What do you do when you’re stuck in a scene? Or you know your scenes aren’t working and you just don’t know why or how to move each scene forward?
In this episode, we’ll go over 3 reasons your scenes aren’t working and what to do instead.
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Episode at a glance:
[01:27] What Do We Mean By Scene?
A scene is a self contained mini-story with a beginning, middle, and end. Every scene is a unit of action that culminates in a new realization, discovery, understanding, confession or a new experience. Something new needs to be revealed in each scene that moves the story forward.
[02:15] Your Character Needs A Scene Goal
Your character will come into every scene with a specific goal or expectation.A scene goal does not have to be dramatic, just specific. It can be simple, but some revelation or new information should redirect your character at the end of the scene. In other words, what will he do next?
[05:01] Make The Goal Challenging To Achieve
You never want to make life easy for your character. They should struggle to reach their goal in every scene. When you make it too easy, you’ve already lost us. Characters are revealed in how they transcend obstacles and rise to the occasion. So make it challenging.
[10:32] The Scene Should Be Related To The Main Story Goal
Scene goals should be connected to the main story goal or be a microcosm of the main conflict.
Links Mentioned In This Episode
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Little Children by Tom Perrotta
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