post by Michelle Griep
Once you've figured out your plot, what's the next step? Like what do you do when you sit down, open a Word file, and the white page is taunting you, the curser flashing like a flipping neon laser beam, burning out the heart and soul of your creativity. All you're left with is a puff of smoke. Yeah. What do you do when that happens?

Write dialogue, of course. Rip the duct tape off your characters' mouths and let them talk. Will you use all that conversation? Maybe not. Maybe you will. It's as certain as the zombie apocalypse. Hey, you don't know, not really.

Anyway, the point here is that the act of unleashing your characters to engage in conversation gets words down on the paper, and that drop-kicks your mind into Storyville, and voila. End of blank page jitters.

I'm not completely dissing setting and description, mind you, but dialogue is one of the best ways to connect with your reader. Who doesn't like to be an eavesdropper?

So next time you're stuck, listen to the voices in your head. Just don't tell anyone you actually hear voices.