As I’ve mentioned before, one of the areas in which I struggle is structure — specifically at the scene level. For a long time, I didn’t know how to determine whether a scene was advancing the plot or not. But I’m learning.
Over the weekend, I picked up a copy of Scene & Structure by Jack M. Bickham. It’s part of Writers Digest Books’ “Elements of Fiction” series. It seems to be helping. I’m learning more about cause & effect, stimulus & response, and how they play into creating effective stories. It also goes into detail about scene goals, conflicts and outcomes (aka disasters), and how these affect the overall story goal. If you struggle with understanding how a given scene affects your overall story, you might want to pick this up. It was only $15.
Now I just have to apply what I’m learning to the story at hand.
