What Is a Scene, Anyway?     1) Unit of continuous prose narrative: a scene is a whole and not broken into separate chunks.     2) Takes place in one location: scene doesn't jump from one location to another (which isn't to say that a scene can't happen while characters are on the move).     3) We see and hear characters close-up: scene is composed of action and dialogue that we "watch" as if it were happening in front of us.     4) Someone pursues a goal: this is where the drama comes in; you cannot have a scene if no one is trying to accomplish anything.     5) Goal pursuer either succeeds or fails: every scene has an outcome, whatever that outcome might be.     The scene is the "show" (dramatized) part of writing in the old saying "Show, don't tell." It shows events happening, usually with accompanying dialogue, and gives a careful representation of words, thoughts, gestures and so on. Scenes can also include narrative and exposition. The reader doesn't need to be able to see every single detail, but they must get a clear picture of what is going on. It is a good idea for you as the writer to know beforehand what each character brings into a scene--what they want, what their immediate goals are, what they're willing to do to get what they want, what their attitudes are to other characters and so on.     Elements of the Scene     Every scene will contain some combination of the following items. You needn't use every one of these in every scene, although most scenes will have the majority of them. Use whatever you need to make the scene effective.     dialogue (this may have subtext or hidden meaning as well as the obvious meaning)   dialogue tags (he said/she said)   actions and gestures   characters' thoughts and emotions   exposition   narrative   description of setting   comments or observations by the author or narrator   transitions from the previous scene or narrative passage and/or into the next one     Functions of the Scene     contributes to plot:  A scene and its outcome move the plot along by having characters make decisions, succeed or fail, make plans, reveal information and more. Every scene must move your characters closer to the resolution of whatever problem they face.     reveals character:  Crawford Kilian says the key to writing a good scene is knowing what you want to show your readers about the character(s). See Part 4 for more on how to show character; most of these methods can be worked into a scene.     contributes to theme:  Symbolism, metaphors, recurring or striking images, references, allusions and similar things can tie the scene into the larger concerns of the novel.     relates causally or thematically with events that happened before and events that will happen after:  Every scene arises from an earlier scene and gives rise to later scenes, or, as David Gerrold says, "Every scene must make the next scene inevitable."     dramatizes:  Scene is brought to life through character actions and dialogue.     When to Dramatize     How do you know when to dramatize an event and when to speed through with narrative? Generally, the most important events, those that are key to plot movement or character development, are the ones you'll want to linger over by writing them as scenes. Less important things, but those it is still necessary for the reader to know about, can be relegated to narrative. Of course, you won't always know which events are going to be the really important ones until you've written the first draft of your story. You'll almost certainly have to expand a few narrative sequences into dramatized scenes or collapse some scenes into summary narrative in later drafts. But don't worry, it's re-writing that turns good writing into art.     Exposition     Exposition is any explanatory prose -- passages that explain, define, describe or comment on things. This kind of writing is used to convey necessary information that can't be worked into a scene. A good writer can create passages of exposition that are enjoyable to read, but too much exposition rapidly becomes boring for the reader. In Science Fiction, long expository passages that explain complex things all in one big lump are called "infodump" and are best avoided. Try to keep exposition short and concise and intersperse it with other types of prose to keep the work interesting.     The Theatre lay in a meadow called the Long Slip. A little mill-stream, carrying water to a mill two or three fields away, bent around one corner of it, and in the middle of the bend lay a large old Fairy Ring of darkened grass, which was the stage. The mill-stream banks, overgrown with willow, hazel, and guelder-rose, made convenient places to wait in till your turn came; and a grown-up who had seen it said that Shakespeare himself could not have imagined a more suitable setting for his play. (from Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling)     Narrative     The Oxford English Dictionary defines narrative as an "account of connected events in order of happening." In writing circles, it is often called summary narrative because the function of narrative is to summarize events that can't or shouldn't be dramatized as scenes. Sometimes the events simply aren't important enough to be written as scenes, but still contain necessary information; at other times we need to move from one scene to another without getting bogged down in the details of how. These are times when narrative is useful. It is important not to get carried away, however, as narrative is a quicker and much more shallow way to tell a story than scenes, and your readers may feels things are happening to quickly or without enough detail.     Their play went beautifully. Dan remembered all his parts -- Puck, Bottom, and the three Fairies -- and Una never forgot a word of Titania -- not even the difficult piece where she tells the Fairies how to feed Bottom with "apricocks, green figs, and dewberries," and all the lines end in "ies." They were both so pleased that they acted it three times over from beginning to end before they sat down in the unthistly centre of the Ring to eat eggs and Bath Olivers. This was when they heard a whistle among the alders on the bank, and they jumped. (from Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling)

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