Stuck

[setauuta.livejournal.com]

So, I'm behind and I know it, but I'm getting stuck on this one part of my novel. It's not that I can't find the words or anything - it's that I don't want to write it.


Basically, my book is being told from the point of view of two different cats. The first 15k or so were devoted to Goliath, Denise's cat. Around the 15k mark is when he had his first encounter with Col. Steve, [male character yet to be named]'s cat. So now that they've encountered each other, I'm going back and treating Col. Steve to the same history as Goliath.

The problem is that Col. Steve didn't have a very good kittenhood. While Goliath had brothers and sisters and was born in someone's apartment and his mother was a beloved pet, Steve's mother and brother and sister died during birth. His mother was feral, and by the time they were found, Steve was the only one left. He was taken to a shelter, where he was nursed back to health, and now he's been adopted by a crazy cat lady. He's excited because he's going home, and he's going to have lots of playmates, but this lady is one of those that you hear about on the news - you know, 30 cats in a one-bedroom apartment type of thing. Now, I know Steve has a problem with other cats by the time he meets Goliath, so I know this part is crucial to his development. But I don't really want to write about how he's being shunned and fought by the other (older) cats, how he's having to fight for any kind of food or attention, or how the condition of the apartment is such that he can barely breath, much less find his own place. I'm a huge cat lover (in case it wasn't obvious), and I hate even watching that sort of thing on the news, much less having to write it.

So, yeah. Any of you had to deal with a scene that you knew you had to write, but just didn't feel comfortable writing?

Comments

[peloquin3.livejournal.com]

Man, I thought I was going to have words of advice, but I got nothin. All I can say is use your hatred of people who abuse animals and have no right to keep them as the fuel for your writing and you may be able to power through it as a sort of catharsis.

[ivymere.livejournal.com]

If you're really stuck, try going to another scene in the past or in the future of the book and write that...just to get your mind off. Return to this scene later, you might feel better (not in the way you lessen your hatred of abuse but not as "stuck").

Good luck. If you still can't...just write whatever you can. You can always revise!

[regolith311.livejournal.com]

Definitely - and I've moaned about it in my LJ, but haven't provided all the details. My main character is in a very abusive situation (similar to a bad marraige, except she's been kidnapped) and writing it is emotionally draining - but it's stuff that I know, and I know the writing is good, because I can to some extent understand this subject. If it wasn't for that, I don't know if I could keep going, and even as it is, I'm writing for YA and I don't like all the disturbing stuff - and the swearing - that is happening.
As you write, you may find depths of understanding you didn't know you had, but it's never easy. Rest assured - it's quite normal for authors to cry over their writing (not because it's bad, I mean, because they get too involved with what's happening to the characters.)
Good luck!