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Book Tips Free For Writers - Plot and Structure of your Book

 - Part 5

Click To Start Here With Plot And Structure Part 1

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 Scenes

 

In my book about 2012, I visualize each scene of the book in my mind, like a movie. Then, I write them passionately, virulently, with great desperation and flair, intensity, conflict, and clash. You can take out the crazy or boring stuff later when you edit/re-write.

Keep this in mind: What is the Purpose of the Scene in the book at that point? Concentrate on that. Keep moving the story forward. Scenes consist of Action - Reaction - Setup - and Deepening of all Elements.

 

Action must be taken by the Lead to overcome physical and psychological Obstacles and Conflict. She has to attain her Goal.

Explore her Reaction, how she Feels Emotionally when something happens to her. What are her Internal Questions? What is her Internal Justification? It is this Action and Reaction that moves the plot along.

What is the Setup in your book for each scene? Does the scene make sense? Does flow organically, or just pop out of nowhere. To Set The Scene you have to show Who is in it, and How they get into the predicament at hand. They have to be shown in Context to the Scene, the Problem, Argument, Clash, whatever is Happening currently.

 

Then, Deepen the Scene. Make whatever's Happening deeper. Intensify the Elements, like adding hot sauce to a recipe. Make each Scene scintillate, glow, burn, illuminate the Plot, Action, Reaction, and Setup. If the Scene does not Move The Story Forward, then Cut it.

 

 

Don't forget, you have to Hook the Reader in to read your book at the very beginning. Use Dialogue, Action, Mood, and Emotion. Make the Reader Feel Something.

Increase the Intensity of every scene in the book. Stretch it out. Make it look like the Lead is about to get killed, die, be caught, something bad. Insert Conflict, Opposition, nothing should go smoothly. Have him in Conflict even with his Friends and Allies.

Remember to have a Prompt to Read On, something to make the reader turn the page. There should be something Forboding, Mysterious, a Portent, a Mysterious line of Dialogue, a Great Decision or Vow made, a serious reversal of Fortune, a Surprise Event, something Shattering, a Question left unanswered or hanging in the air. Get the Reader to turn the page.

If the Scene is a Low Intensity one, you can just Tell about it (if you can only do it that way.) But if it is a High Intensity Scene, then Show it:

"Juanita selected green chili instead of red chili, and glanced at Oliver. They took it to the cashier and stood in line to buy it. She liked green, but he really wanted the red kind, the eternal New Mexico conflict. His face showed it."

Or:

"I'm not getting the green again," Juanita-Joan says to Oliver, her brow creased, "I just don't think it's as good as the red, and 2012 is coming anyway," her eyes dart to Oliver's face, blink, then find their way back to the rack of chili. She braces for the storm she knows is coming, his face darkening.

He says to her, low, his lips hardly move, "You damn well know I want the green, Jaunita-Joan. This is New Mexico, not New Jersey. You know that. You've always known that, but you never change, do you."

She's frozen, watches his hands make fists at his sides--open, close, open, close. Several shoppers stop there and watch them. "Green is better, lady," says a very large man, "You oughta go green. We take our chili real serious-like, in these here parts." He spits tobacco juice on the floor, looks at her, and says, "Your damn cart's blocking me," eyes slits in his dark face, hand drifts close to his cell phone.

Oliver whirls on Juanita-Joan, says, "Now look what you've done. I've warned you about blocking the aisle, but you do it anyway, don't you, you just don't care, do you. Well, this ain't Atlantic City. You ain't in New Jersey anymore," he says, lips twisted in a sneer.

"What'd you just call me," the large man says to Oliver, steps forward at him, eyes bulging, hand going for his cell phone and his lawyer's speed dial number.

 

Well, OK, so I got a little carried away. I'm sure I'll fix it when my editor  sees it. Anyway, I think you see the point: Never Tell when you can Show. Jack up--boost--the amps.

Have you ever heard of Character Arc in a book? Me too. I finally know what the hell it is. I'll tell you on the next page.

 

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