Am I The Only One?

[imagoodgurl4]

Okay, do you ever have to write a crucial scene and you write and rewrite it, but you just hate it? I'm having a bit of that issue now in my current WIP. It's a necessary scene and a glimpse into one of my character's motivations, but I just hate it. What do you guys do to get past it? Should I just write and worry about it later? I tried skipping around, but I'm a very methodical person and I didn't like writing that way. Any advice welcome.

[Cathy C]

Yep. Happens to me all the time. What you might try is to change the point of view and approach it from a different side. Yes, the information needs to be revealed, but sometimes it's the METHOD used to reveal it that makes it interesting. I was stuck on this very issue this morning. I need to get across the introduction of a new group of people (a magical cult), but without direct contact with them. By going back to the beginning of the chapter and introducing a NEW person, I was able to have a "guide" to how the cult behaved.

Try coming up with a person from the character's past to relay the information, instead of a direct conversation. It can be as simple as the two people sitting in a diner. One struggles to reveal the info but just can't and leaves for the bathroom to collect him/herself. Then a waitress can come over and do the "local gossip" thing, "Y'know, it's probably not a good idea to press Bob about that old murder. See, they blamed his mom and she wound up killing herself rather than have the state take the kids away."

Etc., etc. Information revealed. Try it . . . it might help! Good luck! :)

[johnzakour]

Yeah, happens to me too. I switch gears for a while and either work on a different project or just go workout or do something mindless. If that doesn't unclog the brain then I skip the scene and then come back to it at a later moment. If that doesn't work then I will cut the scene cause if it doesn't work I figure it's not meant to be there.

That's just me.

[III]

Does the scene itself tell the story you need to tell? If so, is the problem the pacing, the prespective, the mood? Can you salvage it, or do you need to do it again from scratch? Usually, my problem is that I've rushed through an important scene just to get the info there and I end up hating it. Sometimes I can tweak it, but it usually feels better to just re-write it from scratch, being more aware of the pitfalls.

[justpat]

When that happens to me, I highlight it for later and just move on. Sure, sometimes it isn't easy and I feel like I'm leaving work undone, but eventually the solution hits me and I'm always glad I didn't try to force it.

[AllieB]

If you're very methodical and don't like skipping then yes, I'd write it, leave it, and move on. When you come back to it, especially after you've written more of the story, you may have a different perspective and be better able to tweak it.

And yes, it happens to me a lot!

[Mud Dauber]

I agree--write it as best you can and move on. Otherwise you'll be where I'm at: every time I get frustrated with a scene I skip it and move on to the next one, writing something that interests me more, or that 'just feels right', and then before I know it, I've got a whole bunch of scenes with no cohesive thread because I've skipped around too much.:(

Cathy C, thanks for some very constructive advice!:Thumbs: I'm going to have to give your method a try, next time this happens to me.

[ishtar'sgate]

Okay, do you ever have to write a crucial scene and you write and rewrite it, but you just hate it? I'm having a bit of that issue now in my current WIP. It's a necessary scene and a glimpse into one of my character's motivations, but I just hate it. What do you guys do to get past it? Should I just write and worry about it later? I tried skipping around, but I'm a very methodical person and I didn't like writing that way. Any advice welcome.

I can so-o-o relate. I'm like that too. I can't move ahead until I have it right. Telling me to skip it and come back to it is no good. It eats at me until I'm satisfied. You might not want to do what I do but it's the only thing that works for me. I know I'm obsessing so I leave it alone altogether. I walk away from my desk and force myself to get on with other things not related to writing. Everyone has their own way of taking their mind off things. I go for long walks in the field with my horses, garden or work on a home renovation project. My mind seems to relax too, and before long I've figured out how to deal with the scene. Good luck. Hope you find a solution that works for you.
Linnea

[ClaudiaGray]

Happens to me too. I used to never, ever be able to go on until I'd gotten that scene right, but I've learned to try to keep going anyway; generally, what works best is getting some distance/perspective before returning to the scene.

One small trick I've learned: Try switching the physical setting. If your characters are inside, take them outside. If they're in an airport, put the scene on the plane. Etc. Obviously, this is not always doable, but I've found that, for some reason, rethinking the setting often clarifies my understanding about what's most important in the scene and how best to get at it. Not sure why, but hey, it works for me.

[imagoodgurl4]

All good stuff, guys. Thanks! I actually woke up at 3:30 this morning with a different way to approach the scene, so I jotted it down in the notebook I keep near my bed. I'm going to try writing it today after I get home from work.

[Nakhlasmoke]

Sometimes I find that if i just leave a placeholder (scene missing) and jump on to work on further scenes, I discover something about one of my characters that makes me realise why that missing scene wasn't working - I didn't have all the information. Other times, it was just a crap scene. :P

I agree that approaching it from a different POV could also help.

[HeronW]

Maybe it needs to come sooner, later, told by a dif. character, in a dif. place, etc.

[ishtar'sgate]

All good stuff, guys. Thanks! I actually woke up at 3:30 this morning with a different way to approach the scene, so I jotted it down in the notebook I keep near my bed. I'm going to try writing it today after I get home from work.
Nice going.:hooray: I keep a notebook on my bedside table too but my husband has to have a totally darkened room. If I wake up with an idea I have to write without light and what I end up with when I look at it in the morning is some weird kind of hieroglyphics!
Linnea

[Nateskate]

Okay, do you ever have to write a crucial scene and you write and rewrite it, but you just hate it? I'm having a bit of that issue now in my current WIP. It's a necessary scene and a glimpse into one of my character's motivations, but I just hate it. What do you guys do to get past it? Should I just write and worry about it later? I tried skipping around, but I'm a very methodical person and I didn't like writing that way. Any advice welcome.


I'd say to write out your novel and come back to those difficult parts, otherwise you'll get so discouraged you won't finish.

I knew I had a good story long before I had the skills to write it, or at least fix up the parts that didn't work. But if you perseverate on each sticky point, you will doubt yourself and your story.

Once I had the story down and knew the basic story was good, it was worth fighting those difficult chapters to make them work, and some of the hardest chapters will likely be some of the best.

[NightMaster]

Just to echo what a majority of people have said here, I would write the section as best you can at that point and move on. Make a note of the section you don't like and then come back to it at a later point.

By that point you may have got your head around a better way of expressing what it is you wanted to put on the page, or you may find out that what you've written isn't that bad to begin with!

Good luck! :)

[EelKat]

I would just keep on writing, mark it somehow, so you can find it later... say put the words in bold or something, than just move on and finish writing the rest of your story.

The reason for moving on and "ignoring" the trouble spot, is because over the course of writing the rest of the story you may find that, something else you write may turn out better than that section, and one, either you may not need that part anymore, or else you'll have thought of a way to fix it by than.

I find than when I come up on a writer's block (which is what you have) it's best to push it aside and move on and go back to it later when you have time to look at it "from a new angle".