Body Language Cues For A Few Emotions

Tips for Writing a Scene

Whether you’ve been writing for a long time or want to start, everyone begins in the same place—with a scene.

Not an entire chapter.

A scene.

Here’s how you can make it happen on the page.

Step 1: Have Characters In Mind

Scenes can’t happen without characters. Sometimes you might have a place in mind for a scene, but no characters. Sometimes, it’s the opposite. 

Pick at least two characters if you’ll have external conflict (more on that in step 4). One character can carry a scene with internal conflict, but things still have to happen around them to influence their thoughts/emotions.

Step 2: Give Them Goals

Short stories combine mini scenes into one plot with a beginning/middle/end. Longform manuscripts combine chapters to do the same thing, but with more detail and subplots.

You don’t need to know which form you’re writing to get started.

All you need are goals.

What should your scene do? What does your character(s) want? It will either use the moment to advance the plot or present a problem that the character solves in the same scene/short story.

Step 3: Include the Senses

If you’re recounting an experience to someone, you don’t say, “I had the worst day. My shoes got wet and I couldn’t get home for 10 hours.”

You’d probably say, “I had the worst day. I stepped in a puddle so my shoes got soaked, which made my socks and feet wet all day. Then I had to wait 10 hours to get home. It was miserable! And now my feet smell terrible.”

Okay, you might not use all of those descriptors, but you get the picture. The story is much more engaging if you’re talking about the feeling of wet socks, soaked shoes, and the smell of stinky feet. The other person in your conversation would probably go ugh, that’s horrible!

Your scene should accomplish the same thing. Use the five senses to make the moment real for the reader.

As a reminder, those senses are: touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing.

You don’t need to use all of them at once, but include at least two of them to make your stories shine. You also don’t have to constantly use environmental or sensory descriptors. Once you establish the scene for your reader, they’ll place your characters and want to keep the plot moving.

Step 4: Identify the Conflict

Speaking of plot, scenes and stories can’t move forward without conflict. There are two types:

Internal conflict: happens within a single character (may or may not affect their decisions at any given time; it can also be the reasoning for their goals and dreams)

External conflict: happens outside of a character or between two characters (may or may not have to do with their internal conflict or personal goals; it always advances their character growth, relationship development, or plot development)

A scene could touch on either of these types of conflict or both! It depends on your story/plot/what you want your scene to accomplish.

Step 5: Pick a Point of View (POV)

Sometimes you’ll know you want to write a specific POV because you’ll have a character/plot in mind that requires it. Other times, you might not know.

It’s often easier to pick a POV after thinking through the previous steps. You’ll better understand how much time you want to spend in a character’s head (1st Person) or if you want to touch on multiple characters’ minds through 3rd Person.

Example of Setting a Scene

Step 1, Have Characters in Mind: Two sisters arrive back home from their first fall semester in different colleges.

Step 2, Give Them Goals: Sister A wants to ask for dating advice, but the sisters have never been that close. Sister B knows that Sister A wants a deeper conversation, but is doing anything to avoid it.

Step 3, Include the Senses: They’re in a living room with shag navy carpet and the worn leather couches have butt-shaped shadows on the cushions. The house smells of vanilla bean, the only scent their dads can agree on. Christmas lights hang on a fake tree that sheds plastic fir leaves on the floor. Their family cat purrs from within the metal branches.

Step 4, Identify the Conflict: Sister B will do anything to avoid talking about feelings. That includes trying to get the cat out of the tree (shaking the branches and reaching into them doesn’t work), checking to make sure the windows are closed against the winter air, and faking an obviously unreal phone call. This makes Sister A go from passively hoping for advice to chasing her through the house. 

Step 5, Pick a POV: 3rd Person, so internal thoughts and feelings from both sisters are obvious to the reader and emphasize the scene’s comedy.

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These are also useful ways to rethink a scene you’ve already written. If something about it doesn’t seem to be working, consider if it’s missing one or more of these points. You don’t need to include all of them all the time, but weaving more sensory details or conflict into a short story/chapter could solve your problem.

Best of luck with your writing, as always 💛

19 points

Writer Bingo

What’s your final score? 👀

I also want writers to stop assuming if a male and female character are friends they they have to be dating. Assuming if a m & f are friends they automatically have to like each other it makes for really lazy writing. If you want 2 characters to be in love, to like each other you have to show us why they like each other. Gives us the story of them falling in love two best friends of the same gender should not have more chemistry than the main couple gives us m/f relationships where there is just friendship so we can have the romance stories we deserve and stop assuming m/f together on screen are automatically dating.

NOT ONLY do i want more m/f friendships in media where there's nothing romantic between them, but i want m/f friendships where both characters are SINGLE so that there's no reason there to "justify" why those two can't date. i want the platonicness of their relationship to be something that stands on its own merit.

You know, even apart from the intricate worldbuilding about the talking rodents and what their deal is, the part of The Secret of NIMH that's like "working single mom trying to obtain medical treatment for her sick child discovers that her late husband was basically a high-level Dungeons & Dragons character and never told her about any of it, and she keeps tripping over elements of his unreasonably complicated backstory whose context and significance are never fully explained to the audience because the particulars aren't relevant to her journey" is a really fun premise all on its own.

If you want to write something for November, but you don’t want it to be fifty thousand words long, I have a suggestion:

Step 1: Read a bunch of 200 word RPGs until your brain turns to soup – https://200wordrpg.github.io/

Step 2: Once your brain-meats have been appropriately primed (see above), write your own 200 word RPG.

Step 3: Reblog this post and append your 200 word RPG.

(Please restrict non-200-word-RPG commentary to replies and tags; anybody who creeps the reblogs should see a solid wall of nothing but 200 word RPGs.)

New Banner Feature:  Iberian Tribes: pre-Roman Iberia was awash  with tribes of varying heritages, many of which gained Celtic layers, as the focus here on individual tribes often reveals.

Nervous Quirks for your Characters

Here's a short list of nervous quirks/habits for you to give to characters in your stories! Feel free to add on with more!

Lip biting (may result in scabbed lips)

Leg bouncing

Nail biting/picking

Skin picking

Nose scrunching

Adjusting clothing

Tapping feet/hands

Rubbing hands together

Rubbing feet together

Pacing

Stuttering/stammering

Losing track of time

Forgetting what they were talking about

Laughing

Nausea

Going silent/refusing to talk

Picking at face/skin

Constantly readjusting clothes

Rambling

Itching

Sweating/feeling hot

Distracting themselves

This is excellent advice also don't be afraid to scrap something you wrote entirely and rewrite it if you think it's terrible that just means your on draft 2 not that your actually a terrible writer. It's part of the process.

I have been struggling with the motivation to start writing my story. I feel as if I’m a terrible writer, and have no idea where to start or how to get better.

Any ideas?

ADVICE INCOMING

Hi! Thank you for submitting your questions!

Let me start it by saying that’s okay! It’s totally normal to struggle in motivating yourself to write; we all do, especially me!

Second of all, you’re not a terrible writer. Throw that thought out if the window. Throw it out! We do not see ourselves as anything other than aspiring and learning writers here on this blog.

You’re not terrible, no such thing. Don’t see yourself as a terrible writer but as one who still has to learn. We aren’t born with the skill, it’s one that must be built upon and refined.

The only way to become a better writer is to practice, practice and practice and read, read and read!

That’s the only way to do it; simple as that. You can go to school and get a degree for it but ultimately they will teach you the same thing, practicing and reading excellent samples of writing (I’m not saying don’t go to school for it, lol, but the principles are the same).

(3). If you want to become a better writer and find motivation I’d say start of by writing what interests YOU and what YOU’RE passionate about. That’s the best way to do it.

Fanfic writing is often the place people start off as it’s the easiest to indulge yourself in something you love and feel you’re knowledgeable about. Start there.

Or maybe not fanfic per say, but maybe write about a topic that interests you. Maybe the civil war, or jellyfish, or whatever that may be, write about it.

Some practice books with various topics are also a great way to get the brain going. I have a few writing prompt boos and those help out a tone to get that creativity flowing!

I’ll attach a link to a few.

(4). Don’t over think when you write, just type or write whatever springs to your mind and go with the flow. I know that’s hard as I have a tendency to double, triple check everything I write. In other words DO NOT EDIT as you write. I know that’s hard but it takes practice.

(5). You are your own greatest enemy; so go easier on yourself and remember you’re still learning.

I hope this somewhat helps!

Starting Strong Scenes in Your Writing

Scenes are the fundamental building blocks of novels and short stories, and each one should propel a story toward the climax.

Generally speaking, your scene structure should mirror the story structure. In other words, take a novel-writing approach to a scene, crafting a beginning, middle, and end. Like a story, the beginning of a scene should have a strong entry hook that pulls the reader in.

Start with the setting. Often a new scene signifies a change in time and location. Establishing the setting at the top of a scene helps your readers get oriented. It also sets the tone and mood of what will unfold in the coming pages. A setting can serve as much more than a backdrop in literature. Have your scene take place somewhere that builds tension and hinders your protagonist. If you’re writing a thriller, describe a dark and foreboding place where the worst might happen. Be descriptive and use sensory details to make your setting come alive before you jump into the action.

Use visual imagery. In screenwriting, writers have to think in pictures. What images will excite an audience at the top of a scene? Your approach should be the same when writing any kind of fiction. As you write the opening of a scene, use descriptive language to engage a reader through detailed imagery. Think like a screenwriter as you’re writing scenes.

Drop the reader into the middle of the action. Hit the ground running by starting a great scene in media res. It doesn’t have to be a fight scene or a car chase, but physical movement creates momentum and builds tension in a story. It’s also a way to instantly engage a reader. Be sure you begin the scene before the high points of the action so you build up to the scene’s climax.

Write a character-driven scene opener. A good scene starts by giving characters a goal. Start by putting your protagonist in a situation that creates an obstacle or opportunity for both the scene and the overarching storyline. Try starting with dialogue, like an intense conversation between your POV character and a mystery character whose identity is revealed later in the scene. If you’re writing from an omniscient third-person point of view, consider starting a scene with a secondary character, even the antagonist, and use it as a chance for deeper character development.

Summarize past events. You might choose to use the beginning of the scene to do a quick recap of what’s brought your main character to this place and moment in time. A summary is especially helpful if you’re writing in third-person and a new scene switches to a different character. Take the opportunity to remind the reader where we left off. Instead of a straight-forward update, get creative. Go into deep POV and let a character’s thoughts provide the summary instead of the narrator. Be sure to keep this summary brief—just a line or two—so you can get back into the action.

Introduce a plot twist. The start of a new scene is a chance to pivot and take your story in a new direction. Start a new scene at a turning point in your story. Dive into a flashback or character’s backstory, revealing critical information that changes the course of the story going forward.

Keep the purpose of the scene in mind. Effective scenes are clear about what they set out to accomplish and how they contribute to the overall plot. They might include plot points or reveal important information needed to move a story forward. Establish your scene’s intention from the very first word and keep the rest of the scene on point.

Rewrite until you’ve found the perfect scene opening. When you’ve finished the first draft of a scene, go back and read it through. If your scene needs something, but you can’t figure out what, it might be how the scene starts. The best way to know if your opening works is by reading how it plays with the rest of the scene. Review the last paragraph and see if it ties back to your beginning. If the intro feels weak, rewrite it. Maybe your real opener is hidden in plain sight somewhere else in the body of the scene.

Make sure your opening scene is your strongest. While your entire book should be filled with compelling scenes that start strong, the very first scene of your book needs to lead the pack. This is the reader’s introduction to your story and where you’re revealing the characters, the setting, and kicking off the plotline with the inciting incident. This first scene has to hook the reader from the first line so they keep turning the pages.

Read a lot of books. If this is your first novel and you need some inspiration and ideas to help you start off your scenes, start by reading other books. Choose a book by a bestselling writer like Dan Brown or Margaret Atwood. Study the different ways they approach every scene. Reading other authors is a great way to hone your scene-writing skills.

Follow like and reblog if you find these helpful!