A scene is a section of the entire story that contains a unique combination of settings. Scenes play a crucial role in the author’s story structure. Crafting great scenes is among an author’s most valuable writing skills, be it writing novels, short stories, or nonfiction.

Scenes are often about emotions and actions. To bring them out, you need to be definitive. Analyze what elevates a good story scene over the type that is just average.

A scene is said to be good if–

It is well-prepared:

A well-prepared scene makes a big difference. The joy of scene writing is the element of surprise. A great Scene has a good story purpose, like an incident, a flashback, a love scene, or an action scene.

It has perfect placement:

Place the scenes thoughtfully to bring new information to light, like a main character’s backstory or the thoughts of a rival character. It will shift the course of the narrative.

It speaks for itself:

A great scene should be able to show without the need to tell. The very thought of a Scene should be able to reveal action over explanation.

It contributes to a fictional world:

As the scene builds, it can layer more details onto the setting and reveal new, unexplored corners of the fictional world.

It has a good start, middle, and end:

A scene must establish the relevant characters in the beginning, contain action, and showcase the characters in the middle, transitioning it into whatever comes next in the story toward the end.

It has a sequence:

With some plot points, the scene alone may not be sufficient. Therefore, you will need a scene sequence. The ability to sequence events in a book is the comprehension strategy.

The characteristic of a great scene focuses on a conflict, which turns into a climax. A Scene will be clear about what it sets out to accomplish and how it contributes to the plot.