The Five Ingredients Of The Scene
The Five Ingredients of the Scene
Scenes are the locomotive that pulls both plot and character forward. Not only are scenes critical to the success of your book, but they’ll make your writing much easier. Consider this: Of the three choices below, which would you prefer to write today?
1. Point of View:
Simply put, who is it that's experiencing this Scene? Point of View is one of the most liberating techniques in fiction writing. It gets you out of yourself and into your character’s imagination, heart, history, and instincts.
2. Setting and Mood:
Your scene might take place in an empty office, a noisy factory, a darkened bedroom, a rainy alley, a foggy beach, a windswept blizzard… or anywhere imaginable. But that’s the setting. Each of these settings could support a number of different moods.
It's the mood of the characters that determine how the setting is described, not how you, the writer, think it should be described. How is this setting perceived by your character? A rainy alley may lead to the apartment in which she'll be joining his new love for a romantic dinner. Or maybe she's gone to break off the relationship. Perhaps this is a rendezvous with a blackmailer. Same setting, but the way it is written comes from the character's mood or point of view.
3. Dialogue:
Dialogue is fun and fast-paced! A good dialogue builds dramatic tension and moves the plot along. In fact, a character might say something in the middle of a dialogue that you never expected. A dialogue can open doors to unexpected twists and turns. It can be quite revealing. It can open a memory; it can tell a story. It can definitely show a side of the character that you never expected! The key is not to control the dialogue. Let it rip and, if you do, it will!
4. Dramatic Tension:
Every story needs dramatic tension -- a sense of mystery -- to create "What Happens Next?" This is what makes the reader want to turn the page! Understanding the difference between inner dramatic tension, which is character-driven, and outer dramatic tension, which is plot-driven, will help demystify the process of fiction writing. When you work with me on your manuscript, you’ll get it forever!
5. Flashback:
Sometimes it's effective to have one or more scenes that take place prior to the main action. It’s important to know when this is appropriate. In the right setting in the novel or memoir, flashback can be powerful. I’ll teach you how to use it effectively, and how to avoid overuse of it.
Scenes are the locomotive that pulls both plot and character forward. Not only are scenes critical to the success of your book, but they’ll make your writing much easier. Consider this: Of the three choices below, which would you prefer to write today?
- The entire book, with all its characters and its twisting and turning plot?
- Or a chapter?
- Or a scene?
1. Point of View:
Simply put, who is it that's experiencing this Scene? Point of View is one of the most liberating techniques in fiction writing. It gets you out of yourself and into your character’s imagination, heart, history, and instincts.
- See a Writing Prompt for Point of View, based on the genre of a Modern Thriller.
2. Setting and Mood:
Your scene might take place in an empty office, a noisy factory, a darkened bedroom, a rainy alley, a foggy beach, a windswept blizzard… or anywhere imaginable. But that’s the setting. Each of these settings could support a number of different moods.
It's the mood of the characters that determine how the setting is described, not how you, the writer, think it should be described. How is this setting perceived by your character? A rainy alley may lead to the apartment in which she'll be joining his new love for a romantic dinner. Or maybe she's gone to break off the relationship. Perhaps this is a rendezvous with a blackmailer. Same setting, but the way it is written comes from the character's mood or point of view.
- See a Writing Prompt for Setting and Mood, based on the Mystery genre.
3. Dialogue:
Dialogue is fun and fast-paced! A good dialogue builds dramatic tension and moves the plot along. In fact, a character might say something in the middle of a dialogue that you never expected. A dialogue can open doors to unexpected twists and turns. It can be quite revealing. It can open a memory; it can tell a story. It can definitely show a side of the character that you never expected! The key is not to control the dialogue. Let it rip and, if you do, it will!
- See a Writing Prompt for Dialogue, based on the genre of a Memoir that's written with fiction writing techniques.
4. Dramatic Tension:
Every story needs dramatic tension -- a sense of mystery -- to create "What Happens Next?" This is what makes the reader want to turn the page! Understanding the difference between inner dramatic tension, which is character-driven, and outer dramatic tension, which is plot-driven, will help demystify the process of fiction writing. When you work with me on your manuscript, you’ll get it forever!
- See a Writing Prompt for Dramatic Tension, based on the genre of Women's Fiction.
5. Flashback:
Sometimes it's effective to have one or more scenes that take place prior to the main action. It’s important to know when this is appropriate. In the right setting in the novel or memoir, flashback can be powerful. I’ll teach you how to use it effectively, and how to avoid overuse of it.
- See a Writing Prompt for Flashback, based on the genre of Historical Fiction.