How They Did It: Scene Creation in Lee Martin’s “Bastards”

By Ethan Gilsdorf

Scenes are integral to the craft of writing: moments where the reader is immersed in a particular setting or place, dramatic things are happening, characters are interacting, and big things are changing.

But I find my nonfiction students wary of scenes. Perhaps they seem the province of fiction writers, or they tread too deep into murky waters of verifiable memory. Writers drawing on past experiences worry they can’t possibly remember enough details or dialogue to fait...