How a scene can defeat me

How do I create a scene? (this is the direction this blog was supposed to take)

How does a scene defeat me?

How it starts: I get a flash of a scene. It could be a still picture. It could be a single line of dialogue so profound (according to my character) it sends my brain off to the races.

The setting begins to rise up around my character, like a magic kingdom out of the mist. Characters pop in and out of the scene. Their roles either become developed, or they get canned as the scene dictates. And some side characters whisper in my ear about what it is they are up to at the exact same time this new scene is taking place and I have to gently shove them to the side and tell them ‘not now!’.

Now, it’s during this time of scene development that my brain can sometimes short circuit. I either spin out on the details for weeks trying to get everything right. Or the other characters can capture my attention and I’ll swerve off into a completely different and ultimately unnecessary direction that will be canned. This is the biggest reason my current WIP has taken as long as it has. I have several important scenes on a loop in my head. I see the movement I want or the lines of dialogue I need, but the scenery and other characters surrounding the event are murky. Half revealed, full of starts and stops, my character left hobbling around in half-built surroundings, tripping over characters that are appearing and disappearing from their point of view. Their positions and importance in the scene only marginally developed or worse, change repeatedly. 

I’m trapped right along with my character in this nightmarish funhouse effect, unable to break free. And my work suffers.

After a bit of struggle, I make peace with the fact it’s not happening at the moment, and I put that scene down and move on to another, fearful the cycle will begin again.

This is so strange. I started this blog off intending to share my scene-building process, only to be derailed. I think this might be because I’m currently trapped in my bonfire scene in my WIP.

Can anyone relate to this? Or am I a tad off my rocker?

#scenecreating #scenewriting #writing #iamwriting #scene #writersofinstagram #writer #author #authorsofinstagram #writingcommunity #WIP