A lot of writers sit down to write a scene with a general idea of what they want to have happen (action) in the story. But to create a perfect scene, you need to consider a whole lot more than that.
Novels are a string of scenes, so they need to connect together beautifully like a strand of pearls.
Of course every scene needs to serve a specific purpose in your story, and the type of scene should be determined by where the scene falls in a story and what type of action preceded. If your character just experienced something startling, this new scene needs to show her reaction or how she processes this new turn of events.
Some scenes are low energy, comtempletive scenes. Others are high energy, full of action and fast developments. But if most of your scenes are the same type, they’ll get tedious to readers. Be sure you learn what the ten key scenes are and how to fill in around those scenes with proper action-reaction. You can use my handy chart to help you lay out those scenes (but be sure to study Layer Your Novel).
5 Essential Components
Let’s say you know exactly what the purpose of your scene will be. You may have your protagonist’s best friend turn on him. You may want to introduce an accident or some violence to upend things. You may be bringing a love interest on stage, or have an ally try to stop your character from making a bad decision. Continue Reading…
