Writing Fiction: Scene, Part 2

In Writing Fiction: Scene, Part 1, I discussed what each scene requires: goal, conflict, and disaster. Now for Part 2.

After your POV character experiences the disaster, or the inability to reach her goal, she must have a reaction.

For example, let’s go back to the heroine in Part 1. She sees an attractive man at a party. He’s across the room, and she tells her friend she must have his phone number (goal). She attempts to cross the room but is intercepted by her boss (conflict). She tries again but now the attractive man is speaking to another woman (conflict). One more time she attempts to go talk to him, but a waiter spills a drink down her dress (conflict). After she cleans her dress, the man is gone (disaster).

Conflict can be defined as something that prevents the character from realizing her goal and the disaster is when she does not attain that goal.

Now, it’s time for reaction. How would this character react to her situation? She might be angry, upset, annoyed, or laugh it off. But, she needs some kind of a reaction to the disaster she has suffered. (Remember, the disaster does not have to be life threatening or cataclysmic, only that the character did not obtain her goal).

She may think about what has happened and try to internalize it. Sometimes, this part is referred to as the sequel. The character is reflecting on what has happened—it’s internal monologue. If, however, your character is reacting to the disaster by talking to another person then it is considered a scene.
(Scenes are bit-by-bit action and/or dialogue. The reader experiences what happens second by second, there is no summary in a scene).

Once she has reacted to the disaster, she must face a dilemma. In our example, her dilemma may be that she doesn’t know the attractive man’s name. She doesn’t want to ask her boss because it would seem unprofessional. She certainly doesn’t want to ask the woman he was speaking to earlier. She’s not sure how to discover his name. She has a dilemma.

As she considers the different options, she must then make a decision and go with it. Perhaps, she decides to ask the host of the party. This would then bring us back to a scene with a goal, conflict, and disaster. Then, reaction, dilemma, and decision.

As you can see, a novel is stringing together scene after scene. You may also insert a sequel between scenes where the character is having an internal monologue or you can use it to summarize events until the next scene.

Scene:

1. Goal
2. Conflict
3. Disaster
4. Reaction
5. Dilemma
6. Decision

Next, I’ll show you how to use this to create an outline for your novel.