SCENE AND SEQUEL

Nattalie Bright

At a writer’s conference held on the campus of WTA&M University in Canyon, Texas, award-winning author Dusty Richards talked to us about scene and sequel when plotting. This is the method that he used to write his popular Byrnes Family Ranch series.

Scene structure = goal, conflict, disaster

Every scene starts with:

1. character
2. the viewpoint character
3. what does he want to accomplish in the confrontation that about to happen
4. a stepping stone to the big-picture story goal

The story goal in the scene can be stated through dialogue beforehand, internal dialogue through character thought, or stated in the opening line of the scene.

What happens next is the sequel. The pattern of sequel is:

1. emotion
2. quandary
3. decision
4. action

More on scene and sequel next week.

Follow us all month long as we blog about Story Plot. Happy writing!