A scene is an episode in a story.

A scene is considered the basic structure, or building block, of a narrative. In fiction, the writer uses a scene to show the action of an event. When he strings a series of scenes together, the writer has constructed a short story or a novel. The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... This article is in need of attention. ... DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ...

Pattern of a scene

This basic pattern may be used by the writer to develop a scene: goal, attempt, and setback. A scene usually has a goal for the character to achieve. The writer indicates this goal at the beginning of the scene. The middle of the scene displays the attempt of the character to achieve this goal. At the end of the scene, the character has received some kind of setback. The next scene will reveal the character’s response to the setback and a new goal is set. This cycle continues until the climactic scene where everything is at stake for the character. At the end of this scene, the character achieves his goal or all is lost.

Writing of a scene

Sometimes a writer may summarize events in different parts of a story; he does this through short scenes of exposition ^[1]. He explains events to quickly get the reader to the next scene. At other times a writer will dramatize an event using the basic elements of fiction: dialogue, description, conflict, and suspense, among others. These scenes, told in narrative form, slow events down to "real time" ^[2] and show the reader what the characters are actually doing and saying. Using narrative scenes, a writer attempts to make the reader forget he or she is reading; the writer wants the reader to live the story. An exposition may be one of the following: In music an exposition is the first of the sections in sonata allegro form. ... Dialogue should create conflict. ... A description consists of an enumeration of the quantitative and qualitative parameters which define something, that is, what something looks like, sounds like, feels like. ... Conflict is a state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more people or groups of people, which is sometimes characterized by physical violence. ... One of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (now known as old-time radio), Suspense advertised itself as radios oustanding theater of thrills and was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. ... In non-technical terms, no matter what the context (whether scientific, philosophical, legal, etc) a narrative is a story, an interpretation of some aspect of the world that is historically and culturally grounded and shaped by human personality (per Walter Fisher). ...

Purpose of a scene

A scene can have more than one purpose.

The purpose of a scene helps achieve coherence in a short story or novel. The fiction writer should have a goal to accomplish with each scene. Common purposes of a scene include: This article is in need of attention. ... DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ...

• Advance story – The story must move the forward. This could mean introducing a problem or making a problem worse for the characters.
• Show conflict – The conflict could be between two characters, a character and nature, a character and time, and so on.
• Introduce character – The reader needs to meet each character at some point. A careful writer does not introduce too many characters in one scene. This could confuse the reader.
• Develop character – Along with introducing a character, a writer can use a scene to show the character’s good and bad points.
• Create suspense – Suspense keeps the reader’s interest going, perhaps more than any other element of fiction
• Give information – The writer can weave information into a scene so the reader knows the needed background of the story.
• Create atmosphere – Using conventions such as setting, weather, and time, the writer can create a certain mood in a scene.
• Develop theme – A piece of fiction should have a theme. Each scene should bring out the theme to the reader.

Scenes that are memorable, the ones the reader remembers, will attempt to achieve as many of the previously mentioned purposes as possible. If the scene has no purpose, the writer should cut that scene out of the story. Conflict is a state of opposition, disagreement or incompatibility between two or more people or groups of people, which is sometimes characterized by physical violence. ... The Nature Conservancy - a charitable organization devoted to preserving natural diversity worldwide English Nature UK government organization devoted to preserving natural diversity in the UK Nature Detectives An online research and education project for under 18s in the UK A Guide to Nature and Wildlife Conservation Categories: | ... A watch Attempting to understand Time has long been a prime occupation for philosophers, scientists and artists. ... One of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (now known as old-time radio), Suspense advertised itself as radios oustanding theater of thrills and was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. ... In drama, the set (or setting) is the location of a storys action. ... Composite satellite image showing the progress of a hurricane weather system approaching the East Coast of the United States Weather comprises all the various phenomena that occur in the atmosphere of a planet. ... A watch Attempting to understand Time has long been a prime occupation for philosophers, scientists and artists. ... Mood may refer to: chese Grammatical mood Emotional mood This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Theme may refer to: Theme (music), the initial or primary melody Theme music, in film and television, a melody closely associated with the program Theme (literature), is the unifying subject of the story Theme (computer), a custom graphical appearance for certain software, similar to a skin Thema, in the Byzantine... Story has several different meanings as outlined below. ...

Viewpoint of a scene

A viewpoint exists for every scene. Each scene is observed through the thoughts and emotions of one of the characters. That character is the point of view character (pov character). As he or she speaks and interacts with other characters, the pov character reveals the story through his or her perceptions. A short story usually has only one point of view character; the novel, however, may have several pov characters. A novel may contain scenes in which one character serves as the pov character throughout most of the scenes. Other characters would then serve as pov characters in the remaining scenes ^[3]. In psychology and common terminology, emotion is the language of a persons internal state of being, normally based in or tied to their internal (physical) and external (social) sensory feeling. ... A point of view, viewpoint or POV, is the following: On a given topic, a point of view is a cognitive perspective. ... In psychology and the cognitive sciences, perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and organizing sensory information. ... This article is in need of attention. ... DeFoes Robinson Crusoe, Newspaper edition published in 1719 A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ...

Some writers struggle with using either first person or third person when creating a story. To find a solution, a writer may rewrite a scene in each. Each person has its advantages and disadvantages. The draft which the writer feels would be more enticing to the reader should answer the question. ... Grammatical person, in linguistics, is used for the grammatical categories a language uses to describe the relationship between the speaker and the persons or things she is talking about. ...

Length and setting of a scene

Length of a scene may trouble a writer. How long should a scene be? Some scenes may only be a few pages or even a few paragraphs; other scenes may be dozens of pages long. The writer should consider what is being focused upon in a scene to determine length. Scenes that focus on description or exposition should be shorter. Scenes that focus on building suspense or expressing emotion should be longer ^[4]. No right solution exists to answer the question of scene length. The writer should use his instincts. A description consists of an enumeration of the quantitative and qualitative parameters which define something, that is, what something looks like, sounds like, feels like. ... An exposition may be one of the following: In music an exposition is the first of the sections in sonata allegro form. ... One of the premier programs of the Golden Age of Radio (now known as old-time radio), Suspense advertised itself as radios oustanding theater of thrills and was heard in one form or another from 1942 through 1962. ... Emotions are essentially impulses that move an organism to action, originating automatic reaction behavior which has been adapted through evolution as a survival need. ...

Another question that may arise for a writer is "How many settings should be included in a scene?" Some writers argue that an ideal scene should contain only one setting ^[5]. Since fiction writing is subjective, a scene may require several settings. The writer should keep in mind that a setting could be portable, such as inside a car, on an escalator or on an airplane ^[6]. Just as with the length of a scene, the writer again needs to use his instincts when determining how many settings to include in a scene. In drama, the set (or setting) is the location of a storys action. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Central African Republic Children At Risk Cordillera Administrative Region Cost Accrual Ratio Computer-assisted reporting Cumulative average return This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Escalators at Westminster tube station, London An escalator is a conveyor transport device to transport people, consisting of a staircase whose steps move up or down on tracks which keep the surfaces of the individual steps horizontal. ... Fixed-wing aircraft is a term used to refer to what are more commonly known as aeroplanes in Commonwealth English (excluding Canada) or airplanes in North American English. ...

Beginning of a scene

Beginning a scene can enhance or detract from a writer's style. To capture the reader’s interest, which is the ultimate goal of creating fiction, a writer can begin a scene in medias res ^[7]. This means in the middle of things. Starting the scene in the middle of some dialogue, such as an argument, or action, such as someone pointing a weapon at someone else, would possibly hook the reader. If done well, description of a character or a setting can begin a scene; however, the writer risks boring the reader if description is provided in large chunks. A solution would be to insert description among the dialogue and action. Many ways exist for a writer to begin a scene, but he should remember this goal: grab the reader’s attention as soon as possible. The Three Graces, here in a painting by Sandro Botticelli, were the goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility in Greek mythology. ... In Medias Res can mean a few things. ... Dialogue should create conflict. ... A description consists of an enumeration of the quantitative and qualitative parameters which define something, that is, what something looks like, sounds like, feels like. ...

Ending of a scene

Ending a scene properly can make the reader want more. When a point of view character has failed to reach his or her goal, the end of the scene is usually about to fall upon the reader. Sometimes a situation gets worse for the character; sometimes the character must consider his or her next course of action. The end result should be that the reader wants to see what happens next. The writer can facilitate this by showing the character's upcoming plans to achieve the goal ^[8]. A point of view, viewpoint or POV, is the following: On a given topic, a point of view is a cognitive perspective. ...

Miscellaneous

Scene comes from a theater term that describes action taking place in a single setting ^[9]. For other usages see Theatre (disambiguation) Theater (American English) or Theatre (British English and widespread usage among theatre professionals in the US) is that branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed... In drama, the set (or setting) is the location of a storys action. ...

References

1. ^  Kress, Nancy (1993). Beginnings, Middles & Ends pp.24-27., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898795508.
2. ^  Levin, Donna (1992). Get That Novel Started! p.105., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898795176.
3. ^  Bickham, Jack M. (1993). Scene & Structure pp.99-100., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898795516.
4. ^  Obstfeld, Raymond (2000). Novelist's Essential guide to Crafting Scenes pp.30-36., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898799732.
5. ^  Polking, Kirk (1990). Writing A to Z p.405., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898795567.
6. ^  Obstfeld, Raymond (2000). Novelist's Essential guide to Crafting Scenes p.2., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898799732.
7. ^  Obstfeld, Raymond (2000). Novelist's Essential guide to Crafting Scenes p.10., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898799732.
8. ^  Polking, Kirk (1990). Writing A to Z p.405., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898795567.
9. ^  Obstfeld, Raymond (2000). Novelist's Essential guide to Crafting Scenes p.2., Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0898799732.

External links

• Scenes and half-scenes: Writing Fiction: A Beginner’s Guide
• Dialog-Scene: Writing a Scene