Here’s part two of
How to Write Vivid Scenes from
Advanced Plotting.
Connecting Scenes
Each scene is a
mini-story, with its own climax. Each scene should lead to the next and drive
the story forward, so all scenes connect and ultimately drive toward the final
story climax.
A work of
fiction has one big story question — essentially, will this main character
achieve his or her goal? For example, in my children’s historical fiction novel
The Eyes of Pharaoh, the main
character hunts for her missing friend. The story question is, “Will Seshta
find Reya?”
In The Well of Sacrifice,
the story question is, “Will Eveningstar be able to save her city and herself
from the evil high priest?”
In The Mad Monk's Treasure (written as Kris Bock), the big
story question is, “Will Erin find the treasure before the bad guys do?” There
may also be secondary questions, such as, “Will Erin find love with the sexy
helicopter pilot?” but one main question drives the plot.
Throughout the
work of fiction, the main character works toward that story goal during a
series of scenes, each of which has a shorter-term scene goal. For example, in
Erin’s attempt to find the treasure, she and her best friend Camie must get out
to the desert without the bad guys following; they must find a petroglyph map;
and they must locate the cave.
You should be
able to express each scene goal as a clear, specific question, such as, “Will
Erin and Camie get out of town without being followed?” If you can’t figure out
your main character’s goal in a scene, you may have an unnecessary scene or a
character who is behaving in an unnatural way.
Yes, No, Maybe:
Scene questions
can be answered in four ways: Yes, No, Yes but…, and No and furthermore….
If the answer is
“Yes,” then the character has achieved his or her scene goal and you have a
happy character. That’s fine if we already know that the character has more
challenges ahead, but you should still end the chapter with the character
looking toward the next goal, to maintain tension and reader interest. Truly
happy scene endings usually don’t have much conflict, so save that for the last
scene.
If the answer to
the scene question is “No,” then the character has to try something else to
achieve that goal. That provides conflict, but it’s essentially the same
conflict you already had. Too many examples of the character trying and failing
to achieve the same goal, with no change, will get dull.
An answer of
“Yes, but…” provides a twist to increase tension. Maybe a character can get
what she wants, but with strings attached. This forces the character to choose
between two things important to her or to make a moral choice, a great source
of conflict. Or maybe she achieves her goal but it turns out to make things
worse or add new complications.
For example, in The Mad Monk's Treasure, the bad guys show up in the desert while Erin and Camie
are looking for the lost treasure cave. The scene question becomes, “Will Erin
escape?” This is answered with, “Yes, but they’ve captured Camie,” which leads
to a new set of problems.
“No, and
furthermore…” is another strong option because it adds additional hurdles — time
is running out or your character has a new obstacle. It makes the situation
worse, which creates even greater conflict.
In Whispers in the Dark (written
as Kris Bock), one scene question is, “Will Kylie be able to notify the police
in time to stop the criminals from escaping?” When this is answered with, “No,
and furthermore they come back and capture her,” the stakes are increased
dramatically.
One way or
another, the scene should end with a clear answer to the original question.
Ideally that answer makes things worse. The next scene should open with a new
specific scene goal (or occasionally the same one repeated) and probably a
review of the main story goal. Here’s an example from The Eyes of Pharaoh:
Scene question:
“Will Seshta find Reya at the army barracks?”
Answer: “No, and
furthermore, she thinks the general lied to her, so Reya may be in danger.”
Next scene: “Can
Seshta spy on the general to find out the truth, which may lead her to Reya?”
Over the course
of a novel, each end-of-scene failure should get the main character into worse
trouble, leading to a dramatic final struggle.
Get More Writing Advice
Chris Eboch is the author of over 60 books for children,
including nonfiction and fiction, early reader through teen. Her writing craft
books include You Can Write for Children: How to Write
Great Stories, Articles, and Books for Kids and Teenagers, and Advanced Plotting.
Her novels for ages nine and up include The Eyes of Pharaoh, a mystery in
ancient Egypt; The Well of Sacrifice, a Mayan
adventure; The Genie’s Gift, a middle eastern
fantasy; and the Haunted series, about kids who travel with a ghost hunter TV
show, which starts with The Ghost on the Stairs. Learn more
at https://chriseboch.com/ or her Amazon page.
Chris also writes for adults under the name Kris Bock. Kris
Bock novels are action-packed romantic adventures set in Southwestern
landscapes. Fans of Mary Stewart, Barbara Michaels, and Terry Odell will
want to check out Kris Bock’s romantic adventures. “Counterfeits is the kind of romantic suspense novel I have enjoyed
since I first read Mary Stewart’s Moonspinners.”
5 Stars – Roberta at Sensuous Reviews blog
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