This week I finally pulled out my NaNoWriMo novel from last November and popped it onto my Nook for a read-through. I was pleasantly surprised. For a first draft—not bad. I’m still not going to show it to anyone for months yet, but I’m glad I won’t have to rewrite everything! It was an experiment in a different genre so I wanted to give it plenty of time to just sit and let me look at it with fresh eyes.
Within the first draft, I’ve got little notes to myself all over the place and this especially helpful one stood out:
Write the purpose of the scene at the top.
Now, that would imply that I knew the purpose of the scene, wouldn’t it? And if I could articulate the purpose of each scene, then when I revise, I could edit each scene to enhance that single purpose.
A scene with a focused purpose can be a powerful scene. With one main point in mind, I could consciously add subtext for more depth and conflict. (Still sharpening this tool, Stephanie!)
Looking at all the work ahead, I sure wish I had followed through on that tip instead of just making a note of it. Although, some of my scenes do have written purposes because last November was around the time I was catching on to Larry Brook’s story structure methods.
Using story structure principles, I’ve got all the major scenes labeled with their purposes—hook, turning point#1, pinch point #1, midpoint, pinch point #2, turning point #2. I know why they are there. The other scenes? Well, in the NaNoWriMo frenzy, I think some of them are there because I had to write something that day. Others loosely connect to the main scenes. And many, fortunately, are part of the buildup to the next major scene.
Another routine to add to my writing routines: write down the purpose of the scene—and not just for the major scenes.
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Well, the purpose of the first draft is just to get it written down, right? At least for me, explicitly thinking about the purpose of the scene (other than ‘to get to the next scene’) while I’m writing the first draft makes me less able to get it written. What I do is, I write down the purposes while I’m doing the first revision–when I know for sure what comes later and I know more than just the physical of it, if that makes any sense. I really only plan out what the actions need to be (including distribution of information to other characters), and leave things like providing backstory and establishing the mood to instinct, but when I revise I put that on the purpose post-its so that I don’t accidentally remove something vital. I’m too much of a pantser to do it while I’m writing.
You know, darklyndsea, that’s probably why I only made a note of it. Now that I’m on the first revision I can take a closer look, decide the point, then work on. However, I would like to develop the ability to do this before hand instead of afterwards. I don’t know if that would stifle my creativity or not, but I’d like to try.
What a great idea! I love the plan of stating the purpose of each scene before writing it. I follow Larry’s blog, too, and this seems like a great tip for writing mission-driven scenes. Thanks for the wisdom!
One of the things I love about this job is that you can constantly tweak and change how you do things until you find the best ways that work for you. Regardless of when you decide to make the notes, I think it’s a great reminder to make a note of the purpose of each scene so you know what to cut and what to enhance. I’m trying to do that with mine, too.
This is a great tip! I know a lot of times I just start writing with a vague idea and I’m sure I would be a lot more clear if I was more specific.
I so need to do this on my first draft. I frequently am trying to get that word count in with the idea that I can edit later, but I spend way too much time editing. Story structure is what I need and I think if might work into my plantsing process better than actual plotting. At least I hope so!
[...] Routines for Writers partner had a great post last week about making sure each of your scenes has a purpose. An excellent way to stay on track or to find out which scenes need to be edited or [...]
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