Writing The Perfect Scene

Having trouble making the scenes in your novel work their magic? In this article, I’ll show you how to write the “perfect” scene. Maybe you think it’s impossible to write the perfect scene. After all, who can choose every word perfectly, every thought, every sentence, every paragraph? What does perfection mean, anyway? Honestly, I don’t know. But structure is pretty well understood. The Two Levels of Scene Structure A scene has two levels of structure, and only two. The large-scale structure of the sceneThe small-scale structure of the scene This may seem obvious, but by the end of this article, I hope to convince you that it’s terribly profound. Before we begin, we need to understand how we keep score. Your reader is reading your fiction because you provide him or her with a powerful emotional experience. If you fail to create these emotions in your reader, then you have failed. Large-Scale Structure of a Scene The large-scale structure of a scene is extremely simple. GoalConflictDisaster

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Setting of a story — The Writer’s Craft The following exercises will allow you to create a rich, vibrant setting of a story, giving the reader the full vicarious experience. 1. Use the setting worksheet we have provided. Sit in a quiet place, close your eyes and imagine a particular setting for your scene. Novel Outlining 101 Concept: To create a weblog post that presents a simple method of outlining a novel. Plan: Demonstrate the method by using it to outline the post, then use the outline to write the post itself. Prologue: Outlining DemoPart One: Introduction to Novel Outlining, Definitions, PurposePart Two: Examples of Outlined Scenes, Chapters and PartsPart Three: Common problems, Suggested Resolutions, FinaleEpilogue: Links to other posts and articles on novel outlining at PBW and elsewhere I. Novel Outlining

The Swivet: All new & revised: On word counts and novel length DISCLAIMER: This post was written in 2008, and revised in 2010. The publishing industry has changed drastically in that time, and word counts aren't nearly as rigid nor as important as they once were, especially for writers who are now producing e-original content. Additionally, novellas are now routinely being published by larger publishers, whereas in 2008 they were not. 4 Options for Improving Your Fiction We writers can be impatient—not only with the process of writing and getting published, but with ourselves for not being perfect from the get-go. We readily accept the need for intensive training and ongoing skills development for our day jobs, but when it comes to writing, we often expect to just be able to ‘do it’. I used to be a teacher. I spent four years completing degrees in English and education, then took three more professional development courses to expand my qualifications.

World Building 101 World Building 101 by Lee Masterson You are the ultimate creator of your fictional world. No matter where or when your story is set, regardless of what events unfold, and despite the characters you introduce to your readers, they are all products of your unique imagination. "But I write romance set in the present time," I hear you cry. It doesn't matter whether your story is set in 16th century Middle Europe, or the 28th century Altarian star-system, your story still belongs in a world created entirely by you.

Article of The Month This is a quick exercise designed to sketch out the major events of your novel. It only gives you a map-- you have to make the drive yourself! Get a kitchen timer or set your alarm. Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t Lately, I have heard several published white writers express their trepidation about the idea of writing non-white characters. Some of them have mentioned that they feel they’ll get in trouble if they continue to write only white characters, but that they also feel they’ll get into trouble if they write characters who aren’t white cause they’ll bugger it up. Damned if you do, they say, damned if you don’t. 201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears.

Establishing the Right Point of View Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid "Stepping Out of Character" by Marg Gilks Return to Characters, Viewpoint, and Names · Print/Mobile-Friendly Version "Dalquist was shaking with rage, tears streaking down her face. What is conflict Beginners are always told to have conflict in every scene. Keep that story moving! But what is conflict? Too often it is taken to mean an "Odd Couple's" squabbling. That's an easy and obvious conflict. JWAM reader request no. 9: Plot similarities AlisonG Says: I’m working on my first YA novel, and have (of course) discovered two other books that have similar plots. What do you think, should I read the books so I can avoid similarities and reassure myself that my book will be unique? Or should I avoid them so I can claim I was not influenced and did not steal from them?

Writing & Blogging Prompts, Story Topic Generators, Photo Inspiration Writing : Creative Writing & Blogging Prompts Topic Starters, Picture Prompts, and Thought-Provoking Questions for You to Answer "The best learning comes in the doing, and writing from prompts engenders doing."— Judy Reeves Many writers and bloggers seek out articles, prompts, and story starters to get their creative juices flowing.