Making a Scene: A 10-Point Checklist to Build Strong Scenes in Your Novel
Image by Ben Lambert via Unsplash
As a book coach, one of the biggest problems I encounter with manuscripts I see is that the writer does not know how to write in scenes. Stuff happens, but the writer does not know:
How to enter a scene
How to create rising tension
How to build to the climactic moment
How to create a resolution of that scene so it moves smoothly to the next
Many writers still follow the idea of “I’ll start on page one, then write through until the end.” Or maybe they know they’re supposed to write in scenes, but they don’t know what that means. Or maybe they do know how to write in scenes, but their scenes could be so much stronger if they really understood scene structure.
Whichever camp you fall into, don’t worry! Writing strong scenes is something you can learn.
A couple of scenes in a novel have special jobs to do:
The Opening Scene has to introduce the main character and their current situation, including their problem or desire. It might have to introduce several characters, in fact. You have to balance action and exposition, and you have to come in at the right place in the story. It is probably the most difficult scene to write, since it has to do so much heavy lifting.
The Closing Scene has to wrap it all up. Whether it’s a happy ending, tragic ending, or somewhere in between, the reader wants to leave feeling satisfied. This doesn’t mean necessarily wrapping everything up neatly; some of the best endings leave things to the reader’s imagination. It does have to answer the main story question, and show the main character’s transformation (or tragic lack thereof). It has to give us at least a hint of the character’s New World the ensues as a result of what happened in the story.
All the other scenes in the novel exist to get us from Opening to Closing. Some will be small, quiet scenes; others will be big “tentpole” scenes where major things happen. But in order to write any scene, you need to keep the following in mind:
What is the purpose of this scene? Why does this bit need to be told in scene, and not summary? How does it move the story forward – either in terms of the action, in terms of the character’s arc, or preferably, both?
Point of View – From whose point of view is the scene being told? This will most likely be your protagonist, but for some novels with multiple points of view you’ll have to decide whose head we’ll be in for this scene, and why. Usually it will be the character who undergoes the biggest transformation as part of the scene, but maybe not. You need to think carefully about whose perspective is best.
What needs to happen? And why? This is related to Point 1 above, but goes deeper. What actually happens? Who is present?
What is the emotional point of the scene? I.e., what do you want to reader to feel as they read? What conclusions do you want them to draw? (In a mystery, for example, you might plant a red herring to lead them in the wrong direction.)
How should the scene open? Sometimes it leads directly from the previous scene. If not, how do you enter? How do you set the scene so the reader knows where and when we are, and who is present?
What is the climactic moment? It doesn’t have to be a major revelation, unless it’s a tentpole scene. What does the character realize as a result of what happens? Is it a decision, an action? This is the point of highest tension in the scene.
Rising action – How does the scene build toward that climax? Knowing the climax means you can skillfully create greater tension by deliberately including action and dialogue toward that end.
Resolution – This might be very brief. After agonizing doubt, a character decides to take an action. After a major action, we see the aftermath. Whatever it is, it should lead us to the next scene.
Make sure there is conflict! Outer and/or inner. If your scene drags, it’s because we don’t feel any conflict happening. This could be the character’s conflict with himself, with the situation, with another person, or an antagonistic force (a bureaucracy, an army...). The scene must keep in mind the character’s goal or desire, and move him either toward or away from that.
Use sensory details – Too often I see scenes that are rushed, where the writer’s desire to get to the action means we have no clear sense of where the characters are. Immerse us in their experience through the (relevant) five senses. Let us feel the shock of icy wind drilling through layers of flimsy cloth. Let us hear the endless twitter of birds and buzz of insects in the forest. Let us smell the aroma of fresh-baked bread, whether the character is too nervous to eat or is famished and dives in eagerly.
Here’s an example of a scene from Checkmate, by Dorothy Dunnett.
At the end of the previous scene, a decision was made: since Francis Crawford, as one of the King’s Marshals of France, is quickly becoming incapacitated by blinding migraines and fears he will no longer be able to lead his army, he decides he will go out in a blaze of glory.
Opening: Francis and a small group of his men decide on a plan to take out one of the bridges, held by the Spanish, and prevent the Spanish army from marching on a nearby city. They sneak out of their camp by night and approach the place where two water mills are set on the river.
Conflict: The Spanish have occupied an abandoned town and are using (and protecting) the water mills. Francis and his men have to quickly come up with a plan.
Rising action 1): The men create a distraction, both inside and outside the town. While the Spanish deal with that, the men loosen the mills and sail them downriver.
Rising action 2): The men on the second water mill jump free, after setting it in a position to collide with the bridge. They rendez-vous with their fellows from the first mill, who tell them that Francis is still aboard – with a bag of gunpowder.
Climax: Francis, blinded by a migraine, sets the gunpowder ablaze on a short fuse, just before it hits the bridge. Too short – although he leaps into the water, the mill blows, the bridge is destroyed, and he is bombarded with flaming debris.
Resolution: One final sentence: “He was already sinking when the mill struck him.” Leading to: What happened?? Is he dead??? We definitely want to read on to find out!
Emotional experience for the reader: Excitement, nervousness (will they succeed? How will they get past the Spanish to get to the mills?), building dread when we realize Francis is still on the mill – even though we know he doesn’t intend to survive this, we keep hoping...
The point of view here is often omniscient, but it drops into Francis Crawford’s head in a close 3rd-person at the end. Note that I don’t often advocate changing viewpoints mid-chapter, but here it works.
Character transformation: We know Francis is in despair but we don’t know exactly how he’ll go about his plan to end his life, while possibly ending the war as well. He goes from despairing but determined to being at peace with his decision at the end.
One of the best ways to learn how to write effective scenes is to read some of your favorite books and see how the author created their scenes. What are the small scenes? What are the big scenes? How does the author connect them? How do they build the book as a whole?
It’s an excellent exercise to actually write out scene cards for an entire novel. Time-consuming, yes, but fascinating, and it will teach you an incredible amount about putting a scene (and an entire novel) together.
