By: Michelle
In preparation for starting this blog project on the craft of writing, I pulled out a thick file folder chock full of yellowing conference notes and dog-eared handouts saved from workshops and writing classes dating back fifteen years.
The basic elements of craft really haven’t changed much in that time. But I leafed through the folder with the intention of locating tidbits that have not only stood the test of time, but are simple, useful, and presented in a memorable way.
The Secret to Structuring Scenes
The building blocks of stories are scenes. While some scenes may lean towards deepening understanding of the inner life of characters; others may bring elements of theme into higher relief. But the main purpose of a scene is to move the story forward.
In order to engage the reader and keep them turning pages, a scene must be mindfully structured.
One of the first writing classes I ever took was with the late novelist Drucilla Campbell, author of thrillers and contemporary women’s fiction. She had a simple concise way of capturing that structure: The point of view character must have a desire, or goal.
Ask yourself the question, “What does the character want?” Then, put someone else in the scene who opposes the POV character or an obstacle that prevents the character from achieving their desire -- voila -- you have conflict. Then, watch the opposing forces play out.
In order to make the scene a page turner and keep the reader engaged, it always has to end in “disaster” for the POV character. What defines “disaster”? Anything that raises the stakes, increases the tension, sets the POV character back, or complicates the situation. How is that accomplished? There are only three answers that will make the reader turn the page. Does the POV character get what he/she wants?
The choices are No, No and furthermore, or Yes -- but keep denying the “Yes” until the very end. If you give that “Yes” payoff too soon, you dilute the tension, slow the momentum, and the story stops moving forward. The reader should always be left wondering what will happen next.