The moments you hesitate to write
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The moments you hesitate to write
Alright, we all have them and we all know what they are. What are those moments that you want to write for character development, plot reasons, you just felt like it...da,da,da....but you're hesitant to kick off? For example (I need a shameless spell right now):
abusive scenes, awkward moments where you make a character look like an idiot, "romantic" moments, killing off a character you love...the classics
And why?
For me I'm just freaked someone would read an abusive scene or romantic moment and go "is this reflecting off of something that happened to you that you didn't tell us about?"
which is no but still...
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
If you are "making" your character look like an idiot, that's telling, not showing. Write about this character so your readers come to the conclusion, "what an idiot!" without any further assistance from you. If your character does or says something idiotic, if you show that to the reader, you won't be "making" your character look like anything.
I'm pretty sure nobody asked George Lucas if he'd ever been to Tatooine, nobody thinks Bram Stoker knew vampires, or that Tolkein hung out with a bunch of little folks with hairy feet.
I'd be inclined to respond to anyone who asked me something along the lines of, "No, why do you ask?"
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
Wow, surprisingly negative...
About the first point, I was definitely thinking along the lines of 'kid goes to school and trips in front of the class' or something like that. An accident that could happen to anyone, not just idiots, that nevertheless makes them look like a fool.
As for the second part, certainly no one would ask Stoker if he knew vampires, but they might wonder if some of the scenes reflect his own lurid tastes rather than just being a literary device.
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
Definitely the awkward moments. I hate even reading those, much less writing them. Killing off characters doesn't bother me at all, even though I have gotten a little teary-eyed on occasion.
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
Moving to NaNoWriMo Ate My Soul (it's not off topic if it's about writing!)
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
Same here with awkward and abusive stuff and so on. I don't know why I'm hesitating. I'm not showing my stuff to anyone so it should be fine, right?
I don't know...
Right now I'm even hesitating to write at all. Not only because my hands are currently crap. It's like all my crazy, funny, awesome ideas escaped me when November ended.
Maybe it's because I'm currently unhappy altogether. /: Can't even pick myself up right now ...
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
For me, definitely romantic moments. Every tender moment seems cheesy to me, even if it's from professional authors, let alone the silly ones I write! The only ones I can stand looking at are deathbed confessions...this has inadvertently led me to killing a lot of characters.
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
My FMC and MMC has to do some genealogical research. It's VERY VERY important to the story. And yet I keep putting it off. Mostly because I don't have firsthand experience researching one's genealogy, and can't try my own. The lovely people here have given me tips and directions, but it's still hard to understand what it would be like to actually do one.
Btw, about the tripping thing...
Not exactly tripping, but what I was college, I was walking up a ramp to class on an icy day. Even though I had on sneakers (I usually wear heels) and was holding the handrail. I still slipped and fell. I ended up on my knees, and had a really hard time getting back up. The whole time I'm just thinking there are probably people watching me and I must look stupid, but I still couldn't stop laughing, because I kept thinking of how stupid I must have looked. Hope that can help :)
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
There are several websites on geneology. My mom has researched her parents histories to a great extent (all the way back to the 1300s). It can be a lot of work but very rewarding in the end. The reason I say it can be a lot of work is that some records can be difficult to find especially the farther back in time you go. What really helped her out was going to the different websites (like the one you always see on tv), going through family records, contacting public records offices based on findings from the family records, and even going to one of the big geneology libraries (can't remember the name of it though).
The main thing to note is that it takes time and perserverence. But it's like unraveling a mystery so there's an element of fun to it too! Sometimes you can find photos, new paper articles, journels, and such. You never know where the trail might lead!
Hope this helps!
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
If I have no idea what is going on, then I have troubles sitting down and writing. This mostly refers to the moments between important events when I need to keep the story going without jumping ahead too much.
Re: The moments you hesitate to write
Ah, those awkward scenes are just so hard to write. I feel awkward writing them.
Right now, I'm stuck trying to write it, but my MC's going to have to piss herself. It's only inevitable when you're chained up to a place for 2 days. And I feel embarrassed for her...
Also the torture scene. It's going to have to happen.