A scene is where the action is.
Growing up in the 50's and 60's we all wanted to be where the action was. How many cool scenes had nothing of significance only that it was a groovy place to be?
Scenes in a novel need to have pertinence to the story and plot. If your protagonist is having a great time and lots of action but not one bit of new information or she's grooving at a stand still, get it out of your manuscript.
A scene has a beginning middle and end. It incorporates character, POV, action, dialogue, plot, and conflict.
It's important to ground your reader at the beginning where the hero is and what POV (if there's more than one) the reader is viewing through.
In the middle, conflict and drama take place. This is where it should get hairy. A complication that causes a struggle for your hero.
The end will give your reader a reason to keep reading. Whether it's bits of information about the plot or a cliff hanger leaving her not able to turn the page fast enough.
To read more, I love Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld.
Showing posts with label scenes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scenes. Show all posts
Friday, January 21
Tuesday, July 13
Scene Transitions
I believe one of the hardest things for me to write are transitions from one scene to another. There are lapses in time between interesting events in real life and so even more true in fiction. We never tell anyone about the regular day we had in our lives, we tell them about the exciting things we have done or been involved in. So, it is boring to read about a character eating, brushing his teeth, shopping etc.
Introducing a new scene may be in the same place or another. But there must be some sort of change in your protagonist. As I try to make my transitions smoother, I need to think of what happened in the previous scene and what my protagonist wants in the next one. Get into his/her head as his thoughts move the story forward, what he mulls about what happened in the last scene and what he hopes to achieve in the next one.
The scenes must relate to the story in a progressive order. I cannot plop my hero/ine down in the middle of nowhere, and have the reader trying to guess where she/he is. It's good to show in the first couple of lines where our hero is and what she is doing.
If the scene is in the same place, perhaps now it is night instead of day. Or if the MC has gone somewhere else having her slam the car door and rush down the drive to knock on a door.
I have found the most helpful for me is Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld.
Introducing a new scene may be in the same place or another. But there must be some sort of change in your protagonist. As I try to make my transitions smoother, I need to think of what happened in the previous scene and what my protagonist wants in the next one. Get into his/her head as his thoughts move the story forward, what he mulls about what happened in the last scene and what he hopes to achieve in the next one.
The scenes must relate to the story in a progressive order. I cannot plop my hero/ine down in the middle of nowhere, and have the reader trying to guess where she/he is. It's good to show in the first couple of lines where our hero is and what she is doing.
If the scene is in the same place, perhaps now it is night instead of day. Or if the MC has gone somewhere else having her slam the car door and rush down the drive to knock on a door.
I have found the most helpful for me is Make a Scene by Jordan E. Rosenfeld.
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