Scene skipping

Blinkk · Mar 20, 2018

I'm getting frustrated and that never helps solve anything.

Just thought I'd dump my problems here in a hopeful attempt to work it out.

Recently, I've been on a bad streak. I'll start writing a scene and halfway through writing, the scene withers and dies. So instead of struggling through I've been allowing myself to let these half-finished scenes go. I'll never finish the scene and instead jump right to the next chapter. This is a fine tactic every once in awhile, but I've done this four times in a row for the last four scenes. It's really becoming a problem.

I'm hacking at the fifth scene again today and guess what's happening? Uggg. I think I need to add a spicy side character to all these scenes to move them somewhere. Or maybe seriously examine the plot points of these scenes. Or add a frikkin dragon.

Marlys · Mar 20, 2018

For me, if I'm struggling to move on it usually means there's something off in what I've written. So I stop, back up, and do my damnedest to solve the issue before I go on. Might take an hour or a day or a month, but since it saves me from having to rip up half a manuscript and redo it later i think it saves time and effort in the long run.

Or, hey. Dragons are good.

Frankie007 · Mar 21, 2018

Dragons are always the answer. Especially purple dragons!

David Poellot · Mar 21, 2018

I'm exactly where you are! Just finished a scene and moving on to the next one, even though I know I'll end up rewriting the whole previous scene. I just figure, I'll clean it up in rewrite, but then my next scene feels empty, because I didn't finish the scene before. Very frustrating.

Dennis E. Taylor · Mar 21, 2018

When I have trouble writing scenes, it's because I don't have a clear picture of where things should be going. In those cases, I'll either write some notes at the end of the scene about what I think will happen, or I'll do a really 'telling' summary. Then I move on.

My really heavy editing and creative flow happens once I have the first draft finished. At that point, I can go back and have another look at these scenes, and the overall structure of the novel will help bring the scene (or chapter) into focus.

StaircaseInTheDark · Mar 24, 2018

Scene skipping doesn't work for me at all; if I don't write the scene when I reach it it just never happens. I find it better to just force on through the scene even if it ends up just being a few terribly written sentences. Then when I get to editing I at least have something to work with, rather than just a blank space.

BonafideDreamer · Apr 2, 2018

I think I have this problem too. Some of my scenes lack a climax. They just feature characters interacting without any real plot that moves the story.

tharris · Apr 2, 2018

BonafideDreamer said:
I think I have this problem too. Some of my scenes lack a climax. They just feature characters interacting without any real plot that moves the story.

I had this problem too. I would tell myself that it's advancing character instead of plot, but when I really got down to it, most of these scene could always either be deleted or reimagined with the central plot more integrated.

WriteMinded · Apr 2, 2018

Sometimes I just get into a funk. There I stay until it lifts. I keep on writing, but it isn't fun, and I feel like I'm only filling the page with words and not really taking the story where I want it to go. So that I can move on, I sometimes write a list into the MS of what needs to happen or be said in the hopes that when I get back to it, I will know what to write. Not an answer really to the problem, just a way to wade on to the next chapter I don't want to write until my mojo returns.

morngnstar · Apr 2, 2018

You know, you don't have to write a scene for everything that happens. If there just isn't enough meat to the scene, past participle is your friend.

Blinkk · Apr 7, 2018

Man, I forgot I made this thread. I'm going back now and reading all of your replies. Thanks for the encouragement, guys.

Haha, I tend to write out of order anyway. It's clinical...I've always been that way, and there's nothing I can do about that. Skipping scenes doesn't severely mess up the plot in my head, but if I do it too frequently, it all starts feeling empty and boring.

Bonafide Dreamer, you phrased it really well when you said some of your scenes lack climax. I'm pretty sure that's what's going on during these five scenes right now. Nothing interesting is going on, and then I jump to the next interesting part. I'll revisit these scenes and see if there's any way I can carve a little more excitement into things. I'm always careful about adding excitement for fluff's sake, but this might be one of those few times where it's necessary. When done in right amounts, that's ok, right?

Writeminded, thanks. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with this issue. I'll keep wading forward, no matter how boring and dull things seem to be.

Thanks for the reply guys! I've left those couple half-finished scenes all by themselves. I've moved onto the next part of the novel. I'll come back to this section later with fresh eyes.

blacbird · Apr 7, 2018

Blinkk said:
Haha, I tend to write out of order anyway. It's clinical...I've always been that way, and there's nothing I can do about that. Skipping scenes doesn't severely mess up the plot in my head, but if I do it too frequently, it all starts feeling empty and boring.

I commonly write like you do. A while back I got stuck on a scene in which I knew exactly what I wanted to happen, but just could not put it into sensible words. After struggling for some time, I just went forward with the next scenes I knew I needed. At some point I sat down and said to myself, I just need to gut my way through this scene, and with some hours of agony, I did. In the end, it turned out to be one of the best, most well-crafted scenes in the story, requiring virtually no alteration or editing.

Sometimes good writing just hurts.

caw

indianroads · Apr 7, 2018

Sometimes, when I'm having trouble like you describe, I'll just power through the scene even if the writing is horrible. Get it down, then go back and fix it in editing.

The pieces are all there, what remains is to sort through it, add, subtract, rewrite, lather, rinse, and repeat as necessary.

maggiee19 · Apr 8, 2018

Oh, my goodness, when I have that problem, I stop writing. Then I go back to it the next day and re-read what I wrote the day before and I get right back into the scene. That usually works for me.

Blinkk · Apr 9, 2018

blacbird said:
Sometimes good writing just hurts.

True words. That should be a Tshirt quote.

C.Harmon · Apr 9, 2018

Have you read Story Genius before? By far the best book on story telling I've read. The author talks about scene cards, and how every scene involves an external and internal change. The external is the cause and effect in the story - this happened, which resulted in this happening. The internal involves how that scene affects the character - what they believed, and how that scene altered their beliefs, even if it's slight. You should look into filling out a scene card like this, and maybe how the scene plays out will snap into focus. At the very least I'd recommend you read Story Genius. One of the best decisions I ever made.

Blinkk · Apr 10, 2018

C.Harmon said:
Have you read Story Genius before?

Ohhh, no I've never heard of it, but I'm looking at it on Amazon right now. I'm probably gonna end up buying this today. Thanks for the tip!

Scene skipping

Blinkk

Searching for dragons

Marlys

Resist. Love. Go outside.

Frankie007

David Poellot

Dennis E. Taylor

Get it off! It burns!

StaircaseInTheDark

BonafideDreamer

tharris

WriteMinded

Derailed

morngnstar

Blinkk

Searching for dragons

blacbird

indianroads

Wherever I go, there I am.

maggiee19

Blinkk

Searching for dragons

C.Harmon

Blinkk

Searching for dragons