There's a specific feeling I get when I'm writing—or not writing, really—when I'm excited to write, I want to write, and then I sit down, remember where I previously left off and...
All inspiration leaves me.
This happens a lot during specific scenes. If there's a point in my book that I find boring, or it's not working the way I wanted it to, or it just doesn't sound right, I suddenly find it IMPOSSIBLE to write. It's not that I'm unsure about the plot, or I'm bored, it's just a few (but all too common) scenes that just drain the life out of me.
I hear a lot of other writers complain about this, too. A type of 'writer's block' that isn't necessarily about not knowing what to write, but not knowing how to write it. So, after tireless research, scrolling through Pinterest, and extensive periods of not writing, I have come up with a list of three things to do to when you're stuck in a scene and can't move forward.
1. CHANGE THE SETTING
Sounds dumb, I know, but I swear it works! There was one scene in the book I'm (re)writing that I wanted to skip every time I got to it. It was a scene where my protagonist, deep in thought, gets interrupted by the lieutenant of her army, and they proceed to discuss last minute preparations for the upcoming battle.
Originally, the scene took place on the edge of a cliff, overlooking the military camp around them. Every time I sat down to write that scene, my mind went blank. UNTIL... I changed the setting! Instead of a bright sunny day, I made it rainy, cold, and dreary—a bad omen for the battle about to begin. And instead of overlooking the camp, I put them directly in the camp, inside of the general's tent. Miraculously, I was excited to write the scene. I could actually manage to put words on the page. Their conversation and the overarching goal of the scene remained the same; they were just in a different place with different weather. Sounds dumb, but it works.
2. OUTLINE THE GOAL OF THE SCENE
Personally, I'm not the type of person to plan and outline every single aspect of my book. I prefer to just draft a few characters, come up with a general idea of where I want the plot to go, sit down, and write. A lot of the times, this works just fine for me. I find it more freeing, and I can get creative and let the characters do whatever they want. But other times, I need more direction. Certain scenes feel bland or unimportant, which makes me not want to write them. This can easily be cured by outlining the GOAL of the scene. This could mean a number of things. Maybe you need to jot down who is in the scene, what they want, and what they're trying to accomplish. For me, I like to write down certain events that need to take place. Overall, if I find a scene feels icky or boring or it's just not working for me, it's usually because I don't know what I'm working towards. My characters are just standing around waiting for something to happen. I'm not saying I'm going to start plotting every chapter and every scene that happens in my book, just those few that cause me trouble.
3. FOOD
Yes, food. Give your characters something to eat. Sometimes a scene I'm writing just needs another aspect to it, to make it more exciting. To have it feel real. It's also a quick and easy way to get across what your characters are feeling without having to explain it. I've only recently started using this trick, but I find it helps motivate me to keep writing a scene that I
otherwise didn't enjoy. Instead of explaining that one of my characters is upset, I casually mention that while everyone else is stuffing their faces, they sit quiet and don't so much as pick up their fork. Or I put all my characters in the same room—around the dinner table—and just let them fight. I also like to use lines like "she twirled her fork around in the air" or "he choked on his mouthful of wine and stared wide-eyed across the table" or "she pushed her food around her plate, recounting the events of the day" or "he chucked the core of his apple over the side of the boat". Simple things like that add depth to your stories, and make it feel real. Also, I have a lot of fun coming up with the strange things my characters eat, what they do/don't like, how they eat, etc. So next time you don't know what to write in a scene, or you find yourself stuck or bored, add food! Food is always good.
That's all the tips I have for now, but so far, they've really worked for me. Next time you find yourself stuck in a scene, or you're experiencing a bad case of writer's block, give one a try!
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