SCENE-TEST YOUR STORY

This article is printed here in its original form, as it was first published in 1966. —Ed.

I’ve heard impatient beginning writers scoff at the dramatic scene as pedantic and artificial, when instead, it is an indispensable and rewarding device which can be mastered with steady practice.

Advantages of the scene are numerous. It provides structure and continuity to your short story or novel.

It takes care of chapter breaks, one of the frequent laments of the struggling young novelist. It advances character and plot, and the transition between scenes shows passage of time, for time must pass for characters to change believably.

The formula of the dramatic scene is a reliable way to test your story as you go along. Perhaps you begin to sense that nothing is happening. If you check your story against the scene, you’ll probably find what is wrong.

Maybe there’s too much agreement and not enough active