Author Hank Quense offers insights on Scene Design

Some of my guests are more than fiction or non-fiction writers.  they are also teachers and share their know how through great books that can help anyone become a better writer.


Fantasy Author Hank Quense shares his knowledge and routine about Scene Design.  Visit Hank online at Hank Quense.com

One process that is rarely explained in depth in fiction writing books is scene design.  I'll briefly describe several aspects of scene design in this post.  These come from Chapter Nine in Build a Better Story which explores this topic in more depth

As part of the structure, scenes must have a goal that should be satisfied or, at a minimum, show progress before the scene ends.  This goal must be designed to advance the story toward the ultimate aim of solving the plot problem and demonstrate how the characters are going about it.

The structure of the scene restricts it to a specific time and place with a defined set of characters. Thus, if the scene is set in Manhattan during the morning rush hour, a different scene will be necessary to show any action taking place in Baltimore late at night.  A different scene may also be necessary to show a character in Manhattan's evening rush hour.  The point here is to demonstrate that the scenes have geographical and temporal boundaries.

A scene usual starts with the scene's main character, almost always the scene's viewpoint character, facing a situation with a definite goal that appears to be attainable.  This goal, once achieved, must move the story toward the ending, but achieving this goal doesn't necessarily have to take place in this single scene.  There may be quite few scenes delineating the struggle to attain this goal.

A scene must contain conflict of some sort.  It doesn't have to be a ferocious fistfight, but the conflict, physical or emotional, must be real to the characters.

A basic requirement for a scene is to include an emotional change in the POV character.  If the character's emotion is positive at the beginning of the scene, then it should be negative at the end.  As an example, Character A feels good a the start of the scene.  By the end of the scene, he must be in a funk because an unexpected obstacle arose and derailed his scheme to fix things.  Similarly, if the character's love life is grand at the scene opening, it should be on the rocks at the end of the scene.  Or if the couple starts out fighting or arguing, they should be smooching by the end of the scene.

A scene that goes emotionally from plus to minus should be followed by a scene that goes emotionally from minus to plus.  The point is to put the reader's emotions on a roller-coaster so that those emotions are never stable very long.


Great tip!  Thanks so much for sharing this great info Hank.  

Has Your Blog Helped Your Book or Business?

By Guest Blogger Yvonne Perry of Writers In The Sky

As authors trying to promote books on a shoestring budget, many of us have come up with some pretty creative ways to get the most bang for our buck. From social networking to online contests, from Amazon book launch parties to search engine optimization of Web sites, a lot of time, energy, and expense is involved in gaining good exposure for a book or business.

While nothing guarantees that your book will sell, having a good Web site, regular blogging, and cross promotion can give you credibility and a good chance for a sale.

This is not only true for book promotion but also for promoting a business online. My books are only part of what I have to offer and want to advertize. Most of the marketing for Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services—my freelance writing business—is conducted online. About 80 percent of my customers find me through my online promotion efforts. In order for a blog to be effective, it needs to have a theme or focus and it needs to have fresh relevant content added on a regular basis.

Web site

I have a Web site and a three blogs for my business. My Web site features the writing, editing, and marketing services we offer to clients. While only twelve navigation tabs are seen on the home page, there are about fifty back pages—each focusing on one topic. In my book, I demonstrate what a Web site needs to compete in the digital age (available at http://onlinepromotionmadeeasy.blogspot.com/ ).

Blogging

Focusing on one theme/topic, my blogs have a distinct purpose that is easily discoverable when someone visits the site.

I started my first business blog as a place for people to listen to Writers in the Sky (WITS) Podcast—my weekly show about the craft and business of writing. The hosts of the podcast interview authors who want to promote their book and share their experience with writing, publishing, and marketing their book. We have also interviewed publishers, publicists, book reviewers, editors, book designers, and other experts in the field. All WITS Podcast shows are archived on that blog.

My second business blog is where I post segments of Writers in the Sky Newsletter—a free electronic publication that contains book reviews, articles, networking opportunities, announcements from our e-zine subscribers, a list of the month’s podcast guests, resources for writers and authors. The full issue comes out the first Tuesday of the month, but when I learned that many of our subscribers preferred to get the information in smaller bites, I started http://writersinthesky.blogspot.com where people can subscribe to the RSS feed in a reader or via email.

I maintain a blog for each of my books and use the blogs to feature more information on the topic of the book and gain feedback from readers. The third business blog came about in 2008 as a result of my publishing an e-book titled Book Marketing in the Digital Age, Online Promotion Made Easy. With the most hits and subscribers, this is by far our most popular blog.

Cross Promotion

All my online marketing efforts interface with one another.

I mention my blogs and books in WITS Newsletter each month. I use the newsletter material as posts for my blog. This type of cross promotion and interaction draws people to one site and once they see how much valuable material is being offered, they want to visit my other blogs. I use social networking to lead folks to my blogs or to read my articles on an online directory.

Every page of my Web site is linked to another page on the site or to one of my blogs where more information can be found. For example on the home page, I have links to read bios of our team members and view writing samples. My “About Yvonne” page mentions that I am a public speaker and links to my speaking engagements page. Yet, none of these pages are found on the navigation menu tabs.

Online marketing is truly like a web with many crossovers in promotion.

Marketing Tips

Here are a few simple things to remember about online marketing.

• If you want to sell a product or service by using a blog or Web site, be sure to offer quality content rather than using hype to sell something. If the visitor wants what you are selling, they will purchase it without your having to get in their face.

• Make your product or service visible and easy for a customer to make a purchase.

• Develop a networking relationship with your target market, and be willing to help them as they help you. That is what being online is all about.

I wish you much success with your book promotion and business marketing.

Yvonne Perry is a freelance writer and the owner of Writers in the Sky Creative Writing Services (WITS). She and her team of professionals are ready to assist with writing and editing for books, Web text, bios, articles, and media releases. For more information about writing, networking, publishing, and book promotion, sign up for free email delivery of WITS newsletter by visiting http://writersinthesky.com/ . New subscribers receive a free e-book Tips for Freelance Writing.