HAVE YOU EVER ...

 

Can you believe it?

 

 

It's one of the biggest commercial successes of all time and garnered extremely positive reviews, but "Marvel's The Avengers" has at least one rather notable critic:

 

 its own writer-director.

 

Whedon's biggest criticism of his creation?

The structure, which he refers to as "haphazard" in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.

 

I am a hybrid.  Not a plotter or pantser -- but a blend of the two.

 

I have a three act structure in my head.  I know the beats I want to have in my tale.  I have an end that I am shooting for: my novel's horizon.

 

But some of the moments are vague and open to a twist that I think will make a better story.

 

I am currently writing HER BONES ARE IN THE BADLANDS.

 

 

I knew the mood I wanted to convey, and a great way to ratchet it up came to me. 

 

So I wrote it, and then went ...

 

"Merde, how do I get them out of this? 

 

Oh, that would be a great way. 

 

Ah, did they even have fire extinguishers in 1927? 

 

All right, I fixed it but now the situation is even worse! 

 

What do I do now?"

 

Not to worry.  The story is coming along just fine after a little Josh Whedon-ing!

 

Have you ever written yourself in a corner?

 

1.) Getting yourself out of the writing corner may mean a complete shift in the journey your story is on.

 

You may need to backtrack, back up and examine how you got in the corner in the first place.

 

2.) Are you rigid about your initial idea?

 

Does this idea have enough potential to be able to present you with open doors to creative development?

 

If not you may need to do a serious re-structuring or rewrite

to get the ideas flowing and the pathway open and clear to proceed.

 

3.) Go past if you can to another spot in your novel,

 

Writing the next episode may cause to think of a novel way to foreshadow what you're now writing in the corner you only think you stuck yourself in.

 

4.) Don't be afraid to ask.

 

Have an insoluble trap?  Ask trusted, clever friends what they would expect people in a movie to do if they ran into your obstacle. 

 

Their answers may surprise you and provide the inspiration to carve a window into the corner you've written yourself into.

 

5.) Ask yourself questions.

 

Like what you say.  "What might your hero do, given the kind of character he is?”

 

"What are all the items you might find in the setting of your impossible situation?  Have you overlooked the ways any of those items might be used in a novel way to escape?"

 

Have you written yourself into any corners?

 

What did you do to write yourself out of them?