You're in the middle of writing a scene, but maybe you don't know what your character does next. Maybe the scene is completed, but it's very point-A-to-point-B. Maybe you know only as much about your story as what got published, rather than having a huge backlog of lore side-character motivations floating around in your mind. Sucks, doesn't it?

Let's fix that. shall we? Post a question in the comments that might help a fellow writer puzzle out their story. I'm tired of holding onto my list and having it benefit no one.

When you already have a scene in progress:

1. Who is your character?

2. What are they doing?

3. Why are they doing it?

4. If they couldn’t do this activity, what would they do that would yield similar results?

5. What are the different possible ways that this activity can go?

6. What would make your character do it uncharacteristically well?

7. Uncharacteristically poorly?

8. What would make them choose choices that aren’t usually considered normal for this character?

9. Who is around who can get in your character’s way?

10. Can get in your character’s way unwittingly?

11. How about deliberately?

12. Who is around who can help the character?

13. Can help consciously?

14. Can help unintentionally?

15. Take one key aspect out of the scene. What changes?

16. Add one key aspect from a previous scene or a planned scene. What changes?

17. What emotion does the character have?

18. With the same outside stimulus, what other emotions could the character have?

19. What biological, social, or emotional needs are being fulfilled by this scene?

20. What biological, social, or emotional needs are being frustrated in this scene?

21. What is learned about the world or characters in this scene?

22. What was learned in a previous scene that is being re-demonstrated here?

23. Add a deadline on whatever conflict your characters have in this scene. What happens?

24. Remove the time constraint. What happens?

25. Add a time constraint on the background characters around your main party. What happens?

26. What your characters spend time fantasizing about says something about their past and unfulfilled needs. What are those needs?

27. Are there any dangerous things in the environment that looks like nothing special?

28. One item the character commonly has goes missing or becomes unusable. What happens?

29. Something small and fortunate happens. How is this bad?

30. Something small and unlucky happens. How is this good?

31. This scene is a small part of a bigger theme, conflict, or bigger idea. What is the bigger picture?

32. The character gets a few less hours of sleep than normal. Does anything change?

33. The character is finally well rested. What happens?

34. What information does one character have that the others don’t?

35. What information do they all share?

36. Do they have inaccurate interpretations of this shared knowledge?

37. What needs to change for each character to view the info differently?

38. Do their lives have to be threatened in order for them to change their view?

39. How many scenes did you previously have at this location? Remove one element that existed in all those previous scenes that took place here. Has the location become fresh?

40. Your character doesn’t lead the scene, but becomes a peripheral character here. What changes?

41. Your character becomes completely uninvolved. What happens?

42. Let your characters talk, and nothing else. What happens?

43. Now no one is allowed to run through plans with each other, to argue, or communicate meaningfully. What happens?

44. This scene now takes place at a different time of day. What happens?

45. A smell or a spoken or imagined phrase reminds a character about something. How do their actions change?

46. Under normal circumstances, a character has a normal way of doing things. But this time, that comfortable pattern of behavior gets interrupted or disabled. How do they react?

47. Your character is usually only depicted as thinking (X) in this kind of situation. What different ideas can your character draw without altering the stimulus?

48. Your character does something out of character. How is this canon?

49. Your character does something that is completely normal for this character. How is this out of place?

50. Something about a completely safe activity causes the character to behave apprehensively.

51. Something about an infuriating activity gives the character some inner peace. Why?

52. The character is incapacitated in some way. What heroic thing is he still capable of doing?

53. Your character has no initiative. What gets done?

54. Your character has so much motivation. Why does nothing get done?

55. What is the character’s over-arching goal or desire for this scene?

56. What are the smaller details that sidetrack the character from thinking only about this scene’s main goal?

57. What about the character’s body shape or physical appearance help him in this scene?

58. What aspects about the character’s look hurt him?

59. What about those around him? Who else in this scene is inconvenienced by his appearance?

60. What's the scene's mood?

61. The mood of the scene affects the character. How does the character respond to being in this atmosphere?

62. Are any of the character's actions with other characters a response to the scene's atmosphere?

63. How about their immediate goals? Are they responses to the scene's atmosphere?

64. The characters can't use dialogue. How much of the atmosphere is shown?

65. Where is the character coming from?

66. Where are they going?

67. If this scene didn't exist and the character moved effortlessly from the last scene to a future one, how would events flow differently?

68. How does the character move?

69. What is the next scene?

70. If the next scene was reshuffled so that it took place 3 scenes later, how would the events flow?

71. How much of the mood could be told without mentioning daytime, lighting, props, sounds, wardrobe, or character movement. Only using dialogue?

72. What's the payoff in this scene?

73. What lead up to the payoff?

74. Let the reader feel smart for putting together the information about what the character plans to do based on how he's prepared. Then don't explicitly state what the character did.

75. The characters focus on a prop or an object in the environment. What happens?

76. The object is not used, but heavily talked about. What do the characters have to say?

77. The object activates on its own without the characters meaning it to. What happens?

78. The same object is used drastically in two different ways in this scene. What happens?

79. A character worked hard to uncover information and needs to relate the important parts to someone. What obstacles are in his way?

80. Now, someone else is unwilling to come forward with what they've discovered. What happens?

81. A character views clues in a way that the other characters don't and the character acts on this information differently. What makes his viewpoint different?

82. Two or more characters sharing the scene have non-parallel goals (not conflicting ones, though.) How do they move through the scene differently?

83. Your character is trying to achieve a major story goal. Does he know how to?

84. Does he know what step comes next?

85. What can your character do in the next 5 minutes that would get him closer to his goal?

86. What is the next huge milestone he can complete towards this goal?

87. Will he recognize it the moment this milestone comes?

When you’re starting a scene from scratch
1. What lead up to this scene’s start?

2. Could those same events have led to a different scene?

3. How much of this scene can be done without characters? (a change happening on its own)

4. How much action can take place without dialogue?

5. Can the scene work without a conflict?

6. Where does this scene take place?

7. Is it more interesting if the environment is confining?

8. If the area is wide?

9. What small menial things need to be done here?

10. What can be discovered in this place?

11. How much of the environment is off limits to a character?

12. Can anything happen in these off-limits places?

13. Can obsession be demonstrated in this scene?

14. Life changes?

15. Can a talent be showcased here?

16. A character who is usually excellent for (x activity) is inappropriate for a situation.

17. What makes this day different? Would the scene work out any differently if it had been some other day?

18. How many points of view are available to write this scene from?

19. What are your character’s 2 most likely emotional reactions to being denied their goal?

20. This scene has a theme or area of focus. What is important about this topic?

21. Are there any parts of this scene that support the characters’ viewpoint about this subject matter?

22. Could any parts be put in that disagree with the author’s normal standpoint on this topic?

23. What does the Point Of View of each character look like for this scene?

24. Which character has more mystery to unravel?

25. Which one has more action in this scene?

26. Which one reveals the most hidden info to the reader?

27. Is this scene going to be rising action?

28. A peaceful wind down to digest something mind-blowing?

29. What's the scene's mood?

30. The mood of the scene affects the character. How does the character respond to being in this atmosphere?

31. Are any of the character's actions with other characters a response to the scene's atmosphere?

32. How about their immediate goals? Are they responses to the scene's atmosphere?

33. The characters can't use dialogue. How much of the atmosphere is shown?

34. Where is the character coming from?

35. Where are they going?

36. If this scene didn't exist and the character moved effortlessly from the last scene to a future one, how would events flow differently?

37. How does the character move?

38. What is the next scene?

39. If the next scene was reshuffled so that it took place 3 scenes later, how would the events flow?

40. How much of the mood could be told without mentioning daytime, lighting, props, sounds, wardrobe, or character movement. Only using dialogue?

41. What's the payoff in this scene?

42. What lead up to the payoff?

43. Let the reader feel smart for putting together the information about what the character plans to do based on how he's prepared. Then don't explicitly state what the character did.

44. A prop or an object in the environment center to the character's

45. The characters focus on a prop or an object in the environment. What happens?

46. The object is not used, but heavily talked about. What do the characters have to say?

47. The object activates on its own without the characters meaning it to. What happens?

48. The same object is used drastically in two different ways in this scene. What happens?

49. A character worked hard to uncover information and needs to relate the important parts to someone. What obstacles are in his way?

50. Now, someone else is unwilling to come forward with what they've discovered. What happens?

51. A character views clues in a way that the other characters don't and the character acts on this information differently. What makes his viewpoint different?

52. Two or more characters sharing the scene have non-parallel goals (not conflicting ones, though.) How do they move through the scene differently?