Anne Skyvington
  • Writing
    • Craft
      • Structuring a Short Story
      • Alternative Narrative Approaches
      • Genre in Writing
      • A Grain of Folly
        • Novel Writing
          • The Sea Voyage: a metaphor
          • How I Created My Debut Novel
          • What I learnt from writing a novel…
          • Short Story
            • At the Swimming Pool
            • The Night of the Barricades
          • Poetry
            • a funny thing happened …
            • An ancient mystic: Rumi
            • A Window into Poetry
            • The Voice of T.S. Eliot
  • Publishing
    • A Change of Blog Title
    • 5 Further Publishing Facts
    • 5 Facts I Learnt About Self/Publishing
    • Highs and Lows of Self Publishing
    • A Perfect Pitch to a Publisher
    • A Useful Site for Readers and Indie Authors: Books 2 Read
  • Book Reviews
    • A Story of a Special Child
    • Discovering Karrana
    • A Young Adult Novel: My French Barrette
    • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills
    • The Trouble With Flying: A Review
  • Mythos
    • Ancient Stories from Childhood
    • Births Deaths and Marriages
    • Duality or Onenness: The Moon
    • The Myth of Persephone and Demeter
    • Pandora’s Box
    • 7 ancient artefacts in the British Museum
    • Symbolism of Twins
    • The Agony and the Ecstasy of Change
    • Voices From the Past
  • Australia
    • A Country College Residence
    • A Kit Home Goes Up in Vacy
    • A Sydney Icon or Two
    • 5 things about Coogee
    • Moree and Insistent Voices
    • Things To Do in Sydney
  • Travel
    • A Bird’s Eye View
    • A Tuscan Village Holiday
    • Back to Cavtat in Croatia
    • Travel to Croatia
    • 5 or 6 Things About Valencia
  • Guest Post
    • a father’s tale … by Ian (Harry) Wells
    • A Guest Poem: “First Loves” by Roger Britton
    • A Love Sonnet by Ian Harry Wells
    • “Snakey” by Roger Britton
    • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills
    • A Story of a Genteel Ghost told by Roger Britton
  • Psychology
    • Creativity and Mental Illness
    • Networking and Emotional Intelligence
    • C.G.Jung’s Active Imagination and the Dead
    • Psychology as a Field of Study
    • Western Influencers Down Through The Ages
  • Life Stories
    • Adriatic Romance … Rijeka to Titograd
    • Always something there to remind me…
    • A Well-Loved Pet
    • Candidly Yours…
    • Memoir Writing
    • River Girl: An Early Chapter of my Memoir in Progress
  • Welcome
  • Contact

Anne Skyvington

The Craft of Writing

  • Writing
    • Craft
      • Structuring a Short Story
      • Alternative Narrative Approaches
      • Genre in Writing
      • A Grain of Folly
        • Novel Writing
          • The Sea Voyage: a metaphor
          • How I Created My Debut Novel
          • What I learnt from writing a novel…
          • Short Story
            • At the Swimming Pool
            • The Night of the Barricades
          • Poetry
            • a funny thing happened …
            • An ancient mystic: Rumi
            • A Window into Poetry
            • The Voice of T.S. Eliot
  • Publishing
    • A Change of Blog Title
    • 5 Further Publishing Facts
    • 5 Facts I Learnt About Self/Publishing
    • Highs and Lows of Self Publishing
    • A Perfect Pitch to a Publisher
    • A Useful Site for Readers and Indie Authors: Books 2 Read
  • Book Reviews
    • A Story of a Special Child
    • Discovering Karrana
    • A Young Adult Novel: My French Barrette
    • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills
    • The Trouble With Flying: A Review
  • Mythos
    • Ancient Stories from Childhood
    • Births Deaths and Marriages
    • Duality or Onenness: The Moon
    • The Myth of Persephone and Demeter
    • Pandora’s Box
    • 7 ancient artefacts in the British Museum
    • Symbolism of Twins
    • The Agony and the Ecstasy of Change
    • Voices From the Past
  • Australia
    • A Country College Residence
    • A Kit Home Goes Up in Vacy
    • A Sydney Icon or Two
    • 5 things about Coogee
    • Moree and Insistent Voices
    • Things To Do in Sydney
  • Travel
    • A Bird’s Eye View
    • A Tuscan Village Holiday
    • Back to Cavtat in Croatia
    • Travel to Croatia
    • 5 or 6 Things About Valencia
  • Guest Post
    • a father’s tale … by Ian (Harry) Wells
    • A Guest Poem: “First Loves” by Roger Britton
    • A Love Sonnet by Ian Harry Wells
    • “Snakey” by Roger Britton
    • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills
    • A Story of a Genteel Ghost told by Roger Britton
  • Psychology
    • Creativity and Mental Illness
    • Networking and Emotional Intelligence
    • C.G.Jung’s Active Imagination and the Dead
    • Psychology as a Field of Study
    • Western Influencers Down Through The Ages
  • Life Stories
    • Adriatic Romance … Rijeka to Titograd
    • Always something there to remind me…
    • A Well-Loved Pet
    • Candidly Yours…
    • Memoir Writing
    • River Girl: An Early Chapter of my Memoir in Progress
Tag

are function and purpose more important for scenes?

beads-pixabay
Writing

What is a Scene in a Novel?

Definitions of a Scene

 A scene is the smallest unit of narration. It is a story with a beginning, middle, and an end. One editor calls it the DNA of story. Cells of information shape the essence of a narrative, in which characters undertake actions in a vivid and memorable way on the journey toward a compelling goal. Scenes contain all the elements of story telling, such as point of view, voice, vivid characters, plot, and setting.

A long scene might run to more than fifteen pages; a short scene might fill only ten or fewer pages. Some scenes are as short as a couple of pages. Short scenes often make readers hungry for more. But too many long scenes may cause a lack of momentum; too many short ones might seem choppy.

What is a Chapter?

A chapter is comprised of related scenes that are, generally, all working together to make a similar point.  Successful plot-based author of thrillers, James Patterson, sometimes writes chapters that are just one scene, and sometimes even just one page long. Think about making a new chapter when the character’s goal in the scene changes, or the direction of the story changes. Deciding how to structure the story is where your creativity comes into play.

Structure of a Scene

Most well-planned novels have some form of broader structure (such as three-act structure or narrative arc) ensuring that everything hangs together. And so it is for a scene. In written narrative such as fiction, section breaks are used to signal various changes in a story, including changes in time, location, point-of-view, character, mood, tone, emotion, and pace. The section break can be considered a transition, similar to a chapter break.  It is marked by a space and/or by an asterisk or a fleuron or by other ornamental symbols.

The Part Reveals the Whole

More importantly, scenes must have a distinct function and purpose within the larger narrative arc of your novel. That’s right, you cannot tot up segments, or scenes, without being aware of the potential end product, or purpose of the writing. Think of scenes as being the individual beads strung together on a chain to form a lovely necklace; or lyrical notes to form a beautiful melody.

“To see the world in a grain of sand.”  Blake meant by this that even something as minute as a grain of sand tells us about the world at large. Or, to put it another way, the part reveals the whole, by distilling it discreetly, bit by bit, throughout the novel. A scene works to show the reader, at any one time, a part of the character, the plot, the action, and the development. A larger, more intricate picture is revealed by the end of the novel.

Once you have learnt how to show and to tell, in combination, you are on your way to finding a satisfactory structure for your novel and for your scenes.

Questions to Ask Yourself About Each Scene

* What is the goal or purpose for this scene?
* What characters are involved and are they all necessary?
* What is at stake for the protagonist in this scene?
* What is the main conflict in this scene?
* How does this scene further develop my novel’s plot?

The Purpose of the Scene is Key

The purpose of the scene relates to the overall story. It may be to introduce the inciting event, present plot points, build suspense, develop character,  show a climax,  establish mood, describe setting, intensify conflict, move the story forward, or present the resolution. If you can’t articulate the purpose of a scene, think about removing the scene.

Where does the scene take place? Have I made it easy for the reader to visualize this?

What role does the setting play in how the scene unfolds?

When does the scene happen? Is it in chronological sequence with preceding events? Or is it a flashback? Have you made the scene’s time-frame in relation to the rest of your story clear?

Who is in the scene? Do you need more or fewer characters?

What happens in the scene? What is the scene about?

Why do the characters behave as they do in this scene?

These questions are all related to cause and effect, which is an important aspect for creating narrative drive.

Two Further Metaphors for Novel Structure

Emma Darwin thinks that most of us feel that the chapter is the basic unit, and happily “read” section-breaks or switches of narrator, as joints in a larger whole. She sees a novel as a bridge, with piers and arches, perhaps of different widths and heights, perhaps rising to a crown and down again, which embody the big, stretching strides.

construction-of-bridge

national museum

Another favoured metaphor is a train. “If the major scenes are the carriages, and you write them in full, showy, almost-real-time glory, then the couplings are also crucial: not just the big steel hooks and chains, but the electrics, communications, brakes, platforms, doors and so on. You can’t have one without the other and any railway buff knows that the engineering of the couplings is as fascinating and crucial as any other part of the train.” Darwintrains-carriages

Sarah Domet “Because a scene combines all elements of fiction in harmony with one another, it isn’t just one aspect of craft—it’s all of them put together, artfully and thoughtfully, to achieve the same kind of balance you hope for in that extravagant dish you prepare for your dinner guests.”

cuisine

References:
The Writers Digest Blog: Writers Digest.com
Emma Darwin: This Itch of Writing

What is a Scene in a Novel? was last modified: March 5th, 2019 by Anne Skyvington
February 5, 2019 0 comment
0 Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest

About The Author

About The Author

Anne Skyvington

Anne Skyvington is a writer based in Sydney who has been practising and teaching creative writing skills for many years. You can learn here about structuring a short story and how to go about creating a longer work, such as a novel or a memoir. Subscribe to this blog and receive a monthly newsletter on creative writing topics and events.

Subscribe

Buy online from Amazon

In Australia you can purchase the book from Harry Hartog in Bondi Junction, from Amazon Australia and bookshops linked to IngramSpark

 

Included in Feedspot’s Top 30 for 2020

Top 30 Creative Writing Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

This blog is Included in List of 100 Best Writers’ Sites 2019

 

The 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2019

Connect With Me

Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest Linkedin Youtube Email

Recent Posts

  • The Night of the Barricades

    February 15, 2021
  • How I Created My Debut Novel

    July 4, 2020
  • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills

    May 7, 2020
  • 5 Further Publishing Facts

    April 1, 2020
  • 5 Facts I Learnt About Self/Publishing

    March 23, 2020

Categories

  • Writing
  • Craft of Writing
  • Publishing
  • Australia
  • Childhood
  • Nature
  • Travel
  • Poetry
  • Memoir
  • Emotions and Health
  • Book Reviews
  • Guest Post
  • Art
  • Politics

I’ve joined ALLI

About The Author

About The Author

Anne Skyvington is a Sydney-based writer and blogger. <a href="http://anneskyvington.com.au She has self-published a novel, 'Karrana' and is currently writing a creative memoir based on her life and childhood with a spiritual/mystical dimension.

Popular Posts

  • Randwick Writers’ Group: Sharing Writing Skills

    May 7, 2020
  • 5 Further Publishing Facts

    April 1, 2020
  • The Golden Ratio in Nature

    August 24, 2016

Subscribe

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Copyright @ 2017 Anne Skyvington. All Rights Reserved. Site by gina.digital.


Back To Top