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Will the scene even be missed?

David Gane
David Gane
1 min read

Sometimes we can get blocked in our writing because we don’t know how to approach a specific moment.

For some reason, the scene isn’t working, or we can’t find our entry point.

I’ll often spin my wheels for days until I come to the most straightforward solution: skip it. Don’t write it.

It probably isn’t essential, and it’s probably not moving the story forward. By removing it, you clear out the dead weight and get to the exciting part of the story.

The other possibility is that you aren’t even interested in that scene. And if you aren’t interested, why do you think your reader will care about it.?

The best thing to do is skip over it and make the scene work without it. I bet no one will even miss it.

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David Gane Twitter

Co-writer of the Shepherd and Wolfe young adult mysteries, the internationally award-winning series, and teacher of storytelling and screenwriting.

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