Absolutely, crafting a scene outline for your novel can be highly beneficial. It helps structure your story, ensure logical progression, and give you a clear roadmap for character development and plot twists.
Chopping Up a Novel for Better Storytelling
Writing a novel can feel like a colossal task sometimes, but I reckon the key to staying efficient and writing a cohesive story lies in outlining your tale. Here's the lowdown on making a scene outline - it'll help you dodge the frustration of rewriting your book a million times.
Storytelling is much easier before you've penned a single word, right? But does having a scene outline truly make a story better?
Before I stumbled upon the secret sauce of scene structure, my stories were a mishmash of events with no clear direction or ending. Scene outlines revealed what was missing from my stories, and I hope this post does the same for you.
Got Questions? Check Out: My guide to Outlining Your Novel & Making Your Story Unravel Effortlessly
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Chapters versus Scenes: What's the Difference?
Chapters and scenes aren't one and the same, my dear writer!
To begin with, not all novels have chapters. But all novels have scenes. A chapter could encompass one scene, or it could consist of multiple scenes. If you've got a lengthy scene, then it might even stretch over various chapters.
The main distinction is that a "scene" is a structural component that demands specific elements, whereas a chapter can be whatever you want, from a blank page (like in Twilight) to a never-ending paragraph.
Can I Still Make Every Chapter Just One Scene?
Definitely!
There's a catch, though. Ending a chapter when a scene ends might leave your reader feeling too satisfied and inclined to put your book aside faster. To keep readers engrossed, it's wise to finish a chapter in the middle of an action so they can't resist turning the page.
Moreover, if you prefer having chapters, you may want to do so intentionally. Perhaps each chapter follows a particular theme, like in my book, or it's penned from a different character's perspective. There are many options beyond scenes.
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Why Use a Scene Outline?
You might still be in the dark about what constitutes a scene, but here's the skinny: a scene is a small portion of your story with a goal and an outcome. It doesn't concern itself with chapters, which can be made shorter or longer without altering the story structure. Scenes, however, are the foundation blocks of your story.
Scenes resemble stepping stones from the beginning to the end, leading your character towards a decision that affects future scenes. All the complications within a scene lead back to something that happened earlier.
Adhering to scene structure and creating a scene outline might seem pointless to those who aren't fond of outlining. But I promise you, this method saves you precious time and heartache later in the process. If outlining seems too daunting at the moment, you can always apply what you learn about scene structure after you've penned your first draft and fill in any missing pieces. Alternatively, you can write one scene at a time, deciding on the following scene as you go along. Still, I recommend setting your story's ultimate objective beforehand.
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The Skeleton of a Scene: A Step-by-step Breakdown
I wouldn't claim to be a scene-structuring whiz, but I'm a huge fan. This part might still give me a headache when I'm crafting some of my scenes, but I always refer to Helping Writers Become Authors for quick, easy-to-understand insights. K.M. Weiland's book, Structuring Your Novel, dives deep while remaining accessible, while Scene & Structure provides a more advanced view on the subject. Although I don't always agree with everything in the latter, it's still an indispensable resource when it comes to writing and understanding scenes.
In essence, a complete scene has these components: Goal, Conflict, Outcome, Reaction & Decision. However, not every scene consists of all these elements, and often, they overlap and vary in length.
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The Components of a Scene: A Closer Look
The first three components - goal, conflict, and outcome - should play out in real-time within the story, meaning we should be able to observe the unfolding of events. Internal dialogue or time jumps can't happen in the middle of a scene.
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Goal
The goal is what your Point-of-View (POV) character wants right now or something they're striving to achieve. For instance, our young wizard wants to ride the bus to his magic school in peace. He might not expressly articulate his desire, but he's essentially after a peaceful journey. Avoiding Tesco would probably be another component of his goal, though he might not put it into words.
Your scene's objective should move your character closer to their overall goal in the story, but only after they've been smacked with the Big Problem. Prior to that, they might just be tending to their garden or grappling with their existing problems. Learn more about these types of problems in my post about story structure.
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Conflict
The conflict is the stumbling block preventing your POV character from attaining their goal. Perhaps our bus is plagued by engine issues or perhaps this snotty kid starts pelting him with spitballs. That's his peaceful journey undone. As a writer, you should hinder your characters from reaching their goals more often than not, or at least throw unexpected consequences their way.
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Outcome
The outcome illustrates how things wind up for your POV character after the conflict. Think of it as the answer to the question posed by the goal and conflict. The outcome can also be referred to as a disaster, since more often than not, your character fails to achieve their goal. If the road to their ultimate goal is too straightforward, the story becomes tedious.
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Reaction
This phase represents your character's emotional response to the outcome, consisting of three components: feeling, thought, and action. For example, our young wizard might feel humiliated and annoyed, contemplate taking revenge on the snotty kid, and act by implying that the kid's mother is a llama.
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Dilemma
This is your character's intellectual response to the outcome, meaning they reflect on what has happened, how it affects them, and what they should do next. This can take up multiple paragraphs or just a few words, depending on the story and the scene in question. The character needs to make sense of the situation and decide on the next course of action.
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Decision
The decision is a critical part of the scene because it sets the stage for future scenes. Your character needs to ponder things over, but the specific scene will dictate whether this process spans several pages or just a few words.
Note that a decision doesn't always require a verbal announcement. You don't always need to explicitly state that the character has decided to do something, as the subsequent action usually reveals their decision. However, if their plans change unexpectedly or something dreadful occurs, you want readers to be aware of the initial decision for context.
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Variations in Scene Structure
All scenes don't necessarily follow the same structure, and sometimes elements collide. This is particularly common when outcomes are unexpected or when there's a lot of action unfolding. Sometimes, some parts of the scene may need to be postponed, especially when multiple major events occur quickly. Just make sure your character reacts to everything eventually, or else the narrative might become implausible if they ignore everything and keep moving forward like a mindless robot.
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Scene Timing: How Long Should a Scene Be?
Every scene varies in length. Your story might seem mundane if each scene has the same duration, and you shouldn't stress over the ideal scene length. Besides, you'll focus on emphasizing different elements in different scenes, and more complex scenes will naturally take longer to narrate.
Analyzing the scene length in books within your genre can help you gauge what works best in your context. Remember, though, the most crucial thing is to include everything necessary and nothing extra. You can finalize this during the editing phase.
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My Approach to Creating a Scene-by-Scene Outline
Before I even contemplate outlining each scene, I jot down a scene list. This process is one of the most thrilling aspects of my planning process, as it's where I discover the real meat of my story. I also use story structure to ensure I have a story rather than just an assortment of disjointed events.
Once I have most of my scenes listed, I can start crafting the scene outlines. I note down only one or two sentences about each of the five scene components, taking care to ensure the scenes flow coherently.
Occasionally, I need to change my scene list or individual scenes during the outline phase, as I realize there's something crucial missing or can be combined or dropped. Sometimes, I need to make changes during the editing stage, too, but that's fine. You can't make a perfect plan, and you'll never stop improving your story.
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Tools of the Trade: A Scene Planner
Use any tool that aids you in crafting a scene-by-scene outline. Sometimes it's sticky notes and a crayon, and other times it's something else.
In my Etsy shop, Writer Lifestyle, you can find a scene planner PDF that you can print out or fill out on your computer. I've also got the Notion scene planner for planning and writing all your novel scenes. The Simple Novel Planner for Notion comes with a slightly different scene planner and character and setting planners as well. Check them out!
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Adding Extra Goodies to Your Scene Outline
Besides focusing on scene structure, you can include other elements in your scene outline. It's all about personal preference, but aside from listing your POV character, you might want to note other characters in the scene and the setting. You can jot down the scene's overall mood, even include pictures or songs to inspire you.
If your story involves a plot twist, make a note of any crucial mentions required for continuity. Even without a plot twist, mentioning something significant early on helps your readers stay in the loop, and although you can add it during the editing phase, including it in the scene outline helps ensure consistency.
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Examples of Novel Outlines
Here are some example outlines from my full beginner writer course, Writing Your First Novel 2.0, which is the ultimate roadmap for turning your story idea into a novel you'll be proud to share with the world.
Scene List Example
Here's how you might list the opening scenes of Mrs Doubtfire:
- Dad is at work and refuses to do a voiceover for a cartoon promoting smoking.
- Dad picks up kids from school and tells them they're having a birthday party.
- Mom gets a call about the party and goes home to shop for it.
- Mom and dad discuss separation; dad isn't keen on the idea.
- Dad gets weekend visitation rights at court.
- Dad's new apartment is rather grim.
- Dad sabotages mom's nanny search.
- Dad dons a nanny costume to become Mrs. Doubtfire.
- Mrs. Doubtfire attends a job interview.
- Mrs. Doubtfire's first day assisting the kids.
Scene Outline Example
And here's an outline example from one of the most iconic scenes in that same movie:
GOAL: Successfully navigate the TV station boss's meeting and the birthday party at the same restaurant without being exposed as Mrs. Doubtfire.
CONFLICT: The TV station boss gets him tipsy, causing confusion and eventually blowing his cover during the Heimlich maneuver on his wife's new boyfriend.
OUTCOME: Everyone discovers he's been Mrs. Doubtfire.
REACTION: He's apologetic but tries to explain his actions.
DECISION: Convince everyone he was thinking of his children's best interests.
- Utilizing a scene outline can aid in creating a more cohesive story, especially during the initial stages of writing.
- Adhering to a scene's goal, conflict, and outcome can help establish a strong foundation for a novel's story structure.
- Personal growth and learning are integral aspects of creative writing, as understanding scene structure can contribute to better education and self-development.
