Beginning writers often tend to think of a book as a series of chapters. It's actually more useful to regard it as a series of linked scenes. Why? Because it makes it a lot easier to control the pace of your story.
'Pace' may be described as the forward movement of your story. Sometimes it will move at a slower pace than at other times. What you need to aim for is a story that moves along fast enough to maintain reader interest, but not at such breakneck speed that the reader doesn't have time to get to know the characters or assimilate the plot. Nor do you want your story to slow down too much. That can lead to your reader closing the book. (If that reader happens to be the editor to whom you hope to sell the story, you're in big trouble.)
Scenes that contain a lot of action or conflict tend to elevate the reader's blood pressure. They have her whipping through the pages, anxious to absorb every moment of the drama being played out. A novel full of such scenes:
A book that moves at too rapid a pace is like a movie packed with one action scene after another-it's all too much. To appreciate and enjoy the conflict when it happens (in a nail-biting kind of way) we need periods of calm between the storms. These alternating scenarios can be regarded as scenes and their sequels.
The scene involves the main characters in action and/or conflict. It usually contains dialogue. Picture it as a scene from a movie - lights, camera, ACTION!
Following such a scene, you give your reader a chance to breathe, by moving into the sequel. The sequel is the logical aftermath of the scene. In the sequel, the viewpoint character has time to think about what has just happened, what it means to him/her, and what he/she intends to do next. By planning your novel as a series of scenes and sequels, you can control the pace.
Want to slow things down? Expand the sequel, the 'calm' period, which gives the character (and the reader) 'time out'.
Want to speed things up? Shorten the sequel. For example:
'By the time Marianne reached her apartment, she was good and mad. There was no way she intended to let Jake Rockford get away with a pathetic story like that! Five minutes after walking through her front door, she was dialling the Rockford's number. Within half an hour, she was pulling up in her sister's driveway, ready to do battle.' In just a few lines, you have pitchforked the reader into the next action-packed scene. We know that Marianne doesn't believe Jake's story. We know she's eager to confront Julie and/or Jake. And we haven't wasted any time getting her there: one scene leads very quickly into the next, thus keeping the story moving along at a smart clip.
Learn to use scene and sequel effectively, and you retain control over the pacing of your novel. At all times the paramount question in your mind should be: How will this scene advance the story? If the answer is 'I don't know' or 'It won't, really' - then out it goes, no matter how well-written it is.
The Structure Of A Scene
The viewpoint character in each scene should have a goal. Why? So you don't include scenes that go nowhere and achieve nothing. Scenes that bog your story down.
hese are the things you should take into consideration when planning a scene:
1. What is the viewpoint character's goal?
(c) Copyright Marg McAlister
Marg McAlister has published magazine articles, short stories, books for children, ezines, promotional material, sales letters and web content. She has written 5 distance education courses on writing, and her online help for writers is popular all over the world. Sign up for her regular writers' tipsheet at http://www.writing4success.com/
shuttle from O'Hare Brocton .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareThe urge to write fiction seems God given for some,... Read More
If you are a serious writer who wants to publish... Read More
How many of you take the time to really write... Read More
* Scanning and Skimming Practices *Whether you're writing e-mail messages... Read More
Most writers are familiar with first and third points of... Read More
If you're getting rejections from your submissions, please don't quit... Read More
My husband is no poet, so when I offer my... Read More
Becoming an author is probably a lot easier than you... Read More
The short-short story has been likened by some as being... Read More
Want to write a how-to article but can't come up... Read More
I owe the completion and success of my book to... Read More
Joyce Carol Oates. Langston Hughes. Anne Sexton. F. Scott Fitzgerald.... Read More
We all need a cheer squad.We all need people to... Read More
GAINING WRITING EXPERIENCE Some Catch-22, huh? In... Read More
At some point, every serious writer is forced to sit... Read More
Take out a white piece of paper and place it... Read More
Many of us have always wanted to write. We have... Read More
A good white paper is a paper that makes you... Read More
The decision to publish a book is very exciting! It... Read More
Someone once commented that there were no new ideas to... Read More
What is a prologue? When should you use one? Should... Read More
'Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always... Read More
Don't they drive you nuts?You can visit all the rules... Read More
As one of those fabulous Baby Boomers, you now own... Read More
I???ve spoken to hundreds of editors, employers, and project managers... Read More
Chicago charter limousine service Hickory Hills ..Today Norm Goldman, Editor of sketchandtravel and bookpleasures is honored... Read More
I hate to admit this, but I rarely get an... Read More
What is a prologue? When should you use one? Should... Read More
Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today, traditional... Read More
The process of developing a working title for your nonfiction... Read More
Congratulations on writing your first book. That is quite an... Read More
Hundreds of writing contests tempt screenwriters with the lure of... Read More
Writing technical articles is a challenge. There you sit, surrounded... Read More
First impressions count in writing too! So it is always... Read More
PASSED, PASTPassed is the past tense of pass. Past means... Read More
Creative Writing Tips ?Complete a character questionnaire for each of... Read More
Proofreading worksheets are a great tool to help individuals open... Read More
11 Secrets from an Experienced InterviewerOne of the unwritten rules... Read More
~TYPES~You Want Us to Write What? Understanding the Task AssignedWhich... Read More
In the words of Aristotle, "happiness is self contentedness helping... Read More
"Do I send samples, a media kit, or just the... Read More
You might not need any memoir writing help, per se,... Read More
* Scanning and Skimming Practices *Whether you're writing e-mail messages... Read More
If you're getting rejections from your submissions, please don't quit... Read More
Most of us hate housework.Nevertheless, even the most hopeless slobs... Read More
The first step in the writing process is to put... Read More
Having problems writing? I don't know why. San Francisco Chronicle... Read More
Back in my school days, if the teacher demanded a... Read More
All your publishing options are as follows:--Conventional publishing--Vanity or subsidy... Read More
Calling all publishers, editors, journalists and freelance writers. It's time... Read More
Writing |