Your Next Draft

How to Write a Scene of a Novel Using Story Structure


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Scene structure is a powerful tool for editing your scenes. But what about the writing process? How can you use structure to plan your scenes before you write—and make it that much easier to edit those scenes later?

In the last few episodes, we’ve talked a lot about scenes: what they are, how they work, and how to edit them. And I’ve received tons of insightful questions about all this scene theory.

So in this episode, I’m answering your questions about scenes.

From Evan and Samrobb: What can you plan before you write in order to make writing (and editing!) easier?

From Bill: Can you have a value shift that applies to the whole story, not just a single scene?

Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll hear in the episode:

  • Two ways you can use scene theory to plan before you write
  • The danger of using editing tools during your writing process
  • Three levels of value shifts that go beyond scenes
  • Why writing amazing scenes is an essential—and transferable!—skill
  • And more!

Have more scene writing questions? Send me an email at [email protected] with the subject line “Podcast Question,” and I’ll save your question for a future podcast episode!

Links mentioned in the episode:

  • PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen

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Your Next DraftBy Alice Sudlow

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