\nOn September 28, 2012, GillyB wrote, What do you do when you have a dead scene on your hands? You know what’s meant to happen next. You even know what SHOULD happen in this scene. But it just isn’t moving. Your characters, which were alive like just a second ago, are suddenly wooden puppets. How do you rescue yourself? What if everything that follows is riding on this particular scene and it just needs to happen, for Pete’s sake?<\/i><\/p>\n
Try this: Skip the scene. Assume the events in it have happened and write on from there. I got this idea from mystery writer Lawrence Block\u2019s book about writing, Spider, Spin Me a Web<\/i>. (I haven\u2019t read this book in many years, so I don\u2019t know what age level it\u2019s appropriate for – check with a librarian. I remember the book fondly.) Mr. Block suggests that you\u2019ve already written the scene in your head, so actually typing or penning it is too boring for your brain to accept. If this is true, you can go merrily on, finish your story and insert the scene in revision.<\/p>\n
But if you skip the scene and your characters are still made of wood in the scene that follows, you may have a plot problem. You may be forcing your characters to act contrary to their natures as you\u2019ve written them.<\/p>\n
You can ask them. Interview your characters in notes. You can write, Cindy, what\u2019s your problem?<\/i> And Cindy may say, How could you make me be rude to Mr. Morris? I wouldn\u2019t be! You know me!<\/i><\/p>\n
In this case, you may need to go back and turn Cindy into someone who can be rude, if that will work for the rest of the story. If not, can you make events unfold so she doesn\u2019t have to behave badly.<\/p>\n
Or she may say, I just don\u2019t believe we\u2019d raid the tower when the guards are right there, and besides, even if we liberate the royal rabbit, we can\u2019t keep her safe. It doesn\u2019t make sense. If you make me do it, don\u2019t expect me to be normal about it.<\/i><\/p>\n
If that’s what she says, or something like it, consider what\u2019s going on in the scene. Examine your premises, especially if this is a pivotal moment in your story. Is what you\u2019re planning believable? Is it overly complicated? Can you simplify? Talk to a friend and ask for an opinion. Have her read what you\u2019ve got and see what her take is.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s possible, too, that the scene is fine. Say your friend doesn\u2019t see the woodenness, and neither does the next person you show it to. Could be you\u2019re just picking on yourself. Keep writing, and assume you\u2019ll be better able to judge the scene when you\u2019ve been away from it for a while.<\/p>\n
But if you discover that there really is a problem with the scene, you may have to rethink a lot of your story and you may be in for a big rewrite. This is disappointing, but also an opportunity. In realizing what\u2019s wrong, in fixing it, in making your story better than ever, you\u2019re learning to be a better writer.<\/p>\n
Alas and hooray, I\u2019ve had many such learning experiences.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s another possibility: You\u2019re rushing the scene and not giving your characters a chance to be their lovable and not-so-lovable selves. You have goals for what needs to be accomplished at this plot juncture, but you may be forgetting that your characters\u2019 goals aren\u2019t the same as yours. Make sure you\u2019re including your POV character\u2019s thoughts. If the situation allows for dialogue, are you giving your characters a chance to express themselves? In your notes you might try inhabiting each one in turn. Write down what it feels like to be Cindy on a moonless night, standing at the base of the tower. Is she cold? Did she forget to wear a scarf? Is her stomach churning? Is she worried about whether she\u2019ll be up to the job? Mad at the leader of the raid for poor planning? What\u2019s her idea of success? Maybe, right at this moment, she\u2019s caring more about getting back to her cozy room than about the glory of saving the royal rabbit. Maybe she giggles at the thought of how much she likes rabbit stew.<\/p>\n
Go on to the next character. How is it to be Peter here in this moment? And on to another character.<\/p>\n
When you\u2019re done, think about how they can be themselves and still accomplish what needs to happen. It\u2019s possible that you have more than one scene on your hands and that, when you slow down, all will work and be exciting.<\/p>\n
Yet another thought: Is your setting vague? Are your characters having trouble moving around in it? Is that what\u2019s turning them to wood?<\/p>\n
One more: Take a look at the scene before the wooden one. How is your transition? Is everything set up for what comes next?<\/p>\n
\nTo summarize, I\u2019ve listed the alternatives I just suggested, some or all of which may apply to your story:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Skip the scene and keep going.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Ask your characters in an interview in notes what they think the problem is.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Change a character, or more than one, so he can behave naturally in the scene.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Examine your premises to see if what\u2019s happening is believable.<\/p>\n
\u2022 If necessary, revise your plot.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Get a friend\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Accept the possibility that you\u2019re being over-critical and keep writing.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Expand the scene to give your characters more scope to be themselves, to think, speak, and act.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Solidify your setting so your characters can move around comfortably.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Check to see if the problem starts in the scene before the wooden one.<\/p>\n
\nHere are three prompts:<\/p>\n
\u2219 Pick an old story that you didn\u2019t finish. Reread the scene where you gave up and try the approaches I suggest above. If you get re-inspired, finish your story.<\/p>\n
\u2219 The assault on the tower to rescue the royal rabbit is your pivotal scene. Write up to it, assembling your company of brave bunny saviors. Write a scene in the tower where the rabbit is confined, because I\u2019ve gotten very curious about her. Is she intelligent? Can she talk? Is she good? Or is she the villain? How big is she? Then write the assault and the ending, if you like.<\/p>\n
\u2219 The pivotal scene in Little Red Riding Hood begins when Little Red opens the door to her grandmother\u2019s cottage. Re-imagine it. Flesh out the characters of Little Red and Grandma and Big Bad. (You may have to write the beginning as well.) Write the pivotal scene and what follows. You’re not limited to the way it goes down in the fairy tale.<\/p>\n
Have fun, and save what you write!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On September 28, 2012, GillyB wrote, What do you do when you have a dead scene on your hands? You know what’s meant to happen next. You even know what SHOULD happen in this scene. But it just isn’t moving. Your characters, which were alive like just a second ago, are suddenly wooden puppets. How […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[95],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":360,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions\/360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}