jimdattilo

Why it takes me three days to write one scene

Added 2025-05-03 16:01:04 +0000 UTC

This is why it takes so long for me to finish a scene I'm writing:

I'm finishing up a scene where you scavenge an old movie theater. There's a big, dangerous zombie waiting inside. The fight is intense, but there has to be a reward for getting through it, right?

So I add a storage room in the back of the theater. You search it. But just finding a few items isn’t very interesting. Instead, I invent characters who’ve been using the room as a hidden stash.

Now I need a way for you to learn about them. I write a journal from one of their perspectives.

Then I realize you need a choice. Do you take their supplies or leave them? And why? That decision should matter. So I build in a moral layer to reflect your choice.

Then I take it a step further. What if you want to leave something behind for them? What if you write them a note, offering help or a place at the junkyard in case they come back?

That’s how one small scene turns into a full narrative thread with discovery, choices, consequences, and optional kindness.

It was supposed to take a few hours. Instead, it took three days.

And I regret nothing.