Writer's Retreat - Day 4
Thursday, June 18, 2009 at 02:10PM University of Wisconsin - Madison
Scene Writing 101 - this was by far the best day I've had during this retreat. I had always wanted to know if there was some type of structure or format in comprising a scene. I was also surprised that the same techniques used in writing good fiction can be utilized in writing creative non-fiction. Of course this is easier said than done.
Tonight's homework is about writing a scene no more than 3 pages in length. If it is only 1 or 2 pages, that is alright too. The idea is to actually sit down and write a scene. She asked us to take a look at our two pages and see if we can add or complete a scene based on that initial draft we read in class. The goal for tomorrow's class is for us to read that scene and obtain feedback from our fellow classmates. Just realized how thrilled I am that I have a printer with me because we have to make copies for everyone in the class. That's 15 people including the teacher. Geez, good thing I remembered to bring paper as well. Of course, I had to go out and buy a stapler and staples the other day. Yikes, I guess you can easily forget minor things. LMAO!
Anyway, per the teacher, she mentioned 5 basic points to scene structure:
1) Premise / Setting (who, what, where)
2) Create a Problem (this concerns the relationships of the characters, etc.)
3) MidPoint (this can be a change in emotions of the characters, maybe an introduction of a new topic or challenge, etc.)
4) Resolution (this does not necessarily mean a particular problem was solved, but maybe a revelation happened to the character, or maybe the reader learned something new about the narrator.)
5) Tag/Exit (basically, the one last sentence that may leave further questions, etc. )
Interestingly when the teacher went thru these points I had already visualized how my scene would go. She wanted us to really give some thought to how a scene plays out. What I didn't expect was that the teacher does not want us to set up an outline based on these strategies then write to them. She wants us to simply comprise the scene, then go back and see if you can find the structured points. This would aid in the editing and revising of any scene that is written. In other words, write first, then go back and see what you may have missed.
Wow! I tell you, I have learned way more at this retreat on writing than I have from any of the classes I've completed in my English Major at NEIU. It's like the teacher has already taken into consideration the experience of the students, not bogging us down with grammar, syntax, language, spelling, and other things that speak more about writing correctly, rather than being creative. She assumes we already have this knowledge or we probably wouldn't be writers in the first place. I'm just glad writing comes fairly natural to me when it comes to all that grammar and stuff, but I certainly have learned more about how to actually put good writing together thus assisting in making me a great writer, not just a good one.
Now the hard part, writing the scene. Of course this at first seemed overwhelming to most of us, including myself, however, last night's homework was perfect in setting us up for this part. By asking us to select, list or note some scenes we want to do, we can now actually see which of those scenes can be re-worked into something lengthier and much more entertaining.
Tune in tomorrow for my final notes on this retreat...
Peace.
Reader Comments (1)
Maybe at NEIU, you just weren't ready. Now's your time to shine.