Reversals and Obstructions

The image is about the Earth's magnetic field flipping every few millenia, hence (?) extinguishing the dinosaurs... but what we are talking about here is reversals and obstructions in story and plot.
Often, there are sets of 'rules' for writing stories, and they are - more or less - completely useless. You can't build stories from nothing, from only structure, and while there's a statistical truth to some of these rules (like the Three Act Structure') the only really help analysis after the fact, and they are not creative tools. they can be a kind of creative check, from time to time. One such is the technique of OBSTRUCTION.
Given that a story in which NOTHING happens will most likely be dull, we need to stay alert that the bits in between the high points don't just drift along.
Stories always come to us in chunks, then our intellects try to fill in the blanks. these blanks can be deadly dull.
So here's a checklist to try to help brainstorm out of those dull parts.
1) write out the high points of your story in order
2) add all the necessary, logical (boring) transition scenes to hang them together.
3) Now - for every boring transition, every logical, uninspired 'what would happen next'.... add an obstruction to prevent it from happening.
4) think of how to overcome that obstruction.

You will now be in new territory.
Obviously, not every reversal/solution will be what you want, but it will get your mind on the move again.

here's a hypothetical example:

Dave wants to leave.
Dave goes to Canada.
(pretty exciting, huh?) let's add some uninspired way stations.
Dave sneaks out of his house in the middle of the night
Dave gets on a bus to Buffalo.
Dave visits his cousin Tim.
Dave walks across the border into Canada.

Now, here are some obstructions or reversals, and the first questions they engender:
The bus depot is crawling with cops. He has to hitch. - where can he stand? how quickly must he move?
He gets a ride, but only half way. - where is he? a town? open country? a forest? which way does he move?
It's January and it's freezing rain. - is he adequately dressed? how can he shelter? does he meet anyone? who?
Tim's father won't let Dave stay in their house. - will he turn Dave in? Will Tim help dave?
Dave calls his girlfriend, she's pregnant. - should Dave continue or return?

This is what you need to do every time a facile or boring scene pops into your head. you can always throw out bad ideas, but you have to keep generating them. The great thing about this kind of process is you can do it anywhere - on a bus, in bed, on a trip, on a walk (always a good idea), late at night, early in the morning... it used to be called daydreaming, and used to be a BAD THING. But now it's called creative brainstorming and is Mos Def a GOOD THING.

OK, think on't..