Scenes and Transitions

Readers read to find out what will happen. Suspense motivates them to turn the page. There must always be a question to move the reader from one scene to the next. "What will happen next? Will she make it? How will he pull this off?" Bickham calls this the story question. Every story, no matter what the page length, needs to begin with a central question and end with the answer.

The protagonist should have a goal and must be willing to do just about anything to achieve it. The reader converts this goal into the story question. "Will the protagonist achieve her goal?"

Within the central question of the story, there are other questions to answer. The protagonist must reach (or fail to reach) the central, ultimate goal through a series of smaller goals. These goals are won or lost in scenes. Each scene has its own question to answer. A scene is where the action and movement of the story take place, either physically or verbally. It is "always external – acted out and shown." (JB)

A scene is like a football play or a chess move. We can’t always go straight for our goals; the protagonist must get there using an assortment of tactics. Sometimes winning, sometimes losing, but always struggling toward the ultimate goal, the winning touchdown or checkmate. Often the tactics fail and the protagonist lands even further from the central goal.

Each scene begins by establishing the question of the scene, the short-term goal. The question must be clear and result in a yes or no answer: no thematic questions. The reader needs to know if the protagonist can, can’t, will, or won’t.

Of course, no scene is complete without conflict. Conflict is the central force in every scene. "Suspense is built through setbacks, not good news." The reader must always worry about the outcome of the protagonist’s quest. If there is nothing to worry about, the reader relaxes and has little reason to continue.

Use moment by moment accounts of the conflict in your scenes: no summaries. The scene should be as close to life as possible "… there is no summary in real life." Keep the action external, avoid internal action during scenes; they are not as dramatic as "onstage" actions the reader can visualize.

Something must happen to answer the scene’s question with "Yes; No; Yes, but; or No, and furthermore!"

If the question is answered with a yes, the story is over; there is no conflict, and the reader relaxes. This is the worst way to end a scene (unless it is the final scene). "The scene must always end in disaster."

The weakest, yet acceptable, answer is "no" because it doesn’t change anything; there are no new conflicts to struggle with in the next scene. No movement has taken place in the story; the protagonist is exactly where she started at the beginning of the scene.

A more dynamic answer is "Yes, but…" because it brings in a new complication. The protagonist may have achieved a short-term goal, but it comes with consequences and, usually, greater obstacles to overcome: more suspense is created.

This is the best way to end a scene. The protagonist has not only failed, but has lost some yardage in the attempt. Things are worse than ever now, and the reader quickly turns the page to find out how the hero will handle it. A new question drives the reader deeper into your story.

Sequel (Transition)

The pattern of sequels, or, as I prefer to call them, transitions, are emotion, quandary, decision, and action. This is where the protagonist responds, first emotionally, then intellectually to the results of the previous scene(s) and plans the move: Tactics are re-evaluated and new short-term goals are established as the journey toward the ultimate goal continues.

When faced with disaster, the first reaction is usually emotional. Depending on the character and situation, emotions can range from tearful sadness to uncontrollable rage. The emotions are more powerful than the logic.

The second stage of the sequel is when the protagonist begins to sort things out, evaluate them, try to understand their significance, then begin thinking about new tactics.

The protagonist makes a decision and, with the next short-term goal in mind, the scene ends and the stage is set for the next. The protagonist moves relentlessly toward the story goal. One scene leads to the next scene through the sequel.

The lengths of scenes and sequel control the pace of your story. A fast pace story will have shorter sequels. Complex goals or stories with psychological aspects may require longer sequels.

Use the lengths of the emotion, quandary, decision and action parts of the sequel to shape your story. For example, a romance novel will have devote more time on the emotions then a mystery, which would spend more time on the quandary section. In an action story, the hero may not have time to think, so instinct may replace the quandary completely.

If your story begins to sag, add more conflict, increase the stakes in your scenes. To slow the pace, which is needed at times, add more to your sequels.

The average length of a scene is four to eight typewritten pages. Faster pace stories will have shorter sequels and slower paced stories will have longer sequels. The more your characters think, the longer your sequels will need to be.

--- R.J. Hembree