Stuck on a character's motivation for three straight weeks

I was writing a short story set in a laundromat in Tucson, and my main character had to do something that felt real, but I couldn't figure out why she would bother folding strangers' socks. It took me 18 days of staring at the same three paragraphs before I realized she just liked the quiet routine after her shift. Has anyone else had a tiny detail like that hold up their whole piece way longer than it should?

2 comments

2 Comments

uma_taylor4710d ago

Actually it's not a tiny detail if it cracked the whole thing open for you lmao. That realization about her wanting the quiet routine is literally the character's emotional truth, not just a random sock-folding detail.

jasonf179d ago

I saw an interview with the actress who played her and she said the director specifically added that folding scene to SHOW us who this woman REALLY is, not just have her talk about it. That's what gets me about @uma_taylor47, you totally nailed it. People miss that stuff all the time because they're looking for big dramatic moments when the real story is in those small choices. Quiet routine IS her emotional truth, you said that perfect.