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We're 2/3 of the way through the 12-week series!
So, you’re hard at work and the ideas are flowing. You’re showing instead of telling, steering clear of weak words, and adding specific details while avoiding infodumps and unnecessary descriptors. You’ve settled on the atmosphere you want and are incorporating that throughout, your dialogue is sharp and unique to each character, and you’re developing your plot- or character-driven storyline nicely (either because you outlined it first or are pantsing the novel with a plan in mind). What else could you possibly need? Not much, really, but here we pull the camera back and look at the bigger elements again, this time scenes.
As a child, a neighbor friend and I decided to put on a play. We kind-of planned out a western adventure and kind-of rehearsed it over a few days, then invited a block of adult neighbors to pay 10 cents apiece to come see it. I'm betting they got a lot less professional performance than they were expecting for their time and money. All I really remember of it was that every time we felt at a loss of what to do next, we jumped on our horses (the porch banisters) and chased bad guys. I’ve often thought of that while writing - a reminder to write scenes that always move the story forward.
Think of each scene as a mini-story; each should have its own arc, with a beginning, middle, and end - though the ending of one should draw the reader on to the next. Thinking of your scenes individually, as well as a part of the whole, will help them to have focus and tension, rather than amble off on their own when they feel like it (or jump on a horse and chase bad guys when they don’t know what else to do). This applies to pantsers as well as plotters. If you’re an outliner, think in terms of scenes as well as chapters when you plan. If you’re a pantser, you can plan the arc of each scene as you start to write it. As a pantser myself, I also highly recommend reverse outlining. Keep a chart of your scenes as you write. I’ve found it very helpful to look back to see if I need to rearrange scenes, and to overview occasionally that each scene is contributing something toward an ultimate goal.
So, you’re hard at work and the ideas are flowing. You’re showing instead of telling, steering clear of weak words, and adding specific details while avoiding infodumps and unnecessary descriptors. You’ve settled on the atmosphere you want and are incorporating that throughout, your dialogue is sharp and unique to each character, and you’re developing your plot- or character-driven storyline nicely (either because you outlined it first or are pantsing the novel with a plan in mind). What else could you possibly need? Not much, really, but here we pull the camera back and look at the bigger elements again, this time scenes.
As a child, a neighbor friend and I decided to put on a play. We kind-of planned out a western adventure and kind-of rehearsed it over a few days, then invited a block of adult neighbors to pay 10 cents apiece to come see it. I'm betting they got a lot less professional performance than they were expecting for their time and money. All I really remember of it was that every time we felt at a loss of what to do next, we jumped on our horses (the porch banisters) and chased bad guys. I’ve often thought of that while writing - a reminder to write scenes that always move the story forward.
Think of each scene as a mini-story; each should have its own arc, with a beginning, middle, and end - though the ending of one should draw the reader on to the next. Thinking of your scenes individually, as well as a part of the whole, will help them to have focus and tension, rather than amble off on their own when they feel like it (or jump on a horse and chase bad guys when they don’t know what else to do). This applies to pantsers as well as plotters. If you’re an outliner, think in terms of scenes as well as chapters when you plan. If you’re a pantser, you can plan the arc of each scene as you start to write it. As a pantser myself, I also highly recommend reverse outlining. Keep a chart of your scenes as you write. I’ve found it very helpful to look back to see if I need to rearrange scenes, and to overview occasionally that each scene is contributing something toward an ultimate goal.
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