At times the hardest thing in the world can be
scrapping that gorgeous scene you’ve spent days creating. But, if that scene
leads no where you can make sense of, and puts you firmly into the grips of
that dreaded writers block – then do it! Scrap the scene!
Believe me, it’s much easier to scrap a ‘lovely but
useless’ scene now, rather than at the end when you need to rewrite pages and
pages to bring it into line. I’m going through this at the moment. I had a
fantastic opening scene, but just couldn’t make sense of where it was going and
who the bad guys are and why. I know many people like to write in the ‘fly by
the seat of your pants’ style, but I don’t. Those of you that have read the
trilogy in full, and discovered the various twists, may be pleased to know
those weren’t last second whims. They had been planned from the very beginning
(though how the characters got there was solely up to them ;p).
Anyway! Back to topic *grin*
Ditch it. Scrap it and start again. Suddenly the slate
is clear and you mind starts whirling as the physical block you set in place is
busted and gone. If for the moment you still don’t know enough about your
characters, try writing random scenes, and/or utilize the diary notes I
suggested in my last post. There is no right or wrong way to discover your
story, only what works for you. And when it haunts your sleep and annoys your
days, then you’re probably on the right track.
Take care all!
Nic
Feel the Burn available at Amazon : AmazonUK : Smashwords : Kobo
Yay for writerly ruthlessness! Sometimes you just have to let go! Take care
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Sometimes I have to wait a few days before I can trash a scene that needs trashing. Just enough time to gain a little distance, you know? :)
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