making scenes concrete/ handling revelations

[Steve Harrison]

Characters often make their own decisions, in that they will 'tell' me, "Hold on! I wouldn't do that!"

For all my conviction that I have a handle on everything, once I start writing, the story and characters become 'real' and, as in the real world, nothing ever goes exactly to plan. I rely on my characters to keep me on the straight and narrow by arguing with me all the way. And I get annoyed when they are right.

To my mind, this is a healthy delusion that suits my writing methodology.

 

[The Big Peat]

I struggle to write scenes unless I know what's happening first. I'll usually write them in my head first, often while walking or going to sleep, just letting the characters hash it out. So in your situation, I'd say that doing someone else while your subconscious handles it is a good first move (as TJ has said).

If you're still not sure - maybe it's a sign that you need to change things up - either Bizkit's incongurous scene, or switch to the subplot, or the old Pulp trope of a man with a gun in his hand walks in.

 

[Biskit]

I find characters can be like a bunch of unruly children. Most of the time I just listen to the screaming, the incompatible demands, and let them get on with it, but every so often, however reluctantly, I have to be the adult in the plot.