How to Solve a Problem: AHA Moments

I hate it when I get stuck.

Book stuck... not like in the mud or snow stuck, or in a dead-end job stuck... but I'd hate any of those too.

Anywho, I've been trying to edit one of my novels for the past, uh, ever... (meaning I have no clue how long) and I've been royally stuck in chapter 4.

I've edited the book as a whole many times, but given some feedback I received on the edited version, I rolled up my sleeves and decided to make a few critical changes.

I rewrote much of chapter 1, then read it, and said, "This is pretty good!"

I edited chapter 2 and 3, not a rewrite, but some good tweaking, then read it, and said, "Not too shabby."

But then I got to chapter four. I edited. I rewrote. I deleted. I ate chocolate. I edited again. I deleted again. I banged my head against the keyboard causing something like oierytliehfldfhglosehrtgloaqhet to appear.

I stayed that way for oh... two months? Maybe more? Granted, given my current personal issues going on with my daughter (for those that don't know, she's in the hospital waiting for a heart transplant) I'm working much slower these days. But... two months trying to figure out one chapter... NOT FUN.

So the other day, I cracked my knuckles and decided that I HAD to figure out something to get through the wall.

I've heard many times that when you are in writer's block, kill someone. In your book, not in real life, just so we all are on the same page.

Well, no one could really die in my scene. But the basis behind this advice is to raise the stakes. Make things worse.

This is done best when it isn't a contrived moment. It isn't something that you just dream up out of the blue, but many times it starts out that way. It is something that is at odds with the current issue. Something that directly relates.

For me, my aha moment involved rain.

In a previous version, my chapter 3 ended with my heroine taking a walk instead of sucking up her pride and asking for a ride, even though she was in an unfamiliar town and wasn't really sure how to get to her destination.

Chapter 4 in a previous version had hero almost running over heroine in his car at night after heroine got a little lost.

My problems where the following:

• The town she was in, while new, is very small. It's hard to get THAT lost.
• Even if it were at night... I could see him not seeing her, but her crossing the road when a car is coming straight on? She's not THAT stupid.
• It was too coincidental. Not believable. Given their conflict in the previous chapter, that he just "happened" to almost run her over... we can ask readers to suspend a little reality, but it tipped the scales a little.
• It wasn't organic. It was... weird. I like weird in my books, but I think I stepped over a line here.

But... I still liked the preface. That she went for a walk and he finds her later and is like, "Why didn't you ask me for a ride, you beautiful Moron you?" It works well in the story and originally was pretty funny.

But just seeing her walking down the road is, well, boring.

What's a writer to do? I couldn't have her almost run over.

So, what's something believable that could happen that could be funny that I could use to torture my heroine and let me hero be, well, a hero.

Then the other day, it hit me.

Here is my last line of chapter 3 in heroine's POV:

She could do it. It was probably only a mile or so.

And here is my new first line of chapter 4 in hero's POV:

Stupid rain. Rueben flicked his wipers to a higher speed. Just a half hour ago it had been sunny and bright before the dark clouds marched in as if they owned the town.

Yep... I didn't kill anyone. But I did bring in the rain.

Discussion: Have you had any "aha" moments in your WIP? And if bringing in the rain is still a stupid idea, I'm open to suggestions!