Writing Dark Scenes

Dark forestOne of the hardest parts of writing Darkness Haunts has been the dark and emotional scenes.  I had no idea how much it would take out of me when I first plotted the story out.

In this first book of the Sensor Series, there are are several scenes that have required me to dig deep within myself so I could put to words what I saw in my head.  Not only that, but I wanted to make sure the reader would be able to feel as if they were experiencing the moment with my character. It has required me to revise and edit these parts over and over until just the right words were put together for maximum impact.  Even now, I’m looking over the scenes again for what must be the dozenth time and tweaking them some more.  Every time I go through , I find ways to make them even more vivid and powerful.

Poor Melena really gets put through the ringer in this novel.  You’d think I enjoyed torturing her, but there really were some things she had to go through in order to grow and become what she needed to be for future novels in the series.  She doesn’t start off weak, don’t get me wrong, but in the beginning she isn’t fully prepared for dealing with the supernatural world.  She has some knowledge and experience, but not enough to fully navigate it once she is in deep.   Her resistance to letting anyone help her causes her to get into some very difficult situations.  She’ll get out of them, but not without painful consequences.

It is in those consequences that I have had to write the most difficult parts.  As the author, I have to fully imagine what it would be like for a person to go through such gut-wrenching events.  They aren’t exactly situations I’ve been through myself.  At least, not on the level she faces them.  Some are emotional, but others are physical.  She has to fight not only for her survival, but also for a friend she is trying to save.  It means putting herself in the line of danger and learning who she can trust.  For her, none of this is easy.

You may be wondering what these things are I speak of, but of course I can’t really say (no matter how much I want to) because it would spoil the book for you.  Just suffice it to say that this novel is no fairy-tale.  It’ll have a satisfying ending, but not before you get taken on a rough ride.

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