
I wonder how many other writers find themselves trapped in a corner, clawing at the bricks. I don't know. But for as irritating as doing this to myself is, I can't help but be pleased when I do eventually figure out where to go next. When that sledgehammer knocks down the bricks, when a solution is found, I tend to really like the end result.
Trapping yourself into a corner isn't the end of the story. It doesn't mean you just quit. It just means you need to keep your creative sledgehammer right next to your pencil.
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