So your sleuth has a murder to solve. Unless you have a really boring story, the road to achieving that challenge will be blocked at every turn with danger, hardships, and difficulty. Those obstacles though are often what makes the story memorable — Indiana Jones running from a giant boulder comes to mind.
Obstacles aren’t always physical. Sometimes emotional and psychological obstacles make an effective barricade. Some stories offer a combination of those obstacles. Whatever the case, a strong plot gets the hero up the tree, throws rocks at him, then gets him back down again.
Here a few different types of obstacles and a few examples to get the creative juices flowing:
Obstacles caused when the Protagonist
- has a fear to overcome
- promises not to do or say something
- makes a mistake
- becomes a suspect
- is pinned down by enemy fire
Obstacles caused when the Antagonist
- starts a fire to inhibit progress
- causes an explosion
- takes a hostage
Obstacles caused when a secondary character
- is unable to tell the truth
- is unable to reveal critical information
- makes a mistake
- accidentally gets in the way
- comes between the sleuth and something or someone
- is a returning old lover
- is a witness who disappears or is murdered
Obstacles caused by external influences
- Bad weather hinders a search
- Bad weather prevents an escape
- Bad weather prevents the execution of a plan
- An earthquake occurs
- A vehicle breaks down
- A vehicle runs out of gas
- Innocent people are in the way
- Transportation is unavailable
- Evidence is destroyed or disappears
- A weapon cannot be used
- Ammunition has run out
- Supplies have run out
- A bridge is washed out
- The road is out
Wow. Really great information. What a great resource this is for writers.
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