Welcome to the first installment of our Beginner’s Guide to Scene Writing. As our first post, we’re starting off with some basics about what a scene is trying to accomplish and what a scene needs in order to feel complete, but soon we will be delving into more specific topics concerning scenes each month like how to open and close a scene. If you have ideas for topics you would like more insight on, please comment them down below!
Scene Structure
Just like your novel’s plot, a scene has a beginning, middle and end. Though with books this is not necessarily in that order, it is very uncommon to find a scene where that is the case. When you sit down to write a scene, you often can explain in a single sentence what needs to happen in it. This is typically a description of the scene’s climax, or turning point, but your scene must also have exposition, rising action, falling action and a resolution.
As for its length, the average scene for a fiction novel runs at about 1,000 words, and longer scenes tend toward the climax of the book. However, a scene can be of any length that best fits it. Some of my all-time favorite ones are less than 100 words. It depends entirely upon the impression you want to leave with your readers.
Scenes v. Chapters
The structure of scenes is more or less independent of chapters. Scenes are a marker of a moment in the character’s experience, and chapters mark moments in the reader’s experience. It is quite common for chapters and scenes to match up, but it isn’t actually necessary. Choosing to break from this is a choice of the pacing and takeaways for your reader’s experience.
Chapters are a natural pause for a reader, and taking advantage of that pause is a powerful pacing dynamic. Chapters often have multiple scenes within separated by illustrations, simple lines, or sometimes even an extra hard return. In these cases, I like to remind authors that ending chapters on the most important scene is a good way to make sure readers remember it clearly.
Another common example of good chapter break usage is the cliffhanger. It’s quite common for readers to revel in the feeling of an unputdownable book. However, the practice itself is relatively simple. Break the chapter at the moment of an important scene’s climax before your point of view character can react in any way. Then resume the scene in a later chapter using the resolution of it as exposition for a new scene. Note, this simply doesn’t work for all climaxes. And it’s okay if it doesn’t work for you. There are other ways to write a compelling novel.
Starting a Scene
It’s pretty common as a writer to sit down and type out your scene, and especially your book, from the very beginning with a history of the family or an encompassing view of the setting. Something of a 101 for your audience. This is part of the writing process for some authors. And I respect that. I do it too. Write it all out, and then consider cutting it.
As both a reader and an editor, I really appreciate it when a book jumps in right away. It stirs your readers' emotions immediately and helps them take sides. There are definitely some readers who will immediately know the book isn’t for them, but those aren’t the readers you’re looking for. They would have put it down anyway. But a quick connection is a great way to get a bookstore browser or Amazon first page reader to take the leap and buy it.
When working with a traditional publishing house, scene work is something that is typically covered in the copyedit, which is typically the second or third round of edits you’ll receive. A good editor will help you identify these shortcomings and fix them, but arming yourself with tips for self-editing on this level can allow your editor the freedom to help with more complex work. You can spend this time removing the active voice or really digging into pacing and characterization at the paragraph by paragraph level. Let us know in the comments down below if there is anything you want to learn to take your work to the next level!
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