Writing Fiction: Anatomy of a Scene 

Hi there, viewers! You can read an adapted text version of this video on Medium: link.medium.com/ZvIqI9vME5

I love how her big analogy of a story is a human, then she calls the insides delicious and moves on

I love how your videos are 100% education. No chitchat, no advertisements, no long introductions. They really help. And they are also entertaining, because you visualise your voice over quite professionally.

The serenity with which she said," The appetizing flesh that covers your skeleton and oragans," cracked me up. I love this channel

You are seriously underrated, most channels like Bookishpixie, Jenna Morecci, Kim Chance and Vivien Reis are making snarky comments to entertain the viewers and make a sort of shallow skin deep analysis of the how to of the craft. You remind me more of Chris Fox. With your in depth easy to understand deconstruction of the craft and make it into very useful chunks. Thank you for your videos you've earned a subscriber keep up the good work, i seriously hope you get more subscribers soon you've definately earned it!

The image that appears with “but they accidentally insult their friend’s mom” 😂😂

This was superduper helpful and made me realize why my scene was boring! There was no "but"! It seems so obvious now.

And a good way to have an engaging plot scene to scene is to make sure your Next Scene’s “Goal” also acts as a “Therefore” to the Previous Scene’s “Question”

A scene I look forward to writing... This one character has been, for a whole part of the story, stuck somewhere and her primary goal has been trying to go home. After several years, she manages to do so. I'm very much looking forward to a family dinner scene with her family once she gets back - one in which she realizes the depth of the chasm that formed between the ethics she was taught as a child (that her family considers evident) and the ones that she was taught in the place she got stuck in, and that she took to while she was there. In that scene, she realizes she's changed permanently, and that if she stays she is going to hurt both herself and her family by trying to follow morals she no longer believes in...

Decades ago I got to be a beta reader (though I didn't know the term at the time). It was toward the end of the story. The run-away girl was looking through the window at a party that her twin sister was having, and she was thinking about continuing running, or joining with her recently discovered sister, who seemed to have been adopted into such a loving family. It's complicated, which you'd expect after 100k words. The wondering went on for half a scene. "I loved when she was looking through the window!" I told the old lady that had written the story. "It builds the tension about whether she'll take the plunge, or keep living on her own." The author hadn't considered it to be an important scene, that to her it was more of a filler. Then I made my mistake. "It's like the build up to sex; you know where it's going, but the anticipation is half the fun!" Big mistake. The little old church lady was aghast! The scene was cut within the hour. rule 1 grab the reader's attention rule 2 keep the reader's attention rule 3 (see rule two)

Thank you so much for using examples from dramas and internal conflicts-it seems like most videos about scene and/or plot structure use only action stories.

You’re videos are so helpful, dense with content & great advice that they are so rewatchable & I need to still digest everything you’re getting across & how I can use it. But while all still being incredibly zen & relaxing to listen to. You’re seriously underrated.

You also have a career waiting for you in Audible. You're voice is perfect for reading books. I think so, anyways. Great video and amazing content. Thank you for sharing.

I agree with others I’ve watched several of your videos and I really enjoy them. Please keep going!

I love your idea of including exercises at the end! The concept of practicing right away gives a boost of inspiration and motivation, not to mention the improvement in skills themselves. I love it, please keep this section with a small task in your next videos. LIKE LIKE LIKE

Your advice is gold. Thank you so much. I'm writing my first novel, and every time I get stuck you seem to pop up in my newsfeed with the solution. Your channel is by far the most helpful for new writers.

OMG this was so helpful. I'm doing NaNoWriMo this year and the scenes were just not gelling. I wrote almost 2500 words today and felt like I was just faffing, except from keyboard!!! I needed this. Thank you!

This is such a great video! There’s so much meat here, and there’s zero filler. This is what I want every video I watch about writing to be. Subscribed!

Oh my, I'm so glad that I've found this channel. I learned so much, from your exercises and now especially from this video. That anatomy of a scene, it helps me so much to organize and structure things. It's a red string for myself, and hopefully for my future readers as well.

I will have to watch this one again. Great input for a pre-scene dive into the fields of text and story thoughts.

Just discovered this today. Fabulous! Your advice will definitely kick start my long stalled novel. Your tips on how to keep the middle moving are pure gold. Thank you!

Like so many other comments made your information is great to the point and very helpful. Being very new writer at old age I can’t get enough. The more u tube shorts I see of yours, the more help I get. Thanks again

You really get to the point explaining this. Thanks a lot for your thoughts and your videos. I always wonder how a chase could be described in a book. I want to write a scene in which the hero and her companion are outnumbered by some crazy creatures. But i kind of miss the point in not just describing the chase but give it something meaningful for the characters to overcome in the matter of the plot.

I'm thoroughly impressed with your videos. I am someone who has wanted to write for over a decade, but has used every excuse in the book not to. This provides some much needed structural advice that makes me feel that the goal of writing a good book is attainable, even for a rather new writer like myself.

This is gold. I stumbled upon gold. Thank you so much for your insight in writing novels.

this is what i needed , i was done with the story but how to write interesting scenes and then how to combine /collate scenes was my problem.... this video is a gem....thank you Diane... :)

This is the most helpful video that I've come across for writing novels. Period.

This video has been one of the best I’ve ever watched about how to write better. Thank you so much.

Thank you Diane for your videos on writing. They are instructive and enjoyable. I have been motivated by you.

I cannot express enough how incredibly helpful this is!!! I've been looking for exactly this for ages and it's exactly what I needed. I've made notes on so much of this video. In particular the breakdown at 7:39 which is such a good example to analyse because it has so much variety on those 2 pages. It's really helped me to balance out my scenes, add give them more purpose and perhaps most importantly - make them more engaging to read!

I 'm a new writer. Some of what you said has just come naturally to me but you explain things very well. I really liked the part where you list all the ways to get a "but" in a scene. I'm going to reread what I have done to see how many of the "buts" I used and add more if I can.

I am thrilled to have subscribed to this channel. Thank you for making all of these wonderfully detailed videos. I have been learning a ton ^_^! Keep up all of your amazing work, I would love to read your stuff :)!

Truly wonderful. Both in presentation nd and in visual presentation. And a clear, articulate narration. My sincere thanks for what has proved to me personally to be so valuable

I love your videos. My second to last chapter, and final battle scene where a lot of answers are given is what i'm looking forward to writing.

Very concisely put... Thanks! Love the music, too, esp. the close. I'm just on Chapter Three, but look forward to my novel's climax. It will include an unusual chase scene in which the protag finally bests one of the antag's henchmen.

This video is all substance, no fluff. Subscribed!

An excellent presentation that will be so helpful to me. Thank you for sharing this!

The scenes I look most forward to writing are scenes that deepen the mystery of my story. I have a character that acts strangely and then vanishes on several ocations. I look forward to introducing that character.

This video changed my writing life. I can’t thank you enough.

Your videos are amazing! Thank you for teaching so well and bringing such brilliant content

Oh my God! This was so detailed and helpful. Amazing! You're so underrated...I wonder where you were all this while.

Your analysis is a great help for me as I attempt to write my first novel. Thank you so much.

Best youtube writing advice I've come across yet.

This is the best channel of all time for writing advice!

Love your channel! My story is about empowerment and I can't wait to write the scene in which my protagonist realizes her own self-worth. Thanks!

ur videos are so helpful and ur voice is so soothing and nice to listen??? i love your channel so much tyty

I’ve been searching for this video for months Thank you

Informative, with great visual prompts. Thank you.

I'm so happy I found your channel! Great advice. Thank you!

I think i knew this subconciously, but couldn't describe it. The scenes I disliked the most were the ones that were lacking some part of the skeleton. You've probably saved me 100 hours of rereading with this video. thank you so much

Superb class! Love it. The best!

Hi Diane, There is a saying about Story telling. Tell a simple story in a Great way/Tell a Great Story in a simple way. Your way of telling is very Simple and Great. An admirer From India.

You are so professional. Thank again.

I learn so much from this channel! Thank you

This was so helpful! Really applicable advice. Thank you!!!

Thank you so much for your guidance, it is very simple to understand.

Hello Diane. Your channel is amazing. Thank you to share your job.

Thank you so much for these videos!

Scenes are the building blocks of stories. The Big Picture Skeleton: *Goal - Obstacle - Change *And - But - Therefore *Good scenes end with a promise of future internal or external conflict. *Character wants to [goal] - but [conflict] - therefore [therefore] The Delicious Organs: *In each successive scene, something must happen that has never happened before. *Create questions in the readers' mind with each scene. *Scenes should accomplish multiple objectives. The Butt of the Scene: *Avoid predictability. *Add ticking clocks, violence, an uncomfortable setting or situation, disagreement between characters, clashing goals, the unexpectef arrival of another character, hightened stakes, any kind of surprise. How a Scene Must Look Style Wise: *Description of status quo - action - dialogue - internal reflection - dialogue/action - description *Use chapters to mark setting changes or time jumps or perspective shifts.

I have read many things about structure, but you presented in a new way to see it, great channel, I´m suscribed and waiting to see more great videos!!

I love your approach to videos> very porfessional and actually kind of relaxing! Please keep making more :)

I love your videos. You share invaluable knowledge that makes my job as a writer better and more importantly my dream of a finished work that much closer to realization.

Just discovering your channel. You’ve done very well with 16 videos-at least that’s all I’m seeing. Very informative and well done. Just started a channel a couple of months ago and it is definitely a lot of work...not to mentions some trial and error along the way. Looking forward to seeing more from you!

Thanks Diane, ur voice induced a trance..

I have listened to and watched several vedios and your's is one of my favourites

I love you and your teachings ma'am... Always waiting for that encouraging word "Whatever I do, I should keep writing..." 💙 Thanks for your teachings they're helping me a lottt. I wish you the best, Diane.

I love your channel thanks for all the help.

It was very beneficial, thank you for making these videos.

Thank you for the calm and no BS style. It´s a bit tiredsome listening to high pitched voices or eye rolling to get the viewers to keep watching. (Even if the creators do give good advice) Anyway just a new sub here. Love your content :)

Writing Prompt at 9:40 in the video. Excellent. I think this will help me considerably.

Very nice...very much inspiring..please do more scene breakdown from novels

Extremely helpful, thanks.

Great video. Thanks.

Your videos are a total gem! the structure, the breadth of examples, the application -- it's just so beautiful I can't contain myself. thank you for this channel

tyvm for this very informative content ma'am Diane.

its how excited you were of the delicious insides, chuckled a bit. hehe

I love this.

I’m looking forward to to creating scenes for my memoir as the writer aspect is already fully developed. Even so, my readers don’t already know all the sensory aspects that are privy only in my own head. Therefore, it’ll be fun putting together scenes following this and, but, therefore model you so skillfully laid out! Thanks🙏🏽♥️

I’m looking forward to the video on obstacles ☺️

This is a very good video for linear stories with one main clear protagonist. What about a vast plethora of complex characters with no real main character, and because these characters morals and ethics are complicated, the goal is complicated too. Or rather, the goal is quite vague, even to the writer.

great video!

I am so happy that we have the same favourite word ''carapace''.

I’ve seen a few of your videos for the first time tonight and really enjoy them. I would like to suggest that AND, BUT, THEREFORE are slightly incorrect. Based on the Ancient Greek dialectical pattern of THESIS (someone posits an idea), ANTITHESIS (someone else posits an opposing idea) and SYNTHESIS (the two ideas clash and find new meaning in relation to each other), I suggest (and have been telling my students for quite some time), that basic scene anatomy and dramatic structure is THIS, BUT THAT, THEREFORE. Think about it for a while. I believe these are better words. Thanks for the videos.

Subscribed!! Don't change ur style

i wish i knew about this channel when I was twelve

Thank you!

Hi Diane, I early enjoyed this video. I'm tidying up my third novel and am finishing a collection of short stories and poems. I've worked with numerous development editors and copy-editors on my work. I feel that I write good scenes and some very good ones, but I would love to see video on how to make a good scene a great one. That would be really helpful

I believe that 'The Writer's Veil' example was one scene. It is, to an extent, a matter of perspective, but the reflection of the happenings of a scene is in most part, part of the initial scene. Dwight Swain calls it the 'Scene-Sequel' progression, a larger scale motivation-reaction progression. It would be beneficial if you would do a summary of this technique for your audience. It may be a little more complex than the goal-but-therefore progression, but it provides a more cohesive unit of roughly 2 of these progressions and gives your scenes a far more causal feel.

Great video, thanks 💀🔥

Can’t believe I never stumbled on your videos sooner. Extremely helpful and I really love the way you present the advice/lessons. Do you offer or recommend any writing courses?

I only have two words: Thank you!

You have a soothing voice.

Thank you.

@diane callahan great video n loved the way you explained the scene elements in a simpple n profound way in examples. could you tell me more on 1)what're the vital organs that will give life n purpose to the scenes 2)how're you moving the story forward in terms of character n plot ? thanks diane

Brilliant, thank you. The scene I am looking forward to writing as part of your exercise is one of a fresh romance between two of my characters who have only just met, in the midst of a large-scale war. It is the beginning of a whole subplot I wish to create in order to introduce more opportunities for passionate/heart-warming scenes in the midst of an oppressive, dark tale of demonic, unnatural lust and the desire to dominate.

"But you accidentally insult your friends mom." *[Insert picture of pig here]* OMG - LMAO

i'm planning to write a scene where the main character and his friends review the entries of their texts for their magic lesson.

Thank you for this! I'm most looking forward to writing when the MC and their mentor/love interest have an unavoidable accident together that ends their relationship and catapults them into new status.

This is the sixth watched and i have subscribed. Good job

I try to keep my chapters between 2500-6000 words. :) I read somewhere that that was the average chapter length. But I suck at planning because I don't know what scenes will come in the future. XD I'm a pantser. Sometimes I don't even know what characters will show up. :P And then in editing I'll have to fix those things a bit.