I use this character trait to break through writer's block by either setting myself a time limit to write a certain amount of words ("Write or Die" can help with this, but it's not for the faint-hearted) or I have a friend select a set of random words to include in something I write. During NaNoWriMo, I'll also use their "dares".
It's fun, it's challenging, and it forces my brain to think outside the box.
My first published short story, "Now That We've Found You" started as a dare from my then crit group to write a story using a list of astronomy words. My very young daughter was obessessed with dinosaurs, and the little girl in the story is loosely based on her. We were only supposed to choose ten of the 70 or so listed, but that wasn't good enough for me -- nope... I was determined to use ALL SEVENTY WORDS.
I almost did.
The end result has many of them edited out now, because my editor deleted the entire first scene, but it was the determination to use those words that got me writing. That story's first draft was completed in a matter of days.
My first published novel, "One Love for Liv" was a product of NaNoWriMo. I actually finished my 55,000 words early -- thanks in great part to dares. One of the characters in the story (who ended up being my favorite) was created completely from a dare -- have one of your characters trying to break a Guiness Book World record. Well... Frank ended up not trying to break one, but several, and I selected some of the strangest ones I could find. Liv's story ended up being pretty wacky in parts because of the dares, but they got me through and I think it actually made the story stronger.
What do you do to break through writer's block?
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