I've blogged about resistance before, but this time, it's a bit different.
You see, my character has to do something that is going to significantly impact his life - and the lives of those around him - and not in a good way. I am having a hard time writing this stuff simply because I don't want to put him - and everyone else - through the misery that is about to come their way.
So I have resisted writing this next part, even though I know it is needed to push the story forward. But our characters can't have shiny, happy, perfect lives, now can they? The real world doesn't work that way - and neither should our fiction.
Have you ever encountered this type of resistance in your own writing?
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This is just one of the many aspects of writing that I find so intriguing! I would love to take a peek at your writing! (But I will someday-when you get your first novel published.)
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I really enjoy reading your posts:)
Aw, thanks, Valeries! I can't wait for you to read my novels. You've given me added incentive to get my latest one done!!!
ReplyDeleteI like writing the type of scene you describe. It's a fun way of exploring where my writing can take the story, and to explore life in a way, through the character. Sometimes, too, the resistance is a way of mulling over a scene as you consider where it should go.
ReplyDeleteHave I encountered that resistance?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. I have a subconscious feeling that it has happened but mostly I feel that my characters are not being controlled by me so much as I am just watching them interact, so I don't feel it is my fault if something bad happens. Just like when I read, I plough ahead to the good parts (which can be good for the characters or just fun to write) and anything that comes between is just a way of getting from one of the fun parts to the next. Actually, thinking abut it, my attachment to my characters varies, some MCs in my short stories I care much more about than some in my novels. I have no idea what I am trying to say here but my characters do not lead perfect lives to be sure.
LOL I get like this too! Then I remember all that stuff I learned about tension and my MC never being happy and yada yada and I persist to make their world the most miserable place on earth. I still imagine them happy in my free time. ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm battling with this right now on my Wip, so I can imagine how you feel.
ReplyDeleteI've found that if I encounter a lot of resistance--if I just don't feel motivated to write the scene the way I've planned, I've lost all the excitement--that I usually am pushing the character the wrong way. Not that nothing bad should happen to them (lots bad should happen!) but it's not right for the character or the circumstances. Resistance is usually my cue to brainstorm and figure out where the problem is.
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