Finally cracked that weird plot hole after 3 months of staring at it

I was stuck on a scene where my main character had to get out of a locked room without magic or tools. I spent about 12 weeks rewriting it, trying keys, hidden doors, even a dumb guard leaving it open. None of it felt right for the story. Then last Tuesday I realized she could just pick the lock with a bobby pin she found in her pocket. That simple fix took me way too long to see. Has anyone else spent months on one detail only to find a super obvious solution?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorlewis2mo ago

Watched a friend rewrite a whole chapter because they forgot their character owned a crowbar.

linda_wood2mo ago

Oh, has your friend tried using a notes app on their phone for stuff like that? I keep a running list of weird items my characters pick up, because I've definitely had to go back and add a crowbar scene myself. It's a pain, but if you tag the item in your notes with the chapter number, you can check it fast. The trick is to write "crowbar in trunk" right when you add it, not three chapters later when you're proofreading. Saves you from rewriting a whole fight scene.

terrywilson28d ago

Honestly, what worked for me was keeping a simple doc with a running list of every object my characters touch. I split it by chapter and just jot down the item and where it ends up. That crowbar in chapter 3? I note it right there, then when I'm writing chapter 12 and they need to pry open a door, I can flip back and see it's still in the trunk. Saved me from rewriting a whole garage escape scene once. The key is to do it the minute you write the detail, not later when you're in the zone.