Outline scenes

Since writing in scenes isn’t second nature to me, I often fill in this type information before I start a scene:

• Basics
  • Setting:
  • Who is present:
  • What is happening (actions):
• Emotion
  • Emotional Pulse running through the scene:
  • Emotion at Beginning:
  • Emotion at End:
• Plot
  • Plot Goal:
  • Plot Complication:
  • Plot Complication:
  • Plot Complication:
  • Disaster at end of scene:
• What gets reviewed in between scenes (What Swain & Bickham call the sequel part).
• Goal of next scene:

Often, I get only halfway through this before I abandon it and start writing. That’s fine. It’s just to get the scene firmly in my mind, not necessarily fill out the entire form.

Related posts:

1. Resources for scenes
2. Writing a Novel in Scenes
3. How to Use Scenes to Plot
4. Revising the Outline
5. 4 Files to Prevent Mistakes

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