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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

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The 10 Key Scenes You Need to Frame Up Your Novel

September 26, 2017 by ANGELA ACKERMAN

Happy to welcome our editor and friend C.S. Lakin to the blog for a special post on story structure. Please read on!

“How do I write a great novel?”

This is probably THE question every aspiring novelist has asked . . . but maybe hasn’t had answered in a satisfying and clear manner.

writing, plotting, story structure

There are plenty of techniques floating around that help writers learn how to structure solid scenes, craft compelling characters, bring setting to life, and pen engaging dialogue.

But as far as the nuts and bolts go—meaning, where the nuts and bolts go—therein lies the challenge—and hardly anything has been written about it.

Novels are made up of scenes. Lots of scenes.

Where the heck do all the scenes go, once you’ve come up with them?

Pantsing and Plotting

If you’re a pantser, you wing it and write whatever scenes come into your head. If you’re a plotter, you sit down and make a list of as many scenes as you can think of, and then you try to put them in order as best you can, maybe create an outline, and then (cross your fingers) hope it works.

If you’ve written a lot of novels, you probably have a good sense where scenes need to fall in your story.

You may know that you need some initial disturbance (also called “the Inciting Incident”) to kick off your story somewhere near the beginning of your novel.

And you might also know that at some point your protagonist should be pursuing a goal (but, believe me, a lot of writers don’t even understand this is at the crux of plot and premise) that builds to a climax somewhere near the end. And then you figure you need to wrap things up and end the darn thing.

Many writers resist “overplotting” because they want flexibility. They want to allow their characters to come to life and take over (without overthrowing The Creator of the Novel) to some extent. I do too!

But novels are highly complex, and you cannot (she says adamantly, after having critiqued more than a thousand manuscripts) just write a bunch of scenes, stick them where they feel right, and call it good.

Most writing coaches will tell you: you must follow novel structure, very specifically, to craft a terrific novel. And that means understanding what types of scenes you need to frame your novel and where to put them.

The first layer of ten scenes is your foundation, your frame-up. It supports your entire story and premise. While I go deep into all of these ten scenes, as well as a variety of second and third layers (supported by many handy charts, such as the one in a post on layering romance you may have read on this blog) in my book Layer Your Novel, let’s take a brief look at the ten key scenes (and if you need more info on each of these, read the linked posts).

story structure, openings, writing a novel

#1   Setup. Introduce the protagonist in her ordinary life. Establish her core need. Set the stage, begin building the world, bring key characters on stage. You want to begin your novel right before the Inciting Incident.

#2   Turning Point #1 (10%) Inciting Incident. This starts the protagonist moving in a new direction. It’s the “opportunity” that arises that will shift the character toward the fixed goal.

Turning Point #2 (25%)  The visible goal for the novel is set.

#3   Pinch Point #1 (33% roughly). Give a glimpse of the opposition’s power, need, and goal as well as the stakes. Your protagonist may or may not be aware of this development.

#4   Twist #1. Something new happens: a new ally appears, a friend becomes a foe. New info reveals a serious complication to reaching the goal. Protagonist must adjust to change with this setback.

#5   The Midpoint – Turning Point #3 (50%). No turning back. Important event that propels the story forward and solidifies the protagonist’s determination to reach her goal.

#6   Pinch Point #2 (62% roughly). The opposition comes full force. Time to buckle down and fight through it. If the first pinch point introduces the opposing force (which could be a person/people, group, or force of nature, to name a few), the second pinch point brings this force to bear in all its power upon the protagonist.

#7   Twist #2. An unexpected surprise giving (false?) hope. The goal now looks within reach. A mentor gives encouragement, a secret weapon is presented, or an important clue is revealed (examples).

#8   Turning Point #4 – Dark Night Moment (75%). Major setback. All is lost and hopeless. The protagonist’s support system is threatened or even fails. Time to go all-in for the final push.

#9  Turning Point #5 – Climax (76-99%). The climax in which the goal is either reached or not; the two MDQs are answered. Everything from the 25% mark to this moment is about progress and setbacks toward the goal, and the climax should be the BIG event in which the protagonist faces her most daunting opposition.

#10  The Aftermath (90-99%). The wrap-up at the end. Dénouement, resolution, tie it all in a pretty knot. This is a brief final scene that brings the novel to a satisfying conclusion, without dragging on and on. (Live by the wise words: quick in, quick out.)

Take the time to learn just what each of these scene types are about. It’s important.

Sure, you can veer off track a bit. These scenes don’t have to be in exact places. And you’re not limited to two pinch points or twists. Remember: this is the basic framework to start with. And from here, you can layer your next scenes (I provide charts for three different second layers in my book).

This isn’t rocket science, but it’s also not something to rush through. Take the time to learn about these key scenes and understand why they’re important.

I will dare say if you use this chart when you begin to plot (or need to revise) your novel, you will see how much easier the process is than if you rely on guesswork.

Which scenes do you struggle with most when plotting out your novel? Does a look at this chart reveal to you what you might be missing in your structure?

C. S. Lakin is freelance book copyeditor, writing coach, and award-winning blogger and author of 30+ books, fiction and nonfiction. Her new release Layer Your Novel: The Innovative Method for Plotting Your Scene goes deep into this scene-layering method. Join Lakin’s Novel-Writing Fast Track mailing list to get free writing craft books (2 the first week!) and great tips on how to fast-track to success with your writing!

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ANGELA ACKERMAN
ANGELA ACKERMAN

Angela is a writing coach, international speaker, and bestselling author who loves to travel, teach, empower writers, and pay-it-forward. She also is a founder of One Stop For Writers, a portal to powerful, innovative tools to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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Filed Under: Character Arc, Guest Post, Plotting, Story Structure, Writing Craft, Writing Lessons

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bryan Fagan says

    November 2, 2017 at 9:17 am

    The pantser side in me is always knocking on the door but the plotter continues to change the locks. Some days I’m not sure which side I am on.

  2. Carlye Knight says

    September 30, 2017 at 12:51 pm

    I’m definitely bookmarking this! I’ve been following a similar 7-step method, but the addition of the twists makes for a more complete story map, especially if you’re writing a mystery.

  3. :Donna says

    September 27, 2017 at 6:41 pm

    I’m always amazed at how much invaluable info is put up on this site, ladies 😀 Thank you!

  4. Traci Kenworth says

    September 26, 2017 at 8:39 pm

    Thanks for the info, C.S.! Your tips are amazing!

    • C. S. Lakin says

      September 28, 2017 at 1:00 pm

      Thank you!

  5. Sheri Levy says

    September 26, 2017 at 3:44 pm

    Great refresher- You always have great blog information. Thank you-

  6. Joanne Calub says

    September 26, 2017 at 10:43 am

    I’ve experienced a here and there type education with writing. Frustrated with asking myself ‘where am I going.’Your guests offer great advise on how to advance my writing. Enjoy your books, in my library of how tos, and refer to them often. I follow CS Lakin too. Thanks.

  7. BECCA PUGLISI says

    September 26, 2017 at 10:04 am

    More structure posts! This is awesome. I personally can never learn enough about structure. Thanks so much for sharing :).

    • C. S. Lakin says

      September 26, 2017 at 11:57 am

      Thanks. I have found that clear charts are the best help. Novels are complex, and navigating through the morass of scenes can be daunting. That’s why I wrote Layer Your Novel: to make it as easy as possible. Though, it doesn’t take the needed work out of the process!

Trackbacks

  1. Writing Resource Round-up | November 2020 | Mel Lee-Smith says:
    November 2, 2020 at 5:19 pm

    […] not article-centric per se, the site features several equally valuable blog articles, like “The 10 Key Scenes You Need to Frame Up Your Novel” by Angela Ackerman. The wealth of knowledge and carefully thought-out collections earned […]

  2. Meeting notes – Ely Writers says:
    October 7, 2017 at 4:52 pm

    […] do you structure your story? Do you use ten key scenes, an eight point story arc or something else? Let us know in the […]

  3. Top Picks Thursday! For Writers & Readers 10-05-2017 | The Author Chronicles says:
    October 5, 2017 at 1:03 pm

    […] are the building blocks of our work. C.S. Lakin lists the 10 key scenes you need to frame up your novel, while Jami Gold examines sexy scenes in two posts: 5 tips for writing dreaded sexy scenes and sexy […]

  4. Writing Links…10/2/17 – Where Genres Collide says:
    October 2, 2017 at 7:03 am

    […] https://writershelpingwriters.net/2017/09/the-10-key-scenes-you-need-to-frame-up-your-novel/ Ten key scenes in your novel. […]

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