Bleppy's Tea pause

Starting

Before writing, I always outline the chapter, where it will start, what the characters feel and the main things they'll say and do, and where it will end. Then to actually start the chapter, I try to drop the reader right into the middle of the action/thought of the narrator. Whatever will pack the most punch or provide the most intrigue to hook the reader in. Looking back on some of the openings of my chapters, I think the element of mystery is important. It is good to get the reader thinking and wondering "what does the author mean by that" or "how did the character get to this point" so it feels more engaging to them. Everyone wants to feel invested in a story and be an active part of the problem-solving process, instead of being told all the facts in a straightforward manner.

When all else fails, starting with a pithy line of dialogue or a stark description of the physical environment can usually work!

Middle

I don't always figure this out and it can take multiple revisions. So instead of referencing chapters I am happy with, I will talk about a chapter I had to revise and still am not totally content with. Chapter 44 of Orpheus, where Twilight visits Garden a second time to debrief with Sylvia and Shopkeeper on the Athena Lab mission.

The purpose of this chapter was to lay out the political ramifications of exposing Project Apple to the world, and how that would impact the main characters' future together given Twilight's lofty "retirement plan" stated earlier in the story.

Originally the chapter was one long scene of Twilight and Yor at home, with Twilight explaining all the possible ways things could go wrong in Ostania with civil unrest, political crackdowns, etc. But after writing it, and looking at the overall story outline, I realized two things were wrong. There was way too much tell instead of show (which made it drag on and on), and I was missing an opportunity to advance an important but subtle part of the plot.

I looked at all the things that Twilight was explaining and thought, what is a better way to communicate all this to the reader? Instead of having just one character do an info dump, can I spread it among multiple characters? Or shift some of the verbal explanations into a character’s inner thoughts on the situation?

So Twilight’s explanation became a four way conversation between him, Sylvia, Shopkeeper, and McMahon. I hoped that the inherent tension between the Westalian side and the Ostanian side would make the otherwise dry topic of politics more interesting. It also served to advance the plot point of Shopkeeper slowly coming to trust WISE and respect Twilight despite what he did in his trials.

Breaking paralysis

I get the feeling of being paralyzed and not knowing which option to write. You can always try a few paragraphs and then give up on a path if it doesn’t read right, and copy paste the best parts into the next revision. Or you can do a pros/cons list of each option! I have done this when deciding the sequence of events in a story, or which character should be the POV character of a certain scene.

Finally there is that piece of advice I have seen floating around on tumblr that if you feel stuck in the middle of a scene, maybe the problem is the previous sentence you just wrote. If you change the previous sentence or paragraph, maybe it’ll get you unstuck.