Back from 12 days on the road, visiting family and friends, I sat down to work on Love Starts With Elle, my work in progress. (WIP for those who are new to this game.)

I started editing chapter one, a chapter I’d edited many times, but as I worked it yesterday, I didn’t like it. Before vacation I did, so what happened?

Panic.

I felt the stakes weren’t high enough. Was the opening hook strong? Did Elle seem too sanguine? I pondered these questions while walking my dog, Pal, later in the evening.

I was going to revamp my whole story, take my “soft” opening and drive some hard core plot point into it.

Yet, I realized, stakes are raised gradually. Since this is a love story, I needed to set the stage. My heroine has every thing she wants in life: a growing art gallery, a handsome boyfriend, a cozy island cottage.

Gradually, I want to take away these things from her. If I start the story with Elle losing her boyfriend, there won’t be enough sympathy for her. Why do we care?

If we don’t see her success with her gallery, why would the reader care when she has to choose between love and her career?

While we want every scene to be as potent as possible, we have to keep the over all story question in mind. For me, it’s how God rebuilds Elle’s life after she’s lost two of the most important things. So each scene should set the stage for Elle’s goals and dreams, and how life doesn’t always turn out like she planned.

I determined to keep the opening scene, but to shore it up. Taking from the lesson on secondary characters, I combined two art patrons I had in chapter one. I realized the information I needed delivered would work well from one character and the second wasn’t needed.

Here are a few items to keep in mind when constructing a scene:

1. Setting. Let the reader know the surroundings.
2. Scene goal. What are you trying to accomplish with the scene? Make sure it points to a story question.
3. Combine characters. One or two per scene is enough – as a rule. But rules can be bent. Just make sure.
4. Raise the stakes gradually, but keep moving your protagonist toward disaster.
5. Keep writing!

*********
Sign up now for our monthly, Book Therapy blog feed and get:

5 Secrets to a Best-Selling Novel

Frustrated? Confused? …Dreaming of the day when an editor calls and says, “I MUST publish your book?” Don’t laugh — it could happen! It does happen – all the time – and you could be next! What’s holding you back? Flat characters? A Saggy plot? Lackluster writing? Let the Book Therapists help. We believe that deep inside every troubled story lies a deep-seated problem. But it’s not beyond hope… Your book simply needs therapy. Stop by MY BOOK THERAPY and…get published!