What was the worst case of "Author's Hand" have you gotten?

[Sylthix]

It's a term I'm coining now to describe the moment when you think of a really good sounding scene in your head but forgo any of the build up in practice making what you write sound bad, cringe-y or even downright unbearable to read. It's as if the "author's hand" personally pushed the plot in this direction right?

Anyway here's mine.

I was doing some YT browsing and just let my mind wander before I came up with this pretty great scene of some character bending backwards matrix-style dodging a knife or metal projectile in which they see a reflection of themselves for a split second. I got inspired and basically wrote it down before reading it back and then it hit me that no one would throw a knife or that dramatically dodge one in a slice-of-life series.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Those are my little secrets. They don't find their way into the edited version.

 

[Vnator]

I realized it's something I suffer from a lot. What happens is that I think up a neat premise and a couple of really cool scenes, but then I fast forward getting to them via a series of events that just pass by, featuring one-off characters who aren't that memorable and don't really show up again. I'm trying to get around it by taking more time between chapters so I can think of how actually interesting what I've written is for each chapter.

So to answer your question, I wait and think about it, and whether it really is as cool as I think it would be.

 

[ThrillingHuman]

Totally never happened to me, nuh-uh, no sir!

 

[Ilikewaterkusa]

It's a term I'm coining now to describe the moment when you think of a really good sounding scene in your head but forgo any of the build up in practice making what you write sound bad, cringe-y or even downright unbearable to read. It's as if the "author's hand" personally pushed the plot in this direction right?

Anyway here's mine.

I was doing some YT browsing and just let my mind wander before I came up with this pretty great scene of some character bending backwards matrix-style dodging a knife or metal projectile in which they see a reflection of themselves for a split second. I got inspired and basically wrote it down before reading it back and then it hit me that no one would throw a knife or that dramatically dodge one in a slice-of-life series.

That’s my life

 

[vaurwyn]

I mean, I get the urge to write cool scenes all the time, but I make sure to build up to them?

If there is a really cool thing that I really want to write, then I am going to write it, just not immediately. I'll slowly set it up, and only drop that action scene once I feel it is appropriate. Anything can happen in any book, as long as it is properly set up.

This is how almost all my book ideas form. I have a single idea that I think is cool, and I start asking myself "how can a character become like that", "how will it affect the world", "why is he doing this". Flesh these answers out enough, and you have your initial plotline.

The Author's Hand is everywhere in my books, only you don't notice it too much (at least I hope so) because it takes its time and makes sure never to clash with the established reality.

For me, worldbuilding is like doing a puzzle. I have countless cool ideas floating around in my head, and my job is to arrange them into something coherent that makes sense and that the reader can follow. It’s not about abandoning these cool scenes, it is about having the patience and imagination to build up to them.

 

[MyukiMruieast]

I make my scenes in a dream and write it out. After a couple of days and rereading it, I decided it's horrible and scratched it out.

 

[PeacefulMyst]

my entire first series

 

[Representing_Tromba]

I have had writers hand as you described it but usually I'll let the scene be after it is written and then go back so that I can build up to that scene. Once I get back to it I'll edit it to match any changes I made and it works out really well. It's also why my first series is so long and still expanding.

 

[Amok]

came here expecting arthritis remedies fml

 

[Kitsura]

I thought a whole betrayal arc sounded pretty good along with a revenge arc, I just made the mc look like an idiot who ignored all the prior signs before getting betrayed.

Was not my proudest moment, and now I'm extra cautious with these things

 

[Cipiteca396]

I wanted to kill off certain characters to create a scene that I had in mind, but then I realized that killing them off would involve several people picking up the idiot ball...

I really want to write the scene, but I can't justify it. Actually, I ended up making it even harder to kill them off after considering the scenario and realizing I overlooked some obvious fail-safes.