Scenecraft 101. Every writer needs it. Josh Wilcox, experienced developmental editor and bibliophile, knows all about it. Enjoy this guest post on how to write bestselling scenes from our amazing guest poster and be sure to check out the other posts in his series!
What is one thing every bestselling novel in history
contains?
An opening scene.
Yep. Terrible answer. But a terrible answer for a reason. The goal of this post is to change your
approach to improving your writing.
So, let’s ask another question.
How would you feel if you could get everyone who picked up your
book to read, from beginning to end, your opening scene?
Would you feel like the greatest writer in history? Capable of becoming a bestseller? At
minimum, a competent wordsmith?
If I could go back in time to when I started writing and tell myself to focus on one thing, it would
be this.
Make your scenes compelling.
If you can make your opening scene hard to put down, then you can make your second scene hard to put down. And the third. Fourth. Fifth. Next thing you know, the reader has finished your book.
Interested in crafting these bestselling scenes?
Great!
Let’s nail down the 4 critical components to make a scene matter to a reader, AKA Scenecraft 101. We’ll use the fantastic opening of The Hunger Games as an example, in combination with THE VERY BLOG POST YOU’RE READING RIGHT NOW!
Scenecraft 101: 4 Pillars of Every Addictive Scene
This article is going to use the four pillars of scenecraft on you. Which would make you, dear reader, the main character.
Yay! You’re finally the main character in your life! Shove off, Jasper!
The First Pillar of Scenecraft 101
Up to this point, what have we been focused on? Nailing why Scenecraft matters to you. This is the same fundamental thing you must do in a scene. You must show the reader the Importance to Character.
What is Importance to Character?
Simply put, in scenecraft it’s the biggest thing that kills the reader experience. If readers don’t understand why what’s happening in a scene matters to the character (or why a blog post matters to them!), then they don’t care.
Your character must want something from a scene and that want must be important. If there’s nothing else you take away from this post, please take this pillar. Doing so will save your beta readers and anyone else you send your writing to from suffering through another block of text they don’t understand the purpose of.(If you aren’t sure, this is a common issue, volunteer to beta read for new writers.)
Importance to Character is also the purpose of Scenecraft: To make your scenes matter to your readers.
In The Hunger Games, Collins does this right off the bat. Katniss reaches out for Prim. The opening scene, and the book itself, is about Katniss trying to take care of Prim. Worrying about her because it’s The Reaping. Not killing Buttercup. Hunting for her sister’s food with Gale. And, of course, volunteering in her place. Collins hammers into us that Prim is important to Katniss, even more so than her own safety.
Of course, importance to character is like an all-coffee diet. While initially invigorating…
We need more. What is Tommy Lee not getting?
The Second Pillar of Scenecraft 101
What is a story about?
Change.
What is a scene about?
Change.
What does Tommy Lee need to go through to care about Harrison?
Change.
In every scene, something needs to change. If Prim doesn’t get her name drawn for the Hunger Games, nothing changes for Katniss. Imagine if Luna Lovegood got her name drawn instead.
Katniss carries on living her life, using Expelliarmus to hunt rabbits for her family and refraining from Avada Kedavra-ing Buttercup. Without Prim’s name getting drawn, the scene ends up being about time passing.
Please don’t make your story about time passing. It’s copyright infringement.
The Third Pillar of Scenecraft 101
The gods of wordcount are hot on my heels, so let’s jump into the third pillar of scenecraft 101 and the most difficult thing I’m going to ask of you.
I want you to tattoo these rules on yourself.
No? Well, good for you, you’re a writer who still has some dignity left. If you had done so though, you would’ve nailed our 3rd pillar.
What’s the number one thing associated with a tattoo?
Irreversibility.
If you answered differently, shame on you. Or maybe shame on me. Either way, tattoos are mostly irreversible. We have the technology to reverse them. But is doing so easy? No. That’s what we want from your scenes.
Important change that is difficult to reverse.
You can even track this irreversibility on a scale. Like the price of removing a tattoo, the bigger it is, the higher pain and cost. Unlike this blog, an irreversible scene shows respect to its reader. They took the time to read it. The change needs to matter. When Katniss volunteers as tribute, how irreversible is that? On one hand, pretty easy.
“Just playing, Effie! Good luck in the Hunger Games, Prim!”
Even if Collins used such an awesome opening for Chapter Two, the words are out of Katniss’s mouth. If Katniss chickens out, it’ll change what Prim thinks of her. What her district thinks of her. Everyone she knows is going to swing from admiration to disgust. How about <spoiler alert> when Rue dies? Can’t be reversed, right?
Respect your reader by giving your scenes obvious irreversibility, just like the tattoo this blog inspired you to ink on your forehead. Doing so will all but make the final pillar of Scenecraft 101 automatic:
The Fourth Pillar of Scenecraft 101
A New Direction.
Because something important has happened to a character and because there’s been a change that isn’t easy to reverse, they’re sent to our favorite Star Wars movie.
Katniss must enter the Hunger Games. You must face the adulation inspired by your tattooed forehead. Of course, our scenes don’t make characters bounce from new direction to new direction like a chicken on a pool table. Our character’s main goal doesn’t necessarily change. Katniss doesn’t immediately want to destroy the capital. She still wants to save Prim. However, the way she’s going to do it is no longer hunting rabbits and not killing Buttercup. It’s going to be fighting in the Hunger Games.
In the same vein, this post shouldn’t change your primary goal to become a great writer. However, I hope it helps you hold your scenes to a higher standard and analyze scenes that aren’t working. And if you can’t go back in time to convince me to, at least take advantage of what you learned here to improve your craft.
The Next Step
How quickly can you write a scene? How quickly can you get feedback on it. Edit it? Now compare that with writing and iterating your next Way of Kings-meets-War and Peace project.
Make your scenes work on the fundamental level. And then…
Subscribe to this blog! Then you’ll be ready for Scenecraft 201 / Next-Level Scenecraft: Launching scenes with momentum, Scenecraft 301 / Expert Scenecraft: Shaping scenes for maximum impact, and Scenecraft 401 / Master Scenecraft: Turning scenes into magic.
Also, don’t forget that tattoo.
Enjoyed the blog and looking for additional tips for crafting great scenes? Check out this post on scene writing for other great tips!
