"You're just making things worse!"

"You're just making things worse!"

In real life that's not a good thing to do. For writers, it's a necessity!

The characters are generally trying to fix things, but it's your duty as their writer to make sure their fixes break something else or put them into a worse situation with new obstacles between them and their goal. :-)

So, begin with a want and keep ramping up the difficulty in getting to it.

Want: Your character(s) wants Pistachio Almond Fudge ice cream. Nothing else will do.

First obstacle: the local ice cream shop is out.

Along the way, the obstacles will somehow involve: an elephant, a tabloid reporter, a stuffed beaver, yak yarn, machete (in no particular order).

Resolution: You decide. Do they get their ice cream? Do they find something better? Do they find a more noble task but still want their ice cream?

You could write it as a story, a letter home, or just make a wild list of follies.