The Secret is a Scene Event!

It’s happened to all of us who love the written word. We’ve gotten sucked up into the world of a great novel and have been bewitched into writing one of our own. Quickly we dash to the computer or grab a new notebook and pen, itching to write. Our hearts pound at the chance to tell a romance or a mystery and we can hear the echoes of dialogue beckoning us forward. But as the rose-colored glasses lose their sparkle and the glitter fades with the setting sun, all we have is either a jumble of words or a blank page. It’s a frustrating task to try and get an idea to become more than just a sentence. And planning the whole thing out makes most people want to quit altogether. But there is a secret ingredient to the plotting formula that will make even the stubbornest of “pantsers” change their mind about plotters. And it all starts with a scene event.

What is a Scene Event?

It’s exactly as it sounds. It is an event that drives the scene and makes the characters do things. It is important that every scene has a beginning, middle, and end, just like the overall story itself. Without scene events, the chapters or scenes of a script could lose meaning and drag on, risking the audience's interest. Focusing on the main event of each scene can highlight the most important parts of your story and give you a great place to start writing from.

Exercise Idea:

When you set out to plot out your idea, you want to break it down into scenes. At first, you won’t have every single scene thought out. In the meantime, write down the loose ideas of scenes that got you excited about the story in the first place and put each one on an index card. You can write it down however you’d like, but I’d recommend including a few of these details.

· Scene Event

· Location

· Characters Involved

· 1-2 Sentences about the Scene

Outlining With This Method

When you have a list of scenes to pull from, you have a place where you can write. As complicated as we like to make writing, it’s nothing to be afraid of if you plan it right. Most of the time our inner drama stems from not having an idea that day or just being stuck at how to progress the story forward. When you have your scene events handy, all of that fades away.

For example:

I want to write a simple short story similar to Cinderella, but I want to spice it up a bit. So, I’ll start with the main events of the overall story.

· The protagonist is mistreated by their stepparent and step-siblings.

· The protagonist wants to go to the party that everyone is invited to except for them.

· The protagonist tries to get to the party and is humiliated in the process.

· The protagonist has a divine intervention that helps them get to the party but with stipulations.

· The protagonist goes to the party and falls in love with the leading royal.

· The protagonist must leave the party early.

· The leading royal only has a shoe to find this mysterious person.

· The protagonist is enamored with their magical night.

· The protagonist is sabotaged in being reunited with the royal looking for them.

· The protagonist overcomes evil and is reunited with the royal to live happily ever after.

In 10 bullet points the entire drama of Cinderella is told. Now let’s try to break this up even further by just focusing on the first bullet point and see how many scene events we can squeeze out of it by using the Disney Classic as an example.

· Cinderella is forced to wake up and start her day bound by time.

· Cinderella does all of the morning chores.

· Cinderella is summoned by her ungrateful sisters and told to do the laundry.

· Cinderella wakes up her evil stepmother.

· Cinderella is taunted by her step-sisters.

You get the idea. The point is that any one of these bullet points can be expanded into their own individual scenes. If you try to stretch out each one individually, you can see how some of them are stronger ideas than others and some bullet points can even be condensed down into one scene. Regardless, your writing gears are turning and the ability to write it out is in your grasp.

Exercise Idea:

Pick another scene from the major events of Cinderella and write out a list of scene ideas you get from it. Then rank them from strongest to weakest or even combine a few together to make a secondary list. Do it with a friend and compare ideas to get the gears really turning.

How is this Useful?

This method can be used for script writing, short stories, and even full novel series. Having the power to map out where you’re going is half the battle when it comes to writing. It’s not a good feeling to find out that the six scenes you’ve written could've been condensed into one after you’ve already taken the time to write them. Using this method saves time in the long run and gives you an opportunity to flush out your ideas before putting them into chapters. It gives you a solid shot at making your story pop and keep a pace that your audience will want to devour in one sitting. Isn’t that all we want as writers? To capture our audience.

If you are interested in the Basics of Storytelling, I recommend checking out my mini-course and getting another perspective. I look forward to seeing you in whatever form I appear. Until next time!

About the Author

Crystal Cabrae is a storyteller who specializes in writing dystopian, romantic, and adventurous worlds for animation and fantastical fiction. She is a proud graduate of Full Sail University, AMDA, and New World School of the Arts. Her six years of acting training in both New York and Miami gives her a unique perspective when approaching her characters. She has a passion for sharing how to create stories with the world and inspiring the storyteller that lives within all of us. Follow her on IG or Pinterest to know the latest.