I’m at the very beginning of starting a new book. I noted things on a tablet. I read on some background. I twisted in my chair, doodled, got more tea. I remember what the august Brenda Ueland said, ““The imagination needs moodling,–long, inefficient happy idling, dawdling and puttering. ” I’m good at that! I also jumped over to read from fiction writer and teacher Deborah Chester on Scene Planning. You really need to follow Deborah Chester’s blog.
Whether you’re a writer who works strictly from an outline or you’re a “pantser,” each scene of your story needs thinking over both before and after you write it.
The before stuff:
1) From whose viewpoint will the scene be written?
Maybe the scene needs to be from the villain’s perspective instead of the hero’s. Maybe it will be most effective from a side character. Just remember that a scene unfolds best if it’s confined to one viewpoint.
Choose wisely for valid reasons of plot.
The character you choose will become this scene’s protagonist.
2) What single character will be in strongest opposition to the scene’s viewpoint character?
You may have the entire army of Ruritania opposed to your scene’s protagonist, but someone must step forward and represent this antagonism.
What you should aim for is one character who drives the scene and is central to it and one character…
View original post 977 more words
Curtiss Ann Matlock 
Dawdling and puttering, my favorite pastimes. ………………………
LikeLike