How to tell whether your scenes are actually earning their place or simply taking up space ...
FROM MY DESK 📖
Sometimes the best way to improve a story isn't to look at the whole novel.
It's to zoom in.
I've recently been doing exactly that when revising my own manuscript. I'm working on writing more effective scenes for my stories, which meant asking myself a deceptively simple question:
What actually makes a scene work?
The answer is more complicated than simply something happens.
A strong scene should create meaningful change. Your character should want something, encounter something that disrupts that goal, make a choice, and then deal with the consequences.
In other words, a scene needs its own little story.
Before anything happens, your POV character should want something. It doesn't have to be dramatic. They may want to win a battle, convince someone to help them, discover a secret - or simply get a glass of water.
What matters is that they want something, and that the reader understands what it is.
Then comes the inciting incident: something gets in the way.
Perhaps someone refuses to help. Or the character discovers something unexpected. Maybe their carefully laid plans suddenly go sideways. Whatever happens, it should force the character to respond.
This is where things get interesting.
As the conflict develops, the character reaches a turning point where they can no longer continue as planned.
Sometimes this happens because of an external event. Sometimes it's because they learn something or realise something that changes how they see the situation.
Either way, the character reaches a crisis: what are they going to do now?
For that decision to carry weight, there needs to be something at stake. Ideally, neither option should feel completely easy.
Then comes the climax where the characters acts on their decision.
Make sure it is the POV character should be the one making the decision or taking the action. It is their story, after all.
Finally, don't forget the consequences. A scene shouldn't simply end once the action is over. We need to see what that choice changed.
What happens immediately afterwards?
How does the character feel?
What have they gained or lost?
And, perhaps most importantly: what does this make them do next?
That's your scene's resolution, and also where you create forward momentum, because scenes shouldn't exist in isolation.
The events of one scene should influence what happens in the next, creating those lovely cause-and-effect chains that make a story feel as though it's moving forward rather than simply having a series of things happen to its characters.
This next part might be surprising, but even a structurally sound scene can struggle to hold a reader's attention if it doesn't pull them in. That's where entry and exit hooks come in.
An entry hook gives the reader a reason to keep reading. It might be dialogue, action, a question, an intriguing piece of information, or something that immediately creates tension.
An exit hook does the opposite: it pushes the reader onwards. It could be a revelation, an unanswered question, unresolved tension, a cliffhanger, or simply a consequence that makes us want to see what happens next.
This is also why scene changes aren't always marked by a change in location or time.
A scene can end because a goal has been achieved, a situation has naturally concluded, the POV changes, or the character's circumstances have shifted enough that the focus needs to move elsewhere.
When you're editing, it's very easy to get caught up in the words on the page: is this sentence good? Is the description too long? Could I make this dialogue sharper?
These things matter. But before polishing the sentences, zoom out.
Ask yourself: What does this scene change?
Is the answer is nothing, then that's worth investigating.
Perhaps the scene needs restructuring. Or the POV character needs a stronger goal. Maybe the conflict isn't forcing them to make a meaningful choice.
Or perhaps the scene doesn't need to exist at all. And that's okay.
Not every scene needs explosions, dramatic revelations, or life-changing decisions. A quiet conversation can be incredibly important if it changes something for the characters or the story.
The goal isn't to make every scene dramatic. It's to make every scene matter.
Try this: Using the below template, pick one scene from your manuscript and write down its goal, inciting incident, turning point, crisis, climax, and resolution. Don't worry if some of the boxes are difficult to fill. Those gaps might be showing you exactly where the scene needs attention.
EDITING TIP OF THE DAY ✍️
I was talking to another writer over the weekend when an interesting question came up: will editing take away my story's originality?
It's easy to worry that polishing your manuscript will smooth out the quirks, risks, and unusual ideas that make your story yours. But good editing shouldn't make your story more ordinary - it should help its most distinctive elements stand out.
Editing isn't about removing everything unusual. It's about making sure your original ideas are clear enough, strong enough, and purposeful enough for your readers to appreciate them. Your story's originality isn't something you need to edit away. It's something you need to protect.
POSITIVE MINDSET PICK UP ✨
Every scene teaches you something.
Even if a chapter gets cut, or a scene gets scrapped, writing it wasn't wasted. It helped you understand your characters, your world, or your story.
Shift your mindset to: 'nothing written is truly wasted.'
If you remember just one thing from today's post, let it be this: a scene doesn't need to be dramatic - it needs to create meaningful change. Don't ask whether your scene is exciting enough. Ask if it matters.
Did you find this post helpful? Are there any topics you'd like to see covered here? Let me know below - I'd love to hear from you!
Every story starts with a single spark, and every writer gets stuck from time to time. Keep showing up. Keep experimenting. Keep telling the stories only you can tell.
Until next time, may your stories grow wild, your edits be kind, and your brambles always lead to somewhere worth exploring 🌿
No comments:
Post a Comment