{"id":1961,"date":"2014-03-07T17:27:07","date_gmt":"2014-03-08T00:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lindacollison.com\/?p=1961"},"modified":"2014-03-07T17:29:22","modified_gmt":"2014-03-08T00:29:22","slug":"writers-scenic-route","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/writers-scenic-route\/","title":{"rendered":"Writers — why not take the scenic route?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Turning my novel, Looking for Redfeather<\/a>,\u00a0 into a stage play has been an interesting challenge — and fun.\u00a0 I had to look at the story as a series of distinct scenes.\u00a0 Except for the challenge of conveying a character’s thoughts, writing Redfeather as a play was in some ways easier than writing it as a novel.\u00a0 \"942322_10201311769985066_995820036_n\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The scenic approach can be used in prose as well as theater, I’m learning. A scene in fiction might be described as that action which takes place in a single setting; a single place in time and space.\u00a0 A novel might be written as a series of scenes, each one critical to the bigger picture.\u00a0 The whole story is greater than the sum of its parts, yet an effective scene is complete in and of itself, with a beginning, middle and end.<\/p>\n

When my historical novel-in-progress (Book Three of the Patricia MacPherson Nautical Adventures) got becalmed in a nameless sea, it helped me get underway again by imagining the story in terms of distinct scenes.\u00a0 Now as I write I’m asking myself these questions:<\/p>\n

1.Where<\/b> in the world are you, Linda?\u00a0 And when<\/b>?\u00a0 And why?<\/strong>\u00a0 What is important about this particular setting<\/b>?<\/p>\n

2. What happens <\/b>in this scene? Are the characters developed or the plot advanced?<\/p>\n

3. What do I want the reader to discover<\/b> or experience<\/strong> in this scene?<\/p>\n

4. Whose scene is this?\u00a0 Protagonist or antagonist?\u00a0 Or is it a secondary character’s scene? Even if I’m writing from the omniscient POV, one character might want to steal this scene.\u00a0 Let her.<\/strong><\/p>\n

5. Can this scene be effectively combined<\/strong> with another scene — or might it be more effective divided<\/strong> into two or more scenes?<\/p>\n

6. A well-developed scene includes description, narration, dialogue, interior dialogue, and action.\u00a0 Characters observe, talk, think, feel, act, and react.\u00a0 How can I enrich, fill out, or balance out this scene?\u00a0\u00a0 Or does it need to be pared down closer to the bone?\u00a0 Does every word count?<\/strong><\/p>\n

7. Is this scene necessary<\/strong> to setting, character development or plot advancement?\u00a0 Or is it merely a preliminary sketch?\u00a0 Am I still in the free-writing stage, looking for the essence?<\/p>\n

8. If this is a necessary scene, how can I punch it up?\u00a0 Bring it to life?<\/strong> Make it more vivid? More important to the story as a whole?\u00a0 Get out the toolbox:\u00a0 Livelier verbs, tighter descriptions, snappier dialogue, deeper interior thoughts and feelings?\u00a0 Does something more need to HAPPEN<\/strong> in this scene?\u00a0 What’s the worst that could happen right now?\u00a0 What bad choice might my character make? What terrible mistake?\u00a0 What if I allow that to Happen<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

This scenic approach might not work for you, but it has gotten me back on course with my novel. Please share what works for you!<\/p>\n

Watch Looking for Redfeather, the book trailer.\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 Enjoy the scenery!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turning my novel, Looking for Redfeather,\u00a0 into a stage play […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[175,85],"tags":[391,7],"class_list":["post-1961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-looking-for-redfeather","category-writing-and-publishing","tag-looking-for-redfeather","tag-writing-process"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1961"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1968,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1961\/revisions\/1968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madhatdesign.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}