A Focus on Self-Editing Scenes
If you’re receiving rejection letters that state, couldn’t connect with the character or didn’t pique my interest, then it might be time to reevaluate your scene structure.
I don’t know about you, but I always have a work-in-progress puzzle on the table in my office. It’s a wonderful way to procrastinate, I mean, focus, on where my story is falling flat.
Let’s think about the analogy of building a puzzle in comparison to writing a story for a moment.
What’s the first thing you do to start building a puzzle? You find all the edges. The perimeter of the puzzle keeps all the pieces contained into a happy little rectangle and offers a glimpse of what is to come next. Think of your perimeter as your theme.
The theme gives you a general idea of where you want to take your story, but that’s only the beginning.
Once you’ve laid out all your pieces, you start comparing them to how they’ll fit into the picture on the front of the box. This is the time to start putting like-pieces together that are unfolding in your imagination, trying to determine the next place to start. Is it like colors? Maybe you see a half image of a dog’s face and while you’re organizing your pieces, omg, there’s the other half of the dog. It’s a start. Slowly, you assemble the scattered pieces into a contained mess.
The pieces of the puzzle are your scenes. They create the shape and feel of your puzzle. A manuscript is made up of several dozen scenes. Each piece, or scene, must perfectly fit into one another, connecting and weaving so they leave a lasting impression on your readers.
What is a scene?
A scene is a mini story. It has a beginning, middle, and end—just like a full-length manuscript. These scenes, when read separately, may have a feel of a short story; insofar as, they are merely glimpses of an overall picture.
Scenes move the story forward through action and reaction, mixed in with a degree of tension and/or conflict. You can compare conflict and tension in this manner: If conflict were an object, tension is the key winding it up – or – tension is the spoon stirring the pot and causing trouble.
In every scene, something needs to be at stake; something has to matter to the character. And you get to determine if the character gets what they want or if there are external forces hindering the character’s progress.
Here’s a quick example.
Lester’s only goal in life is to land his dream job. He’s spent eleven years at the architecture firm and wants to make partner. Lester has proven himself as a respectable leader in the organization. He’s nervous but he puts his anxiety of rejection (internal conflict) aside and prepares a PowerPoint presentation of why he deserves the accolades. The meeting is scheduled with the other three partners, and just as he’s about to enter his boss’s office, Alex, Lester’s co-worker, is getting handshakes and congratulations for making partner (external tension). Lester is deflated.
This quick scenario shows Lester with an objective – wanting partner. He takes action – creates the PowerPoint on why he’s awesome. The outcome was not what he expected and will show the reader through either dialog, or internal narrative – his reaction of not only his disappointment, but he then creates a plan to undermine Alex’s promotion and take the job he deserves – conflict.
This example also leads to the emphasis of tension in a scene. Lester is uncertain of his future with the company. He worries he’s not as good of an architect as he hoped. Or maybe his political prowess is inadequate. Now he doubts if he’ll ever land his dream job because as far as he’s concerned, Alex and the other partners just ruined his life. This is what’s called a setback, or something got in the way of Lester reaching his goal.
I’ll leave you with this:
If you’re scenes are falling flat and receiving rejection letters, saying something to the effect of, not enthusiastic enough to pursue, then focus on one scene at a time and look for empty slots. Do you show inner conflict? Does that conflict create a reaction? Are there outside forces hindering your character?
Does the scene end with the character either getting what they want most or is there outside interference obstructing your character’s desire? The answer then leads into the next scene.
Once all the pieces, or scenes, are interconnected, your story can transform into a masterful completed puzzle that you feel confident displaying in your living room when the in-laws come to visit.
-RADolence
