You bring up a good point. I think too many times we confuse "keep the manuscript progressing" with "keep writing". If doing the "extraneous work" is what's needed to keep the story moving toward completion, then that's what you need to be doing.
First decide if the scene is even necessary. If it serves no purpose, dump it. If it does serve a purpose, can that purpose be served another way, I agree with T. Trian, that if you can' get into the scene, the readers are not likely to either. Your passion, or lack thereof, bleeds through.
I'm not having this draw back but maybe it's because I'm learning so much along with the story. Last night and today I went back to an earlier scene that I had written to make something else work. But I felt like the scene was boring so I just moved on. Then it came to me how I could reveal something important to the story in that scene and make it interesting at the same time. Eureka! Now it's a fun scene (I think so) and has one of those hooks it ends with: what did they read in Alia's journal? Stay tuned to find out.
In my head, there's this scene where my two main characters are running through a dense, dark forest to escape drones and helicopters. I have a lot of stuff in my head for the scene, but I'm missing one thing: the opening. I want the whole thing to make the reader really feel the panic and paranoia the main characters feel as they run for their lives. How do I kick it off? Do they start out by relaxing and then noticing the drones, are they walking through the forest, or do I start off by them running? Do I start with dialogue? I sit with pen and paper for hours, I sit in front to the computer with my Word open for hours, and I can't bring myself to write even one single word because not knowing how to start throws me off so much.
It depends - where in your book is this scene set? Is this the opening of your book? Is this something that happens mid-way through something else? However, to kick it off - you wanna build up the tension first. The mood is important here - once you've established fear in the readers (by showing them the fear in your characters), you're off to a good start. Make the reader fear these pursuers first, and then break them into a run.
He saw a flash, and felt sudden heat. A devastating, loud crunch, followed by rushing air startled them from their slumber. The drone had found them!
I don't know if it's a book or "just" a story yet, but it's situated somewhere in the middle, I think. The two characters are running away, and have been for the run in the wild for about a day before the "bad guys" bring out the drones and helicopters. So, in my head, the only solution is that one of them hears the helicopters or spots a drone, and they have to leave everything behind and just run. ... Which doesn't leave me with much time for building up the necessary tension, and I get stuck.
Don't wait for inspiration. It doesn't have to be right the first time. You can always set a version aside (never delete) and write it again. So, write the scene one way in one file and then write it the other way in a second file. Do a fast clean-up edit so you won't be distracted later by trivia. Wait a day or three and read them. Which works better? Also, you can't outrun a helicopter. Unless they see a good hiding place close by that they need to get to, running is the worst thing they can do because that makes them easier to spot.
The Man in the Iron Mask has a terrific chase scene, my advice would be read that (and look up other chase scenes in books. Usually reading is my best inspiration)
Well said. [MENTION=10171]Ann[/MENTION]berru - It seems to me the problem isn't the chase scene. It's that you have the scene but not the story. You need to figure out why the characters are being chased, because that forms the conflict for your story. And once you know the conflict, writing to the point of the chase should be easy. Not only that, but you will probably have a leg up on working out how the chase comes out and what happens afterward. Otherwise, it's just a film clip.
Then start with the whipping sound of the helicopter, the moment of freezing, of fear, and then make a dash for it. You need only one line to open, and it seems like you have your opening - the sound of the helicopter - but you just don't trust yourself enough to go for it. Ed's advice is also spot on. Once you know the story, it'll be a lot easier to write.
You can start it using any of those methods. Actually, I think it would be a good idea to write using each of those methods and then choose the best sounding one, then improve on it from there. I think right now, you're afraid you won't get it write the first time so you don't write anything at all. Don't bother struggling with that fear, just ignore it and start writing what you think would be an interesting opening. This is only a suggestion and by no means do this everytime, but the start of a chase scene doesn't have to be calm, then BLAM! Machine-gunfire!! Have the intro be a standalone scene on itself instead of just a build up to the chase scene. This gives the scene meaning instead of just being there for a cheap surprise. Maybe they are discussing what move they are going to make next. Maybe they are having an argument because their personalities call for it. Maybe one of them goes out to survey the area to make sure it's safe but then he spots the helicopter. When he's running back to warn his friend, he trips and sprains his ankle.. Uh oh... Just write different starts for the scene and pick the one that stands out to you.
I would start right in the scene, maybe at a place where they just can't run anymore, or a drone has has a weapon pointed right at them, or maybe one of them is already injured. Just hit the reader with a sinking feeling that these characters are going to be caught.
If the characters have been on the run for a while, this might be a good point for them to start feeling confident they've finally escaped. Maybe they are relaxing, resting. Maybe one of them makes a 'famous last words' remark, like 'well, I think we've finally lost them,' or something like that. Even the reader could be lulled into feeling ...ahh, they've made it...then WHAM!
Never mind the drones and choppers. What are you trying to make the reader feel? Fear? Excitement? Sympathy? And, what are you writing? a Brad Thor adventure? A Stephen King horror? Or a more literary work, like John Irving's The World According to Garp? Toward the end of that one Garp dies- spoiler alert!- but after the author tells us of the murder he spends dozens of pages getting to the act, and thus keeping us enthralled.
Yeah, like Steve Day says, I'd ignore the choppers and the drones for a while, and concentrate on your MCs. Something like "Fred's boot trod on a pile of twigs, snapping them with a faint crack, as he charged through the forest. He sprinted through the trees and a branch whipped him across the cheek, the impact leaving a sharp sting and a thin line of blood. Fred paid it no heed. He glanced back, nervously." Something like that. Describe the setting, the adrenaline, the MCs' desire to get away. They're the most important things. Doesn't really matter if he's being chased by a giant or a rabbit. In fact, chase scenes are usually the more thrilling if your don't know why, or from whom (or both), the character is fleeing.
Here we go. I've always thought of myself as a writer and people have given me positive feedback on my writing, but I never pursued it seriously. Then I had an opportunity. I've always read that if a person wants to be a professional writer, he needs to approach it like a job. Set a minimum word count everyday or a minimum number of hours of writing per day. I chose the later. I decided to write or work on improving my writing skills at least 6 hrs everyday. I did this for about 8 months. I wrote two rough drafts of novels. The first one had a serious mechanical problem. I learned from that and completed a finished 1st rough draft on the second. Here's my problem. I also learned I hate writing. At least, long uninterrupted stretches are terrible. I never tried anything else. It's been a year since I've written anything. I'm thinking about trying to write again. I have the free time, but I don't want to do it and hate it. Any ideas on a different writing approach that will fit with the serious writer idea, but not the long stretches, and I don't mean breaks because I took plenty of those. Another issue I had was re-writing the rough draft. I waited a month then read the rough draft. I read some books on editing, but I was just spinning my wheels. It seemed fine to me. I didn't have anyone to read it and critique it for me. After I finished the rough draft I got to thinking that if this was ever published and they wanted me to write others I would rather drink boiling oil mixed with broken glass.
You're contradicting yourself several times in what you've written, mostly about wanting to "approach writing as a job", but not wanting to so things that come with being a professional writer. If you think your book is fine after one draft that's great, but a publisher won't think so. If you don't like to rewrite stories or you can't be critical about your own work becoming a professional writer is going to be very hard. People think it will be nice to become a writer because you can do what you like, but the truth is that it takes just as much time and effort as any other job and you may even earn less with it than you would with a regular job. If you publish one book I don't think you have to write something to follow up on it if you don't want to, but I can't tell you that for sure, because I'm neither a professional writer, nor a published one. If you want to make a living with writing you will have to write a lot, so why would you want to become a writer if you don't even like writing? That's like saying you want to become a doctor when you can't stand blood. Of course that's just my opinion, you may disagree with it. Writing a book that will be published is not about writing when you want to, it's about writing when you have planned to write. Just like any other job it's not always fun to write, but you're either a professional writer or you're not and if you are a professional writer you'll have to write x hours a day whether you like it or not. Wanting to become a writer but not wanting to write a lot is like working a 9 to 5, but only when you want to work; it's just not the way you do it. Those are some of the things you'll have to do if you really want to become a professional writer (and it's also a list of reasons why I'm not professional). I know it's probably not what you wanted to hear, but I hope you now have an idea of what you choose (not) to do when you choose (not) to become a professional writer.
Well... i don't really do writing as a job. I just do it for the enjoyment aspect of it. And to write for six hours straight... omg i barely even get through one hour sometimes! Just go at your own pace, and make sure the story you are writing is interesting enough that you won't lose your interest even in the long run. (I've been writing my own novel for over four years now and it's still not done) now, you may just not be the publishing type, or if you don't want to publish more than just one book, i'd suggest writing only one book at a time -not a series. Plus, if you want to avoid the hype of publishers asking when you will do your next book, i'd suggest self-publishing. That way you can just go your own way. I haven't published anything except for one short story that won a contest thus far, but this is all i know.
I shoot for three pages a day - nothing too high that I get overwhelmed and nothing too low that it feels like I'm not accomplishing anything. But it's all about trying out things that work for you. Keep a journal for a week on how your writing is coming along noting all the rough spots - when creativity dried up or your interest sagged, and the high moments - when creativity flowed. After going over the results you can spot patterns and make a workable schedule or set reachable goals for yourself.
