wordless wednesday

writers’ platform building campaign

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#writecampaign, amloki, Creative Writing, new writing, novel writing, rachael harrie, writers' platform-building campaign, writing, writing challenges

Today I am signing up to the Writers’ Platform Building Campaign, run by Rachael Harrie, a YA horror writer . This is her third campaign, and she describes it on her blog as “a way to link those of us in the writing community together with the aim of helping to build our online platforms. The Campaigners are all bloggers in a similar position, who genuinely want to pay it forward, make connections and friends within the writing community, and help build each others’ online platforms while at the same time building theirs.”

I first heard of the campaign the other day when I saw fellow twitter writers using the #writecampaign hashtag. I asked @damyantig (see her website at http://www.amloki.com/ ) what it’s all about and she was kind enough to send me the link to Rachael’s blog. What appeals to me is the opportunity to meet other writers and to make connections with bloggers who have a similar outlook in their writing life. Don’t get me wrong, I love twitter, I would never have found the Writers’ Platform Building Campaign without it, and I love meeting new friends through facebook, but this feels more intimate, more tangible and when I read what is involved in being a campaigner, I knew I had to sign up. So why don’t you click here and read all about it? The list of campaigners closes on August 31st – maybe I’ll see you there!

how to write a scene

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Creative Writing, how to write a scene, motivational reaction units, mru's, narrative arc, new writing, novel writing, of figs and bougainvillea, scene, scene arc, three act structure, writing

Every story we write or read has a narrative arc, usually consisting of a three act structure:

• Act I   – the beginning (set up),
• Act II  - the middle (confrontation),
• Act III – the end (resolution). 

Each act also has a narrative arc, meaning that Act I (the beginning) consists of a beginning, middle and end, as does Act II and Act III. The building blocks that carry us through these narratives are scenes, and yes, even scenes have narrative arcs – those that don’t are not often a complete scene.

The two levels of scene structure can be identified as large scale and small scale.

The large scale structure identifies two types of scene that are co-dependent:

1. The action scene that consists of sub-components goal, conflict and disaster,
2. The reaction scene/sequel that consists of sub-components reaction, dilemma and decision.

For example, in a scene in ‘Finding Nemo’, Marlin makes a decision to go over the ridge to continue his and Dory’s quest to find Nemo:

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Action scene…

• goal – to get to the other side of the ridge,
• conflict – they encounter stinging jellyfish,
• disaster – Marlin makes it to the other side but Dory doesn’t. (See the cliffhanger here to move the story forward?)

Reaction scene…

• reaction – Marlin at first celebrates getting to the other side but then panics when he can’t see Dory.
• dilemma – there are more jelly fish – should he rescue Dory and risk his own life?
• decision – he decides to rescue Dory. (And see here how it pushes us to the next action scene, where the goal will be for Marlin to rescue Dory?)

The novel I am currently writing, Of Figs and Bougainvillea, is written in this way; the framework keeps the story moving and enables me to look at a scene that is not working and see if I have missed out one of the crucial building blocks.

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The small scale structure identifies two parts to a scene’s sub-component, called Motivational Reaction Units (MRU’s):

1. Motivation. This is objective and external. It describes what all of us can see of the scene sub-component. For example, in goal (above), what the ridge looks like to all of us, how far it is, why it is the best option.
2. Reaction. The is subjective and internal. It describes the character’s point of view. Continuing the example above, what Marlin feels about crossing the ridge, his reaction to the motivation, in this case, that it it looks clear and easy to cross.

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This isn’t to say that a story needs to be outlined at scene level. These large scale structure and small scale structure guidelines may come in useful when trying to salvage a scene or chapter that isn’t quite working for either yourself, your beta or an editor. On the other hand, if you are a meticulous planner, you may well want to work within this framework.

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What do you think about scene structure? Have you used it? Would you use it? Would you find it too restrictive or do you think it would free those ideas that you have for a novel?  Do you use a different framework?