Scene It!

When writing a story, scenes are integral to the plot at large. Scenes set the tone for the entire story. Scenes can take place anywhere in the world, and can convey many, many different emotions. Some scenes are really short, like flashback snippets from the past. Some are very long, like a journey to another land. We wanted to share some of our favorite scenes to write, as well as the types of scenes we struggle to create.

Emily: I love writing scenes that are dramatic and exciting as well as emotionally-charged and touching. There’s a special kind of ‘magic’ that happens when characters, story, scene, and action intertwine to create a world that you can imagine. There’s nothing better than seeing all of those factors coming together and being able to picture yourself in a character’s shoes. Drama offers many outlets. It can involve adventure, anger, sadness, pain, or sheer joy. The ‘trick’ is to pull readers in by the way your characters handle whatever is tossed their way.

Erin: I like dramatic scenes as well, but I also enjoy scenes that depict a sense of calm and contentment. Scenes of dramatic illnesses, arguments, and car crashes are definitely exciting to write and I pour my soul into each of them. Scenes of quiet moments of family members or friends enjoying each others’ company are just so rewarding in their own way. It’s the people in the scene taking a moment or two out of their day to run through the grass or cuddle in fromt of a movie or swim in the ocean together. A story for me is well-rounded when it shows both drama but also has a place of true support and contentment. 

Emily: Support I think, too, ties into how readers can sympathize, understand, and feel a part of a character’s life. Whether it’s a person with a loving extended family, a close-knit circle of friends, or a lonely soul sailing life’s seas by his lonesome, each character created has his or her own tale to tell. I love seeing the change in characters too, when I write, and how a specific set of circumstances changes them in ways never thought possible if the circumstances had changed.

Erin: It is definitely important to write the scenes in a way that resonate with the reader, so they can identify with the things happening to the characters. I find I have a harder time writing scenes that involve more dialogue or don’t have enough happening to carry the scene. I also have a harder time writing arguments and personal strife between characters.

Emily: For me, the difficulty lies in any scene overwhelmed with chaos yet in the same sense, portraying silence to a reader can be a quiet hell to the writer.
We are both learning as we go and welcome the challenges of writing new, difficult, and interesting scenes!