What makes a memoir, or novel, readable and memorable? For many books, I think it’s the scenes the writer conjures that the reader can visualize. The characters in the scene are three dimensional, with desires and obstacles and a particular goal in the scene. Descriptions are visceral and create the world in which the scene takes place, including visual and sensual elements. What the sky outside the window looks like if they are inside, or how the wind howls, or the sun dips in the sky.
For my workshop subscribers, I’d like you to look back at that scene that you wrote in the previous prompt, the one that you always wanted to write. The one that makes you want to write your book. Think of the reader of this scene as being behind a camera lens. The scene should include a description of the people, where it takes place, and have a beginning, middle and end—just as a start.
Below is an exercise to help develop your scene, and future scenes you will write.
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