The Place For My Writers Notes

Here we go again! This time, Raymond turns his sights on size. How long should your scenes be? The title of chapter 3 is Size-wise: Determining Scene Length. He starts off by suggesting that beginning writers tend to make their scenes either too long or too short. Too long destroys the pace and momentum, while too short means readers can’t get involved. So…

What’s the right length? As long as the reader is paying attention and not one bit longer. Two things, the purpose of the scene and its position in the scenes, help determine the right length.

Back in chapter one, Raymond talked about the purposes of scenes. Here, we’re looking at how that affects length. Not so much word counts, as how long can you keep the reader’s attention. Attention span is the key here! Suggestions…

Go short for information dumps, scenes that explain the plot. Also, keep technical information short! Third, scenic descriptions can be short. Finally, erotic scenes should be short, unless you are deliberately trying for comedy. For all of these, imply or suggest, more than giving us every single detail ad nauseum.

Long? Conversations, especially when they reveal character. Emotional scenes, too, can be good at length. Suspense! When you keep the reader dangling, waiting, wondering…

So, that’s some suggestions or hints about length. What about positioning? Well, Raymond suggests it’s like visual arts. Contrasting elements bring out the differences, while similar elements tend to blend. So, put some contrast in to keep it interesting.

His final word, or summary, of this chapter, starts with a reminder. It’s simple. You don’t have to determine the length right away! When you start to write a scene, just write it. Then, later, you can stretch it out or trim it down to suit.

His workshop starts by pointing out that every scene has a hot spot, a moment that the scene is built around. So, he suggests, start by finding that hot spot, and draw a box around it (or highlight it, for electronic media). Then start reading backwards from there. Does that paragraph contribute to the hot spot? Underline or highlight anything that you think might not be useful. Then read the paragraph before that, and repeat. By going backwards, you get a different view of what the writing contributes to this scene, and can be more objective about trimming or changing anything that doesn’t help.

So, there you go! How long should that scene be? Well… 

Hi, all. I noticed in my to be read pile I had this intriguing little tome. It's the Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes by Raymond Obstfeld, and I think I'll walk through it, and share my notes with you. So... let's get started!

Chapter 1 is entitled What a scene is - and isn't. He starts out by reminding us that when we think of a movie (or any story) we generally don't remember the whole thing. No, we focus on moments, little pieces. Scenes, by any other name!

So what's a scene? Well, in theater, it means action in a single setting. In fiction, we tend to use the same rule, but... you could write a more complex scene spanning multiple settings. So what defines a scene? Raymond says it is the focus, the purpose. He suggests these are common purposes:
- giving the reader information needed to further plot
- Show the conflict between characters
- Highlight some specific trait or action to develop a particular character
- Creating suspense
Often, scenes combine these purposes. So, the writer needs to know why the scene exists and makes it memorable to justify it.

Memorable? Something needs to surprise the reader! Readers have expectations about the scenes, and you need to play with those expectations. Make the scene unexpected! Fresh dialog, an unusual situation, or maybe just wonderful style?

However... Raymond points out that while you want to make your scene do all this when it's finished, sometimes you need to just dive in and start writing. Then go back and make it wonderful.

Then Raymond reminds us that good writing often depends on misdirection, on keeping the reader interested in one thing while you slide some other goodies in where they aren't looking.

He finishes this chapter with a note that scenes are part of a bigger work, and need to be considered in how they contribute to that, too...

And for fun, he gives us a little workshop to finish the chapter. Basically, suppose you have a scene, and you are trying to decide if it belongs in your story or not. Well, fill in one of these four sentences.

1. Plot. The purpose of this scene is (finish the sentence!)
2. Character. When the reader finishes this scene, he should feel (finish it!)
3. Theme. When the reader finishes this scene, he should think ???
4. Suspense. When the reader finishes this scene, he should wonder (what?)

If you can't fill in one of these, what is that scene doing there?

Hum, that’s interesting. I was listening to the Writing Excuses podcast this week, and they mentioned a plot structure I hadn’t run into before. Truby’s 22 Steps? Google gave me a set of links to examine, and… interesting. Let’s take a look at some of them…

https://luisanaduarte.com/2018/03/02/trubys-22-steps/ has the whole set, with some descriptions. Looking at them, let’s take the first three, since they seem to be somewhat independent of plot or action, more digging into the character…

1. Self-revelation, need, and desire
Self-revelation: The character’s realization of what they need to change/accomplish.
Need: Both a psychological and a moral need.
Desire: The character’s main goal.
These three are elemental when discovering where your character will end up.

My comment: Okay. Start with what the character thinks they need to change or accomplish. Add in a need, and a desire. Mix well, to get an idea of where this character is going.

2. Ghost and story world
Ghost: The history of the character. That which still haunts the character and may cause struggle. Basically,  the character’s ‘backstory.’
Story World: Simply, the world surrounding the character and their daily life.

My comment: aha! The character’s background, where are they coming from, and what is the world like around them. Sure…

3. Weakness and need
Weakness: The flaws in the character. Can be moral and/or psychological. Usually, characters have both. In other words, the internal damage of the character that impedes them from becoming their best self.
Need: The change the character must go through in order to become their best self.

My comment: So, we have a flawed character, who needs  something to become great? Okay, where do they have problems, and what do they need to achieve.

It seems to me as if these three steps are really aimed at understanding the character. What do they think they need, where are they coming from (and what surrounds them), and what do they actually need? Sure, let’s work up the character to start.

What do you think? Do you usually start with these steps?

Exercise? Well, if you have a work in progress or one that you are thinking about, consider these three steps. Can you fill in the details of these for your character?

So, here's a little bit of fun. Pick a place. It can be somewhere you have been, long ago or recently, or a place you have read about or seen on tv, or whatever. Just make it a place that you would like to explore. Think about the setting, the sights, sounds, smells, what you might feel, all of that. Yes, if you like, walk the little Google maps figure along the road and take a look at it!

Now, take a character or three. Perhaps from a work in progress, perhaps someone you would like to get to know, perhaps from a piece of fiction that you enjoyed? Anyway, one, or two, or maybe three. Probably not too many more, because you don't really want a mob scene.

Then, put them in that place. Why are they there? What are they looking for? Go ahead, let them walk around and explore, perhaps have a bite to eat (or did something bite them?), or whatever. Show us that place, seen through the eyes, memories, toes, and whatever of your characters.

Write that up. This may not be a scene you want to put in your work, but it is both a good way to practice describing places (aka settings, or even milieu) and a way to get into the heads of those characters and see what they notice about those places...

Okay? Pick a setting, put some characters in it, and write up what happens when your characters take a stroll through that place.

Writer's Digest, July 1991, pages 38-39, has an article by Chet Cunningham with that title. It's broken into 14 little chunks, mostly with titles that summarize the points. So, let's walk through his ideas.

1. Want to write novels more than anything else in the world. Unstoppable! You gotta want to do it!
2. Create characters you can't stop writing about. Make them people you really know. He says he uses a big questionnaire to work through each of the main characters, including physical description, psychology, work, hobbies, dreams, etc. Make sure you know your characters!
3. Finish your first novel. Then keep on doing it.
4. Aim at a specific market. Probably not a "mainstream novel." Hit the genres. His idea -- pick the one you like, and read 20 contemporary novels in that genre. Take them apart. What's the story line, how does the writer make it work, what is the pitch. Check characterization, style, structure, viewpoint, suspense, twists... 
5. Specialize. Don't jump around, at least to start. Stick to one genre, build a byline. This also lets you reuse your research!
6. Write what editors buy. (hum, this may not be as much of a problem with indy publishing?) Anyway, he suggests analyzing what's on the bookstore shelves to see what the editors bought a year ago. Check the magazines that survey the marketplace (Publishers Weekly, Writer's Digest). Then plan your book for a specific publisher and a specific line.
7. Write series books. Continuing series do great in genre. One great character, one slant or idea, and push out that series.
8. Sell your books with partials. After you have a track record, sell new ones with a partial. 4 chapters and an outline of the rest of the book. 
9. Keep the pipeline full. While you are writing current books, send out queries for new books and new series.
10. Write more than you do now. If you do your daily quota, and there's time left... do some more! Write every day. Focus on writing, and keep that writing time first.
11. Have a work space where you write. Try to do your writing (and only your writing) in one place. Write, plan, plot, research. That's your work place.
12. Set a writing schedule. Lay out your calendar, including research and rests.
13. Join a novel writing workshop. Writing group interaction helps you and them. 
14. Enjoy the hell out of your writing. "Writing is the most wonderful and thrilling and satisfying job in the world." So enjoy it!

Writer's Digest, October 1990, pages 10-12, had an article by Nancy Kress talking about "your story lives and dies on the strength of your opening. Here's how to live."

Nancy starts out by putting us in the head of an editor looking at the slush pile, with all the other work that the editor also has, and asks, "How far do you get before you decide to either finish the story or put it in its SASE?" (aka, reject it!)

Ideally, the writer hopes that the editor is going to give that story the same kind of attention they did, reading it all the way through without any distractions… However, the truth is, "you have about three paragraphs to capture that editor's attention enough for her to finish her story."

Nancy suggests that there are four elements that help an editor (and a reader!) get interested: character, conflict, specificity, and credibility.

Right off the top, the character, "who goes there?" gives a reader someone to focus on. So, introduce them right away, make sure they are integral to the main action of the story, and make sure they are an individual.

"Most successful openings give the reader a genuine character because most stories are about individual human beings."

Second, conflict! "Coming to a scene near you." You don't have to start with the body crashing through a window or something else like that. "Some stories feature overt, dramatic conflict; in others the conflict is subtle perhaps contained completely within the skull of one character." No matter what kind of conflict your story has, the first few paragraphs need to hint at it, give us a clue about the nature of the conflict ahead.

Third, specificity, "a new one on me." Specific details. Speech, setting, thoughts, something that is fresh and original for the readers. This also convinces the reader that you know what you're talking about.

Fourth, credibility, "can this prose be trusted?" Part of this is trust, built by those details, good handling of the language, and so forth. A tight portrayal? The right words, not the almost right word. Language that brings us into the story, not eloquence and erudition that makes us pay attention to the language.

Finally, Nancy suggests that writing "an opening that immediately introduces an interesting individual, hints at the conflict to come, uses fresh and telling details, and convinces a harried editor that you are a master of English prose" is not something that most of us can do immediately. Instead, you get to rewrite. Polish it until it shines!

So, four things to look for in your beginning. That character that makes us want to keep reading, at least a good hint about the kind of conflict that's coming, some really good details, and the right use of language. An obvious exercise is to take something you've written or a work in progress and look at the first three paragraphs, or whatever you think your beginning is (books have a slightly longer beginning than short stories, but you still need a good beginning!). Try writing a variation (or two or three!), emphasizing Nancy's four elements.

Write?