Riley Stone

Four Questions to Flesh Out Your Scenes Writing a story is a daunting task. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned writer, there are countless ways to approach scenes and outlines. The most common method involves planning all the major story beats and discovering the rest in the first draft. While this works for some writers, I've often found that general story beats lack detail when it comes time to actually write. The core story beats are there, but how to plot moves from one to the other is still a mystery. If, like me, you find yourself lost when writing your first draft and struggle to move your characters from one beat to the next, then these four questions may be able to help! Instead of focusing on the story's overall arc, this mini scene outline helps you work out the details. How are your characters actually getting from plot point to plot point, and how will each scene flow into the next. What is a scene outline? A scene outline is four simple questions that ensure every scene in your story has a beginning, middle, and end, complete with conflict and growth. It also guarantees that your plot is steadily moving forward, ramping up as you grow closer to the climax. So what are the questions? 1. What is your character going to do? 2. What gets in the way of that? 3. What choice is presented (equally good or equally bad)? 4. What choice is made? Let's break it down. What Is Your Character Going to Do? At the start of your scene, your character is on their way to do something. It can be as simple as going to visit grandma or as complex as awakening a cursed army of the dead. As your story ramps up and you get closer to the climax, this opening question will likely become more complex. But at the start of the story, it can stay simple since your character is still in their ordinary world. If you're struggling with this, try exploring what your character's day-to-day life is like. What do they like to do? Do they have any rituals or places they always visit? Is someone important coming to town? Perhaps there's a festival or some big event happening. Maybe it's summer, and it's time for the big harvest. Whatever it is, your character is on their way to tackle it. What Gets In The Way of That? Here is where the conflict is introduced. Something or someone gets in the way of their task. For example, they're going to visit grandma, but they reach a fork in the road and don't know the way. Just like the previous question, this conflict can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. Typically, what informs this is where you are in your story and what the genre is. In Act 1, the conflict will be lower stakes than in Act 3. In a real-world crime thriller, the conflict will be more grounded than in a high-fantasy story where a character is going toe-to-toe with an ancient god. If you are having trouble coming up with a conflict, ask yourself, what would be an inconvenience? What would upset your character? Do they have a particular moral code? Do they have any irrational fears? What is something that would distract them? You can also look at your setting. If there is a festival or event, maybe bad weather gets in the way. If they are traveling, maybe they get lost or run into someone who needs help. Either way, your character was on their way to do something, and now something else has gotten in their way. What Choice is Presented? Now your character is presented with a choice. The important takeaway in this step is that the options must be equally good or equally bad. Otherwise, the choice wouldn't be hard to make. Going with the grandma example, the character must choose a path, but they don't remember the way. One path is a treacherous cliffside, the other leads into a dark, twisting forest where people are known to disappear. Either way, they will face danger, but perhaps this character is scared of heights. This simple choice becomes more daunting now that there is equal danger at stake. Like the previous question, exploring your character and the world they live in will inform what choices will challenge them. Think of their wants, needs, fears, hobbies, and interests. Think of how they feel about the characters with them, do they want to seem brave in front of their crush? Are they trying to prove themselves to their party members? How does the environment impact the situation? How do the character's morals and ethics impact the situation? With all the above questions answered, your character now has a choice to make. What Choice is Made? This step wraps up the conflict of the scene and directly leads into the next one. The character makes a choice, and now that path becomes the answer to question 1 in your next scene. Finishing the grandma example - the character is scared of heights, so they choose the wooded path. What will they encounter now that they've made this choice? That will be the conflict of the next scene. Your character must weigh their options and make a choice. This choice becomes their plan of action, and the cycle starts over again. With four simple questions, the plot is now in motion, and the ball will keep rolling towards each story beat. Recap A general outline is a great way to figure out the overall arc of your story, and the major story beats needed to get from the beginning to the end. But when it comes down to actually getting your characters from point A to B, the details can become overwhelming, and it's easy to get lost. With scene outlines, you can ask yourself four easy questions and keep your story moving: 1. What is your character going to do? 2. What gets in the way of that? 3. What choice is presented (equally good or equally bad)? 4. What choice is made? These questions ensure that each scene leads smoothly into the next and that your character actively participates in the plot, makes decisions, and faces conflicts. Let me know your favorite outlining method and what questions have helped you flesh out your stories and characters. Happy Writing!