Writing problem? Zoom In or Zoom Out

If you find yourself stuck when you’re trying to come up with a big idea (for example, to work out the broad strokes of a plot or screenplay), ZOOM IN. That is, forget the big picture for a moment and brainstorm a bunch of details, such as information about your protagonist’s background, or where they live, or how they spend a typical day.

 If you find yourself stuck when you’re trying to come up with a small idea (such as the details of a setting, or what one of your main characters would say upon hearing a bit of news), ZOOM OUT. That is, go back to the big factors: what’s your theme? What’s the main thing this character wants out of life?

 When you’ve spent some time on the bigger or smaller picture, return to what was thwarting you and you may well find that the change of perspective gives you new ideas for solving the problem.

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