Master This Building Block of All Stories: Scenes
Writing for Life Workshops with Susanne Lakin and Catharine Bramkamp
Scenes are the heart of novels. There are so many different types of scenes, and so many ways you can write a scene.
So how do you decide? Is there a method that works? What’s the process to creating a great scene, step by step?
BOOT CAMP!
At this intensive three-day boot camp, we’ll be looking at all the steps needed to take to craft the perfect scene.
We’ll be looking at the different types of scenes you can write as well as what kinds of scenes are best for specific places in your story.
GENRE
Genre plays an important part in the style and makeup of a scene, and we’ll also be looking at your writing style and character voice to help you make every word count.
Come prepared to work on your scenes for your novel while at this boot camp, as well as help others with their scenes.
Scene-writing is one of the most challenging and difficult aspects of writing fiction.
Scene-writing is one of the most challenging and difficult aspects of writing fiction. Not only are there countless ways to write a scene, novelists must consider a myriad of factors when brainstorming a scene.
Some of these include:
- Where does this scene fall in the overall story?
Scene types found at the start of a novel are much different than ones in the middle or at the climax. - What type of scene does this need to be? Low- or high-energy? A processing scene, an action scene, or a combination of both?
This choice is informed by the scenes coming before and after and, again, where in your story this scene will take place. - What is the purpose and high moment of the scene and why?
Every scene must serve a particular purpose in the plot, and the action of a scene must build to a key moment at the climax. - What specific emotional response should this scene evoke in my reader?Writers must be fully aware of what emotional response they aim to evoke in their reader, and effectively accomplishing this is no easy task.
- How should my scene be structured?
Issues of POV, voice, and writing style come into play when it comes to structure. - How can I showcase the specific stage of my character’s arc in this scene?
The character arc plays out across a novel, so every scene must take in consideration where the character is at this moment of the transformational journey.
These are just some of the components of great scene structure that are examined in this intensive and intimate scene-mastery boot camp.
Write and enjoy your surroundings!
All our boot camps are set in beautiful areas ideal for vacationing. Turn your trip into a “write-cation” and spend extra days in the area to enjoy and relax!
Space is limited to 20 participants. Book early to get a discounted rate!
This workshop is ideal for you if you’re:
- a writer with a novel-in-progress or with one or more completed novels
- a published author wanting to rise from the mid-list and/or improve your skills
- a writer who has been writing fiction for some time and writes at an intermediate level or higher
- an aspiring writer wanting to learn the craft of writing fiction
The Scene Mastery Boot Camps for 2019 are listed here. Or use this link: https://www.writingforlifeworkshops.com/workshops/scene-mastery/.
Wait, there’s more!
What is a Plotting Madness Boot Camp, you ask?
You come with ideas about the novel you want to write, and you leave with a completed outline!
As part of a small group of writers, you will be spending three days, six hours a day, plotting your novel and helping other writers plot theirs.
Mornings will be large group brainstorming, and afternoon sessions will be plotting activities and small groups with individual help.
Instruction will be added to the mix, and we’ll be guiding this process to show you how this can be easily done.
Getting feedback on your concept, characters, plot, scene ideas, and structure is THE best way to plot out a novel! Join Susanne and Catharine for these boot camps.
Want to plot out your entire novel in three days? It’s doable!
The plotting boot camp uses the methods in the book Layer Your Novel, which approaches novel structure by focusing on the key scenes that frame up your story. Once your concept is solid and you have come up with a compelling protagonist in pursuit of a goal, amid high stakes and conflict, you are ready to brainstorm those first ten scenes. Attendees give suggestions and feedback to help you make those scenes the best they can be.
From there, you’ll be working on your next layer of ten scenes, putting your outline together step by step. It’s a fun process! You’ll have plenty of time to go off by yourself and work on your project. Or team up with one or more writers to kick ideas around.
Our Tahoe and Mendocino boot camps are special because they’re held in a large private house rental. Instead of an impersonal hotel, sharing a house is a lot like a family reunion . . . without the drama. Well, the drama stays in the stories but not in the fellowship. We eat meals together, enjoy the view and hot tub and hiking trails, and we drink a lot (of coffee mostly, but we do have cocktail hour each night!).
When was the last time you had a “sleepover” with friends where you didn’t have to do chores or clean house and you could just play and have fun? Adults should be able to have sleepovers too! And that’s what our Plotting Madness retreats are all about.
This workshop is ideal for you if you’re
- a writer with a novel-in-progress or with one or more completed novels
- a published author wanting to rise from the midlist and/or improve your skills
- a writer who has been writing fiction for some time and writes at an intermediate level or higher
- a screenwriter or a playwright looking to improve your writing craft
- an aspiring writer wanting to learn the best-kept secrets of writing fiction
Take action for your writing career today! Sign up here: https://www.writingforlifeworkshops.com/workshops/plotting-madness/
Beautiful areas ideal for vacationing
All our boot camps are set in beautiful areas ideal for vacationing. Turn your trip into a “write-cation” and spend extra days in the area to enjoy and relax!
Space is limited to 15 participants. Book early to get a discounted rate!
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Plotting Madness Boot Camps 2019
Here are the Plotting Madness Boot Camps for 2019. Choose the one you want to attend by clicking on the Register button. That will take you to our events page, where you can find the specific event you want to attend.
August 4-8, 2019
Mendocino CA ~ There are few coastlines as stunning and breathtaking as the one that sidles up to the windswept towns of Mendocino and Ft. Bragg. Walk the headland trails boasting panoramic views of the wild Pacific and breathe in the crisp ocean air. Browse the shops and play at the beach when you aren’t working hard on your novel!
Our boot camp will be held in the Sunrise Vacation Home at The Inn at Schoolhouse Creek in Little River, CA (just three miles south of Mendocino). There are only three rooms that can be reserved in the house where the boot camp will be held. Contact us ASAP for rates and policies if you’d like to grab one of those rooms (we’ll make you a wonderful breakfast too!). Or you can instead book a room at the inn or at a nearby accommodation.
September 22 – 25, 2019
South Lake Tahoe, CA ~ One of the most beautiful vacation destinations in the West! Consider attending the Plotting Madness and/or Self-Publishing Boot Camps that will be held back-to-back with this Scene Mastery Boot Camp. This is our trademark location, where we hold our boot camp in a gorgeous private home with spacious decks, hot tub, fireplaces, and hiking trails out your door. A full gourmet breakfast is included for those staying at the house. Contact us ASAP for rates and policies if you’d like to grab one of those rooms (we’ll make you a wonderful breakfast too!).
A sampling of what you’ll learn in 3 power-packed days:
- What the 5 major turning points are and where they’re placed in your novel
- How to know exactly where to start your story and how to set up your premise
- What the ten key scenes are that serve as the framework for your novel
- What pinch points are and why you need them
- How to craft those essential twists and where they’re placed in your story impact
- Why your protagonist’s goal is the key to great storytelling
- How to come up with a meaningful subplot that will showcase your story’s themes
- How a romance novel is structured and how to plot out the romance story line
- How to craft your protagonist’s transformational journey
About Your Instructors
Susanne (C. S.) Lakin is a writing coach, copyeditor, award-winning blogger, and author of more than thirty books, fiction and nonfiction. Her blog, Live Write Thrive, features more than 2 million words of instruction in novel-writing craft, insights into book marketing, and tips on the writing life. Her Writer’s Toolbox series of books goes in depth into the craft of writing novels and being a productive and proficient writer. She teaches writing workshops around the US, as well as speaks and facilitates at writers’ conferences.
