#writing scenes

[writingwithoutconfidence]

Tropes and Writing Scenes

Just found this in my drafts from Jan 18. Gonna post it anyway. I wrote another one like this called Writing Situations and Tropes and it was quite helpful to a lot of people so I'm making another one (I also really enjoyed making that one so this was fun). Basically a mix of Writing (certain) scenes and how to make certain Tropes even better.

1. Betrayal hurts more when it’s reasonable. A betrayal done for power is easy to hate. A betrayal done out of fear, love, survival, or desperation is harder — because the reader understands it, even if they don’t forgive it. If we can see why they did it, the wound cuts deeper. And it doesn’t even have to be some huge dramatic move — sometimes it’s just a small decision, made at the worst possible moment, that changes everything.

2. Almost-kisses shouldn’t fail because the characters are clueless. An almost-kiss works because both characters feel it — the pause, the closeness, the shift — and something real stops them. Fear. Timing. History. The risk of ruining what they already have. If they don’t kiss just because one of them “didn’t realise” or thought it was a joke, the tension deflates. Let them know it almost happened. Let them walk away aware that something changed, even if neither of them is ready to name it yet. The best almost-kisses aren’t about missed signals — they’re about wanting it badly and choosing not to cross the line yet. That restraint is what makes it hurt in the best way.

3. First “I love you”s shouldn’t be perfect or poetic. The first time someone says it, it’s rarely smooth. It slips out too fast, or too quiet, or at the worst possible moment. It might sound unsure. It might come with a flinch, a laugh, a please don’t make this weird. If it comes out polished and cinematic, it can feel rehearsed — like the character already knows how this ends. The weight of a first “I love you” isn’t in how pretty it sounds — it’s in the fact that once it’s said, nothing can be unsaid.

4. Touch-starved characters don’t reach first. The power of this trope isn’t in desperation; it’s in restraint. Let them be the ones who never initiate, who always follow someone else’s lead, who need permission they don’t know how to ask for. When they finally do reach out — even just a sleeve tug, a hand resting briefly before pulling away — it matters because it’s a choice they’ve spent the entire story convincing themselves they’re not allowed to make yet.

5. Reunions shouldn’t erase what happened. A good reunion doesn’t reset the relationship — it carries the weight of the time apart. Let there be hesitation. Let them take a second too long to step closer. Let them notice what’s changed before what’s familiar. If they fall back into each other’s arms immediately, it can feel unearned unless the separation was clean. Most reunions work because something is still unresolved: guilt, relief, anger, longing, fear of losing them again. The best ones aren’t loud declarations — they’re quiet, shaky moments where both characters realise they’re standing in front of someone they missed… and might still hurt.

6. Last Looks. Last looks work when the characters don’t know it’s the last one. Let it be as ordinary as possible— a glance over a shoulder, a half-smile, an almost-wave. Something unfinished. What makes it hurt isn’t the drama, it’s the mundanity. The reader knows this moment will matter later, even if the characters don’t. And when they think back on it? That’s when it breaks them. The power of a last look is realising, too late, that it should’ve lasted longer. Your character doesn't have to have picked a fight or argued with them as their last moment either. Something ordinary works just as much.

7. Writing promises. Promises hit harder when they’re small. Not I’ll always love you or I’ll come back alive — but I’ll make the coffee tomorrow, don’t start without me, wait here. Ordinary promises feel safe. That’s why they hurt when they’re broken, delayed, or remembered later in the wrong context. The more casual the promise, the more it reveals what the character believes is guaranteed. And when the story proves it isn’t? Devastating.

8. Someone notices they’re in love (too late). Realising you’re in love shouldn’t feel romantic — it should feel inconvenient. It clicks at the worst time. During an argument. After they’ve already left. When the character reaches for their phone and stops. The power is in the delay between realisation and action. Love doesn’t arrive cleanly; it arrives with regret, fear, and the awful knowledge that things were easier five minutes ago.

9. Writing characters choosing to stay. Staying is harder than leaving. Don’t make it dramatic. Make it deliberate. A character unpacks. They cancel a plan. They show up the next morning. Staying should feel heavy with awareness — I know what this costs me, and I’m here anyway.

I don't think that many people would've made it this far. If you did... THANK YOUU!! Wishing you lots of happiness and luck in the future!

[charliewashere666]

So I’m writing my character’s backstory (just for my own reference) and my gods, I did not realize how long this was going to take.

Honestly, writing this makes me so sad. Like I’m typing out the words while on the verge of tears because he was neglected by people that were supposed to love him and now he has a deep mistrust of people.

[quillver]

Your Scene Has a Pulse — Who’s Shifting It?

Not every scene needs conflict. But every scene needs movement.

Emotional movement. Narrative pressure. A shift.

Ask yourself:

→ Who is shifting the emotional pulse of this scene?

→ Whose desire, silence, or revelation turns the energy?

It might not be the POV character. It might not be who’s speaking the most.

It might be someone who walks in, says nothing, and leaves.

But someone should always shift the pulse.

If no one does, your scene is just a flatline with nice prose.

[wysteriadragon777]

Sneak peak of Emerald Reign! 📸 Sinestro is saying his vows to Hal lmao

[nanowrimo]

5 Essential Tips for Mastering Scene Writing in Your Novel

There's many parts involved when writing a scene. Knowing how these different pieces work together may help you move forward in your novel. NaNo Participant Amy de la Force offers some tips on brushing up your scene writing knowledge. Scenes are the building blocks of a novel, the stages where characters spring to life, conflicts brew and emotions run high. Mastering the art of scene writing is crucial for any aspiring writer, especially in the lead-up to NaNoWriMo. But what is a scene, and how do you effectively craft one? 

What is a Scene? 

A scene is a short period of time — in a set place — that moves the story forward with dramatic conflict that reveals character, generally through dialogue or action. Think of writing a scene as a mini-story with a beginning, middle and end, all contributing to the narrative. 

Why Scene Writing is Your Secret Weapon in Storytelling

Well-crafted scenes enhance your story to develop characters, advance the plot, and engage readers through tension and emotion. Whether you're writing a novel, short story or even non-fiction, scenes weave the threads of your story together.

Tip #1: Scenes vs. Sequels

According to university lecturer Dwight Swain in Techniques of the Selling Writer, narrative time can be broken down into not just scenes, but sequels. 

Scene

The 3 parts of a scene are:

Goal: The protagonist or point-of-view (POV) character’s objective at the start of the scene.

Conflict: For dramatic conflict, this is an equally strong combination of the character’s ‘want + obstacle’ to their goal. 

Disaster: When the obstacle wins, it forces the character’s hand to act, ratcheting up tension. 

Sequel 

Similarly, Swain’s sequels have 3 parts:

Reaction: This is the POV character’s emotional follow-up to the previous scene’s disaster. 

Dilemma: If the dramatic conflict is strong enough, each possible next step seems worse than anything the character has faced.  

Decision: The scene’s goal may still apply, but the choice of action to meet it will be difficult. 

Tip #2: Questions to Ask Yourself Before Writing a Scene

In Story Genius, story coach and ex–literary agent Lisa Cron lists 4 questions to guide you in scene writing:

What does my POV character go into the scene believing?

Why do they believe it?

What is my character’s goal in the scene?

What does my character expect will happen in this scene?

Tip #3: Writing Opening and Closing Scenes

Now that we know more about scene structure and character considerations, it’s time to open with a bang, or more to the point, a hook. Forget warming up and write a scene in the middle of the action or a conversation. Don’t forget to set the place and time with a vivid description or a little world-building. To end the scene, go for something that resolves the current tension, or a cliffhanger to make your scene or chapter ‘unputdownable’. 

Tip #4: Mastering Tension and Pacing 

A benefit to Swain’s scenes and sequels is that introspective sequels tend to balance the pace by slowing it, building tension. This pacing variation, which you can help by alternating dialogue with action or sentence lengths, offers readers the mental quiet space to rest and digest any action-packed scenes. 

Tip #5: Scene Writing for Emotional Impact

For writing a scene, the top tips from master editor Sol Stein in Stein on Writing are:

Fiction evokes emotion, so make a list of the emotion(s) you want readers to feel in your scenes and work to that list.

For editing, cut scenes that don’t serve a purpose (ideally, several purposes), or make you feel bored. If you are, your reader is too. 

Conclusion

From understanding the anatomy of a scene to writing your own, these tips will help elevate your scenes from good to unforgettable, so you can resonate with readers.

Amy de la Force is a YA and adult speculative fiction writer, alumna of Curtis Brown Creative's selective novel-writing program and Society of Authors member. The novel she’s querying longlisted for Voyage YA’s Spring First Chapters Contest in 2021. An Aussie expat, Amy lives in London. Check her out on Twitter, Bluesky, and on her website! Her books can be found on Amazon. Photo by cottonbro studio

[andreviernes]

Create a Scene Palette

Don’t just jump into writing a scene

Photo by Steve Johnson

I’m participating in writing the rough draft of a novel this month, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month.

Typically, the idea is to write a fifty-thousand rough draft of a story, but I’m participating as a NaNo rebel. That’s when the writer makes up their own rules. In my case, I’m only writing 500 words a day, or 15-thousand words for November.

Another rule I’m breaking is this: instead of writing fully developed narrative scenes, I’m doing more outlines for scenes. I’m spending 15 to 20 minutes of jotting down bits of the scene as it comes to me: a scene palette, as it were.

Why do this? And how? And what does this palette look like?

Brainstorming a Scene: How to Build a Creative Palette Before You Write

Most writers want their scenes to flow effortlessly on the page, but few scenes actually begin that way. Before the smooth prose and clean structure comes something messier, more playful, and far more effective: scene brainstorming. This pre-writing step invites creativity, reduces rewriting, and helps you discover the emotional and sensory layers that make a moment come alive.

How to Brainstorm a Scene

Get Into the Brainstorming Mode This is not outlining. It’s not drafting. It’s not editing. Brainstorming is creative looseness, letting your brain wander in the right direction without forcing structure. Turn off the part of your mind that worries about organization or perfection. Put yourself in a mode where all ideas are welcome: tiny whispers of dialogue, flashes of imagery, emotional beats, even questions you don’t have answers to yet.

Don’t Worry About Order Scenes rarely arrive fully formed. You may think of a closing line before an opening one, or a sensory detail long before you understand the action. That’s normal. Write everything down as it comes. You’ll sort it later. Right now, your job is simply to collect.

Insert New Ideas Back Into Old Ones As you jot, you’ll begin seeing fragments that belong together. Maybe a line of dialogue fits perfectly with a setting detail you wrote earlier. Maybe a character’s internal fear suddenly matches a physical reaction. Feel free to scroll up or flip back and stitch ideas together. Brainstorming is a living document, the goal is to build a layered palette of ideas you can pull from.

Think of It as Creating a Palette Just like a painter sets out pigments before ever lifting the brush, a writer benefits from laying out raw materials. Brainstorm notes are your palette — colors you can mix while drafting.

This Is an Outline, but More Than an Outline It’s not a bullet list of plot events. It’s a pre-scene world, complete with emotion, texture, voices, and energy. It’s the closest thing to stepping inside the moment before you officially write it.

Why Create a Scene Palette?

Your Actual Writing Will Go Faster When you sit down to write the scene, you’re no longer inventing. You’re assembling. You already know what the characters might say, how they might feel, and how the space around them smells, sounds, or shifts. You have the parts right in front of you.

You’ll Do Less Rewriting Later A lot of rewrites happen because the early version of a scene was underdeveloped. Brainstorming helps you catch missing emotional beats, contradictions, and unclear motivations before you commit to prose.

You’re essentially troubleshooting your scene ahead of time.

What to Include in Your Brainstorm Palette

You can mix and match any of the following:

Scraps of dialogue Short exchanges, a line you love, a threat, a joke, a whispered confession. I write most of the dialogue as a screenplay; I list the character’s name with a colon followed by approximate bit of dialogue of what they’re saying.

Descriptions of the scene opening Where are we? Who’s present? What’s the first thing the reader sees?

Point of view notes What does the POV character notice (and ignore)? What bias do they bring into the scene?

Setting details Weather, lighting, background noise, movement in the environment — anything that anchors the moment.

Inner emotions of the POV character Fear, frustration, longing, determination, reluctance — whatever’s bubbling beneath the surface.

Inner physical sensations A tight throat, trembling hands, a stomach drop, a headache pulse, a heat rising behind the eyes.

Sensory details What they smell, hear, taste, feel, and see that isn’t obvious.

Scene endings What cliffhanger happens? What question does the point-of-view character entertain? How does the scene end in a way that will make the reader want more.

Collect them like puzzle pieces. Don’t force them to connect yet. You can even have several options for an item. For example, a character can say something three different ways; you can adapt which one you pick when writing a more fully developed draft later.

Example (Quick Sample)

Here’s the result of an early scene I created a palette for:

Scene opening: LIMEship in sky is heading toward the environ that is semi arid.

Bandonn is the point of view character. He is annoyed because this is the first time he has been on Spotov since he was a war slave for the rebels called The Escape.

Remind the reader that Bandonn’s feet were injured earlier.

The goal of this scene is to introduce the main characters to the reader.

Bandonn: I don’t want to be here. I never wanted to come back to this planet. I hate the Grey. I hate the rebels who fought against them. Durso to Bandonn: This is weird being back on Spotov.

Bandonn wonders if Durso has his drug use under control. Durso is addicted to Treat.

Enter Edom. She hasn’t been to Spotov in years either. She has been on The Planned Happenstance for three years.

She is excited to be back because she can’t wait to see her friends from the seminary. She seems more upbeat that Bandonn and Durso.Maybe she is even giddy.

Bandonn is annoyed at her enthusiasm. He remembers the bad events that happened to him as a child on the planet.

Bandonn and Durso ask her: Why do we have to get to the seminary?

Edom: To be honest, I’m not fully sure. Jonn understands the details, but it’s to help you fully attain the status of Spotov’s Advocate.

Sudden awkwardness. Bandonn is the reluctant Advocate for the planet Spotov. He is supposed to become some kind of official diplomat to help Spotov become part of the Consortium.

Bandonn’s heart beats faster and the scene ends with him wondering: what have I gotten myself into?

Suddenly, you have an emotional, atmospheric scene waiting to be written.

Next Steps: Rewrite by Layering

When it’s time to draft, use your brainstorm as a foundation and layer the scene:

Layer 1: Basic action Layer 2: Dialogue and voice Layer 3: Emotional beats Layer 4: Sensory details Layer 5: Setting and atmosphere Layer 6: Final polish — clarity, pacing, tension

Your brainstorm becomes the raw material for each of these layers — making the scene richer, clearer, and easier to craft.

Ultimately, the choice is yours whether or not you want to use a scene palette for your writing process; there’s no right or wrong. You may want to challenge yourself to try it a few times.

You can write your first draft in all scene palettes and then your second draft as a full narrative; or you can write a scene palette first then write the full scene before going on to the next.

The idea is to make your writing more smooth and more streamlined. And to have a little fun along the way.

[kierstenswritinglair]

Copperhead’s criminal mind and strategies in action! Sneak peek of his meeting with Centacool and Mezatonia! 📸

Oof the Z6 bouta get FUCKED LMAO