Making the Scene

These past few days have been rough ones. I started a sore throat on Friday that graduated to a raging inferno by Monday. I finally capitulated and called a clinic yesterday evening around 7:30.

The Care Now clinic was professional and speedy. In less than thirty minutes, I was back on the road, on my way to the pharmacy, where I was informed that twenty (that's 2-0) antibiotic pills would cost $70 (and this is WITH insurance). I actually stood there debating whether I preferred death to ponying up the $70.

On the writing front, my critique partners (CP) and I have been discussing scenes.

A scene is the building block of a novel. I like to think of a scene as a single pearl. In the same way that loose pearls strung together can create a necklace, each scene can stand alone, or be strung together into a comprehensive narrative we call a novel.

When jewelers string pearls, they look for beads of similar quality and size. Sometimes, they choose graduated pearls for dramatic effect. Writers do the same thing, seeking to ratchet up the suspense level and the tension of their scenes.

I have one CP who can always be counted on to ask the question, "Why have you included this scene?" After several years of answering that question, I have come to believe there are only three reasons to include a scene in a novel:

1) To move the storyline forward
2) To throw an impediment into the forward motion of the story
3) To reveal more about the characters and their relationships

I've seen lists and definitions that include myriad other secondary purposes for scenes such as:

Create atmosphere (suspense, humor, etc.)
Introduce characters
Show setting
Impart information
Develop theme
Introduce a subplot or plot twist

While I agree that all these things are important, none of them is important enough to deserve an entire scene devoted to it alone. I still harbor bitter memories of trudging through scenes that did nothing but introduce a place. While beautifully written and wonderfully lyrical, NOTHING happened.

In my opinion, you should create a scene to promote one of the three primary purposes. Then you weave into that scene your secondary purposes. So you might have a scene in which the plot is moving forward and in which you are also showing the setting. Or a scene in which the characters are deepening their relationship by sharing stories from their pasts (imparting information) and introducing a subplot.

During editing, ask yourself what primary purpose each scene offers. If you cannot identify a primary purpose, consider deleting (or expanding) the scene. Sometimes a couple of choppy small scenes can be blended into one coherent, meaningful scene.

Be willing to delete any scene, no matter how fond you are of it. I recently quoted M. Night Shyamalan in an interview on "The Sixth Sense" DVD. He said a good director must be willing to cut his favorite scene if it does not further the plot. Shyamalan spoke of having to do just that in "The Sixth Sense." It killed him, but deleting the scene strengthened his story.

Be ruthless. To paraphrase Hamlet, "The story's the thing."