Think that’s a scene?

Sandra Scofield will tell ya:

In a scene, “Something changes or is revealed or new questions are raised; the ground is laid for future events, or the meaning of past events is made clear; characters show themselves to be who they are and make demands on one another. The story is moved along, often through conflict. The protagonist acts and is affected in some way. This happens through decisions and external acts, the stuff of change.”

As you see, today’s writing advice pertains to fiction writing and, specifically, the crafting of scenes. We all think we know what a scene is. But author Sandra Scofield makes sure we do with her classic craft book, The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer.

Once we know exactly what a scene is and how to identify it in our stories…then what?

More fave advice from Scofield: put a box around them. (Yes, print the pages of your story or chapters out, and draw a box around each and every scene.) This way, it’s easy to see how much of your story is scene and how much is summary. This way, you can gauge if you have too much of one and not enough of the other. This way, you can easily shift scenes around so they add up to your best story.

On my to-do list today!

Happy writing. ~ Rebecca