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Ten Things To Know about Writing Scenes

You’ve heard it before: Scenes are the building blocks of story. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?  But it isn’t. Those blocks have complexity.Scenes are stories within the story and charged with energy. Whole books are written about how to write effective scenes, and we can spend our whole lives learning to write better and better ones. But here’s something for starters: Ten things to know about writing scenes.

  1. A scene is a small story. It has a clear beginning, middle, and end.
  2. Scenes begin and end in one place, time, and point of view.
  3. Scenes ground the reader in a particular time and setting.
  4. Effective scenes do not dramatize trivial or routine matters. (If such matters must be conveyed to the reader, they are better summarized.)
  5. Scenes are populated by compelling characters doing significant things, often at odds with each other. (People getting along don’t make for riveting stories.)
  6. In scenes, characters act and react.They have clear (to the reader) goals that are either met or thwarted. Something happens, and they have an emotional and intellectual reaction to that event.
  7. Every scene reveals something new and essential that serves the story as a whole. For example, it may introduce a new plot point, reveal a new aspect of character, or set something in motion that develops later.
  8. By the end of a scene, a character or situation has changed in some way.
  9. Scenes come to life through sensory detail, dialogue, and action that convey plot and characterization, rather than through narrative that merely tells the reader what is happening.
  10. Scenes have an energy (sometimes referred to as a pulse) that draws the reader into it and creates momentum. Scenes engage readers and immerse them in the story.

 

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Mary Ann de Stefano is President of the Florida Writers Association and editor of The Florida Writer. magazine An independent editor with 30+ years’ experience, she works one-to-one with writers who are developing books. Her MAD’s Monday Muse is a popular weekly email. Mary Ann is mad about nurturing creative and community spirit. madabouwords.com. Website.
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7 Responses

  1. Shutta Crum
    |

    Nice! Succinct. Thanks.

  2. richard jeppesen
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    Good advice. Personally, when an author spends too much time describing a scene that does not promote where the story is going, it is the main reason I throw a book across the room.

  3. Frank T Masi
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    Mary Ann, when writing a scene, if the person speaking has an accept, (Italian, Irish, black, ete), how would you write that?

    Feel free to call me to discuss it…if you wish.

    Frank T Masi
    (407) 656-0920

  4. Frank T Masi
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    MAD, when writing dialogue for characters with an accent (Irish, Italian, Black, et al, how do you reflect that?

  5. ken pelham
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    You’ve laid it all out nicely for us, Mary Ann! Well done.

  6. niki kantzios
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    Thanks for this, Mary Ann. I find I write certain key scenes first, not even in order, because it’s so much more fun than the linking stuff!

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