Please help!

Ok, I’m having a serious writing block and I have a bit of a deadline for this book, so, here’s my problem!

My book is about a girl who’s grandma dies and the grandma comes back in spirit form ( the books name is Spirits) as a dolphin but before she has to go permanently to the after world she leaves the main girl, [name_f]Brynn[/name_f], with prophecy/ riddles. Lead up in the story is about [name_f]Brynn[/name_f] realizing a lot of her grandfathers have went missing, and she finds her grandpa who was married to [name_f]Brynn[/name_f]’s Grandma who died. Anyway now I’m to the part in the book where I need to explain where all the Grandpa’s went, and I had a loose idea but now I’m realizing it’s trash. :slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face::slightly_frowning_face:
Please suggest ANY ideas! Sorry if this doesn’t make sense, I’m kind of rushing. Ask any questions you’d like!

TIA!

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It’s alright! It makes plenty of sense! You got this.
Here’s some stuff that may help:

  1. Think about your plot. What would make the most interesting setting for her to learn this? It’s like, if you were having a couple break up, would it be more interesting if it was in a living room, or in the middle of a restaurant? The restaurant, right? So maybe figure out where she learns it could add more tension and drama, per se. It would be a lot more interesting if it was in the middle of a fight scene, or you get the point.

  2. Talk to someone you trust about it, or someone who already knows a lot about your project. I was stuck, not knowing what needed to happen next a while back, and I was talking to my sister, and she said, “What happened to Character X?” And that made me realize that I needed to talk about her next. Sometimes, you just need a fresh perspective.

  3. How is she currently figuring it out? Is someone telling her? Is it a clue? Information is almost always better when the character earns it. Like if you were writing a book about spies, it would be boring if everything was just handed to the protag. They’re spies! They have to work for their information! If a character is telling her, maybe that character is her enemy. Maybe she has to get on better terms with the enemy, or she has to do something for them.

  4. If you’re showing up to write, you’re sitting in the chair, and you’re just STUCK!–then talk to someone. Go for a walk, take a shower, listen to some music. Maybe write longhand, color in a coloring book, or do a craft. Watch a movie, read a book. [name_m]Just[/name_m] change it up, take a short break.

  5. This is kind of not-advice, because what I would do would be to just literally write the trashy idea. Write it down, put it aside, then edit it. Because think about it: you can’t edit a blank page. So maybe try to just get something down. [name_m]Even[/name_m] if it sucks, because from that, perhaps, you can get an awesome new idea.

You’ve got this! I bet whatever happens, it’s going to be great! I hope this was what you were wanting, and I hope you get out of your writing block! :smile:

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@Ellory made some great suggestions.

I would suggest thinking about what do these grandfathers going to bring to the story- mystery, love, wisdom, etc. and take a look at what might suit each one in connection with what your character is learning from them.

Or how does [name_f]Brynn[/name_f] feel about these characters? Like Ellory mentioned- are they making her work for answers? Does she know who they are at the time or is [name_f]Brynn[/name_f] discovering them alongside the reader? Is she excited to meet them, nervous, intrigued?

Some random suggestions: could they come from books? could they come in forms of water? could they show up like ghosts or in other people?

I think you have your idea and sometimes just answering background questions helps to unlock ideas you haven’t thought of it.

Best of luck and enjoy your process!

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You guys are the best!!! After a day of editing and brainstorming I think I’ve came up with something! Here it is:
The grandfathers have came up with a portal to the afterworld where they can be messengers for people who have lost their loved ones! And the grandfathers can see their own loved ones that they’ve lost. But the same way as humans, they die after a while. But the grandfather that [name_f]Brynn[/name_f] had found, had fallen in love with a woman that he was being a messenger for, and he ruined the portal so that no one else would be able to go through it. That sounds like a bad thing, but he actually did it because every male in this family he was in was forced to be a messenger.

Does that make ANY sense? Tell me your thoughts!

TIA

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That’s AMAZING AND I LOVE THAT!!! Not to mention, I ADORE the name [name_f]Brynn[/name_f]. Not to mention, my MC’s younger sister’s name was [name_f]Brynn[/name_f] in a story I gave up on.

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Is it sad that’s sometimes my only sense of remorse quitting a project? Because I liked the characters’ names?

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Hahaha no worries, me too

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