I’ve been stuck in the same scene the whole week, and I really wish I could get it over with so that I could move on to other stuff. What that other stuff is, exactly, I don’t know, but I’m eager to find out.
I don’t plan things out much when I write. Usually, when I do think about where I want the story to go, I think ten or twenty steps down the road, painting in broad strokes where things are going to end up. It’s like Paul Atreides’ foresight in Dune; time is like an ocean where you see a few isolated events like cresting waves, but you can’t see all the stuff in between.
I’m really annoyed because this scene is so long, but in some ways it has to be long. I’m introducing some of the major characters, the major story conflict, introducing setting and cultural elements, etc etc. Most of what I’m writing is crap and will probably be significantly edited, but I’ve got to at least get it out there first. But it’s hard to do that when you’re only averaging 500 words a day.
I’m going to take advantage of the holiday tomorrow by finishing this scene, no matter what it takes. Hopefully that will build some momentum that will carry for the rest of the week.
Also, I sent out Bringing Stella Home 2.1 to a bunch of first readers. I wasn’t originally going to do it, since it’s pretty bad…but Kindal kept begging me to read it, so I figured what the heck and sent it out to half a dozen other people as well. It’s probably for the best…though, after reading over some of the more violent scenes, I hope the girls I sent it to don’t think less of me after reading it. Holy crap, it needs a lot of work.
Anyways, in tribute of MLK day, I’ll end with this awesome tribute to Martin Luther King by U2. Happy MLK day!
> I don’t plan things out much when I write.
I’m the same way. For a little while, I tried planning things out in excruciating detail, but I only got bogged down. I realized I needed a little more freedom as I wrote to let things discover themselves.
> I’m really annoyed because this scene is so long, but in some ways it has to be long. I’m introducing some of the major characters, the major story conflict, introducing setting and cultural elements, etc etc.
It already sounds boring. 🙂 My latest realization that has really improved my writing (I think) is that if I’m getting bogged down, then the reader will too.
And I usually get bogged down at the exact place you’re at–trying to dump a ton of character development, settings, etc. on the reader. I’ve found that if I skip most of that stuff, then as long as it’s in the back of my mind, it comes out much more naturally during the course of the story.
I’d suggest doing just ONE of those things you’re trying to do on the scene. Introduce the major story conflict in one scene, and save character development for the next scene. Or vice versa. Though for that matter, character development and cultural setting shouldn’t be shoehorned into a “scene” to begin with…that’s where the “letting it come naturally” comes in handy.
You’re probably right–this scene, as I’m writing it now, is probably boring. But it’s a rough draft, and if I tried to make it perfect on the first go-through, it would suck too much out of me. Better to just finish the thing and leave it to revise later.