Creating Scenes In A Short Story

What makes a scene in a story?

Photo by richard thomposn on Unsplash

I have written a few short stories, and I have plans to write more. One of my focus points while learning to write short stories has been scene creation.

This was a really big thing for me to get my head around. I wanted to really understand what is a scene and specifically what it needed to be for a shorter story.

So, I have been reading a lot. Here is what I have learned so far.

What is a scene?

A scene is a small moment or incident within a larger story that contributes to the overall movement and story end goal or story ARC. (Definition of story arc via Wikipedia.)

What makes a scene?

Three things MUST be present.

• A setting where the action takes place.
• A character with a deep personal need, goal, desire, or a situation they must take action physically, emotionally (internally at times paired with consequence), or in dialogue with purpose.
• Scene movement that causes a small or bigger change that affects the story — character.

The problem needs to be strongly connected to the character's deep need/desire, or goal, or in opposition to it, which will motivate…