On my WIP, I’m closing in on Act 3 of writing my novel and heading into the home stretch. This first draft, I’m focusing on the scene structure.

So, yesterday, I made notes about the scenes needed to finish the story. This is different from writing a synopsis of the story.

Differences in Synopsis and Scene Layout

A synopsis tells the story in a condensed form. But scenes are the actual events that will be used to flesh out the story.

For example, if you write the story of the Three Little Pigs, you could start at the beginning: a momma pig and a poppa pig have triplets. Starting from there, you could tell a long, convoluted story up to the point of outwitting the Big Bad Wolf.

Using scenes, however, forces you to decide what events are important, visual, exciting, dramatic. Writing a novel isn’t just about telling a story; it’s about telling a story in the most dramatic way possible to make an impact on the reader.

So, yesterday, I knew the rest of the story. But I tried to decide which parts were important enough to give over to an entire scene and which could be left to narrative summaries.

Criteria for Choosing Scenes to Include in Your Novel:

• Which events would connect with readers best?
• Which events have the most emotional power?
• Which events have the most visual interest?
• Which events BEST advance the action and SHOW what is going on with the characters’ lives?

Today, I’ll look over the list and reevaluate again. And then start writing the final scenes! Hurrah!

COMING AUGUST 15:. The Book Trailer Manual. Click to read about it.

Western Washington SCBWI Retreat: Voice

The retreat was great. There were about 40-45 people there and they were split into two groups. Group A came to me, while Group B went to Patti Gauch, then we swapped for the same presentation again. I sorta knew how Patti would approach voice (and I might have done many of the same things if she hadn’t been there), so I deliberately took a different tack and I think it enriched the experience for the participants. Then, I did a short intro to writing with scenes, more a reminder that this is an option than an indepth study.

The Alderbrook Resort was a great venue, right on the Hood Canal. From the restaurant, you could see a small stream feeding into the canal and we watched salmon swimming up the stream to spawn. Wow! Amazing to this land-locked Arkansan!

Thanks to Jolie Steckly and Sara Easterly for a fabulous job putting this together. (And to Sara’s new daughter, Violet Grace, for giving great cuddles.) And of course, thanks to Jamie Temairik, their assistant and fabulous illustrator.

And Thanks to all those who attended and inspired me with their energy, love of words and attention to detail!

COMING AUGUST 15:. The Book Trailer Manual. Click to read about it.

NaNoWriMo is in full swing! That means over 50,000 writers are slugging out 50,000 words, working on the first draft of a novel, in the 30 days of November. But I’m thinking ahead to December when that first rough draft needs revision. Here are 3 things to keep in mind as you’re writing that first draft, so you make your life easier later.

• Character bible. Either open a new file, or keep a notebook beside your computer to keep track of character particulars. Does the character have blue eyes and red hair in the first chapter? You’ll make life easier if you jot this down, so you can keep track of it. Of course, you may want to totally change that in revisions, but a character “bible,” will help you know what you’ve got.
• Timeline. Every time you type a time word, make it bold. This will help later as you scan for bold (or red or underlined or whatever you want) to see if you can straighten up the time line.
• Voice. Take the liberty of writing different chapters in different voices. No revisions allowed until December, so this is a time where you can play as you get the story line down on paper. You could try three or four different voices as you write, and by December, one will emerge as the strongest, most interesting. Word count is important, yes, but so is the spirit of exploration.

And when you’re ready to revise, come back for more tips!
Good luck! Write fast!

COMING AUGUST 15:. The Book Trailer Manual. Click to read about it.