Making a Scene

I finished my first draft of my first novel!

After a brief respite (officially one week, but more like a few days) I began the tedious process of editing and revising. Oh, wouldn't it be lovely if every idea came out of my head and onto the page perfectly formed and in need of no changes? ::sigh:: This is not easy. I've been working on the first chapter for a week now and it still isn't finished.

In my defense- I'm not just editing. I'm studying what I've written. I'm outlining after the fact, keeping notes for future reference. That way, when I get to the middle of the manuscript and have forgotten the minutia of the beginning, I'll have a reference. I'm learning the process. I'm sure that as I continue it will come to me more easily.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post. In a writing workshop presented at The Book Academy, author Nancy Allen laid out some ideas for keeping a project notebook as a means of outlining as you go. Brilliant, really! For reasons I won't go into now, I waited until I had finished the first draft. I'm using her project notebook suggestions as a means of guided revision.

One of her suggestions was to keep a running Scene Map. This, along with next time notes, is a useful tool in tracking what happens from one scene to the next.

That got me thinking.... just what is a scene and how is that different from a chapter? What makes a good scene, and how do I know if the scene I've written isn't all that hot?

Going over my notes from her workshop, I came up with a few ideas:

1. A scene is a sequential series of events.
2. These events are tied together with continuity either in time passed, characters, or location. (or a combination of these) When the continuity ceases, it is time to move to a new scene.
3. Each scene has a POV character. In that scene, the POV character has the most to lose. When the POV character changes, so must the scene.
4. In writing a scene, determine the scene goal. This goal must progress the plot in some way.
5. The length of the scene relative to the length of chapters is a stylistic choice by author. There is no one formula. However, the author should be aware of his/her own style and remain consistent so that the over all flow of the story progresses naturally.

I've also learned that paying attention to the scenes and keeping a map as you go is probably better than trying to map the scenes after the entire manuscript is written. Continuity is easier to track when it is checked upon frequently.

By analyzing the scenes and asking the appropriate questions, I can see where my scenes have gone off course and make corrections. This can be done after the fact, too. It is just a bit more overwhelming.

For future reference, I'll probably use the Scene Map technique as I write. Meanwhile, it is still a useful tool in revision.

Now.... back to the manuscript!