Hatrack River Writers Workshop: At a loss...

This is topic At a loss... in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Dan James O'Sullivan (Member # 2376) on :

Okay, any help on this would be greatly appreciated. I'm still developing my workflow as a writer.

I run into this problem a lot. I have a basic story in my head, and I'm working on the first draft. I have written about three quarters of the story, but I'm stuck on a part where I just don't know what happens next, or how to segway into the next portion of the story.

Once I'm past the next couple scenes I have a really good idea how the story is going to finish, but this small part is becoming a real problem.

What do you guys usually do about this? Should I put down *something* even though I know it isn't going to work in the end? Should I just skip the scene and try to catch it in a subsequent rewrite? I really don't want to stop writing while I wait for "inspiration to strike", but this part is really holding me back.

Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :

I set it down and pick up something else to work on for a while. If I just sit and worry about it I'll just freeze up.

Posted by Beth (Member # 2192) on :

I just write "then something important happened. The next day . . . " and carry on where I know what happens again.

Posted by JmariC (Member # 2698) on :

I second the 'and then something important happens'.

I do however try to get something in there, regardless of how vague.
For example, "*bob* has an epiphany!" which later I can work from the point of view, what caused it, and then a cause and effect is created and scenes develop.

Or, "*jane* meets true love". Later I'll know who and where, so it will just be a matter of painting the picture.

Posted by pantros (Member # 3237) on :

skip it, note the spot 'and then something important happens' whatever works for you and then write the part you already have waiting to get out of your head.

Posted by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (Member # 59) on :

You don't have to write the story in the order in which it will be read. Write the parts you've figured out and then go back and fill in the rest.

Posted by JmariC (Member # 2698) on :

Which reminds me:
One thing that gets mentioned is that usually the parts a writer stalls on are the parts that don't need to be included anyways.

Not a hard a fast rule, but it is something to keep in mind.

Posted by franc li (Member # 3850) on :

You might want to back up a chapter (this is after trying all the other stuff) and see if you can find out where the seeds of the block were planted.

Posted by apeiron (Member # 2565) on :

If you've got the inspiration to do the next part, leave the hole. Chances are, as you develop the next part, you'll think of background you want to include in your hole. It may get things flowing.

Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :

I only started making real progress as a writer when I realised that I didn't have to write a story in the sequence it would be read. While I admire people who can start at the beginning and go from there to the end, I don't believe it's necessary (about the only time I do that is in Flash challenges, where I usually don't know where I'm going to end until I'm a way into the story and have a feel for it).

I just put place markers in - @@@@@ - and they may signifiy anything from a couple of missing sentences, to a missing scene, to multiple chapters. Write the bits that excite and interest you as you feel in the mood for them (there are times when dialogue just pours out of me but I can't write a line of description worth a damn, and vice versa). Then shove them together and work out what the gaps are and how to fill them in. It means a lot of work on revising to make sure you're not repeating yourself (I've lost count of the number of times I've been rewriting a scene, and thought of a wonderful phrase to enhance the mood, only to discover it's already there, just a bit further on), and that the plot still makes sense and the beats f the story are right and so forth. But I honestly find it liberating, and the sense of achievement when you're whittling down those @@@@@ markers from dozens to twenty to single figures... it's a real buzz.

[This message has been edited by tchernabyelo (edited October 25, 2005).]

Posted by lehollis (Member # 2883) on :

I like the idea about noting the spot and moving on. I might have to do more of that.

When I face these spots, I try to focus on the goal, first. What do I need to happen. Then I try to brainstorm as many ideas as I can. After that, I rework them for plausibility and creativity.

This usually works best after I let it cool for a little while.

Posted by Miriel (Member # 2719) on :

The right answer to your questions is, of course, "whatever works best for you." If one of the strategies suggested above doesn't help, pick a different one.

I'm one of those people who stubbornly writes everything in the order it will be written, and this works for me. I tend to either sit down and meticulously plan such stubborn scenes, or not look at it for a few days and let my subconscious work it out. But that might not work at all for you.

Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :

I, personally, cannot just set a story aside and hope that something 'comes' to me. It doesn't work. (For me.) Instead I have to take a more proactive approach and fix the problem while I'm actually working on AND thinking about the story. So I sit down and jam out a 1000 question session on that jammed up part.

See Character and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card.

And this from Uncle Orson's Writing Class:

quote:
Story ideas [Dakota inserts: including scene/chapter idea] are happening around you all the time. But the storyteller has to look at events and scenes with a questioning mind. Why did this happen? Why else might it happen? What could be the result of this? What else? Things are this way now; how else might they be? What if this changed? What if that?
Without those questions (all of them about causation, by the way), there would be no stories; the scientist and historian and journalist generally try to come up with stories that fit the fact; the fiction writer alters the facts to fit the story that "feels right."

This same kind of causal questioning can help figure out what to do with those jammed up spots. You just keep asking yourself questions until you come up with a plausible solution--one that works for you.

Just like many other professions, writing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. In my mind, the story is there waiting for you to find it, rather than invent it. And causal questioning gets you to look in all the dark little cobbwebby corners for it. The stuff that comes easy is the stuff that's sitting around on the sofa with the lights on. But many times it's the stuff in the dark recesses that's the best.

[This message has been edited by djvdakota (edited October 26, 2005).]

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

Try something that asks, "What should this character do next?" Cast the I Ching...cast his horoscope...read the tea leaves...all to give you an idea about what comes next.