Stories are about characters who make choices, BUT are confronted with challenges, THEREFORE they do something about it.
BUT
An obstacle, consequence, or thing standing in the way of what the character wants.
THEREFORE
A choice is made by the character to deal with an obstacle, consequence, or thing standing in the way of what they want.
Stories unfold because of the actions and reactions of the characters within them.
Grace is in love with Talia.
BUT
Talia has started dating Rupert.
THEREFORE
Grace criticizes everything Rupert does.
BUT
Talia, thinking Grace to be jealous of her, distances herself.
THEREFORE
Grace shows up one night professing her love to Talia, who reveals she feels the same way.
BUT
Rupert had asked Talia to marry him earlier that day, Talia had said yes, and plans to go through with it.
THEREFORE
Grace hatches a plot to frame Rupert for a serious crime.
BUT
She accidentally kills him with a lethal dose of a drug intended to knock him out.
THEREFORE
Grace puts Rupert into his car and sends him off a cliff into a lake, hoping it seems like an accident.
BUT
When Grace returns home, Talia is waiting. Talia tells her she's not going to marry Rupert.
THEREFORE
Grace and Talia spend the night together.
BUT
Grace was wrong, Rupert hadn't died from the overdose, or the car crash.
THEREFORE
Grace drives Talia, in shambles, to the hospital.
BUT
Wracked with guilt for cheating, Talia asks to take space from Grace so she can care for Rupert.
Okay, I got carried away with my example, but this is a great way to fight through writer's block.
Keep the tension high. Make the characters do things. Make something get in the way of them getting what they want. Make them do something about it. Repeat.
