Every fiction novel is comprised of a collection of scenes, the basic building blocks of storytelling, that build upon one another as they work collectively to reach the conclusion.
Perhaps you have a solid understanding of scene construction. You probably understand scene creation intuitively on some level, since stories are one of the oldest forms of human communication. But if you’re worried about lackluster scenes, or something feels broken in your story, it can help to return to those basics and think through what a scene is and what it can and should do for your story.
What is a scene?
A scene is a section of your novel in which a character (or several) talk or do things, even if the “doing” is little more than making a decision. A scene operates like a mini story with a beginning, middle, and end. Scenes must also have some kind of tension point — an unmet or thwarted goal, something that leaves the story feeling unfinished even as the scene comes to its end. Unfinished business keeps your ghosts readers at attention and keeps them turning pages. Something needs to change for your characters.
However, there is no single objective definition of “scene” that works for every author or in very situation, so avoid getting caught up in the minutiae. Instead, become familiar with the elements of scenes to recall them when you need them most:
- A character takes action. Many characters may take action, collective, individual, or otherwise. But at least one character must take at least one action, even if that action is internal, like decision-making.
- Characters talk to each other. To avoid hammering your reader with expositional details, divulge those details through character conversations instead. But make sure the conversation either moves the action forward or reveals something important about one or more characters.
- The settings and places matter. Without setting details, your characters may read as little more than talking heads in a vacuum. Where your characters are will affect how, even whether, they take action, and how they talk. After all, a quiet compliment delivered during a side-by-side conversation on a couch is different than a platitude shouted across the table in a noisy pub during happy hour.
- Conflicts and tension tie everything together. Humans are walking contradictions, and since characters are supposed to read like humans, our characters must also be walking contradictions. The internalize their spiritual fights, externalize their big emotions resulting from those fights. They hedge, they flounder, they nitpick, they fail. While conflicts don’t necessarily need to include verbal spats or punches, a small conflict with something rather inconsequential can be made to feel big. You know, like that laundry fight that has nothing to do with the actual laundry.
- There’s a clear link to the next scene for the reader to grasp. If your character made a decision in the current scene, the next scene may include the character executing on that decision and taking a calculated step forward. Or, if the character encountered a spiritual villain, the next scene may include the character confronting that villain. However the scenes relate to each other, make sure your reader sees that relationship.
The elements of your scenes may be slightly different than my list, but if you’re missing several of these elements, take a step back and consider whether you have a scene at all or merely a part of scene needing further development.
When to start a new scene
Starting a new scene is important any time you change:
- the perspective character
- the characters in a given scene
- the setting, including location or time
Since the reader will expect some kind of change with each new scene, you can most easily satisfy that change-craving by giving it to the reader early.
How long a scene should be
Scene length affects the overall pace of your story. When scenes are short, the reader whips through them like a rider for the Pony Express. When scenes are long, readers slow down like they’re running underwater. There are exceptions to this broad-stroke rule, of course, most often due to sentence construction. And the format of your book matters, too. Because reading a physical copy is different than reading an ebook on your phone. Even a shortish scene can feel long to someone scrolling on a four-inch screen.
Your turning-point scenes may necessarily be longer than some of your other scenes because those turning points must do so much. The most important part of proper scene length for readers is providing a sense of accomplishment. The reader has learned something useful for the next part of the story.
How to structure a complete scene
Scenes are a two-fold story component. Each scene must:
- Add to the larger narrative
- Stand on its own
I know it may seem obvious, but one of the most common pieces of feedback I give to new writers is to treat each scene like a link in a chain.
- If one link is missing, the story can’t hold itself together.
- If there are too many links, the story chain loses its tension.
To avoid dragging your reader through the mundane, start your scene at the moment that matters most. Usually it’s a good idea to launch your character straight into the action. Don’t frontload your scene with exposition; start with action, include exposition and summary when needed, showcase the conflict according to your perspective character, and build the character to some kind of high or low. While this may sound fairly straightforward, it isn’t always easy, and showing is of critical importance.
When a scene reads like a satisfying piece of flash fiction, you know you’ve structured a complete scene.
Connecting tropes and scenes
Here, I’m not talking about the more literary categories of tropes: irony, metaphor, hyperbole, allegory, etcetera. Instead, I’m talking about the genre-specific elements many readers have come to expect when they pick up novels of a specific kind. Tropes are neither good nor bad, and they appear in all stories because they are natural. Naturally, people respond to them.
I won’t tell you to focus only on the tropes best positioned to help your book sell well. As I’ve shared before, storytellers write for themselves. However, I will encourage you to explore the general tropes of your genre and how they may benefit or advance your story, especially if you’ve become lost in the muddy middle. Here are some common tropes in speculative fictions.
Action and adventure tropes:
- lost treasure
- solving puzzles
- visiting exotic locations
- unraveling ancient secrets
Fantasy tropes:
- hero’s journey
- side quests and detours
- magical artifacts and objects
- the price of heroism
Horror tropes:
- not being able to run
- cursed artifacts and objects
- extraterrestrial abductions and invasions
- the monster is alive at the end (even if the character thought it was dead)
Science fiction tropes:
- spacetime travel
- dystopian/utopian society
- the end of the human race
- body switching and artificial intelligence
If you’re writing a different genre or want to browse a much more indepth list of tropes, check out the complete list of book tropes on Kindlepreneur.
So, how do you create scenes that keep readers reading, keep the story moving forward, and keep out the fluff? Drop your techniques and tips in the comments for fellow writers.
Happy writing!
♥ Fal
P.S. In case nobody has told you this today, you’re doing a great job.
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Fallon Clark is the book pal who helps you tell your story in your words and voice using editorial, coaching, writing, and project management expertise for revision assistance, one-on-one guidance, and ghostwriting for development. Her writing has been published in Flash Fiction Magazine. Check out her website, FallonClark.com, or connect with her on LinkedIn or Substack.