Week 4, Days 1-6
How to Write a Scene
Since you're almost ready to start writing, let's look at what a scene is:
1. A scene is the smallest unit of a story, the way an atom is the smallest unit of matter. While
words and sentences are the smallest units of writing, they are not enough to constitute
stories on their own. A collection of sentences does not necessarily tell a story —
academic papers, product descriptions, and legal disclaimers are collections of sentences,
but they are not stories. Only scenes contain the smallest basic element of the whole story
— which is to say that in a scene, SOMETHING MUST CHANGE. You start in one place
and end up somewhere else — whether that be a physical location, mental state,
relationship, or realization. In every scene, there is a tiny arc, just like in a story.
2. A scene generally happens in one location. It's useful to think of bringing actors onto a
stage: They do what they do, and then the scene ends and they walk off stage. Note that,
sometimes, entire books can take place in a single location, but the scene changes when
the action changes.
And what makes a GOOD scene?
1. An effective scene leads into what comes next in the story. A decision is reached that sets
up an action. A risk is taken that has a consequence. The reader must turn the page and go
on to the next scene to find out what happens next. A good scene is how you develop
narrative force — it propels the reader forward. A stagnant scene that just sits there and
doesn't lead to anything. It's deadly to your story.
2. Always let us know what the protagonist is thinking, feeling, and doing. Many writers shy
away from showing us what the protagonist is thinking because they think it gives away too
much or leads the reader by the nose. We want that. It’s really all we care about. What’s
happening out the window, down the street, in the next room, up in the boss’ office
doesn’t matter unless we know why it matters to the protagonist. We want the experience
of standing in their shoes and seeing from their eyes. We want to know what things mean
to them and how they feel. If you leave this out of your work, we will make things up —
we will make up the meaning of your story — and that is a recipe for losing your reader.
“Reading is the sole means by which we slip, involuntarily, often helplessly, into
another’s skin, another’s voice, another’s soul.” — Joyce Carol Oates
3. When considering what to leave in and what to take out, focus on the why. Readers always
want to know WHY something happened.
It’s Time to Write
VIDEO: Write Your Scene 3x — http://bit.ly/1yCZDNN
Woo hoo! FINALLY it's time to write — but you don't get to just write whatever you want. I'd
like you to do a special exercise on your first chapter. Here's how it goes:
Set aside a chunk of time and do the following:
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Start with the opening scene idea. You know what needs to happen, who it needs to
happen to, why it needs to happen NOW, and who is telling it.
Set a kitchen timer or any timekeeper for 45 minutes. Write the scene that begins the
chapter — write as much as you can in the allotted time. Obviously, this will not be a fully
fleshed-out chapter. That’s okay. A sketch of the beginning is all we need to assess whether
it’s the best place to start.
Get up, go to the bathroom, get a drink of water.
Now set the timer again and write the scene again, only this time, write something totally
different. It's the same criteria, but perhaps you start in a different place or with a different
narrator or from a different angle.
Get up, go to the bathroom, get a drink of water.
Set the timer again and write the scene again, but this time, write something totally
different. It's the same criteria, but perhaps you start in a different place or with a different
narrator or from a different angle.
This is going to be hard — on purpose. I want you to see all the options for your story and force
yourself to really think through the best way to tell it. This exercise does that.
Revise Before You Submit
Choose the one scene from the three that you like the best – that feels most resonant to you, and
revise it as best you can in the time you have. Again, it won’t be perfect – but that’s not the goal.
My favorite way to revise is to literally read the words out loud. You can hear mistakes so clearly
this way, as well as problems with rhythm and attribution.
Remember as you go, that this is just an exercise. We don’t expect you to nail down your first
chapter in just this week. You’ll have plenty of time in Phase II to work with your editor writing and
rewriting all of your chapters to get a solid rough draft.
"Half my life is an act of revision; more than half the act is performed with small
changes." — John Irving
"I revise the manuscript till I can't read it any longer, then I get somebody to type
it. Then I revise the typing. Then it's retyped again. Then there's a third typing,
which is the final one. Nothing should then remain that offends the eye." — Robert
Graves
"I rewrote the ending of ‘Farewell to Arms’ 39 times before I was satisfied." —
Ernest Hemingway
"I do a lot of revising. Certain chapters six or seven times. Occasionally you can
hit it right the first time. Most often, you don't." — John Dos Passos
"I can't write five words but that I change seven." — Dorothy Parker
"I have rewritten — often several times — every word I have ever published. My
pencils outlast their erasers." — Vladmir Nabokov
Week 4, Day 7
SUBMISSION DAY
Make sure your Dropbox file has the following:
1. Your draft of your first chapter.