The longest you've spent on a single scene

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hoihoisoi
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The longest you've spent on a single scene

#1 Post by hoihoisoi »

Just wondering, but what is the longest time you authors have spent on a single scene. I'm just interested to know exactly how long of a 'block' have you guys ever faced before.

For me, I'm currently fighting my longest block thus far. (Which is what made me write this in the first place) I've been editing one single scene for close to a week and one day now (Each day inputting about 3 hours or so - totaling to 24 hours for just a 20 minute excerpt), writing and rewriting different parts and pieces to make it work. It isn't so much of a 'plot' block however but rather just all the other things like pacing, phrasing, rhythm and whatnot.

It's seriously making me feel a bit nauseous at this point, but still, I'm just a-hammering it away with different rewrites of the same few sentences everyday. XD

Just interested to know if you guys have faced anything like this before and how you guys eventually managed to deal with it. X)
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Re: The longest you've spent on a single scene

#2 Post by Dovahkitteh »

I used to get stuck on scenes for lengthy amounts of time (up to a few days, usually), either due to lack of inspiration or motivation, and just ended up staring at the screen or getting distracted.

The best workaround, in my experience, is simply to skip past it. Write a later scene that you've got inspiration for or that excites you, even if the content is related to the scene that you're stuck on. Inconsistencies can always be changed later.

If a scene is very laborious to struggle through, I think chances are that it'll end up less fun to the player, as well. My personal rule of thumb is that a passage should be as entertaining to write as to read, so if I really end up disliking a section, I often just scrap it or rework it entirely. Some scenes simply don't need to be included and can be replaced with a few-sentence summary of what happened; a good question to ask yourself is "does this part contribute something critical to the game's story or feel?" If the answer is no, consider either getting rid of it, or reworking it by adding in elements that make it undeniably interesting and important.

Hope this helps some!
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Re: The longest you've spent on a single scene

#3 Post by Imperf3kt »

Very much so agree with Dovahkitteh - come back to the scene later.
My opening scene in my hugely ambitious solo project, has been rewritten several dozen times over the past five years (yeah, been working on it that long, but do take long breaks from it as well)

If you dwell too hard on one scene it'll hinder progress and by expanding other scenes first, you may find it easier when you come back to it.
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Re: The longest you've spent on a single scene

#4 Post by JamieDW »

About 1-2 weeks. The scene took place in an unfamiliar setting, and I didn't want any inconsistencies to show up later on. It's kind of a hassle.
Though, to be fair, the scene is very very long. Right now, I spent a week on a short scene, so it varies.
Try having a walk or a shower or even daydream or read some more. Work on something else, then come back when your mind is fresh. :)
Besides, what interest is there?
It's not as if everyone is going to care, anyway.

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Re: The longest you've spent on a single scene

#5 Post by TheJerminator15 »

Technically, a year and a half.

Don't ask.
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Re: The longest you've spent on a single scene

#6 Post by hoihoisoi »

Hmmmm... I've actually done that before in my earlier drafts but by this draft I'm actually looking to polish it up to the point where it can stand as an average script so that's why I've been spending an unusually long time on each scene as compared to moving from one scene to another. That said, after around 2 weeks or so, I've somehow managed to get through the block with a scene I'm happy with (At least for the time being).

Thanks for the input guys and I hope you guys manage well with your blocks as well. Just got to continue pushing at the wall I guess to get past it. X(
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Re: The longest you've spent on a single scene

#7 Post by polaroidcaesar »

It took me over a month to write a single scene (there were a lot of moving parts, what can I say), and I'm currently on one that's taken me about 3 weeks. There are other extenuating factors like schoolwork and exams but it's more like lack of inspiration/thinking what I've written is trash/takes a lot of effort.

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Re: The longest you've spent on a single scene

#8 Post by ArcialIntegra »

For me, the longest I had was a month when I was young and didn't care enough about my writing in the first place. Nowadays, I find blocks are more common when you have less of an idea of what to do. If you're having a block, look at the events that just occurred and think to yourself "what's the next logical step if this were real life." If you can't think of anything, write a little one-shot story in Microsoft/OpenOffice based off a classic story like Alice in Wonderland using the same characters of your project before going back to your real writing. This can help your mind push through the block.

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