4 Questions to Ask Yourself After You've Written a Scene
post by Michelle Griep
Just because you've written a scene doesn't mean you can pack away your computer and grab yourself a brewskie. Guess what, little writer? Your work is NOT done. There are some questions that you need to ask yourself after each and every scene you write . . .
1. What was the conflict in this scene?
Were the stakes dire enough?
If you can't identify a conflict in your scene, delete it. Yeah, that's harsh, but cut the fat and get to the lean mean story. No one wants to read about characters who don't have problems. Readers want to punch those kinds of characters in the head.
2. Was your POV character a force to be reckoned with or was he a piece of day-old toast?
If your character doesn't grab your reader by the throat and shake him around a bit, then he's meh. And you know what a meh character is? Death to the book. Spice it up, folks. Make your character interesting and active, someone who forces the plot to move forward, not the other way around.
3. Why did you care about this scene as an author? Were you bored with it? Why?
If the scene you just wrote doesn't interest you, it won't interest the reader. If this is the case, go back and lob a hand grenade into the scene. Throw in a unicorn. Rip out the heroine's heart and stomp on it. Do something that makes you care about the scene.
4. What will happen tomorrow when you sit back down to write? Where will the story go? And what will happen if the story doesn't go that way?
Sure, it's great to map out your story so you have a general guideline to follow. It's also great to know what you're planning to write next time you sit down. But now and then, go for uber great by mixing the plot up a bit. Take it in a direction you never intended for it to go. You don't have to keep what you write, but more than likely you will because it will excite you about a new direction.
 |
| Sometimes you just gotta ask, "What the heck?" |
1. What was the conflict in this scene?
Were the stakes dire enough?
If you can't identify a conflict in your scene, delete it. Yeah, that's harsh, but cut the fat and get to the lean mean story. No one wants to read about characters who don't have problems. Readers want to punch those kinds of characters in the head.
2. Was your POV character a force to be reckoned with or was he a piece of day-old toast?
If your character doesn't grab your reader by the throat and shake him around a bit, then he's meh. And you know what a meh character is? Death to the book. Spice it up, folks. Make your character interesting and active, someone who forces the plot to move forward, not the other way around.
3. Why did you care about this scene as an author? Were you bored with it? Why?
If the scene you just wrote doesn't interest you, it won't interest the reader. If this is the case, go back and lob a hand grenade into the scene. Throw in a unicorn. Rip out the heroine's heart and stomp on it. Do something that makes you care about the scene.
4. What will happen tomorrow when you sit back down to write? Where will the story go? And what will happen if the story doesn't go that way?
Sure, it's great to map out your story so you have a general guideline to follow. It's also great to know what you're planning to write next time you sit down. But now and then, go for uber great by mixing the plot up a bit. Take it in a direction you never intended for it to go. You don't have to keep what you write, but more than likely you will because it will excite you about a new direction.