Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 8: Scene Structure
Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo is a multi-part series on writing, creativity, and the work-life balance throughout the month of November. Today we’re talking about the structure of a scene.
Obviously you’re free to write however you like, but literature has certain conventions that people have been trained to expect, mostly without realizing it. You can deviate and subvert these expectations for dramatic effect, but you should do so with open eyes, on purpose, and for a reason.
The structure of a scene
The following isn’t a universally accepted truth or anything, just one of those conventions of modern fiction that tends to reinforce itself over time. You don’t have to write this way, but at least understanding the structure can help you organize your writing.
A scene is a basic unit of storytelling, and in that scene you have a character who wants to accomplish something (the protagonist and his goal), and obstacles that stand in his or her way. The character’s scene goal is usually a step along the way to accomplishing the protagonist’s story goal, though sometimes the scene goal is to act as an obstacle to another character’s wishes.
So, identify the character who wants something and make them your viewpoint character. Identify what they want. Identify what stands in their way. And figure out how it ends.
The opening defines our context
The opening of the scene grounds our readers into the ‘where’ and ‘when’ of the scene. It establishes our setting, and the viewpoint identifies who the scene’s protagonist is. It’s good practice to make it clear to the audience what the protagonist is after in this scene unless it’s super super obvious.
If you dig on fractals like I do, then think of this as your scene’s first act.
The middle presents our conflict
Our character tries to get what he or she wants, but someone or something is in his way. He’s going to try and overcome these obstacles, and that’s where conflict comes from. Maybe they fight, they have an argument, a race, whatever, depends on what’s entertaining and what reveals the most characterization.
The end is a disaster
Your character, most of the time, should not get what they want. They are thwarted. Or they get what they want, but there are string’s attached. Why? Rising action. Tension. Every scene should lead to a worse and more tense situation for our protagonist as options are cut off and the situation reveals itself to be worse than before.
In thrillers especially, don’t give your reader time to breathe. Keep ramping up the tension with a swift pace.
Your character should, despite whatever victories he achieved, fail in his scene goal… or at least, realize that his scene goal did not resolve the story goal he’s after. Not until he’s reached the end of his story arc.
On to the next scene
After this, we need to transition to the character’s next scene, the next attempt to right whatever’s wrong in their life. Let him reflect and reassess to give the reader a glimpse into his inner world, have him decide on a new course of action, and send him to go do it.
Next time we’ll be talking about showing vs telling, and why you sometimes actually need exposition.
Questions? You are invited to either leave a comment below, or ask directly through the comment form.
The post Coorlim’s Guide to NaNoWriMo 8: Scene Structure appeared first on Michael Coorlim.
