Make A Scene Read Free Page A

scenes in the novel when you want to:
    • Intentionally slow down the pace after lots of action or intense dialogue to allow the protagonist and the reader to digest what has happened, and to build new tension and suspense
    • Include a lot of big action in a given scene (fights, chases, explosions)— so the scene doesn't hinge on action alone
    •Add a dialogue scene that, in order to feel realistic, needs to run long
    Short Scenes
    A scene that takes place in ten or fewer pages can comfortably be considered short. Some scenes are as short as a couple of pages. Short scenes often make readers hungry for more. But remember that too many short scenes in a row can make the flow of the plot feel choppy, and disrupt the continuity that John Gardner said creates a dream for the reader.
    A short scene has to achieve the same goals as a longer scene, and in less time. It must still contain main characters engaging in actions based upon scene intentions. New information must be revealed that drives the plot forward. The setting must be clear. In the short scene, you have even less room for narrative summary.
    You're best using short scenes when you need to:
    • Differentiate one character from another (a secretive, shy, or withdrawn character, for instance, might only get short scenes, while an outspoken character may get longer scenes)
    • Pick up the pace right after a long scene
    • Leave the reader hungry for more or breathless with suspense
    • Include multiple scenes within a chapter
    • Create a sense of urgency by dropping bits of information one by one, forcing the reader to keep reading
    Whether you go long or short depends on your own stylistic preferences. Just keep in mind that length affects pacing as you decide what kind of flow you want for your manuscript.
    SCENE BEGINNINGS, MIDDLES, AND ENDINGS
    Each scene needs to have its own beginning, middle, and end. The following three chapters will pare the scene down to these three basic sections. The beginning should be vivid and memorable, and help immediately draw your reader into the scene. Scene middles are the vast territory where the stakes must be raised, characters get caught in conflict, and consequences follow that keep your plot interesting. Scene endings, of course, set the stage for the scenes that follow, and leave a feeling or taste with the reader that should be unforgettable. When all three sections of a scene are handled well, the result is an incredibly vivid reading experience. The remaining chapters of part one will help you address these important structural elements of the scene.
    All great novels and stories start out with a mere idea. Maybe it's a large idea that spans centuries and crosses continents, like the idea of the origins of the real Dracula; or maybe it's an idea for a surreal short story in which a man has keys for fingers. No matter how grand or minute, strange or beguiling your idea, you must take it through an alchemical process that transforms it into story. How do you do that? This is the function of the scene; it is your story-maker. Inside each scene, the vivid details, information, and action breathe life into your flat idea and round it out into something a reader participates in.
    Any story or novel is, in essence, a series of scenes strung together like beads on a wire, with narrative summary adding texture and color between. A work of fiction will comprise many scenes (the number of scenes varies for each individual project). And each one of these individual scenes must be built with a structure most easily described as having a beginning, middle, and end. The beginning of each scene is what this chapter will address. (Chapters twelve and twenty-one, respectively, will discuss how to write the first scene and the final scene in a story.)
    The word beginning is a bit confusing, since some scenes pick up in the middle of action, or continue where other actions left off, so I prefer to use the term launch, which