When you get stuck
as to what a character should do next it can be hard to come up with
alternatives because you immediately say, he wouldn’t do that, or that wouldn’t
work because her husband would object, etc.
Instead, zoom out: step back and consider the situation in more general terms. Instead of thinking, what should Helen do when she’s just found out that Jeff has been fired but hasn’t told her yet, state it more theoretically:
What might a woman do when she finds out that her husband was fired but he hasn’t told her about it?
Make a list of every response you can think of, even the ones you know are totally wrong for your story. Don’t censor or judge, just generate as many as possible. Giving your imagination free rein often is enough to get rid of the frustrating feeling that comes with being stuck.
Put the list aside for a day or two, then come back to it. Now, knowing what you do about your character, go through and see which ones might fit. You may find that some new options come up as you do this--and that you're no longer stuck.
(For more help working out your plot and making sure your characters are three-dimensional, see my book, "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)
