Deciding what happens next: It's harder than you think.

So...

You're watching the latest sci-fi thriller series and someone has just crossed enemy lines. As expected they get captured and now it seems like its all over for them. Or is it? Well, what happens next in the mind of the viewer is largely based on what has happened in similar situations in previous stories. However, what happens next in the mind of a writer - that's a tough call.

An USS Pigeon2 vs an Axis Ultimatum - unlikely to happen, but gets the point across

No matter how many films you've watched, or how books you've read, or how many real life situations you've learned from, finding just the right steps to take to make the next big, epic block buster, or even the next village readers' craze... is far from easy.

The Xisskon and Arakanah (not pictured) will make an appearance early on, but will not be identified until much later

Take for example (SPOILER WARNING) a scene I'm currently writing in Mission : Illumination, where a former soldier (now a rural farmer) and his son, encounter what appears to be an alien space craft that has just made an entry into earth's atmosphere. Now at this point, choosing what should happen next is a very difficult thing - on the one hand, part of me screams "action action action~!!!" - but the other parts of me want something more intricate and interesting to happen, and part of me even wants the craft to just skip over their heads and leave them in fear, but no wiser about what it was.

The Mediosan Mini Hornet is the first alien craft that will enter earth's atmosphere

So, what will I choose? That's hard to tell. It's a big challenge trying to work around the stereotypical, predictable scenarios that we have grown accustomed to thanks to modern movie culture. However, it's just as difficult trying to create something that, while unique, isn't completely foreign, or that just turns out to be a disappointment. Sometimes, I go for days thinking over scenes like this (at least when working on my novel), other days, it just all flows like a ravenous river. Today, it's the former... and I'm hoping it won't last too long.