Whenever I get stuck writing a story, it's always the same problem. I forced my characters to do something they wouldn't do. Sometimes I get stuck immediately, but sometimes they let me move forward for a little while before slamming on the brakes. This is what happened to me recently.
It's mostly my fault this time because even as I was writing this scene, I knew in the back of my head that it wasn't something my hero would do. But I had this vision in my head and the scene worked, so I ignored the little voice and continued onward. This was in chapter 3. I was able to write 25% of the book before coming to a screeching halt.
No matter how many times this happens, my first reaction is always to think the problem is the scene I'm working on. I'll pull out my notebook, brainstorm, and try to keep writing. Every time.
This instance was no different and I lived in this state of denial for weeks. Far too many weeks before the light bulb over my head lit up and I said, maybe I wrote something my characters wouldn't do and that's what this is about. But chapter 3 was far enough back that I didn't remember Finn balking as I wrote it, so it wasn't as if I could just go right to that chapter. No, I had to work for it.
The plus side is because it was early in the book, I didn't have to read too far to figure it out. Still, it's frustrating that 1) my characters never do what I want them to do, only what they want to do. And 2) that I don't immediately figure out why I'm stuck. You'd think I'd learn.
