By Lyndell Williams (Guest Blogger)
Original
post: Layla
Writes Love
Scene
troubles may involve persistent issues with the plot's structure, or
they may be thematic and restricted to one manuscript.
Author Achilles Heels
Narrative
building in genre fiction is more than writing words. Generating a
story idea and its execution involves applying numerous literary
tools, following conventions (which differs between genres), and
knowing when to break them. Some plot points may be easier for
authors to draft.
A
writer may fly through the beginning of the plot structure only to
consistently stall in the middle. A weak middle can cause some
execution stress when writing chapters and scenes. It's called
sagging
middle syndrome
for a reason. Tension building can be arduous and traumatic, which is
not good. The characters should be getting all flustered from drama,
not the author.
Giving
characters a satisfying resolution may be a problem in every project.
Characters achieving their
story's
goal
is only part of providing a gratifying end. I often read authors
expressing that they don't want the story to end because they are so
in love with the characters. The infatuation is sweet and common, but
come on. Readers want an ending scene where those lovable
protagonists find some level of equilibrium and contentment (or not),
and antagonists get their comeuppance. It is the stuff that makes
storytelling great.
Authors
may have no trouble with the mayhem and solutions. For them, reaching
the inciting incident and climax is a problem. Exposition is critical
to grabbing readers and getting them vested in the characters. The
opening scene needs to have a balance of description,
characterization, and exposition that pulls readers in and hooks them
into turning those pages or swiping that screen—not an easy feat.
Theme Issues
There
are millions of journals and computer files with story ideas left
unfinished for want of a scene that eludes or traps an author. The
characters of my first (attempt at a) story are still in a damn hotel
room. I tried to get them out, but no. They are just sitting there.
Maybe
I will liberate them one day. Today is not that day. Authors get
stuck in a scene for many reasons. Part of a story may not be
flowing. The execution—getting the characters to do and say what
you want—could be off. The scene's subject may be difficult to
address.
Love
scenes baffle a lot of writers, mainly the level of intimacy and
description. My readers know I have no problem with turning up the
heat.—
If
the content is new or something that makes a writer uncomfortable
(i.e., violence, abuse, etc.), it will affect the ability to write a
scene. I had the hardest time with a domestic abuse scene in one of
the
Brothers
in Law
manuscripts. I was a little too comfortable describing the violence
and heartache from the victim's point of view. I kept reining myself
in for fear of being too graphic, and my writing faltered as I
struggled between what I expected readers to handle and the
character's experience.
I
also had to tackle with my visceral responses to the pain and trauma.
Scenes involving Toni and Marcus Kent’s struggle with infertility
in my new release, Sweet Love, Bitter Fruit were very
challenging, especially when Marcus had to carry Toni into the
emergency room after a bad reaction to the in vitro medication. I
shared his heartbreak. Check out an excerpt of the scene below.
If
an author doesn't have any while they are writing, then there is
something wrong. On top of the mental blocks I set up, I had to
contend with shaky hands and a racing heart.
Struggling
with scene content is more than
writer's
block.
The writer may know what to write—the words and tools are all
there—but the emotional toll may prevent completion. Talking it out
and recognizing the reason that the keyboard remains silent for a
particular scene helps.
Story
writing is ripe with challenges, but none of them are insurmountable.
So, stretch, grab a water bottle and dig in to give readers one.
Sweet
Love, Bitter Fruit
By
Lyndell Williams
Available
at Amazon
Blurb
Harlem
lawyer Marcus Kent fights for justice while preserving a stable,
passionate marriage with wife, Toni. Smart and confident, he has it
all together—that is until his world turns upside down.
Not
only is someone stalking his sister, but an intern at work is also
getting too close for comfort.
On
top of all of that, Toni’s renewed infertility obsession causes
them to continually argue, adding more strain and cooling off their
steamy union.
Struggling
with insecurities and yearning to have a child, successful
psychologist Toni Kent looks to her husband for support.
Unfortunately, relentless distraction and stubbornness prevent Marcus
from being there when she needs him the most and jeopardizes their
happy home.
After
multiple failed in vitro attempts, Toni is ready to try again, but
Marcus is done. He doesn’t want another headache or more heartache.
Excerpt
"Hi"—Marcus
hovered over the nurse panting—“my wife is very sick,” he said
over the sound
of gurneys rushing behind him. He tightened his grip around Toni’s
waist, his muscles burning as he strained to keep her from crumpling
to the floor. He hefted her up further against his body, her head
rolling against his chest. The emergency room sliding doors ground
closed, drowning out her soft moan. “It’s gonna be okay,
Sweetness.” He barely got the words out of his closed throat. They
hadn’t been okay since the morning.
Toni
had begun the day getting out of the bed and vomiting. He went for
his run and returned to sounds of her retching over the toilet. She
assured him it was a passing thing and insisted that he go to work.
Her clammy skin and cold hands told him otherwise, but he left and
spent the morning worrying and blowing up her phone. When she hadn’t
answered a string of calls, he headed home and found her lying on the
bathroom floor.
Her
arms fell away from his neck and her body started jerking. “Oh,
no,” he groaned. She couldn’t possibly be vomiting again. He
pushed back the wet tendrils from her forehead and cupped her chin.
Her mouth opened, releasing a rancid smell that reminded him of
putrid meat. The drugs were rotting her away from the inside. He met
the nurse’s stoic gaze. “Please, help her. She’s on fertility
medication.”
“All
right, just calm down.” She passed him a clipboard. A blank stare
fixed behind her leopard print glasses, red lipstick on her thin lips
made a thin line across her pale face. “Have a seat and fill these
out.” She turned in her chair and started talking to the security
guard standing over her.
He
took it, resisting the urge to hurl it across the room, and struggled
with Toni along a row of vinyl seats, mumbling “excuse me” as
they bumped their way through outstretched legs. The scent of
tobacco, alcohol and vomit sent his stomach reeling. If he wasn’t
careful, he was going to be throwing up next. He flopped down and
tugged her pants up her hips before pulling her onto his lap. There
was nothing left that really fit her after weeks of weight loss. “I
got you,” he grunted and shifted on the padded seat. The corner of
the chair’s arm dug into the elbow he propped on it for support. He
widened his legs and sank into the chair. Her staggering breath
rushed against his neck. His head throbbed in rhythm with his
pounding heart. Things were the worst they had ever been.
Get a copy of Sweet Love–Bitter Fruit at Amazon.
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