TECH: Tightening the Screws On Plot and Structure (16)

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Tightening the Screws On Plot and Structure (16)

Chapter 7 on Scenes in Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell starts right out with two pithy paragraphs.

"A good plot is about disturbance to characters' inner and outer lives."

"Scenes are what we use to illustrate and dramatize those disturbances. Scenes are the essential building blocks of plot. And the plot is only as strong as its weakest block."

So we are going to talk about scenes for a little bit. Bell starts by telling us that a scene is a fictional unit, and that we need to make them unforgettable. Fresh, surprising, emotionally intense, with characters we care about doing things that we must pay attention to. Tension, originality. Most often, unforgettable scenes have an intense clash between two characters who have the strongest possible reasons for their opposition.

Bell suggests four chords of fiction that thread throughout the scenes. The two major chords are action and reaction. The two minor chords are setup and deepening. They are often combined in a scene. Oh, and don't forget to separate scenes and beats. A scene takes place in a single location, usually in real time. A beat is a unit within a scene, a stroke of action, an exchange of dialogue, etc.

The action chord is when a character does something to attain an objective. In the scene, the character has a scene purpose. This is a step towards the story goal. Usually, there is conflict and confrontation, with someone frustrating the character, pushing them away from achieving their objective.

Reaction scenes are the emotional response of a character when something happens to them (often bad). Instead of getting the information that would help, the character gets information that makes it harder for them. How do they feel when they are tired, frustrated, and nothing seems to be working? Sometimes reaction is just a beat within a scene.

"Character takes action, is frustrated by conflict, and usually ends up with a setback. He reacts to this development, thinks things over, and decides on another action."

Action and reaction, a ping-pong game to keep the reader watching.

Setup scenes or beats are units that occur to provide a basis for subsequent scenes. They introduce the characters, what they are doing, and their motivations. They reveal the problem that leads to the central predicament of the book. At various places in the story, there may need to be other setup scenes or beats. To avoid making them dull, make sure there are some problems, some conflict, in every scene. Remember, setup scenes are a minor chord, and should be kept to a minimum. Most of them will occur early in the book, leading to a series of action and reaction scenes that drive the rest of the book.

Deepening scenes? Or beats? These are the spices, added to deepen the reader's understanding of the character or setting. Don't overdo it, but the little interludes where a character suddenly tells a story or displays an unexpected talent can be good for pacing, and help to make your story rich.

Not a scene? Bell talks about summarizing, the editorial descriptions that move the reader from one scene to another. I'd also think about scenic descriptions, those word pictures that some authors provide to help us "see" the setting.

Okay. That's probably enough of Chapter 7 for this time. There's a bit more in the book about three essentials for a scene (hook, intensity, and prompt) and Bell's Intensity Scale, but those will have to wait for a while.

An exercise? How about taking a chapter or so of a book you like, and analyzing how it uses scenes? Is the chapter one long scene or several short ones? Can you identify the beats in a scene, and how is the mix and balance between action and reaction, setup and deepening? What kind of scene do you feel comfortable writing, and which do you think you need to practice?