Yzabel / November 13, 2005

It’s a weird and unpleasant feeling, especially when it’s a scene that is planned, and not an idea that has struck all of a sudden and “looks like a good one”. It makes writing become sluggish and a chore, yet I know I can’t just give up or switch to something else in a snap of fingers, else I may very well remain stuck for much, much longer.I have such a scene in my current work in progress. It’s an important enough one, where one of the main characters reveals what she knows to the two others. It’s a planned scene, that actually looked great in my outline, when I noted town its main points and what was going to be revealed. However, it feels like a bore to write now, mostly, I suspect, because I’m not sure by which end to take it.

• An exposition/explanation scene? Given what happens in the previous chapters, I’m afraid it’d be too much of a drop in the pace (I know, a story can’t be fast-paced all the time, but there’s a difference between having too much action and having it fall from “exciting” to “makes the reader want to get a rope and hang herself on the spot”).
• Making it happen through a dialogue? Alright, but it’s mainly one character talking; if the two others keep on interrupting her for the sake of flowing dialogue, things will never get done, and my goal isn’t to write the longest chapter ever, just to have the two other characters know what the hell is happening and why all this trouble.
• Completely reworking it and throwing into something more filled with action? Sure, yet would the character explain that much if they’re short on time? I doubt so.

What I’ve been doing so far to get it written all the same is to not give up on it, but to switch among scenes. Two paragraphs written give me the right to “reward” myself with writing two paragraphs for a more exciting chapter. I know it’s not a good method. I know it can seem more confusing than anything else. I’m just afraid that if I stop working on it and keep it for later, I won’t get back to it, or only to find myself disappointed because the sudden illumination about it hasn’t come to me yet. Thus, I keep on pounding words out. At least it will be done. I can edit a crappy existing scene, but not do that on a non-existing one, right? And as my outline is already done, I don’t exactly run the risk of finding myself short of material to write about.I swear, my muse isn’t going anywhere; I’m not going to invoke the writer’s block just because a scene isn’t as thrilling as I had thought it’d be, or because I want an excuse to slack. No kidding. This story will be finished, even if I need to sweat blood to get its first draft done.Whoever else happens to run into similar problems at times, please raise the hand. Can I bet that everybody will do so?block, scene, writing