Scene by Scene
By Ruth O’Neil
Directors make movies by shooting one scene at a time. Authors write books by writing one scene at a time. I teach a novel writing class at a homeschool co-op and the students get a little overwhelmed when I tell them we are aiming to finish a rough draft of 20,000-30,000 words. While some of them are pantsers and some are planners, I found that writing down the scenes is a happy medium for both writing styles. For the beginning novelist, or even the more experienced novelist looking for a new and more efficient method, scene-by-scene might be the way to go. This planning method helps writers know where the story is going to make quick work of the first full draft. Even if you don't enjoy planning everything out, you can still use the same technique to have at least a basic idea of where your story is headed. It's like planning a trip using a map (people really should still do this); you know where you're starting and you know where you want to end up. The middle is the fun part where you can stop at your plot points all along the way, but they don't all have to be planned. Surprise can be a good thing for both road trips and novel writing.
Get your basic plot line down on paper. This doesn't have to be more than a few sentences. I tell my students to think of it as a very basic synopsis of the book without details. What can they tell people their book is about when asked?
You can take Step One further by jotting down some subplots. All good stories have subplots – the things that are going on in the story besides your main plot line. A really good story has all the subplots connected to the main plot. This makes for deeper reading novels. Or, one of the subplots that is not all tied up in a nice package at the end of the story might lead to the next book in the series.
This is the biggest step. Start writing your basic scenes. In my writing classes, I call this the chapter synopses. These scenes don't have to be overly long or complicated. If there are some important details that you want to be sure you don't forget to include, you can jot those down as well. Aim for each of your scenes to be about a paragraph long. Feel free to add details, but don't get bogged down by them. There will be plenty of time to incorporate details later.
Write down each of your scenes on an index card. I find the larger 4 x 6 ones work better as I can add more information. While I prefer to write out the scenes pretty much from the beginning to the end of my story, feel free to write in any order that comes to your mind. If the best idea ever comes to you, but you know it needs to come before the scene you already wrote, simply slip that card in the correct position. Never fear. That's the beauty of this scene-by-scene writing!
Number your scenes as you write them. I find it best to number them in chronological order first. Tip: Write the numbers in the upper corner of the card in pencil. Pencil is easy to erase if you need/want to do some rearranging later. Write as many scenes as you can for your entire book. These scenes will become your chapters later on.
4. Go through your scene cards and make sure they are in the order you want. Add or delete scenes as necessary – you can do this while you write your novel if you want to make changes. If you think you don't want to keep a specific scene in your book, remove the card from your pile, but don't toss the card altogether. Set it aside in case you decide you want to add it back in later. This will keep you from racking your brain trying to remember what that scene was that you now think is a brilliant idea and a pivotal part of your story.
You may also find that a couple of scenes are too short or too long for one chapter. You can either combine scenes or split one up if you think it would be better for your book.
5. Once you have completed your scene cards, you’re ready to write the first full draft of your novel. Keep your pile of scenes handy and start writing the first scene or chapter using your scene card as a guide. Flesh out your scene by adding details, description, dialogue, etc. It's easy to keep track of where you are and what you want to happen next when all you have to do is take a quick look at the next card in the pile. This works well for those who may not have a lot of time to write. If you only have an hour at a time, see if you can cover one card to write one chapter. Writing sprints are often how busy writers get books written.
The scene-by-scene cards allow writers to know what's coming, but also allow for changes and rearranges before and during the actual writing of a novel. Once we know where we are going, the journey to actually getting there can be much less stressful and altogether pleasant.