Stretching Your Ideas

I'm working on a new book and the idea I had doesn't seem to have any legs. I've written about 20 pages and I love the main character, but the action has fizzled and things don't seem to be going anywhere. I know there are a lot of writers out there who would say you just have to keep writing and the story will reveal itself. I'd love to be able to do that, it sounds great, but I can't. I need to stop and think about what's going on. What I focus on, is what's the main character's problem? If they don't have a problem that is compelling to me, then it's not going to be compelling to the reader, your story will lack tension and people will stop reading. Usually, this is the big problem and once I identify the problem, then I can start reconsidering the story. Perhaps, what I thought was the story, is just part of the backstory and there's something more compelling about to happen to my character. For me, the thing to do is stop, take a walk, and then sit down and do some brainstorming. I'll talk about how I brainstorm next time...