Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

Author:James Scott Bell
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Writing
Publisher: Writers Digest Books
Published: 2008-11-30T15:00:00+00:00

10: Over the top! Use with care; only two or three scenes per book should hit this level.

8, 9: Good range for your big scenes, those turning points that every novel needs.

6, 7: Conflict, important emotions, sharp dialogue, inner turmoil.

5: A good place to start scenes that build to the higher ranges.

3, 4: Setup scenes (short) and other transitions.

1, 2: If you start here, get out quickly.

0: Don't even think about it. For instance, lengthy descriptions (e.g., weather, place), especially in the first chapter, will flatline your novel and induce yawns (and rejections) from editors.

EXERCISE 1

Pull a novel at random from your shelf. Open to any scene and read it. Now analyze:

• Was this an action scene? Identify the places where you learn about the character's objective in the scene and the conflict. How does the scene end? Do you want to read on? Why or why not?

• Is this mainly a reaction scene? What is the emotion the character is feeling? How does the author show it? At the end of the scene, what has the character decided to do, if anything? Is the character different? Stronger? Weaker?

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