Seeing the forest through the trees

Do you ever get so caught up in how your sentences flow and eliminating passive voice?

Has your focus on the smallest details caused you to lose sight of your manuscript as a whole?

Are you characters so busy fighting and lusting after each other that you no longer recall the seeds of their conflict?

Has introspection taken over your narrative?

Or maybe it's just me.

I've started bolding my dialog. That way I can concentrate on what the characters are saying to each other and ignore all the action tags and introspection.

Does anyone have tricks they use in order to keep focused on the conflict and not let the character's run off with their stories?

I'm always looking for tips.

Today's Goal: Chapter 3 finished
Yesterday's achievement: Reworked the first half of the chapter
What I'm grateful for: Writing friends
Quote: "Use missteps as stepping stones to deeper understanding and greater achievement." -Susan Taylor






Do you see a woman's face or a pair of rearing horses?

















Do you see a woman's features or a flower?