How do you visualize your scenes when you write a chapter?

[BackWoodsJ_ACK]

Like the title says, I wanted to know how you guys imagine a scene as you type it out. Do you imagine in the perspective of a movie, an anime, game, etc.? And if you do, how does it affect your over all telling of the story?

 

[OkuraTsukiko]

I usually like to sketch what was happening at the core of the chapter. Since I draw illustrations of some scenes in my story, some made it into the chapters and some are for my own imagination. To get that feel of the characters spewing out their expressions. But I'm not that good in drawing environments.

It's more of a drama perspective, I used multiple POVs in order for each character to be able to express their thoughts and emotions. One character doesn't know what is on others' mind and tends to have some miscommunication or misunderstandings with one another. For example, a man was telling his wife not to go out of the house for her safety. But because of his use of tone, the wife thinks he's trying to keep her captive in a bad way.

And visualizing them in a sketch is helpful for me to continue the dialogues. So that's that

 

[Puji-Maki]

I just write what I thought, my writing is clunky cause I'm not native, that's why I translate the words in my head and write it. As for visualizing, heck, I only have few vocabularies so my writing is mediocre. I'm not confident if I can write my imagination with right accuracy.

 

[LotsChrono]

Like the title says, I wanted to know how you guys imagine a scene as you type it out. Do you imagine in the perspective of a movie, an anime, game, etc.? And if you do, how does it affect your over all telling of the story?

I imagine my scenes with a camera, and I'm the director that gets to choose where the reader's attention goes and what is happening within the scene, as well as the 'actors' acting. It's become quite automatic at this point, though.

Battles are a different thing since I love choreographing them. Step by step like a well constructed puzzle.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Like the title says, I wanted to know how you guys imagine a scene as you type it out. Do you imagine in the perspective of a movie, an anime, game, etc.? And if you do, how does it affect your over all telling of the story?

More of a graph tbh. Node 1: area 1, state A, adjacent to node 2: area 1 state B and such. Somehow I even draw them:
<bubble> Victor lies on a tree, contemplating <close bubble> <bold line to> <bubble> Victor runs from monster <Close bubble> <weak line connecting two bubbles> <group of bubbles: what happened in between>
As for how it affects my storytelling... Well, firstly, visuals suffer dearly. I have the barest of ideas of how things, including the characters and the buildings, look. Secondly, it's easy to keep track of things. I know what character did what thing, why, where it will lead, I can make all kinds of tricks with non-sequencial story-telling (though I avoid doing so - it takes a bit of effort on the actual telling side of the story) and I can (though I never have tried) plan how several arcs running separately affect each other if I take the time to really draw.
Thirdly, character development is hard to keep track of. With good visuals, it would be easier to keep track of how things affected the characters as it could be reflected through their looks, my model makes visuals hard to place anywhere and the states of characters too

 

[OvidLemma]

I take an impressionistic approach to settings. I take the most notable and most visceral parts of the environment and make sure they're featured as early as possible in the scene to make sure the reader can put a reasonably good image in their head. The small things and unimportant details, they can fill in on their own if they like. For instance, here's the setup for a scene where my MC, Val, is in a temple celebrating the holiday of Taagsnit. Here, I've tried to incorporate action, environment, and the feelings of the MC to paint the stage for things to happen in.

She was happier to dance in a vague circle with a trio of orphan girls - Iselde, Nikoli (who'd played Valkyrie), and Yvanni (who'd played a few minor roles), all of whom were roughly Val's age and none of whom insisted that Val had to dance with them despite being orphans just like her. When she glanced to 'Jerob', his angry stare was fixed upon her, as if she'd made an enemy for life simply by slapping his hand away and then telling him to piss off. If he tried a fifth time, she'd pop him in the nose, even if it was Taagsnit.

As the hour of Nocturne approached, people seemed to sense it and the music and merriment gradually died down. The lanterns about the hall had grown dim (or maybe somebody had dimmed them) and the dominant source of lighting was a great golden glow coming from the hearth behind the altar. This was because somebody had set a lens and a great frame of frosted glass in front of it to give the whole front of the temple a glow that could have been considered either warm or ominous depending on your point of view. Val wasn't sure which she took it to be.

Priestess Oestel strode to the front of the altar - there was no pulpit to hide behind - and spoke to the crowd, her iron-gray hair haloed in golden light like an angel. Val couldn't remember whether the Old Sudren religion believed in angels or whether Valkyrie's winged warrior women were the closest they got. When the priestess spoke, her voice was strong and commanding despite her size.

 

[TheTrinary]

I originally envisioned it like a movie, but that created problems for me. Now I specifically envision it in the perspective of the POV character. Cuts out some fat that shouldn't be there and makes it stronger as a whole.

Although this might not be particularly helpful advice for people who don't struggle with POV issues.

 

[BenJepheneT]

I try to feel the emotion I need for my scene. Not the visual aspect nor the flow of events but the FEEL.

In short, whenever I start a new chapter, I'd lay on bed and imagine the scene I need to write over and over again while filtering it with my own VA and tones. I'll go as long as a whole week until the right emotion clicks and then I write on a sleepless amphetamine binge.

If not, I'll just drag myself to write at a snail's pace until it clicks and I pick up the speed.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

The same way I view a memory . . . and some of them are memories.

 

[gaylolis]

like a dream, i guess.

that's why i can just write nonsense and just wing it.

 

[EternalSunset0]

Like an anime. I kinda visualize how some things would appear on-screen, and it helps that I assigned some voice actors to my characters so that I can imagine their voice actually saying out some lines.

As for how it affects my writing, it goes both ways. I think it's good because I can easily know the feel that I want and how a scene should look. It also makes the editing process a lot more fun because I can pretend I'm watching an adaptation of my work while doing the editing.

On the other hand, it's pretty bad because by doing that, I feel that it makes me over-narrate things at times. As in every movement of a character movement or each facial reaction, I get tempted to write them down, and I end up doing that quite a lot. Which in turn bogs down the actual writing process because I get mental blocked when I run out of synonyms because all characters are reacting to something in a span of a few paragraphs. Just something I need to learn and work on as time goes.

 

[MajorKerina]

I have a mild form Aphantasia which requires me to be rooted in extensive stock images to help me convey things. Sounds and words are clearer to me. When I have a rare dream with in depth visual elements it is really helpful for fuel but otherwise I have large problems with original or vivid settings.

 

[Alienix]

hm, for me, I sit on the shoulder of the character. that's it.

 

[bananapink]

...as an invisible entity watching someone else's life develop down to the smallest detail.

 

[Minx]

It's hard to write what you actual visualize when your control over english language is still poor—a second language problem you can say. I want to use more difficult words instead of repetitive words, but yeah. That's why I wanted to avoid fighting scene whenever necessary as either it would end very fast or it is repeatable.

I personally love hot-blooded action and stuff.

 

[DevilPogoStick]

My story is basically an anime/manga so it's best to view it as such.

 

[LordAstrea]

I just isekai myself so I actually experience it rather than just visualize in my head...
No in all seriousness mine has more anime tones to it so its sort of a mix between anime and real sprinkled in. I have a lot of small details and mystery so I have to visualize them in a more exaggerated way in order to instill an emotion. If the scene is focused on a lot of showing to make a point or express a theme then I try to make references to things that are relatable. If it is something grimdark, then you could think of a lot of scenes being like when you traverse the fog in Dark Souls and receive a cutscene just before the boss. Lol. Purposeful movements and little to no telling and lots of showing.

 

[DubstheDuke]

I guess I just play things in my head like a movie then try to figure out how to describe that on paper

 

[NotaNuffian]

I... actually have a lot of hard times even picturing the works of many, with the words just flow past me into nothing.

So I kind of just stick to what I do best, draw stick figures.
Or watch weirdass kungfu flicks.
Or just rip the scenes out of some anime.
Manga here doesn't really help, all in all it is just to make a small movie in your head like:

Ian proceeds to grab the man by his arm and throws him to the ground.

(I am picturing Ian doing a simple judo shoulder throw, but I can most likely guess none has got it.)

 

[BackWoodsJ_ACK]

When I write, depending on the story, I view it as if watching a movie or anime. This helps me figure how to convey the characters feeling and helps me straighten out the flow of the story.

It also allows me to casually drop hints in the story that might be useful for figuring something out later on. (Think Easter eggs but in book form.)

For example, one of the two stories I'm writing, from start of the chapter to the end, I visualize as It as if I'm watching an anime. It helps make scenes and character interactions more easier to write and describe for me.

The same goes for my other story. I treat it as if I'm watching some gritty movie (like Goodfellas, Sicario, No Country for Old Men etc.) This helps me imagine what the scene would look like and what my characters would do in such situations.