Let's Power Up Your Storytelling!

First, I have a gift for you just for visiting my blog, my R.E.A.L. Method to Creating Unforgettable Characters.

As we will discuss today, one of the strongest purposes a scene can fulfill is revealing more about the characters. But how can we write these scenes in a way that makes our characters feel three-dimensional and realistic?

This PDF outlines four easy steps you can use to make any character memorable, without needing to write boring, extensive character biographies.

And be sure to read to the end of this post, so you won't miss this week's Power-Up, a super practical action step you can use right now in the story you're working on.

🎬 Now, let's dive into Part 2 in our series on how to write powerful scenes. 🎬

First, I need to point out that EVERY scene, no matter its other purposes, must move the story forward. If it doesn't, it should be revised or removed.

While a scene's goal is usually related to the plot or to moving the story forward, its purpose can involve any of the five building blocks of story: character, plot, conflict, setting, or theme.

We will examine several scene purposes related to each of these.

Every scene should deepen your reader's connection with or understanding of your characters.

Reveal More about the Protagonist

The first scene purpose related to character that we will discuss is revealing more about your protagonist.

Advance the Protagonist’s Character Arc

The second character-related purpose we may use for a scene is to advance the protagonist's character arc.

In some way, each scene should contribute to your protagonist's character arc and transformation. Yes, even scenes in another character's point of view, including the antagonist's. After all, everything that happens in a story has an effect, direct or indirect, on its main character.

Include scenes that show various stages of the gradual transformation of your protagonist, whether that's positive or negative, and that contribute to the forward progress of the story.

For information on what character arcs are and the three types you can use,  check out this post.

Deepen Character Relationships

A third purpose related to character that we can give our scenes is to deepen the relationships between characters.

We especially need to show relationships deepening or disintegrating between the protagonist and other characters. Your scenes should add depth, bonding, or degeneration (tearing apart) to these characters' relationships.

One of the most powerful types of relationships we can include in any genre is a romantic subplot. For tips on how to do so, check out this post.

As I mentioned earlier, every scene must move the story forward, but how?

By providing new information related to the plot.

That information can arrive in several forms: as action, revelation, backstory that impacts present events, character thoughts, or even interactions with various aspects of the setting.

Develop the Overall Story Problem

The first purpose related to plot that we can give a scene is to reveal more about the overall story problem.

All scenes should contain their own character goals, conflicts, and mini-stories, but each must contribute to the main story problem or to its solution. The main story problem is the central conflict of the story, whether that is an internal conflict or the external conflict the protagonist is facing.

A scene may reveal a clue or a piece of the puzzle that gives the reader, and often the protagonist, a better understanding of the problem or its solution.

Show Small Events Leading to Larger Ones

Another plot-related purpose is to show smaller events that lead to a larger one.

In a mystery or adventure, for example, several minor actions, interactions, and detours may lead to the discovery of the next clue.

The protagonist may face minor setbacks or small victories that lead to the next critical obstacle or challenge in his or her quest for the main goal.

Deepen Character Resolve or Show a Change in Direction

And another plot-related purpose we can give our scenes is to deepen the viewpoint character's or protagonist's resolve to continue on the present course…or change his or her mind on how to proceed.

A decision to change can affect his or her upcoming actions or behaviors, either in general or toward specific characters.

Since scenes are mini-stories, each of them should contain some kind of conflict or dilemma. Otherwise, nothing really happens in the scene. The story may become boring, and readers may find themselves wondering, “What's the point?”

Some scenes are written with conflict creation as their sole or main objective.

Raise the Stakes!

The first conflict-related purpose we can use is to raise the stakes in the story.

To do this, we need to keep readers, and our characters, guessing. Withhold the answers to questions and the solutions to problems your characters face. Give readers just enough satisfaction to avoid frustrating them.

We can do this by answering one smaller question while raising another one. Like dropping breadcrumbs to entice an animal to follow you, make some plot solutions and answers instant or happen early in the story, while delaying others.

Use conflict to make it difficult for your protagonist to reach his or her goal. Keep the goal just out of reach, and readers will keep turning pages to find out if your protagonist ever achieves it.

Use try-fail cycles to establish the protagonist's arc through cause and effect. This can occur in two forms: yes, but… and no, and…

in a yes, but… situation, the protagonist achieves the goal for this scene (the yes), but a bigger or different problem or setback arises, often as a result. (And that would be the but.) Yes, he achieved the goal, but this other thing happened.

In a no, and… situation, the protagonist fails to achieve the goal for this scene (which is the no), andthat failure leads to the next plot event or conflict.

For the various types of conflict you can use to raise your story’s stakes, check out this post.

Reveal Consequences

Another conflict-related purpose we can give our scenes is to reveal the consequences of previous actions or decisions.

Unintended consequences are powerful sources of conflict and catalysts of character change. Do not neglect to show the ramifications of a character's choice, confrontations, revelations, or events.

Some examples of consequences that cause or add to conflict include: injury to self or others, guilt, arrest, property damage, relationship tension or severing, shock, political upheaval, war or escalating battles, etc.

For more on how to use conflict and dilemmas in your scenes to move the story forward, check out this post.

Revelation of setting detail can also make a good purpose for a scene. To prevent our characters from becoming talking heads—disembodied deliverers of dialogue that float in a nondescript void—we must include setting in every scene.

Sometimes, we may want to include a scene solely for the purpose of revealing some new aspect of the story world. This is a fine purpose for a scene, as long as it isn't the only one.

Remember, your scene must also move the story forward.

Anchor Readers in Time and Place

The first setting-related purpose that every scene needs to fulfill is to anchor the reader in the time and place of the story.

Giving the reader context for the story's events—the timing and location—will help them not only experience the story more fully, but also understand the reasons behind and consequences of certain actions and character thought processes.

Build the Story World

The second setting-related purpose we can have for our scenes is world-building.

Whether a story takes place in the reader's own familiar environment or in a fantasy world, include scenes that reveal key aspects of the setting to help readers see, hear, feel, and smell the characters’ surroundings and understand the world that shaped them.

For tips on describing sensory detail in your stories, check out this post.