Use scenes to reveal the conflict in the plot

Again, in this case, do not directly state what the particular conflict is; rather show feelings of discontentment or apprehension.

The conflict in the scene should be meaningful to the whole story. Do not create scenes where your characters disagree for no good reason. As the story nears its climax, show the continuous increase in the intensity of the conflict.

In The Devil and Dayna Dalton, for instance, the conflict between Dayna and her elderly neighbor is obvious. The neighbor does not approve of Dayna’s lifestyle and looks at her with disdain. Dayna, in turn, despises the old lady as she remembers unpleasant experiences in her childhood that involved her neighbor. In the scene, the elderly woman does not state her disapproval but it is obvious she finds Dayna’s life abhorrent.

Choose the right character’s viewpoint to tell the scene

A scene involves the participation of different characters. Depending on what is happening in the scene, the characters that should be involved are selected. There is the second issue of deciding from which character’s viewpoint the scene is going to be written.

In The Earl’s Son, stated above, the initial scene is told through the eyes of the young maiden. Despite Lord Filbert being the one to orchestrate the whole meeting, Sally does much of the speaking. Through her words, feelings of dejection and disappointment can be felt in the scene.

When a book is written from the first-person point of view, the scenes as expected are told through the main character’s point of view. The author does not have much leeway on which character takes a more predominant role in a scene. However, they have the advantage of having more space in the work to develop the main character.

End your scenes effectively

A scene, like any story, should have an ending and a meaningful one for that matter. The ending should correspond to the purpose of having the scene.

There are different ways you can choose to end a scene. One effective way is when a character reaches a specific realization in the scene. Another could be ending the scene as the character is experiencing confusion or anger due to what has happened in the scene. For scenes that are ended midway, a continuation or an explanation should be contained in another part of the work.

In The Earl’s Son, when Sally angrily expresses her disappointment in Filbert, the baron is left bewildered without knowing what to do. Sally vehemently tells him to leave her alone and never to arrange another meeting between them. Filbert is left confused, not knowing what to do after seeing her angry state.

In The Devil and Dayna Dalton, Dayna is in love with a man, who despite being friendly and respectful, is unwilling to be with her. In the scenes where this is revealed, the man appears to know something that she and the reader do not, which stops him from becoming involved with her. Such a scene offers the reader the promise of a future revelation.