Make Questions! Always! About Everything!

I've seen a lot of writers finding themselves stuck in their own story: they don't know how a character should act in a key situation, they don't know if their description of the scene is adequate, they are unsure if their change of scene works, they wonder if their character's dialogue is following their personality, etc. There are many ways to get stuck, specially if they have been working in the manuscript for a long time.

When this happens, I like to recommend writers to start asking questions. When the writer starts questioning the character's actions or a specific writing decision, they can get into a train of thought which can be useful to get unstuck.

For example, let's say a writer isn't sure of how Character A would answer to a threat in this scenario: Character A is at a bar, just drinking a beer in a seat far away from the main crowd, but 3 people come to their table and threaten Character A with a fight unless Character A leaves their table. Character A is staying in the table no matter what, but how would the threat sound? what would they say?

So now let's start with the questions from the very basics:

• Would Character A be intimidated by 3 people who want a fight? (this would indicate the reader how mature and strong Character A is)

• Would Character A be okay with attracting attention? (this would give more details about the situation they're in. Which leads to the question if Character A is able to drive the people away in a discreet way)

• Even if Character A could take all 3 people, do they want to? (this would give the reader details about Character A's personality. Are they a pacifist or someone who doesn't mind fighting?)

• In what kind of mood is Character A in this scenario? (Their mood can define the tone of their answer. Maybe they are paranoid or don't have the time/patience to think of a snarky comeback)

• Is Character A the kind of person who would tease people or would they intimidate them in a serious way? (How would they intimidate people? With their words, silence or an object? Why? These additional questions give you more to think about Character A)

And the questions could keep coming forever! But you get the idea. Make every question possible! Question the answers you come up with and review the answers with previous information from your story.

These may seem nitpicky questions, but here's the thing: the writer controls the questions and the answers! There's no right or wrong since everything is in the writer's hands. They can leave as many questions as they want unanswered, and even if they don't present the answers to these questions in the manuscript, they still have them on hand to use as reference.

These questions allow the writer to realize there's a reason behind every writing decision, they only need to find it and keep it in mind. The more questions the writer asks themselves, the more they get to know their characters, their world and their own writing style!