A while back, Kris (PJ Parrish) wrote a great post in which she described writing as a process of creating “scene islands”, connected by “transition bridges”.
Think of the scene you’re currently working on. If you think of that scene as an island, what would you name that island? Story-wise, what important thing is happening in this scene?
Desert island…
I wrote a really god-awful scene yesterday. (No, I am not exaggerating. I just went back and read it). But I had to get something down “on paper” in a part of the book that has stalled for a week now. So I just pooped out something (stronger language is actually more appropriate). But here’s the upside: It forced me to move ahead. And now I can go back and fix it. Maybe I can get a cactus or two to bloom.
That’s courage and also what makes you a pro. I need to do that a lot more, and thanks for the reminder.
The Isle of Isolation
Stabbing my main character in the back (professionally) while his wife watches. Puts him right smack dab in front of JSB’s First Door of No Return – and delivers a kick to the seat of the pants to force him through.
Yergonnaregretthat Island in Passinginthefog Sea just beyond The Warhell Ocean
I would have expected no less, Basil, lol!
My scene I could call, “I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas Anymore.” In this scene, the cyber-homicide detective first learns that the disgruntled worker who just shot up a corporate headquarters and murdered two people is actually the company’s CEO.
Oooohhh….interesting.
Very-Long Island.
Very-Long Island Iced Tea.
Never to be outdone in the literal-minded department, the island in my suspense novel The Anything Goes Girl is just that, an island. It’s fictional, but based on an actual atoll I spent some time on, during my two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia. So there.