In my early days of writing, I spent some time studying scene structure. I was trying to understand pacing, and it just wasn’t clicking for me. I eventually gave up trying to “put myself in a box,” and ever since, I’ve written my scenes seat-of-the-pants style. This has worked fairly well for me over the years, but lately, I’ve been wanting to up my game in this area.

About a month ago, I did some research on scene structure. I knew of Dwight Swain’s method from his famous book Techniques of the Selling Writer. In fact, I blogged about writing scenes and sequels years ago here on Go Teen Writers. But I went looking for other methods and stumbled onto a strategy taught by screenwriting teacher Michael Welles Schock’s in his book Screenwriting Down to the Atom. I really liked this method, especially since it felt new to me, so I’ve been trying it out in my work in progress for the past month or so.

Then I went to Florida for the Blood of Kings Legends Sunrise Publishing brainstorming retreat, and Susie May Warren taught us her way of writing a scene. What great timing, right? I asked her if I could share it with you, and she said, “Sure!”

So, today I present to you three methods of planning out your scene beats in advance. If you’ve already written your scene, you can still use these methods to edit your scenes and make sure that there is plenty of tension keeping your readers glued to the page.

Scenes and Sequels from Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain

In this book, Dwight Swain teaches that a scene is made up of three beats that should happen in the following logical order:

Goal (This is what your character wants at the start of the scene.)
Conflict (But something starts to thwart that goal.)
Disaster (Until something kills the goal altogether.)

Then, he teaches that rather than writing another scene, you write a “sequel,” which is really a reactionary scene. Here are the three beats he says you need in your sequel.

Reaction (Your character responds (shock, fear, tears, disbelief) then realizes he can’t stay like that forever.)
Dilemma (So your character looks at the options before him.)
Decision (And makes a choice about what to do next.)

Then you’re ready to go back to the top with another scene and move through the process again and again.

Let’s see how this might play out in a popular book with which many of you are likely familiar. Here is a scene from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

Goal: All are gathered in the town square for the reaping. Katniss just wants the reaping to be done for this year with her family and friends safe.

Conflict: Prim is now old enough to be included in the reaping, but surely Prim’s name won’t be drawn. Her name is only included once.

Disaster: Then Effie Trinket calls “Primrose Everdeen.” Prim’s name has been drawn!

Reaction: Prim is stunned. Katniss is stunned. Effie says, “Where are you, dear? Come on up.”

Dilemma: Prim slowly, in shock, makes her way forward. We see the townspeople are equally stunned and disgusted. We see the girls’ mother trying to keep herself calm. And then Katniss makes her way out of the crowd and calls, “Prim!”

Decision: The peacekeepers step into Katniss’s path, and when she tries to push past them, hold her back. She sais, “No! I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute.” as tri runs up to the stage and volunteers to take Prim’s place. “I volunteer as tribute!” She hugs Prim, tells her to, “Get out of here. Go find Mom.” Prim refuses, and Gale rushes in and carrys her off. Katniss has made her decision. Effie then calls Peeta’s name, and once he has come forward, wishes them well by saying, “May the odds be ever in your favor.”

And the process repeats itself.

Scene Beats from Screenwriting Down to the Atom by Michael Welles Schock

Now let’s take a look at the scene beats Michael Welles Schock recommends using in his book. He says that each scene should have the following beats:

Hook (Based on the prior scene, it grabs the reader’s attention, foretells trouble, and raises questions.)
Setup (Gives brief information abou the scene to the reader.)
Trigger (Forces to the surface a new issue or brings up the ongoing problem.)
Wrangle (Character(s) reflect on choices or plan a new action. Show the lead character reflecting briefly about what choice must be made to deal with the problem.)
Action (The character acts on a new plan.)
Climax (Show the outcome as a cliffhanger, a setback, a revelation, a secret, a lie uncovered, a new question, or an unexpected twist–and simultaneously set up the next scene.)

Let’s try Schock’s method with a scene from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. (This is actually based on the 1985 movie version more than the scene in the book.)

Hook: Anne’s first day of school! And Gilbert is there. He only just winked at Anne in the last scene. “I think your Gilbert Blythe is handsome, but I think he’s very bold. It isn’t good manners to wink at a strange girl.”

Setup: Anne stands at teh front of the class, meeting her teacher. Behind her we see Gilbert, slightly out of focus. And her classmates giggle at some of the things she says. Anne Shirley is a different kind of girl. She doesn’t care a whit about Gilbert. She is thrilled just to be at school where she will be able to learn and sit next to Diana Berry, her bosom friend. Then the teacher goes back to work with his Queen’s student, and the class goofs off, talking and giggling over the teacher and Prissy Andrews.

Trigger: Moody frightens Anne with a salamander, then winks at her and starts throwing bits of paper. She tries to ignore him.

Wrangle: Anne tries to ignore Gilbert. His plan is not working, so he chooses a new plan of action. He whispers, “Hey, carrots. Carrots!” and pulls her braid.

Action: Anne jumps up, screams at Gilbert, “How dare you!” and she breaks her slate over his head.

Climax: Now Anne is in trouble for her outburst. The teacher comes running. “Anne Shirley! What is the meaning of this?” Gilbert apologizes right away and takes the blame. Anne is still in a state of shock and humiliation. The teacher marches her to the blackboard where she must write, “Ann Shirley has a very bad temper” one hundred times before leaving today. He leaves, and Anne defiantely adds the letter “e”‘ to the end of her name.

Flash to Anne exiting the school where Diana and Gilbert are both waiting outside. Gilbert says, “Anne, wait! I’m sorry for teasing you about your hair. Don’t be mad at me for keeps.” Anne glares, sticks her nose in the air, and marches off, clinging tightly to Diana’s hand. Diana scolds her and urges her to forgive Gilbert. he will never speak to Gilbert Blithe again! “I shall never forgive Gilbert Blythe. An iron has entered my soul, Diana. My mind is made up. My red hair is a curse.”

Then we move right to the hook of the next scene where Marilla is trying to get into Anne’s room, where Anne has locked the door because she is hiding, having died her hair green in hopes of dying it a “beautiful raven black.” This is the scene where Anne will find out that the trial is over and she gets to stay at Green Gables for good.

The Scene Tension Equation from The Story Equation by Susan May Warren

And most recently I learned the Scene Tension Equation from Susie May Warren herself while I was on the brainstorming retreat for the Blood of Kings Legends series.

Every single scene in your book must have tension. There must be tension on every page or readers will put the book down. Every scene, there has to be a new problem. We will propel our character through the story by always creating more problems and more worry. Using the Scene Tension Equation will give you all the pieces you need to accomplish this effectively.

Who: Your point of view character.
Wants what: What does the POV character want in this scene?
Why: You need to know your POV character’s internal and external goal for the scene.
Or else (stakes): The scene needs stakes. What’s at stake? What’s in the way of the POV character reaching their goal?
So: The POV character acts. What do they do?
But (obstacles): Add obstacles to get in the way of their goal.
Fear of Failure: You need to know whether or not your POV character is going to win or lose. Decide, then keep the reader guessing as to the outcome. Alternate between wins and losses to keep the reader turning the pages.

While at the retreat, we watched Top Gun: Maverick and broke down several scenes using the Scene Tension Equation. Here is one example from the big opening scene of the movie.

Who: Pete Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise. Call sign “Maverick.” He’s the guy who leaves destruction in his wake. He lives dangerously and takes lots of risks.

Wants what: He wants to fly the cool jet Mach 9.

Why: Internal–He wants to make a name for himself. External–They’ll shut down the program if he fails. What will he do then?

Or else (stakes): The general is coming right not to shut down the program.

So: It’s now or never. He must act now.

But (obstacles): 1) The general is at the gate. 2) The general tells him “No” and to bring that plane back. 3) The plane is a test plane–not necessarily a safe one. 4) He must not go over mach 9.

Fear of Failure: Tom is going to lose at the end of this scene, so we start out letting him win a little.

Win: He takes off before the general arrives to stop him.

Win: He buzzes over the general getting out of his car.

Win: He’s flying well–getting up to mach 9.

Lose: The general comes into the command room and says, “Shut it down.”

Win: Pete pretends there is static and he can’t hear. He’s still flying.

Win: He reaches mach 9. The viewer thinks, “Hooray for Maverick! He did it again! He’s the champion.”

Lose: Then he gets greedy and goes for mach 10. Then he keeps going. Bam. The plane breaks up, and he crashes. And the viewer is like, “What just happened?”

They are hooked and ready to see what this guy will do next.

So, there you have it. Do you have a method you use for the structure of a scene? If not, which of these might you like to try? Share in the comments.

Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms, and the author of several young adult fantasy novels including the Blood of Kings trilogy. She loves teaching about writing. She blogs at goteenwriters.com and also posts writing videos on her YouTube channel and on Instagram. Jill is a Whovian, a Photoshop addict, and a recovering fashion design assistant. She grew up in Alaska without running water or electricity and now lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two kids. Find Jill online at jillwilliamson.com or on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.