HOW TO WRITE A SCENE | elements of narrative + tips (with example doc)

RELATED VIDEOS:

TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - intro
1:00 - scene vs summary
2:17 - building blocks of a scene
4:40 - what is a scene?
7:25 - scene choreography
tips
9:20 - express, don't explain
9:58 - be mindful of change
10:44 - tension, stakes, conflict
11:16 - keep escalating the tension
11:55 - get in late, get out early
12:52 - don't repeat the purpose of a scene
13:59 - learn with each scene
14:31 - balance expression and information
15:25 - use surprising details
16:40 - don't lose the physicality

MY SHORT STORIES:

FAQS
→How old are you? - 26
→How long have you been writing? - Since I was 8
→Where do you live? - I keep that private for safety reasons, but I grew up in Vancouver.
→Where did you go to university and what did you study? - I keep my university information private, but I majored in writing with a concentration in fiction.
→What are your pronouns? - They/them or she/her
→Where can I read your books? - None of my books are published yet, but you can read my published short fiction in my linktree (linked above!)
→So when will your book be published? - I don’t know! I’m in the revision process right now, but I can’t predict exactly when I’ll have a book published. But I’m working on it!
→Do you plan to traditionally publish or self publish? - Traditionally publish
→Will you read my book/story/chapter/mentor me? - Unfortunately I cannot accommodate these requests because editing/critiquing is a labour intensive task that I can’t afford to do for free alongside my job, my own writing, and running this platform. If you would like to hire me for paid editing work, contact me privately on twitter or instagram.

OUTRO MUSIC: "l u v t e a [acoustic]" by Autumn Keys

SOCIAL

[billyalarie]

seriously, Shaelin you could definitely charge for the amount of info and insight you've given us over the years. you're a gift.

thank you.

[ClutchGamers]

Creative writing instructor here; I appreciate your ability to explain craft in an easy to understand manner. I also tell people to try writing a scene where the problem isn't discussed or in dialogue, maybe that's more about subtext?

[cthulhuwu_]

This video cracked the code for me. Like you said, I know a lot of this intuitively from reading and writing for so long but recognizing and utilizing the information is so much more complicated. I’ve heard so much advice over the years about narrative beats and pacing and showing or telling, but this finally made everything click.

[nevisnebis]

Another helpful video :D scenes really aren’t talked about enough, and considering that I especially focus on short fiction, just one bland scene can be incredibly detrimental to an overall project.

[a.f.m.]

Shaelin, you’re a master creative writing pedagogue! Grateful for your work.

[lionkillerhaha]

Trying to start my journey as an author by writing my first novel. Just tried writing my first scene and horribly failed over and over because I lacked direction and I built filler immediately every attempt. This video has given me a good idea on where to start and even helped me figure out a bit of what I want to do with my own story while watching. Perfect video release timing lol.

[excusemeyourock]

I love that LOL "It's intuitive until it's not working" which is so true omg

[AdamFishkin]

What I love about this explanation is the importance of choreographing the beats. A lot of the mistakes I see my peers make come down to their fixation on the building blocks themselves ... I've also caught myself red-handed getting carried away with a clever storytelling gimmick for its own sake while forgetting my original mission. Being clever in the heat of the moment is an addiction, the primary symptom being tangents.
"Express, don't explain" might be the quickest cure for that in an ironic way. A beat for its own sake can be exemplified by the shock-value episode endings that are common in TV nowadays. They draw people's attention, but usually not to express something so much as deliver a newsflash that the plot change you've just seen is A BIG DEAL. Shock-value scenes tend to lose their meaning over time, due to lack of thought behind both *how* and *why* the change happens.
"Get in late, get out early" is a fun one, and I would recommend that to anyone who overwrites. If a draft clocks in at 120K or more, an experiment someone could try on a revision pass is to take every single scene, and cut 10 paragraphs off the start of the scene plus 10 paragraphs off the end. Maybe the resulting versions of those scenes won't make sense, but you can at least start identifying where the meat is.
"Don't lose the physicality" (speaking from experience) is a constant struggle for playwrights when putting down stage directions. The staging is the obvious make-or-break, so on the one hand we're always wary of our play landing in the hands of a bad director who makes the laziest choices. On the other hand, producers and other high-ups will hand our asses to us if we over-stage it on the page. So the question becomes: how much of the physicality do you include?

[KrisMF]

your craft videos are a gift omg. I love the way you explain this!! im diving into revisions soon and this is getting me into the perfect mindset to look at my scenes critically. admittedly, i can get super lost in the words that sometimes i forget to look at the scene as a whole. i can usually Feel when a scene isn’t working but figuring out the reasons why sometimes takes time. this video might have saved me some revision anguish LOL :’)

[katiehettinger]

It seems many instructors assume new writers already know what a scene entails. While we have all encountered scenes since being read our first story books, considering the elements making up their construction in relationship with moving to the story forward is helpful. 🙂👍💙🕊

[IntrepidColumnist]

Excellent content, I LOVE the google doc, thanks so much for taking the time to put that together. This is of the most helpful videos on writing scene that I've come across. Thank you!

[feelinglikecinderellanaega]

This is exactly what I was searching for! Thank you for helping a newbie like me :D💜

[theoneandonline]

Your content is so valuable, we're blessed to get all this for free. Thank you so much!

[morganunraveled]

this was single-handedly the most helpful writing tips video on a scene level that I’ve ever come across! 🌞

truly opened my eyes and shifted my perspective greatly on constructing scene with intention, and offers SO MUCH knowledge and direction for scene structure. this information being available not only in a free video but also a concise document is such an INCREDIBLE resource. thank you so much for this! 💫

[aidenignition]

I just thought of a really good example of Scene and Summary. The CW's Gossip Girl. All of the juicy action between these teen socialites was very much heightened and highlighted by the summary and commentary of Gossip Girl. In some ways, the ever changing, ongoing struggles of the characters would get exhausting without that snarky, mean, and compelling narration in between. It also added the perfect amount of context without telling us everything. Enough to hook us and get us to watch the rest of the conflict play out in scene.

I never finished the series but I did religiously watch seasons 1-3 every Wednesday growing up.

[DestinationArt]

Thank you. So interesting and helpful.

[mel_]

I can't thank you enough, this is brilliant and helpful

[kimaya]

Amazingly well timed! I just started drafting a project and somehow I forgot how to write scenes?? Needed this refresher so bad.

[BlackHermit]

That document is extremely helpful, thanks a lot!

[ninsophy]

shaelin you're absolutely amazing 🤩. i've been needing this so i looked up shaelin writes scenes, cuz who's trustier than our good friend shaelin?? and i find this really helpful, JUST to see it's really really recent! you really know what you're doing don't you 😂😂. Love your work ❤. thanks for all the insights you've been bringing us over the years 🙏