Planning Scenes

What is a scene?

In The Art of Fiction, John Gardner writes that a scene is

…an unbroken flow of action from one incident in time to another…The action within a scene is ‘unbroken’ in the sense that it does not include a major time lapse or a leap from one setting to another…

This is a good, even excellent, intuitive notion of what constitutes a scene. Gardner’s advice tended to be densely written and thus we can deduce much from the above kernel.

A scene is a unit of storytelling where the character or characters engage in action and in interaction with each other and the fictional world. This action takes place at a single point in time and in a single location. Scenes should

1 have a purpose;
2 advance character or plot, and preferably both; and
3 have a beginning, a middle, and an end.

A story is a sequence of related scenes. Before writing a scene, it’s helpful to have a plan. Not all scenes will have the same plan, but the goal here is to outline some basic elements of a useful plan.

What information will the scene convey?

Vonnegut reminds us that every sentence should advance charactor or plot, and preferably both. We can generalize that advice to scenes. The most basic purpose of a scene is to reveal new information or insight to the readers. The first step in any plan is therefore to know what that information is.

In a detective novel, this is usually a clue, usually some previously unknown fact that the detective can use to solve the crime. It’s sometimes more subtle, though, even in detective novels. In any case, the reader learns something new about a character or about the plot after reading a scene.

While one of the main purposes of a scene is to convey new information, a scene can have other purposes. It’s important, however, to keep readers grounded in the here-and-now of the story, hence each scene needs to provide something new about the story. That usually means something related to character goals, stakes, or obstacles.

Before the advent of wide-screen televisions, it was common practice to edit movies with a “pan-and-scan” technique that cropped the original image to fit on smaller 3×4 TV screens. Many directors were appalled by this and one, Sydney Pollack, actually sued to stop it. He argued that in constructing a scene, he used all of the available visual space to convey information to the audience. Cropping the screen effectively eliminated some of the critical information on the screen. The point is that every aspect of the scene can contribute to conveying that new information.

Why is the information important?

It’s another Vonnegut lesson that every character should want something, even if it’s just a glass of water. More generally, characters have goals. The goals matter: Something bad happens if the character fails in achieving their goal. These are the stakes. Finally, the character faces obstacles that stand in the way of the goals. The information almost certainly relates to goals, stakes, or obstacles. Perhaps the character suffers a setback, or gets information that changes goals, or encounters unexpected obstacles. The character might gain an ally or enemy. Whatever the case, the new information changes the status of the fundamentals of the story. This change is why it’s important.

In the case of a mystery novel, the detective’s goal is solving the crime, while the criminal’s is evading detection. The stakes are evident in both, but might be heightened by other elements of the story. In The Maltese Falcon, for example, Sam Spade is motivated by justice for his partner more than by merely solving the mystery.

Who discovers the information?

The information is important because the information represents a change it the story. The person most affected by that change would ordinarily be the one to discover it. However, hiding the information from that person can be a device to increase tension. Who needs to know the information can be different, for dramatic purposes, from who discovers the information.

Remember that change represents unfinished business. Characters must also react to the change. The reaction might include confronting a dilemma, making a decision, or possibly by revising goals.

What action reveals the information?

Of course, you could write a sentence that just reveals what happened. “Mrs. deWinter discovers that her gown at the ball was a copy of a favorite of Rebecca’s” summarizes a critical scene in Rebecca. You could even add a reaction by inserting the phrase “to her horror.” However, a flat statement is telling. Du Maurier does an awesome job of showing this disaster. Her novel leads up to this pivotal scene by setting expectations and increasing tension, leading to a scene with an explosive ending.

Don’t tell your story, show it. That means have your characters interact with each other and with their fictional world. The information comes out through this action.

Where and when does the action take place?

This sets the scene and mood for the action. The opening chapter of The Maltese Falcon is a good example. Dashiell Hammett describes Spade’s seedy office, including cigarette ashes twitching and crawling on his desktop, faint ammonia smells wafting through the open window, and dull mechanical vibrations from an adjoining office. A cigarette ”smoulders in a brass tray filled with the remains of limp cigarettes.“ From the presence of Spade’s receptionist, we infer this is happening during regular business hours.

Hammett’s clever descriptions not only set the scene, but provide subtle clues the Spade’s character and about the plot. The ashes twitching and crawling and the limp cigarettes in the tray bring suggest a dark past, with an indifferent world vibrating outside and emitting pungent, industrial odors. This setting is metaphor for the plot.

Hammet continus with description of the characters. Smade’s face is all “V’s” while Brigid is “tall and pliantly slender, without angularity anywhere.” When they talk, she sits on the edge of her chair, clutching a fur. Spade leans back and nods his “blond statan’s head.” Again, descriptions provide metaphor for character.

Hook

A hook is anything that grabs the reader’s attention and forces them to turn the page. In a short story, the hook occurs someplace in the first paragraph. In a novel, the first paragraph of the first chapter needs a hook, along with the final line of each chapter.

Raymond Chandler’s openings are the work of genius. This opening to The Red Wind is one of my all-time favorites.

There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands’ necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.

Summary

Know what information you’re adding to your story. Know why that information is important. Know who discovers the information. Know what action leads to the discovery of the information. Know where and when the discovery occurs. Don’t forget to hook your readers.