Note Cards (January 2024)

Tips for Writing a Difficult Scene

Every writer inevitably gets to that scene that just doesn't want to work. It doesn't flow, no matter how hard you try. Well, here are some things to try to get out of that rut:

1. Change the weather

I know this doesn't sound like it'll make much of a difference, but trust me when I say it does.

Every single time I've tried this, it worked and the scene flowed magically.

2. Change the POV

If your book has multiple POV characters, it might be a good idea to switch the scene to another character's perspective.

9/10 times, this will make the scene flow better.

3. Start the scene earlier/later

Oftentimes, a scene just doesn't work because you're not starting in the right place.

Perhaps you're starting too late and giving too little context. Perhaps some description or character introspection is needed before you dive in.

Alternatively, you may be taking too long to get to the actual point of the scene. Would it help to dive straight into the action without much ado?

4. Write only the dialogue

If your scene involves dialogue, it can help immensely to write only the spoken words the first time round.

It's even better if you highlight different characters' speech in different colors.

Then, later on, you can go back and fill in the dialogue tags, description etc.

5. Fuck it and use a placeholder

If nothing works, it's time to move on.

Rather than perpetually getting stuck on that one scene, use a placeholder. Something like: [they escape somehow] or [big emotional talk].

And then continue with the draft.

This'll help you keep momentum and, maybe, make the scene easier to write later on once you have a better grasp on the plot and characters.

Trust me, I do this all the time.

It can take some practice to get past your Type A brain screaming at you, but it's worth it.

So, those are some things to try when a scene is being difficult. I hope that these tips help :)

Reblog if you found this post useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

Snake Earrings

Thats Freakin Gorgeous on Etsy

The best French Onion Soup with slow cooked caramelized sweet onions, crisp baked crostini and plenty of smooth melting Gruyere Cheese. This is the ultimate comfort soup and is so quick and easy to make.

Just a bunch of useful websites

12ft – Hate paywalls? Try this site out.

My Fridge Food – No idea what to make? Tell this site what ingredients you have on hand and it will give you recipes to cook.

Project Gutenberg – Always ends up on these type of lists and for very good reason. All works that are copyright free in one place.

Ninite – New PC? Install all of your programs in one go with no bloat or unnecessary crap.

Unchecky – Tired of software trying to install additional unwanted programs? This will stop it completely by unchecking the necessary boxes when you install.

Sci-Hub – Research papers galore! Check here before shelling out money. And if it’s not here, try the next link in our list.

LibGen – Lots of free PDFs relate primarily to the sciences.

Zotero – A free and easy to use program to collect, organize, cite and share research.

Car Complaints – Buying a used car? Check out what other owners of the same model have to say about it first.

CamelCamelCamel – Check the historical prices of items on Amazon and set alerts for when prices drop.

Have I Been Pawned – Still the king when it comes to checking if your online accounts have been released in a data breach. Also able to sign up for email alerts if you’ve ever a victim of a breach.

Radio Garden – Think Google Earth but wherever you zoom, you get the radio station of that place.

Just The Recipe – Paste in the url and get just the recipe as a result. No life story or adverts.

Tineye – An Amazing reverse image search tool.

My 90s TV – Simulates 90’s TV using YouTube videos. Also has My80sTV, My70sTV, My60sTV and for the younger ones out there, My00sTV. Lose yourself in nostalgia.

Foto Forensics – Free image analysis tools.

Old Games Download – A repository of games from the 90’s and early 2000’s. Get your fix of nostalgia here.

Online OCR – Convert pictures of text into actual text and output it in the format you need.

Remove Background – An amazingly quick and accurate way to remove backgrounds from your pictures.

Twoseven – Allows you to sync videos from providers such as Netflix, Youtube, Disney+ etc and watch them with your friends. Ad free and also has the ability to do real time video and text chat.

Terms of Service, Didn’t Read – Get a quick summary of Terms of service plus a privacy rating.

Coolors – Struggling to get a good combination of colors? This site will generate color palettes for you.

This To That – Need to glue two things together? This’ll help.

Photopea – A free online alternative to Adobe Photoshop. Does everything in your browser.

BitWarden – Free open source password manager.

Atlas Obscura – Travelling to a new place? Find out the hidden treasures you should go to with Atlas Obscura.

ID Ransomware – Ever get ransomware on your computer? Use this to see if the virus infecting your pc has been cracked yet or not. Potentially saving you money. You can also sign up for email notifications if your particular problem hasn’t been cracked yet.

Way Back Machine – The Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites and loads more.

Rome2Rio – Directions from anywhere to anywhere by bus, train, plane, car and ferry.

Splitter – Seperate different audio tracks audio. Allowing you to split out music from the words for example.

myNoise – Gives you beautiful noises to match your mood. Increase your productivity, calm down and need help sleeping? All here for you.

DeepL – Best language translation tool on the web.

Forvo – Alternatively, if you need to hear a local speaking a word, this is the site for you.

GREAT BRITAIN & WEST EUROPEAN RESOURCES

The Anthropological Masterlist is HERE.

Great Britain is a European island in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest island in the world.

ARTHURIAN ─ “The Matter of Britain, or the Arthurian cycle, is a medieval European body of literature.” ─ Arthurian Information ─ Arthurian Sources ─ Arthurian Texts

CORNWALL ─ “The Cornish people are a Western European people. They are native to Cornwall.” ─ Cornwall’s Stones ─ Cornish History ─ Cornish Dictionary

ENGLAND ─ “The English people are a Germanic people. They are native to England.” ─ Middle English Literature ─ English Folklore ─ The English Renaissance

ICENI ─ “The Iceni, or Ecini, were a Brittonic people that lived from the British Iron Age to the early Roman era. They lived in modern-day Norfolk.” ─ Iceni Information

IRELAND ─ “The Irish people are a Western European people that share the Irish culture. They are native to Ireland.” ─ Irish Folklore & Mythology ─ Irish History ─ Irish Language

MANX ─ “The Manx people are a West European people that share the Manx culture. They are native to the Isle of Man.” ─ Manx Information ─ Manx History ─ Manx Language

ORKNEY ─ “Orkney, or the Orkney Islands, is a European archipelago. It is located in Scotland.” ─ Orcadian Information ─ Orcadian Culture & History

SCOTLAND ─ “The Scottish, or Scotch, people are a European people. They are native to Scotland.” ─ Scottish Folklore ─ Scottish History ─ Scots Language

WALES ─ “Welsh people are a Western European people that share the Welsh culture. They are native to Wales.” ─ Welsh Culture ─ Welsh History ─ The Four Branches of the Mabinogi

Western Europe is a European region that constitutes the western part of the European continent. Great Britain is also considered part of Western Europe.

BELGIUM ─ “The Belgian people are a Western European people that share the Belgian culture. They are native to Belgium.” ─ Belgian History ─ Belgian Timeline

DUTCH ─ “The Dutch people are a West Germanic people. They are native to the Netherlands.” ─ Dutch Literature (in Dutch) ─ Dutch Folklore ─ Dutch History

FRANCE ─ “The French people are a Western European people that share the French culture. They are native to France.” ─ French Culture ─ French History ─ French Dictionary

FRANKS ─ “The Franks were a Germanic people. They lived between the Lower Rhine and Ems River.” ─ Frankish Information ─ Frankish Information ─ Rise of the Franks

GERMANIC NEOPAGANISM ─ “Germanic Neopaganism, or Heathenry, is a Pagan religion. It originated in Europe in the early 20th century C.E.” ─ Germanic Neopagan Information (in German)

*MEDIEVAL EUROPEAN ─ “The Middle Ages, or the Medieval Period, was a European period of time from the 5th century C.E. to the 15th century C.E.” ─ Medieval Culture ─ Pliny’s History of the World ─ Medieval Military History

NORSE ─ “The Nordic, or North Germanic, people are a Germanic people. They are native to the Nordic region of Europe.” ─ Vikings of Denmark ─ Norse Mythology ─ The Edda

SWEDEN ─ “The Swedish, or Swede, people are a Germanic people. They are native to Sweden.” ─ Swedish Culture ─ Swedish History ─ Swedish Dictionary

* - The Medieval European period was not just a Western European period of time. It was also part of many other European histories.

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