Today we’re going to talk about writing a scene.

So far, MyBookTherapy has covered our protogonist’s fears, the inciting incident and the opening hook. Now we want to put it all into a Scene. Tomorrow we’re going to talk about Sequels – the story element following a Scene.

Three major components make up a great scene.

Goal. Conflict. Disaster. Of course, things like motivation and tension are also viable parts.

When you’re trying to formulate and design a scene, first think of your protagonist’s goal in the scene. Is she trying to convince her boss to let her take a hard case? Is she calling her boyfriend to break a date? Is this scene best written in her point of view?

I had a scene in Love Starts With Elle where Elle’s faced with a surprise from her past. I wrote the scene from her Point of View the entire book UNTIL I hit the rewrites. I changed to the Hero’s POV. Why? He had the most to lose.

Having the most to lose really set up the Hero’s goal – to discover his own feelings, to interject them somewhat into Elle’s life. It created GREAT conflict because the Hero, Heath, disagreed with Elle’s handling of the situation.

The disaster? Elle didn’t do what the Heath wanted her to do. 😉

Let’s talk more about Conflict. Each scene must have conflict. Are the characters getting along too well? Chances are you’re boring the reader. Now, don’t create melodrama. But instead of making the best friends get along, let them be in conflict.

Back to my scene with Elle. When this surprise from her past shows up, Heath gets his back up. In the original scene I wrote from Elle’s POV, he was a bit to understanding and cooperative. So, I had him speak up, interject his opinion. This surprise is messing up his own plans, taping the fears of his own heart.

Read your latest scene. How can you rewrite it with conflict in mind? Can you back up a few pages or chapters and interject a true conflict that will carry through the rest of, or most of, the book?

On to Disaster. Consider ending each scene with some sort of protagonist disaster. Again, we’re not looking for melodrama. Every time I try to throw in one of those kind of twists, my editor-husband always calls me on it. Don’t have “Jill” riding a horse then suddenly… gasp… a space ship lands on them.

Back to Elle and Heath, the scene ended in disaster because Elle left Heath angry and disappointed. But she had something more devastating to attend.

Think of your scene. How can you end it in a way where your protagonist(s) – hero or heroine – are moved farther away from their goal.

Heath wanted to spend time with Elle. The “surprise guest” ruined his plan, thwarted his goal.

Part of creating good conflict and disaster is to know your story, know your characters, know your overall goals, conflict and motivation of the story.

Hope over to Voices and post your scenes!