Craft Glossary · term

Scene

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Plain English: A scene is not "a chunk of chapter" or "people in a room." It is a unit of conflict: the POV character wants something now (goal), something opposes them (conflict), and the unit ends with a disaster — a setback or reversal that changes what comes next. Scenes are proactive; what follows them (the sequel — reaction, dilemma, decision) is reactive. A novel is a chain of scenes whose disasters cause the next scene's goals.

Rule: Every scene needs a scene-goal visible on entry. End worse or changed, not tidy. If you can cut a scene without breaking causality, it was not a scene — it was texture.

Fail: Passive scene — things happen to the character with no want in play. Circular scene — ends where it began emotionally and situationally. Scene-as-sequel — pages of processing with no new goal launched.

See: Scene & sequel · Beat · Causality · Stakes

Arjuna Badger Press · Craft Library

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