I recently started writing on my first bigger project. I'm writing it scene by scene and I find that for each and every scene I spend an extraordinary amount of time on the first few paragraphs. This is where I describe the setting of the scene and I try to give the reader as much of a feel for the situation as possible in as few words as possible.
Once these first paragraphs are done the rest comes relatively quickly and easily. It's just the starting bit that takes the most time. My concern with this is that it gets too formulaic and disrupts the overall flow of the story. With every scene following pretty much the same pattern with first the setup and then the action, it may feel to a reader as if they're reading a series of short stories instead of one continuous story - a little bit like watching a TV series instead of a movie.
Are there any things I should look out for in particular with this or is it just something I have to keep in mind and paying attention to while putting it all together? What are you guys doing to avoid ending up like this, or is it even an issue at all?
Once these first paragraphs are done the rest comes relatively quickly and easily. It's just the starting bit that takes the most time. My concern with this is that it gets too formulaic and disrupts the overall flow of the story. With every scene following pretty much the same pattern with first the setup and then the action, it may feel to a reader as if they're reading a series of short stories instead of one continuous story - a little bit like watching a TV series instead of a movie.
Are there any things I should look out for in particular with this or is it just something I have to keep in mind and paying attention to while putting it all together? What are you guys doing to avoid ending up like this, or is it even an issue at all?