Without a deadline, it is easy to get caught up in the other 'important' events of one's life and simply avoid your novel because thinking about where you left it last is difficult. I have done this quite a few times in the past, taking such extreme measures as getting extra jobs (so I can work from dawn till dusk and have a legitimate excuse for not writing) or, on in a bad week, watch a whole television series (Babylon 5 is my newest discovery in this regard). The problem is, I have a very personal relationship with my characters and if I do this for too long, I find myself becoming depressed.
Solution?
Set aside time to appologize to my characters for ignoring them and, once forgiven, stop trying to tell them what to do and actually listen. Sounds weird I know, but I suppose it is each to their own in the eccentric world of authorship. The truth of the matter is I really love interviewing my characters. I know that the story is working when it is their voices and actions turning up on the page and I am just the hands at the keyboard so to speak.
Here is an example of an interview with my lead human character, a young woman named Tasya:
How do you really feel about Kam?
Tasya rolls her eyes. "It bugs me that everyone keeps asking me that. For starters, he is NOT my cousin. He was adopted by the woman pretending to be my aunt. Even if she really was my aunt, we still wouldn't be related..."
But that's not what I asked. Do you love him?
"No?" She folds her arms and looks away. "Definitely not. I mean maybe I used to like him when he was younger, before he went away. Back then he was sweet, and used to walk around with his head stuck in a book. He could talk about geography and history with the same passion that Mel and I used to fight about necklines on the princess' gowns. Now? His eyes are empty. He has shut down his personality and does everything my 'aunt' tells him to."
And you didn't feel anything when he kissed you?
Tasya blushes a deep crimson. "I... I didn't expect that to happen. Well, I mean of course I could see it coming, but everything happened so quickly. My heart was pounding and all I remember thinking was telling myself not to screw this up - oh and telling Tynan, my twin brother, to stay out of my head."
She takes a deep breath and then sits down on the edge of the couch, her head in her hands. "Why does my heart still race when I think about it? I shouldn't want him to do it again. He belongs to the princess... I don't know that I even like him... but my head is swimming and a part of me wants to be back on the balcony, staring up at his beautiful face and just knowing that he wants to be with me instead."
She sighs and looks up. "Sometimes I think the goddess is testing me."
Are you passing?
"It depends," she says carefully. "If we are judged by our thoughts, then I am surely damned, but if it is actions that count in Maat's eyes, then perhaps I still have a chance."
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Knowing what characters are thinking in the scenes preceding a 'blocked' area can do a lot for inspiration, and of course it doesn't hurt to develop your rapport with them. I have found some of these conversations incredibly educational in the past, and not just for story development.
Best of luck with whatever you are working on,
B.
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