Writing a Scene

I came across this minor problem that started as a major problem, and the epiphany I had allowed me to get past my writer's block. To be brief, I could not get past a scene which was pretty basic. I was at Point A, and I had all of these ideas for where Point B, C, and D would be. The problem was connecting the dots. The epiphany I had was "just focus on the scene." I had a lot of ideas of what the character would go through, how the other people in his life would play a role, shape and change his life. This is all well and good, but it detracts from the scene. A lot of it goes back to film making in which scene after scene makes up a movie, and events may happen outside of the current scene. The key is to focus on this one scene.

As an author, I am privy to any number of elements and events which take place currently or later in a book, but for someone who is reading the book, they do not know what is happening or will happen. Taking out all of the other information, I set up two characters and what has transpired thus far. From there, it was easy to see through those characters' eyes of what has happened and how they react to it. Each reacts differently, and in a sense the two cannot connect. One is feeling relief and joy, while the other feels loss and depression. These two feelings are on totally opposite sides of the spectrum. While the two are close in proximity, the emotional chasm is deep and wide.

As I have said before, this style of writing lends to real emotional characters who can change and develop on their own. Obviously the challenges can arise, but I am beginning to learn that as long as I can focus on the scene at hand, everything else will come natural.

Another thought I had was the aspect of external or internal effects on a character as it relates to a scene. The wider world may have some significant events taking place, but is it important for the story or the scene to consider that when writing a scene. It does offer a deeper complexity to the story, but for me it can muddle my view of how a scene is working. Those events may be important later in the story, but for now, as an author, it is more important to figure out how the characters interact in a realistic, believable, and hopefully emotional way.