"Now: We've opened a potential scene," as Jack Bickham says, "We have a character, we have a goal that relates to the story goal, and this short-term scene goal has been stated in no uncertain terms. What next?  It must be conflict." Why Conflict? No conflict, no tension "Look for conflicts," says Syd Field, "make … Continue reading Scene Middles: Middle = Conflict, Part 1 (of 3)

As discussed in the last post, despite the fact that, as Deborah Chester says, "authors do a bit of what I call scene positioning" at the beginning of scenes, "the scene actually begins with the protagonist's goal." What is a Scene Goal? A scene goal, or what Jordan Rosenfeld calls an 'intention', "is a character's … Continue reading Elements of Scene Beginnings: Goal

Scenes! They begin at their beginnings. But what, exactly, does that mean? What elements do you need to ensure you include in a scene's beginning? 1. Beginnings Element: Scene Positioning, aka Reader Orientation "Generally, when you look at published fiction to isolate and examine scenes, you may experience some initial difficulty locating the start of … Continue reading Scene Elements: Beginnings = Orientation

According to the craft masters, scenes should have a purpose (also called a mission, intention, focus, point, or function). In other words, it needs a reason for being in your story. This isn't the character's reason for entering the scene. (We'll get to that later.) This is your, the author's, reason for including the scene … Continue reading Scene Elements: The Scene’s Purpose

So what all goes into writing a scene? Let's find out. As mentioned in the first scene post, these posts are ordered from the macro to the micro (more or less), so this post is mostly another overview post: We're getting a sense of all the elements that make up a scene, with a focus … Continue reading Scene Structure: Elements of a Scene