Writers Block advice

[JLBTucker]

I have come to a point in my story were I need to write a necessary part of the story but it's incredibly boring and tedious scene in order to proceed were one of the main characters meets another for the first time. Problem is it's a scene I am not enthusiastic about writing but its needed to logically flow and i keep putting it off. Any advise?

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

If you're not enthused for it then it's likely to be a drag for your readers as well. Do you really need to have it? Could they meet in another way, something that naturally progresses the story along? Could you edit it down to be only a few lines? Or can you throw in a piece of action in the middle of it all to get the story back on track?

 

[JLBTucker]

If you're not enthused for it then it's likely to be a drag for your readers as well. Do you really need to have it? Could they meet in another way, something that naturally progresses the story along? Could you edit it down to be only a few lines? Or can you throw in a piece of action in the middle of it all to get the story back on track?

In this situation one of the main characters is a new officer coming to the ship for the first time and the captain is the other main, its important because its what a new officer would when joining a new crew

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

In this situation one of the main characters is a new officer coming to the ship for the first time and the captain is the other main, its important because its what a new officer would when joining a new crew

I'd say take a page from TNG, DS9 or VOY then, when the new officer reports to the CO, keep it brief then get them both right on task, assuming their stations/preparing for launch. Spending too much time on the scene, unless they have or develop an intense relationship (good or bad) with one another, could lead to excessive exposition dump and doing too much telling instead of showing:

• If the Captain is more standoffish and impersonal, they might just want to do a Picard/Riker, seated behind their desk, scrutinising the new arrival before ordering them to do something either out of the blue or very mundane, to see how they deal with unusual orders or complain about the banal nature of the task
• If the situation is a little tenser, then it could be a Sisko/Dax/Bashir moment, fobbing the new arrival off on someone else whilst they continue to work the problem, so the new arrival then has to deal with losing the chance to make the first impression they wanted and risk putting their foot in it
• Or if the Captain prefers a more personable approach with their crew, then it could be a Janeway/Kim moment, with the CO making a joke before letting them know exactly the type of leader they are, they could even offer a coffee and ask them to take a seat, only to be interrupted by a matter that requires their attention

You'll know your characters better, so unless they're the type to have long philosophical debates with people they don't know, then keep it brief and on point. Work out the exact plot or character points you want the scene to highlight and build their interaction around that.

 

[JLBTucker]

I'd say take a page from TNG, DS9 or VOY then, when the new officer reports to the CO, keep it brief then get them both right on task, assuming their stations/preparing for launch. Spending too much time on the scene, unless they have or develop an intense relationship (good or bad) with one another, could lead to excessive exposition dump and doing too much telling instead of showing:

• If the Captain is more standoffish and impersonal, they might just want to do a Picard/Riker, seated behind their desk, scrutinising the new arrival before ordering them to do something either out of the blue or very mundane, to see how they deal with unusual orders or complain about the banal nature of the task
• If the situation is a little tenser, then it could be a Sisko/Dax/Bashir moment, fobbing the new arrival off on someone else whilst they continue to work the problem, so the new arrival then has to deal with losing the chance to make the first impression they wanted and risk putting their foot in it
• Or if the Captain prefers a more personable approach with their crew, then it could be a Janeway/Kim moment, with the CO making a joke before letting them know exactly the type of leader they are, they could even offer a coffee and ask them to take a seat, only to be interrupted by a matter that requires their attention

You'll know your characters better, so unless they're the type to have long philosophical debates with people they don't know, then keep it brief and on point. Work out the exact plot or character points you want the scene to highlight and build their interaction around that.

The captain is a human who has long been in star fleet, a traditional masculine sailor officer archetype. The other is a young Trill who is actually apart of Star fleet intelligence put on the ship as part a begrudging agreement. As he had several lives he's more flexible and less traditionally masculine. Its kind of an old meets new situation. The old school star fleet captain and the new up and comer. I need it to be tense but not antagonistic

 

[Hawku]

Use the scene to establish a minor conflict between the two. Maybe one is critical of the other for a behavioral trait or something in the past? It could be the SI officer's fake past, but he has to pretend it's real? Just throwing some ideas out there.

 

[JLBTucker]

Use the scene to establish a minor conflict between the two. Maybe one is critical of the other for a behavioral trait or something in the past? It could be the SI officer's fake past, but he has to pretend it's real? Just throwing some ideas out there.

With out getting to far into weeds the SI officer is a section 31 gender fliped clone of the previous host who made a clone of her self to be the perfect next host for the smybeote

 

[Bast]

Perhaps toss in that the new host has had a few genetic enhancements when the clone was prepared to be the next host? Or at least some doubt despite an investigation into the matter?

 

[JLBTucker]

Perhaps toss in that the new host has had a few genetic enhancements when the clone was prepared to be the next host? Or at least some doubt despite an investigation into the matter?

already planted the seed because this symbotoyte is not associated with Trill government at all. The previous host of the symbotye faked her own death to to bring one to section 31 because one of those would be valuable to an agency like section 31.
Oh and yeah there are some enchantments to Talak (the current host) but mostly in ways that make it easier "persuade" people, he's not really much of a fighter