Can we talk about the week my main character got stuck in a time loop?

I was trying to write a story about a detective in Chicago, but for three days straight, I kept writing the same opening scene where he spills coffee on a case file. It felt like my own creative loop. I finally broke it by making the coffee spill the actual clue. Has anyone else had a plot problem that became the whole point of the story?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles721mo ago

Notice how life's biggest problems often hide the solution right inside them.

adams.linda1mo ago

Lmao that's the universe basically writing your story for you. My worst plot hole turned into a whole subplot about a missing cat that knew where the body was buried. Sometimes you just gotta lean into the chaos.

ray_miller411mo ago

Yeah, that "lean into the chaos" thing is spot on, @adams.linda. I just make a note of the plot hole and see if I can connect it to something weird later. It usually works out better than forcing it.