We’re going back to basics here, which I was reminded of as I flipped through a book by Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett.

You don’t have to just sit down and immediately start drafting “in scene”, beat-by-motivationally-reacted-unit-beat (this post is coming). Instead, you can take a couple minutes and summarize the scene to both give you an idea of what’s happening, what’s important, and keep you from veering off into conversations or actions that aren’t relevant.

I like to think of my one-paragraph scene summary as a suitcase. I take a few minutes to write my scene summary, essentially packing my suitcase. Then, with an idea of how the scene begins, progresses (maybe), and ends, I open my suitcase and start unpacking it. Unfolding the pieces, pairing up outfits, smoothing the wrinkles. Doing this breaks the scene down into even smaller chunks (some call these beats), and I don’t know about you, but smaller steps feel less pressured and I get them done faster.

So, think of the scene you want to write. Don’t worry about getting your first words about it perfect. Don’t even worry about making them “in scene.” Just write a summary, a sentence, a paragraph, something that covers the who, what, where, when, why of what happens. Then go back and unpack your scene.

Books Mentioned in this Post

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Well, that’s it for me!

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