Scene Structure 101

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A lot of writers who are just starting out (and sometimes even seasoned pros) struggle with scene structure. I write a ton of comments about scene structure in the manuscripts I edit. 

At the most basic level, here’s how I like to think of a scene. In general, most scenes will juggle three things: 

1. Your character talking about stuff (dialogue) 

2. Your character doing stuff (action)

3. You character thinking about stuff (interiority) 

And, before I go much further, allow me to acknowledge that, yes, not every scene will have all three. For example, sometimes you will simply have a scene in which a character needs to accomplish a task without other characters present and, therefore, maybe the scene doesn’t have dialogue. But in scenes where you do have characters speaking, you almost always need to have action and interiority too. 

Let’s explore this a little further, shall we? Here are three issues I frequently see as a development editor when it comes to scene structure and some suggestions for remedying those issues.

Issue 1: All Talk, No Action

I see this all the time: an author loves dialogue, and the character’s voices are so clear in their head that they craft a scene that’s almost exclusively dialogue. No character actions to break it up. No dialogue tags. The result can be the dreaded “talking head” syndrome, wherein character conversations feel like disembodied voices yapping without giving the reader a clear picture of what’s going on around the conversation. 

A lot of times, when there is too much dialogue in a scene, the author simply gets fatigued trying to create meaningful action to surround that dialogue, so they just skip it, perhaps thinking the dialogue itself is interesting enough to carry the scene. (Spoiler alert: it usually isn’t). The side effect of all that uninterrupted dialogue, unfortunately, is that readers start to find it tedious to keep track of who is talking and why it matters. 

The fix: 

Weave dialogue with meaningful action. Put something in your characters’ hands. Give them scenery to look at. Have them move around the setting. Use how they interact with what’s around them to complement their dialogue and further shed light on how something is being said. 

Issue 2: Zero Character Reactions

Interiority is tough for a lot of writers. Authors often mistakenly assume that their dialogue is doing more work than it is and that readers should be able to understand what a character is feeling based on what they say. However, this usually just isn’t the case. 

Also, a lot of writers have been hit over the head, repeatedly, with the “show, don’t tell” advice, so they believe they aren’t allowed to tell what their character’s feelings are. But, again, most writers can’t make the reader understand what a character is feeling based on dialogue or showing alone. 

The fix: 

Add intentional interiority. This means: show us what's going on in your POV character's head. It is okay to have character thoughts in your story. Consider how a character feels about what’s being said or what’s going on around them. 

Issue 3: Dialogue… what dialogue? 

As I mentioned, it is true that, yes, some scenes won’t have dialogue. However, if you have many, many chapters of a story without any kind of dialogue (including the sort of internal monologue that might reveal thoughts) you risk losing your reader. 

The Fix:

If you have many chapters where no dialogue occurs, consider adding some. Consider changing backstory/exposition to a conversation. Or change a summarized conversation to a meaningful exchange of dialogue. 

To sum it up: 

Characters talking, doing and speaking–that is the basic makeup of a scene. That is not to say that you should have a perfect balance of each of these things. You might have a scene where a character is wrestling with a huge decision, in which case, it would make sense for there to be quite a lot more interiority. Or you might have created a scene in which your bantering dialogue helps build character relationships and, in that case, maybe you do have more dialogue than anything. 

Chances are, however, that most scenes will have a little sprinkle of everything. 

And, again, this is the most simplified version of “scene mechanics” I can offer you. If you have no idea how to pull together the pieces of a scene, this is a great starting place. 

Suggested Scene Structure Exercise: 

If you have a scene that feels unbalanced try this: go through and highlight your dialogue, your action, and your interiority in three different colors. This will help you see what you have and what, perhaps, you need more of.