Introduction

Track the Seven Essential Elements of Scene

At its best, every scene in a story advances the dramatic action, develops the character, contributes to the theme, provides tension and conflict, and reflects a change in the character’s attitude or circumstances. In short, scenes are at the core structure of a story.

In my plot-intensive workshops, it quickly becomes apparent that many writers are as confused about scene as they are about plot. Many writers think they are writing a scene when in fact they are writing a summary, telling readers what happens rather than showing. When they do show what’s happening through action, dialogue, and details, their scenes have no true beginning, middle, or end—the basic core structure of scene, which mimics that of an overall plot. Or their scenes only complete one essential task, when each scene is capable of accomplishing a multitude of tasks. Due to confusion, most writers are not making the most of scene for the greater good of the story.

Scenes make plot. When I became determined to unravel the mysteries of plot, I knew I needed to address scene at the basic level.

The Scene Tracker

Whether you are a screenwriter, a memoirist, or a writer of children’s, young adult, or adult fiction, you write countless scenes. How does one make the most of all these scenes and keep track of all the information within the scenes? One simple technique is to create a visual representation of your story called a Scene Tracker. This is where you’ll track all the most essential elements of plot in scenes. In doing so, you discover exactly where your strengths and weaknesses lie regarding scene writing. The Scene Tracker also works well for sorting out all the threads of your project, thereby saving you both time and effort.

The Scene Tracker is a grid that helps you track, scene by scene, all the dates and settings of the story, the character’s emotional development and goals, the dramatic action, conflict, and the thematic significance, so that the whole does not become a tangled mess. Think of the Scene Tracker as the loom that holds your story ideas, scene fragments, character development, snippets of dialogue, research and details, and tension and conflict in roughly the order you envision the story will unfold. It helps you interweave all the threads for a successful narrative. When you start out, you may have lots of holes and gaps in your Scene Tracker, but these will be filled in as you come to know your story and characters better.

Layout

You can build your Scene Tracker on:

• banner paper
• 11" × 17" sheets of paper
• a dry erase board
• your computer

I like to create my Scene Trackers on pieces of banner paper so I can hang them on the wall beside my computer screen. This way, my scene information is fully visible at all times. When inspiration strikes, I slap a sticky note on the Scene Tracker rather than filing it in a folder in a file cabinet or on my computer.

If you do not have the space to hang something as large as a piece of banner paper, or if you are not inclined to wallpaper your rooms with your scene information, try a smaller piece of paper or work on your computer. If you travel a great deal and want your story information readily available to you, consider purchasing a Scene Tracker Template at marthaalderson.com/scene-tracker-template.

Using the computer to create a Scene Tracker is not as effective for me as using a big piece of banner paper because the scene information is not as handy and visible. But it’s important to choose the method that works best for you. If you choose to use your computer, just make sure that you print out your Scene Tracker so that it is readily available.

If you have already written a draft or two, the Scene Tracker will help with your rewrites. Use it to determine whether scenes and transitions, characters’ emotional changes, and your use of detail are contributing to the fullest in the project’s development.

This process may appear daunting or tedious to you. If so, start by tracking a few scenes to get a sense of your strengths and weaknesses in developing scene. Tackle the big, turning-point scenes first. Then, once you have tried out the system and have developed an understanding of what is important within a scene, track by chapters rather than by scenes.

You can also track only the sections of your story that appear weak to you so that you gain a better understanding of what might be missing or awaiting further development. Or you can simply track the scenes that lead up to the important turning points of your project, such as the crisis and/or the climax of your book. Keep in mind that the Scene Tracker is a system intended to help you with your writing by layering and deepening your scenes. Find a method that works best for you, and use it.

As one student of mine declared: “Using the Scene Tracker is like learning a new language or entering an alien culture. Many writers just think that they need to let the muse move them in any direction. Using the Scene Tracker, for me, involved adopting a new perspective on what I have written, and that was an anxiety-producing proposition.” This same writer persevered. Like her, you can take a deep breath and persevere, and your writing life will never be the same.

In Part Two of Writing Blockbuster Plots, each of the seven essential elements that make up the Scene Tracker is given independent consideration. The examples provided show how successful writers integrated each of these aspects into a total structure to achieve unity.

Format

Chapters fifteen and sixteen explain how to create a Scene Tracker. Chapters seventeen through twenty-four offer specific examples from published works for each step in the development of a Scene Tracker.

Using the same definition of plot we used earlier, notice the significance of scene in the overall definition of plot.

Except for the all-important scene, we have covered most of the elements mentioned in our definition of plot in the Plot Planner section of this book. In Part One, you generated shorthand sticky notes for the dramatic action, the character emotional development, and thematic significance for scenes you had written or imagined, and plotted them on your Plot Planner. Now it’s time to investigate how plot is playing out at the scene level by evaluating each scene for seven essential elements.

You may choose to do this work directly on your Plot Planner using different-colored sticky notes for the different plotlines and scene elements. Let me caution you—that method can quickly overburden and clutter the Planner, leading to confusion rather than clarity. Instead I suggest using the Plot Planner for a broad view of your overall story and evaluating individual scenes for essential elements on a separate Scene Tracker.

Scene is where the story plays out and action ensues moment by moment. Each scene covers a relatively short period of time but is written in detail. Scene is focused motion with tension and conflict, and is built on talk and action, and experienced by both the character and the reader. A confrontation, a turning point, or a crisis occurs at given moments that take on significance and cannot be effectively summarized. Not all scenes contain earth-shattering events, but every scene has several layers of information packed into the moment. If you can convince readers to trust you by providing enticing character introductions and exciting action up front, they will believe you when you present the big action scenes to come.

Candle in the Window by Christina Dodd

Scene Identification

Take out the piece of writing you have chosen to work with, preferably your own. Next, close your eyes and take a couple of deep breaths. Relax. Concentrate on your breathing. There is no right or wrong in what I am offering here. These are ideas that have helped other writers, and I offer them to you so that you do not have to go it alone.

Go through the piece of writing you are working on and, page by page, mark where you believe each scene begins and ends.

Does this brief exercise reveal your confusion about the difference between a scene and a summary? If so, refer to chapter fifteen for explanations and examples of scene and summary. If you are confident about your ability to identify scene versus summary, bypass chapter fifteen altogether and move directly to creating a Scene Tracker in chapter sixteen.

If you enjoy multitasking, use a different-colored marker to mark the summaries at the same time you identify scenes. Though scenes often begin with a short summary, look for where action begins and mark the scene beginning there.

Next, read for the following, and mark the end of these scenes:

• a cliff-hanger
• a disaster
• a decision
• a change in location

Do not make a list of the scenes and summaries. Mark the beginnings and endings directly on your manuscript.

Scenes show outward action. They are in the now, unfolding moment by moment. Dialogue is a scene marker and action is, too.

Take a Break

Get up and make yourself a cup of tea. Now sit back and look over your manuscript. Is there a pattern made visible in the markings? Take a deep breath. Invite in the spirit of discovery. See your story in a new way.