One of my favorite sayings is
“A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for”
(attributed to John A. Shedd).
I remember that saying when I’m writing a scene, a scene that will make my characters uncomfortable. Characters in stories aren’t meant to be comfortable. Comfortable beings don’t take extreme actions, actions that we expect characters in great stories to take.
Make your characters uncomfortable. Push them out of their safety zone. Get that ship in the sea.
(grins)
