Kate’s Masterlist Of Motivational Content...

“God gives every bird its food, but he does not throw it into its nest.”

— J. G. Holland 

“I can’t stand it to think my life is going so fast and I’m not really living it.”

— Ernest Hemingway

“You have to meet people where they are, and sometimes you have to leave them there.”

— Iyanla Vanzant 

“Here’s the thing: The book that will most change your life is the book you write.”

— Seth Godin

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.”

— Nathaniel Hawthorne

Scene vs. Summary & When to Use Which

When I was a young writer, I didn’t fully understand what a scene was and what a summary was. Later, when I understood the difference, I wasn’t always sure when to use which. These days, I occasionally help writers with the same things. They may use summary for what should have been a scene, or they may write a whole scene for what really should have been summary. Understanding the difference and when to use which can be key when writing a successful novel.

Sure, some of it is subjective.

But what might be surprising to some, is that most of the time, one is more … “correct” than the other.  

Scene

A scene is a structural unit that tends to have these qualities:

- Happens in Real Time

A scene will largely happen in real time. This means we “watch” the characters move, act, and talk, as if it were happening in real life.

- Dramatizes (Shows > Tells)

A scene dramatizes. It uses showing more than telling. If a character is angry with a friend, we see that anger in action and conversation. We may witness her yell or kick a rock, for example. It’s like watching a stage play.

- Concrete

Because it is dramatized, a scene will usually be more concrete. It will more likely appeal to our senses and the physical world and experience.

- Characters Acting in a Specific Location

A scene will have characters in a location (in some very rare cases, the setting or society may act as characters). They might be talking on a train ride, or exploring a cave, or dueling in the snow.

Scene Examples

(Because a full scene often lasts pages, these examples are passages from specific scenes.)

“This won’t take long, Andrew,” said the doctor. Ender nodded. “It’s designed to be removed. Without infection, without damage. But there’ll be some tickling, and some people say they have a feeling of something missing. You’ll keep looking around for something, something you were looking for, but you can’t find it, and you can’t remember what it was. So I’ll tell you. It’s the monitor you’re looking for, and it isn’t there. In a few days that feeling will pass.” The doctor was twisting something at the back of Ender’s head. Suddenly a pain stabbed through him like a needle from his neck to his groin. Ender felt his back spasm, and his body arched violently backward; his head struck the bed. He could feel his legs thrashing, and his hands were clenching each other, wringing each other so tightly that they arched. “Deedee!” shouted the doctor. “I need you!” The nurse ran in, gasped. “Got to relax these muscles. Get it to me, now! What are you waiting for!” Something changed hands; Ender could not see. He lurched to one side and fell off the examining table. “Catch him!” cried the nurse. “Just hold him steady–” “You hold him, doctor, he’s too strong for me–” “Not the whole thing! You’ll stop his heart–” Ender felt a needle enter his back just above the neck of his shirt. It burned, but wherever in him the fire spread, his muscles gradually un-clenched. Now he could cry for the fear and pain of it. “Are you all right, Andrew?” the nurse asked.

- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Mrs. Reed occupied her usual seat by the fireside; she made a signal to me to approach; I did so, and she introduced me to the stony stranger with the words: “This is the little girl respecting whom I applied to you.” He, for it was a man, turned his head slowly towards where I stood, and having examined me with the two inquisitive-looking grey eyes which twinkled under a pair of bushy brows, said solemnly, and in a bass voice, “Her size is small: what is her age?” “Ten years.” “So much?” was the doubtful answer; and he prolonged his scrutiny for some minutes. Presently he addressed me—“Your name, little girl?” “Jane Eyre, sir.” In uttering these words I looked up: he seemed to me a tall gentleman; but then I was very little; his features were large, and they and all the lines of his frame were equally harsh and prim. “Well, Jane Eyre, and are you a good child?”

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Summary

A summary has these qualities:

- Condensed Time

Summaries condense time. They may cover a month in a single sentence. They may talk about recurring events over a time period, within one paragraph. They may relay a past event (or in some cases, a future event) within a brief moment. They don’t happen in real time.

- Explains through Telling

Since the moment isn’t happening in real time, the audience is told more than shown what happened. This gives summary a stronger, guiding, narrative hand. Rather than experiencing the passage like the character, it’s more like the audience is being guided by a storyteller (generally speaking).

- More Abstract

For those reasons, telling is more abstract. It’s more likely to express ideas and concepts, rather than specific experiences.

- Characters and/or Setting may Change Swiftly (or Maybe Not Even Be Present In Some Cases)

A summary may not focus on a specific character or stay in the same setting. It may move quickly through settings or may not even mention a specific setting.

Summary Examples

Mother came home and commiserated with Ender about the monitor. Father came home and kept saying it was such a wonderful surprise, they had such fantastic children that the government told them to have three, and now the government didn’t want to take any of them after all, so here they were with three, they still had a Third … until Ender wanted to scream at him, I know I’m a Third, I know it, if you want I’ll go away so you don’t have to be embarrassed in front of everybody. - Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an antipathy to me. He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually: every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh in my bones shrank when he came near. There were moments when I was bewildered by the terror he inspired, because I had no appeal whatever against either his menaces or his inflictions; the servants did not like to offend their young master by taking my part against him, and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject: she never saw him strike or heard him abuse me, though he did both now and then in her very presence, more frequently, however, behind her back.

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

When to Use Which

Most novels are better written with more scene than summary. Scenes dramatize the story, so that the audience feels like they are experiencing and participating in it. Scenes are more impactful. Scenes are more likely to stir emotions. Because they are more concrete, they are more likely to stick in the reader’s memory.

However, this is not to say all novels are better with more scene than summary. You can indeed find successful books with more summary. This can be particularly useful in books with huge casts and many viewpoint characters, books that take place over a long period of time (such as a character’s entire life), or books with powerful, present omniscient narrators. Not all books that rely on summary more than scene are bad.

But most books are better told largely through scene than summary.

And pretty much all novels need some of both.

So when do we use which?

Sometimes I edit passages that are weakened because they are summarized instead of dramatized. Other times I read scenes that offer very little dramatic value and should have been summarized.

Scenes

A good rule of thumb is the more significant the moment, the more likely it needs to be rendered as a scene.

Big turning points and climactic moments should almost always be a scene–whether that turning point relates to character arc, plot, or theme.

This means that the climactic moments of the beginning, middle, and end, should almost always be a scene.

Anything we’ve been building up to in the primary plotline related to the arc, events, or theme, should probably be a scene.

Weiterlesen

“Everything was screaming: the sea, the wind, my heart.”

— Yann Martel

How I Edit A First Draft

*Repost*

What is UP y'all I got like four hours of sleep which is always fantastic! This is a wicked old post I made that the majority of y’all haven’t seen! As always, any more stuff you want to ask/add specifically feel free! As a young author myself with limited experience, I just wanted to help those who don’t really know where to start or are looking for other methods! 

First, Don’t Get Discouraged!

This sounds like a basic thing, but nobody really likes editing their own stuff! It’s so easy to call it bad and just shove it in a folder to never look at again. Just remember everything you do is to make it the best it can possibly be and it’s pretty darn heccin good now! Completing drafts are fricken hard, and you’ve made it so far! Writing routines and Pinterest are my major sources of inspiration. 

Read it through!

I know, it sucks. You finished your first draft—comgratulations! And you want to get the editing over with. You think to yourself, “I wrote this and I know what to fix!” Maybe for some this is true, but for people like me, I forget so much. Do not start editing during this step. It is basically just a refresher. Take notes on what to fix later (what scene feels flat, parts that are confusing, etc). The only editing I allow myself to do here is grammar and spelling. Most times you’ll see too it’s not as bad as you think it is! 

How Do I Know What To Cut?

Not everthing that doesn’t work has to be cut. Recycling awesome lines that juts dont fit or even characters into different WIPS. That being said, soemtimes things just won’t work. Ask yourself these starting questions:

Does this supporting character have a purpose or can their role be taken over by a pre-existing character?

Is this action in character?

Does this scene contribute to the plot, character development, or offer a break in tension?

Work From Big To Small

You know those notes you took? The ones on plot and characterization? Fix those first. These big problems usually lead to the smaller issues or even fix them, like if a scene isn’t flowing naturally or something just fells off. If stuff doesn’t fall into place, look at the chapters before it.

Common Questions Ig

Q: Hey, Strange, what do you even know?

A: Nothing

Q: But I like this scene and I don’t want to cut it.

A: Cool. Keep it. If you like it and don’t have any doubts that it’s good, so will your readers and it will add to the book. Stuff like this can be for characterization and establishing relationships, and you can always add to scenes to make them seem more necessary. 

The point is that you like your book.  The point is that you are an amazing writer, even when it’s hard to believe. First drafts are usually trash, and each draft is better than the last. No draft will ever be perfect, it’s the draft that you think is the best you can do and you’re happy with that’s the final. 

“There is beauty, heartbreaking beauty, everywhere.”

— Edward Abbey (via quotemadness)