Turning Up the Heat

I'm taking a writing workshop and last week's workshop hit very close to home.

Our instructor led us through making things much worse for our character. Asking us to consider:

What are some things you could do to make it even more difficult for your character to reach his/her goals?

Now think of even more obstacles.

What if your character does not achieve their dream, can you still wrangle some happiness out of that?

As for me, real life feels a little like someone has been turning up the heat. Every time I turn around, there is something else. And yes, it could always be worse, but that doesn't mean it is not bad enough as it is.