Young Writers Society

I am writing a story but I have writer's block. I made it to the 4th chapter and now I can't seem to find any words to put in it. I have no plot and I really don't even know what this story is or the conflict or anything but my 2 main characters and one is a criminal and the other is an orphan. I am trying to keep the criminal's identity a secret and the criminal's greatest secret a secret. (if that makes any sense at all) I am altering POV's of charaters by the chapter. I have tried moving on and trying to look ahead in the story but I don't know what to do. My supporters always say my writing needs more adventure because it always seems so "boring" That is one of my goals to give it. I need help overcoming my writer's block and my 'I don't know what to do with my story' block. Please help it will be greatly appreciated

Reread the story and try to find where you wrote yourself into a corner.

Usually, when I'm completely stuck on a story, it's because I made a bad plot choice earlier on. So I find the point in the story I started going wrong, and the choice that led me to where I am starts. Sometimes, this is ten thousand words behind where I currently am. I cut everything back to figure out what other possibilities are, and what to do with the story from that point, instead of where I currently am.

For not-plotters this is actually a really common place to abandon a project, which is why it's so crucial for you to work through this. It's when you've gotten over the amazing introductions of the characters that got you excited in the first place, but then you have no idea what to do with them.

It sounds to me like what you need is a catalyst. Catalysts kick start things. They wait until everything is going smoothly and then they come along and tip it all upside down, and they come in many forms.

Tragedy
Every end is a beginning. The loss of something or someone your characters love can start a quest for revenge, for resolution, a journey of healing or inner piece. Or it could drive one of them completely crazy and that could spark anything off.

Persecution
Everybody has a fight or flight response, and it's up to you what your characters do when they've got their back against the wall. Having your characters hunted, thrown in prison or emotionally tortured will drive them into a plot like a soda bottle drives ants out their nest.

Carrot on a stick
Everybody has a price they'd bend for and a prize they'd do anything to get their hands on, it's just about finding something for your characters and watch them go googoo eyed. It could be a long lost family, the cure to an illness, a dragons scale worth more than a kings treasure. A romantic interest would also fit into this category.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I hope it helps some!
~Ten

To expand on both of the above:

I have the same issue that Rosey does, usually! You need to figure out where you wrote yourself into a corner, and, if it was a bad plot choice, figure out what you have to do to fix it. Oftentimes, this means a lot of revision early on, which is a pain in the butt and sounds pretty daunting. However, sometimes I find that a little editing and revision is exactly what I need to give myself a motivational boost to keep working on the project.

If you can't fix it, or if revision really is just too daunting a task at this point, then I'd go with what Tenyo suggested (using what Tenyo suggested to fix the part that backed you into a corner is also a valuable method ).

Other things that could work for a twist are:

Introduction of a New Character
A villain, a friend, a neutral party. You'd need to set up your circumstance, figure out where this character is coming from and, essentially, what role they'll play from there on in, and toss 'em in! And dude, introducing a new character can lead you to a whole world of fresh possibilities. This character might know a valuable piece of information, or be able to lead them off on a whirlwind adventure.

Maybe they're a giant roadblock. A kidnapper? A snitch who rats them out to the authorities?

Basically, beating writer's block is about:
a) Figuring out where/if you wrote yourself into the mess you're in and fixing it,
b) setting up a circumstance that will keep the story moving and,
c) the self-discipline to just keep writing.

Another thing that seems to work for some people is totally skipping the transition. Figure out a scene that could happen shortly after what you have and write it. Reread what you have so far, and figure out how to connect the two points.