The Key to Writing Great Scenes Is All About the Ending...

From author, K.M. Weiland

What’s the key to writing a great scene? ... correct scene structure. Good scenes are structured to keep the story rolling forward with a proper balance of cause and effect. You’ve got two parts to each scene and three parts apiece to each of those halves: scene (goal, conflict, disaster) and sequel (reaction, dilemma, decision). But that’s just the bare bones. How do you ensure that what fills up those scenes is awesome?

It’s simple: always end your scene with an outcome that’s opposite to the one people expect.

Scenes that end exactly how readers think they will are lazy scenes. Whenever you start writing a scene, ask yourself, "What will readers expect?" How can you turn those expectations on their heads while still remaining true to the characters and the needs of the plot? Find the answer to that question, and you’ll be on your way to the kind of scenes people will still be in love with even fifty years later!