Summer is conference season, and I’m getting ready for presentations at PNWA  in Seattle and at Willamette Writers in Portland. One of the topics I’ll be presenting with my good friend Renee Riva is Scene By Scene–Writing the YA Novel. All writers have to be ruthless in evaluting whether or not their scenes move the story forward. Here’s a quick way to evaluate a scene.

Every scene must have a reason.     

q       Identify the main event : ____________________________

q       How does the event move the scene forward?__________________________________________

1. Increases tension
2. Changes something
3. Reveals something
4. Sets up other events

  q       What do the characters want in the scene? (drive)

 q       What new info. do readers learn about the characters or events in this scene?

 q       How do the characters respond to the main event? Show rather than tell. 

 q       Does this scene set up your next scene by creating a new situation?