What Is a Scene? The Ultimate Guide to Write and Edit Amazing Scenes

Great books are made of great scenes. Which means the skill of writing and editing amazing scenes is one of the most important skills you can learn if you want to create a novel readers will love.

The thing is, though, readers don't think in terms of scenes. Chapters are clearly marked for readers, but scenes often aren't. Which means that when people make the jump from "reader" to "writer," they often don't know what scenes actually are.

What is a scene? What elements must it include? What makes the difference between a scene readers want to skip and a scene that earns its place in your book? And how can you fix a boring scene?

In this episode, I'll cover all that and more. You'll learn:

• The definition of a scene.
• Three simple ways to identify where your scenes begin and end.
• Why something MUST change in every single scene, plus how you can tell whether your scenes include a change.
• The six moments every scene MUST include in order to keep your readers engaged.
• How long (or short!) scenes can be, and how to find the right scene length for your novel.
• Why scenes are different from chapters, and how many scenes your book should include.
• What to do if you're not sure where the scenes in your current draft start and end.

And I'll break all these elements down using an example scene: the first scene of UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by T. J. Klune. Read the first scene for free here. (And if you love it, read the whole book—it's a good one!)

Ready to apply all these concepts to your book and make your scenes un-put-down-able? Download the Scene Analysis Worksheet at alicesudlow.com/sceneworksheet.

And if you'd like expert feedback on your scenes, plus personalized strategies for how to make them even better, I'd love to help. Send me a note at alice@alicesudlow.com and tell me about your book!

Links mentioned in the episode:

• The opening scene of UNDER THE WHISPERING DOOR by T. J. Klune
• The Scene Analysis Worksheet: alicesudlow.com/sceneworksheet

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Chapters

• 4:16 What Is a Scene?
• 5:02 3 Ways to Identify Where a Scene Begins and Ends
• 8:21 Why Something Must Change in Every Scene
• 14:29 The 6 Moments Every Scene Must Include
• 22:30 How Long Scenes Should Be
• 23:42 How Many Scenes You'll Need in Your Book
• 25:45 What to Do if You're Not Sure Where Your Scenes Begin and End
• 28:52 Free Download: The Scene Analysis Worksheet
• 30:00 Assignment: Find and Analyze a Scene of Your Novel