The Problem
We all want gripping, dramatic moments in our stories. How to orchestrate that truth-dealing lecture, that flat-out row, that terrifying chase underground?
A critical technique in good scene design is to take breaks. You can't keep tightening the screws, amping up the energy, adding one more infuriated line of dialogue after another.
It starts to feel unreal and rushed.
This technique explains how you break up a scene by pausing the action. This break allows the stakes to fall, briefly, and then resume with additional intensity.
Breaks might include:
- A seemingly unsolvable problem or barrier.
- The move to another location.
- Another character enters the room.
- Someone explains something.
These breaks allow you, paradoxically, to make things more intense when the action resumes.
This Lesson Contains
- Technique: pause / relocation
- Handout: a setback
- Lesson: a pause before winning
Try out this technique with this worksheet: an insurmountable barrier. What happens when your character simply can't make progress? How do they react when there is no way forward, and what thoughts or interactions emerge in this strange waiting area, this brief period of seeming defeat?
Get the worksheet here: An Insurmountable Barrier.
This is so helpful, and relieves the pressure of unnaturally increasing drama. One step backwards to take two steps forward.
Glad to hear it!
Is there a place to download all the worksheets in one PDF? Thanks!
Not yet – we’ll work on it!