Have you been having a difficult time starting a new project? Perhaps the problem is you feel you can’t start unless you already have a complete story concept. The solution begins with one scene.

Since you’re a writer, you always have at least one scene that sticks in your mind and one character that stands out in that scene. That’s all you need. Begin by describing the scene: Where is the scene located? Is inside or outside? If it’s inside, is it the bridge of a vessel at sea or a room in a casino? What details would someone immediately notice if they were standing next to your character?

Is the time of day an important factor in describing the scene? Will darkness make the scene more menacing? If the scene takes place on a space ship, time may be a disorienting factor, because there is no sunrise of sunset to give your character a sense of the passing of time. You might note that lighting inside the ship varies, depending on time to day to compensate.

What type of dialogue is taking place in the scene? Is your character talking to someone, or is it an internal dialogue that no one but the reader hears? If the character is talking to someone, are their voices raised, or are they whispering?

Is your main character experiencing any emotions? Does your character feel threatened? Is he/she relaxed? Is your character bitter or angry? Jealous? Envious? Since stories tend to be driven by emotions, establishing how your character is feeling in a scene is essential. Spock has always been one of the most intriguing characters in the Star Trek franchise because of his struggle to suppress and control his human emotions.

Action is the final piece of the puzzle. What is your character doing? A scene doesn’t require a lot of movement to be dramatic. A character sitting in a chair and struggling to breathe, can be just as engrossing as two characters fighting on a moving train, because in both cases we understand it’s a life or death struggle.

If you’re waiting until you’re in the “flow” to start, you’ll waste a lot of precious time. For a writer, starting to write a scene is like a musician picking up her electric guitar and plugging it into the amplifier. Nothing happens until she starts playing. For all us wordsmiths, nothing happens until we start writing.

Copyright © 2024 by J. Paul Cooper