Scene Structure

By JA Marlow, on October 28th, 2007

Here is one of the template I came up with for plotting out the book I'll be doing this NaNo. There are other options out there on the internet. The important thing is to find one that works for you.

Scene POV:
Scene/Character Motive or Goal:
Scene Requirements:
Conflict:
Scene End Disaster:

Scene POV: This is pretty much self-explanatory. From whom's eyes are we seeing this scene? Typically it should be from the person who knows the least or has the most to lose.

Scene/Character Motive or Goal: What does this scene need to accomplish? What is a character wanting to gain, obtain or accomplish? How does this scene move the story forward?

Scene Requirements: This is a place to put quick notes on things you know you need to accomplish with this scene. This is also a great place to put notes in on foreshadowing that is needed to be placed to set up future events. For instance: Mary needs to pass by the odd looking man with the striped scarf OR Gary feels ashamed while in front of class, unable to remember his lines. Foreshadows ending scene when Gary walks into the Prom.

Conflict: What is going to deny the desires of the characters? What is going to go wrong? What is the fight, whether mental or physical, going to be against? Will the conflict be against another person, an internal fight, spiritual or environmental?

Scene End Disaster: This may seem an odd one, but if you want to create a book that a reader can't put down you need to give them a reason to keep reading instead of putting the book down to go to bed. Ending a scene with a disaster of some sort, essentially upping the ante on the conflict of the book, is a way to do that. This can be the character not gaining their goal, something going wrong in the scene, or something new popping up. It can even be a new internal conflict or a complication that causes the story to veer into a new direction. Give the reader no choice but to continue reading.