Post AaMo8uyEPqGe6Dft1U by authorbrookeshaffer@www.minds.com
(DIR) More posts by authorbrookeshaffer@www.minds.com
(DIR) Post #AaMUM7olxjaOctGprk by marquesedliddle@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T13:54:02+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
My Wand Smoke: Tales from the Labyrinth story "Nowhere" was extremely difficult to complete. I wrote myself into corners multiple times before reaching the end.A large part of the challenge came from the protagonist's perspective. She joined a faerie-equivalent of a Young-Hegelian cult.The prior story, "Sins of the Father," admonished the cult and their beliefs quite harshly, and so I wanted to give them a fairer shake with "Nowhere." That meant that the protagonist, Verrat, wasn't merely going to give up and go back to her dad. I decided ahead of time that wasn't an option for her. However, without a "return to tradition," I didn't have a ready answer for any of the problems confronting her.In the end, I had to come up with a synthesis between the two positions (Neo-Platonic Idealism and Traditional Conservatism). The result looked something like Machiavellian realism, which I'm not a fan of, but seems to correspond with reality, and thus the theme seems to strike true (as both a warning more than anything).For other authors who find themselves stuck in a corner, I advise looking at what you might not want the solution to be. Often (but not always) the corner is an illusion. The reality is that we don't like where the story is going. Sometimes that means you backtrack and go a different way, but often it means that your desires are getting in the way of the story.
(DIR) Post #AaMYvp37cX8kesG9hI by NSonic79@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T14:51:11+00:00
2 likes, 0 repeats
Wrote a chapter where the only way the characters could’ve gotten out of their situation was to kill EVERYONE. I Didn’t like that outcome and didn’t want to deus ex it so scrapped the chapter altogether. Have avoided it since by preplanning the story beside I put it to page.
(DIR) Post #AaMaJcexR8rV8VrydM by NSonic79@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T14:50:31+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
Wrote a chapter where the only way the characters could’ve gotten out of their situation was to kill EVERYONE. I Didn’t like that outcome and didn’t want to deus ex it so scrapped the chapter altogether. Have avoided it since by preplanning the story beside I put it to page.
(DIR) Post #AaMaJtlxoLZEDAHJPk by sugarthyme@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T14:40:25+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
I don't think I run into this problem often because I go in already having a basic outline of what is going to happen. I absolutely add more and sometimes come up with better reasons for things, but generally, I already know where the characters will end up and how, even if it's not super fleshed out yet. I might come up with a better "how" later, but I already had something to begin with.
(DIR) Post #AaMaKZSwnRJNWLhibY by antonyobeara@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T14:21:21+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
When writing Clara, I started down a path where Clara was worried about breaking down and not being able to be repaired due to AbioGenesys going out of business, but then I realized that this would lead down a road far away from the plot and was disconnected from everything else. So, I just cut out all of that dialogue and went in a different direction.
(DIR) Post #AaMd37VlmEmBlFOWpM by scribbles_n_bits@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T15:35:17+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
I'm in one now. I'll tell you when I'm out of it.
(DIR) Post #AaMm3ygQz48WG5rnRA by lordjestocost@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T16:48:03+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
I can't think of cases of my "writing myself into a corner," probably because my stuff is pretty loosely plotted and usually the stakes are pretty low, so there's always *something* the characters can do, even if it's just walk away.That said, I've gotten stuck not being able to think of what should happen next. Not because of restrictions of the story, just me drawing a blank. I now won't start anything unless I've got an outline with a beginning, middle, and end.
(DIR) Post #AaMo8uyEPqGe6Dft1U by authorbrookeshaffer@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T17:38:57+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
I'm doing that dance right now. Because my characters have such awesome, universe-bending abilities, there are a lot of, "Why don't they just...?" questions. If it's not for lack of power, then I have to come up with some other reason, which would be personality, motivation, convictions, or some other, more deeply-rooted factor that would override simple force.The advice here, then, would be to know your characters well enough, inside and out, and make sure they have plenty of time to put such traits on display, so that when you reach a "Why don't they just...?" then you have a reason and a history to point to why they indeed don't just.
(DIR) Post #AaN5QJ53j6tb1FkHuC by asihart@www.minds.com
2023-10-02T19:58:46+00:00
1 likes, 0 repeats
Happened a few times in my youth before I got a computer.Those stories were stupid as fuck.Now I try to have the scene at hand thought out before I write it.Sometimes a few paragraphs have had to be deleted...