Develop a Scene

Writing a story is similar to telling a story.

In both cases there will be times when you want your reader (or listener) to feel like they are right inside the story, experiencing the events as if they were one of the characters.

Writers and storytellers do this by stepping aside and letting the events of the story speak for themselves.

Let’s read this short scene about going mushrooming with her family.

We call this a scene because the writer has given us details that allow us to experience it as if we were watching a movie in our mind.

When we first start reading, we don’t know exactly what’s happening. But we follow along as the narrator steps over the wire and into the field and then runs ahead until she finally lifts the branches to find the first mushroom.

The writer might have simply told us the event like this: One Saturday I went mushrooming with my family. We went out into the woods looking for mushrooms, and my sister and I found the first one. It was a ton of fun.

Let’s talk about the difference between the two: One Saturday I went mushrooming with my family. We went out into the woods looking for mushrooms, and my sister and I found the first one. It was a ton of fun.

The first scene draws attention to the event, puts the reader in the story, and is more engaging.

What techniques does the writer use to create a scene? Here are some: dialoguedescription uses of senses holding the end to the end

Learning to write a scene will make you a stronger writer.

You won’t choose to write every part of a story in this way, but you’ll definitely want to craft scenes for significant parts of a story.

I’d like each of you to practice writing a scene today.

Is there a moment in the story you are writing now or in an earlier story you’ve written, that is significant or more important than others?

Or think about a recent event in your life that you could try writing a scene.

Assignment: Students pair up and spend a couple minutes talking about what might go into your scene.

Develop a Scene Think about the dialogue, description, and use of senses. Where might you start? How would it end?

When you go back to your seat, put this idea to work in your writing. You may want to rewrite a piece of your story to make it more scene-like. If you’re starting something new, be looking for places where you can write a scene.