Tips for Fantasy Writers

chapter 3

#3) Don't avoid writing the big scenes

Writing is a difficult process which requires lots of imagination and hard work. Sometimes a planned scene can become like a huge mountain to climb. Scenes require setting up, bringing in the characters, communicating how the characters feel about the events unfolding and what the event means to them. That adds up to an enormous task. Also it might be just a bit boring to write. Often the best part of writing can be the unplanned part where the outcome is uncertain and the story unfolds under its own momentum. A planned scene can be quite dull to write in comparison. Writers sometimes fudge these big scenes or take short cuts. They engineer events so that the protagonist never meets the villain to battle it out. That cheats the reader of something they expected and were probably looking forward to reading.

The only exception to this rule is when the scene is charged with emotion. When a central character finds out that someone they thought was dead is alive, stepping back a bit or showing only a part of the scene will stop it drowning under a deluge of schmaltz. Don't put a reader through the emotional wringer; look away when a character is given the bad news.