Embed Notice

#WordWeavers 2401.24— Out of all your writing, what was the hardest scene for you to write? Why? CW: Fictional violence referred to.

The scene where the MC wakes up, being dragged through the mud, and realizes she's about to be murdered by a man who savaged her.

I knew I needed this scene but had no planned ending. I had to get beyond it to define her character. Without it, she'd be just an elite runaway prat readers would eventually see as entitled and over powered. She had to have reasons to fight.

I wrote the scene cold, very aware of her undeveloped flawed magic skills and that she had nothing physical to help other than defense training. Against that, she had lack of leverage, because of the mud, and a seemingly insurmountable mass and strength disadvantage. It leaves her seemingly doomed.

It felt too real, too cruel to execute.

The scene as written, especially how she thinks emotionally and cerebrally while fighting, and her reaction later to what happened to her, colors her character even in the sequels.

A reader today referred to the scene and left me very pleased:

"I'm glad you didn't have her forget the unfortunate encounter with The Monster. The subtle effect it has on her every day does help with the realism of her character."

[Author retains copyright (c)2024 RS.]

#BoostingIsSharing and #CommentingIsCool

#fiction #fantasy #sf #sff #sciencefiction #writing #writer #writers #author #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory