Category: Writing Tips

How to Write Short, High-Impact Scenes in a Novel

Advice on writing novel scenes

Sometimes, when you’re writing a novel, you need to get information to the readers, but you can’t get that information to fit naturally in one of your long, complicated scenes. There’s nothing wrong with creating a brief scene, or as I like to call them, hall scenes. Hall scenes are short scenes that connect longer scenes, like a hall running between rooms in your house. Here are tips on how to write short, high-impact scenes in a novel.

Use a hall scene to telescope time.

In my first novel, A Shadow on the Snow, I needed to tell the readers that a week has passed from the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. I decided to use a hall scene before diving into a longer scene that has major revelation in the stalker case my amateur sleuth Rae Riley is trying to solve. Here’s the scene:

*****

When Uncle Hank dropped me off at work Thursday morning, he said, “Now if that stalker corners you in the library, just grab the biggest book you can find and read it to him. Should put him to sleep in a couple pages. Always did me when I was in school.” 

“I’ll keep it in mind.” I grinned as I retied the scrunchy holding my braid. “But nothing’s happened in a week. Since I’m living at the farm, maybe he’s given up.” 

“Unless he’s as mad as a rabid dog, he should give up. The Big Guy’ll pound him into the ground if he catches him.” 

I waved as Uncle Hank pulled away, then I headed inside …

*****

I let readers know time has passed, and I also have fun letting them get to know a minor character better.

Have fun with short scenes.

If it makes sense for the kind of story you’re telling, work humor into a short scene. All scenes need tension, and humor is one way to keep readers turning the page after finishing a short scene. This short scene is from my second novel, A Storm of Doubts. It was important to the plot to let readers know who lived next door to a suspect in a missing person case. I decided to have fun with it.

*****

“Oh-oh, I can’t believe it.” Leandra stared at her phone just after opening the library the next morning. 

“What?” I placed the last item on the hold shelf behind our desk from the inter-library loan delivery. 

“My mother-in-law says Chief Simcox is searching Jason Carlisle’s house.” Her normal bubbly voice grew more effervescent. 

“How does she know? Does she live in Jason’s neighborhood?” 

Leandra thumbed her keyboard. “No. I’ll ask.” 

While she texted her mother-in-law, a symphony of pings chirped from Leandra’s phone. I must not have had friends who gossiped because my phone didn’t make a peep. 

“Dottie says her sister called her after her sister-in-law texted her after her friend Debbie Schuster, who lives next door to Jason, texted her.” Leandra’s plump face shone with her ever-present smile. 

“Debbie Schuster?” My fingers hung suspended over a keyboard. “Is she related to Senator Schuster?” 

“Yes. She’s his mother. The Schusters have lived next door to the Carlisles for years.” Her smile tilted. “I wonder why the Chief is searching Jason’s house.” 

*****

Not only do I convey who lives next door to Jason Carlisle, but I get to reinforce that this is a rural county where everyone knows everyone else.

End a chapter with a short scene for high impact.

For almost forty pages near the beginning of my third novel, A Riddle in the Lonesome October, I detail how Rae and her family react to the terrible riding accident that has left her beloved uncle fighting for his life. Since her dad Mal isn’t as visibly emotional as her uncle’s wife and daughters, I needed a way to show how the accident was affecting Mal, who had grown up with his brother-in-law.

After a lengthy scene in the hospital cafeteria, I ended the chapter this way, to give the chapter an emotional punch:

*****

Releasing a long sigh, Dad said, “Rae, let’s transfer all their stuff into their vehicle and head home.” 

Our conversation was restricted to essentials until I had the Beast back on the state highway. A light rain pattered on the windshield. 

Dad said in a somber voice, “Do not mention Em to anyone today.” 

I took a quick breath as a car swished by me. “I—I forgot we were going to the cemetery today.” 

“We aren’t now. We’ll honor Em when … when things are better.” His last word was hoarse, and he cleared his throat. “She’d understand.” 

The rain streaked our side windows, and I cranked my wipers to a higher speed. I had a glimmer of why Dad loathed October. 

Hands on his knees, Dad stared down. “You know, there’s never been a time I didn’t know Hank.” 

I moved my hand from the knob for the wipers and squeezed his fingers. 

*****

Add variety to your writing style.

Short scenes change the rhythm of your novel-writing by allowing you to add settings and characters that might not work in a longer scene. And variety is almost always welcome when writing a novel.

Here is more advice on writing scenes for novels.

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How to Write Suspense Scenes in a Novel: a Step-by-Step Guide

A step-by-step guide on writing suspense

Last week, I posted advice on how to write an action scene for a novel. Now I’m back with how to write suspense scenes in a novel: a step-by-step guide. In one way, suspense scenes are the flip side of actions scenes. Action scenes build tension through actions that pile up on one another, quickening the pace of the story. Suspense scenes build tension by slowing the pace, forcing readers to think about what the protagonist may face when the suspense is resolved.

Below is a scene from my short story, “Bovine.” A snobby New York novelist, Harrison Sharpe, has planned what he thinks is the perfect murder of his supermodel wife, Ari. The point of this scene is to make readers worry if he’ll succeed.

*****

The cabin peeped through the trees, a light in the window of the living room the only visible illumination. I made a wide circle around the hovel, the damp seeping through the ill-made soles of my shoes. The rest of the house was dark. 

  • I’m setting the mood in these lines–it’s dark and the cabin is isolated. I don’t have to describe the setting much because this scene is part of the climax, so readers are already familiar with the cabin and the landscape around it.

Slipping off my mask, I walked to the back door, unlocked it, entered, and lifted the shield to the control panel for the alarm. 

  • I’m taking the time to add details that heighten the tension. Not only does this help readers imagine what Harrison is doing, it’s delaying the revelation of his wife’s fate.

Strange. The warning beep hadn’t blared to life. 

I peered at the control screen. It indicated Ari hadn’t bothered to set the alarm. 

Very thoughtful. 

  • These lines reveal plot points that will be explained later.

Lowering the shield, I waited for Ari to greet me. 

But the house was still, the hum of the refrigerator the only noise. 

She must have gone to bed. 

The light from a single lamp in the living room touched the kitchen. I found the drawer for utensils and withdrew the chef’s knife. Tugging my mask into place, I passed through the living room and into the hall, my heart gathering speed. 

  • I reinforce the loneliness of the setting while giving details of Harrison’s progress through the house. The details should also make readers’ hearts gather speed.

The door to the master bedroom stood half open. 

I pushed it aside and slipped into the room. 

“Ari,” I called softly to a mound of comforters and quilts on the queen-sized bed. 

No sound, no movement. 

“Ari.” 

No response. 

  • Each time his wife doesn’t react, the suspense mounts.

I clenched the knife and my teeth. Had she taken a sedative instead of her migraine medicine? Her insensibility would drain all the enjoyment from my plan. She had to know she couldn’t humiliate me in front of the whole world and steal my money. She had to know before she died. 

  • His action and internal monologue makes Harrison’s motives crystal clear and raises the stakes, creating suspense.

I rounded the chest situated at the foot of the bed. 

Silence. 

As my heart rocketed into high velocity, I switched on the flashlight. 

The mound was so high that I couldn’t detect Ari’s head. The bracelet twinkled on the nightstand. I’d pocket that when I was finished. 

*****

I’m not revealing how I resolve the suspense because few things are worse than a spoiled mystery. If you’d like to read all of “Bovine”, you can buy the anthology it belongs to here.

Here are more tips on writing scenes for novels.

Which authors do you think are especially talented at writing suspense?

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A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Fast-Paced Action Scenes in Your Novel

How to write action scenes in a novel

This year, all my posts for JPC Allen Writes have been concerned with how to write a novel. I realized last month I should do a deeper dive into scenes–the building blocks of a novel. The first kind of scene I’ll cover is action scenes. I find writing action scenes one of the most difficult and rewarding scenes to write. They’re difficult because all the elements of a story–character, setting, and plot–have to be in correct balance so readers can be carried away with the action, living the scene with the POV character. It ruins the scene if the reader is racing through this exciting passage and trips over something that doesn’t work. So here is a repost of a step-by-step guide to writing fast-paced action scenes in your novel.

Analysis of an Action Scene

When I write an action scene, I want to plant my readers firmly in the head of my protagonist, Rae Riley. Here’s how I wrote the beginning of an action scene from my first YA mystery A Shadow on the Snow:

At the sidewalk, I glanced up the hill. And dropped the bags.

  • Rae commits an action that immediately tells readers something surprising or shocking has occurred.

A figure, backlit by the streetlamp, stood at the corner.  

  • Readers learn what has shocked Rae. Explanation is short because action scenes should read fast to build excitement. 

Spinning, I fell to my knees. I snagged the bags and, stumbling across the lot, reached the guardrail at the opposite side. 

  • I use specific verbs and nouns so readers can imagine what Rae is doing and where she is. 

I scrambled over it and fell five feet down the retaining wall into the little yard behind an empty building. Panting, I raised myself into hunched stance and ran, scrambling over snow-encrusted chunks of crumbling asphalt.More specific verbs and nouns to make scene vivid.

  • More specific verbs and nouns to make scene vivid.

Please, Father. It can’t end like this.

  • Now readers are inside Rae’s head to know exactly how she is feeling and thinking.  

Behind the deli, I slipped, and the urn rolled out of its bag. I squinted against the flakes. No silhouette. Nobody.  

  • Scene description to orient readers in the setting. Also show what Rae is doing–looking for her pursuer.

I needed to get out on Main Street and head for Mal’s office. I slapped piles of snow until my palm smacked the urn. I shoved it into a bag and ran into the alley beside the deli. A streetlight illuminated the end that came out on Main Street, welcoming me like a lighthouse.

  • The first sentence is a thought. Then action and description to keep the scene moving and readers grounded in it.

Bent under the weight of my backpack, I struggled toward Main Street, gripping and regripping the sagging bags. 

  • “Bent”, “struggled”, and “regripping” convey Rae’s perception of scene. 

A figure ran across the entrance to the alley. 

  • Report of what Rae sees, which orients readers to where MC and pursuer are in the setting.

My throat closed as my feet froze to the icy pavement.  

  • Reaction that reveals Rae’s feelings.

What … what do I do? 

  • Rae’s thought, so readers are living the scene with Rae. 

Wheeling, I fell against the deli’s rough brick wall and glanced back.  

  • More action, keeping it short and to the point.

Here are more tips on writing scenes for novels.

What are the best actions scenes you’ve read? What advice do you have for writing action scenes?

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5 Things Every Author Should Know Before Adding Graphics to a Novel

How to write a novel

All of my novels have graphics, whether it’s a flowchart, a family tree or a map. My publisher had been generous and patient enough to let me add these images. If you’re considering putting similar elements, here are 5 things every author should know before adding graphics to a novel.

Graphics should be an aid.

My mysteries are complicated for a couple of reasons. First, my amateur sleuth Rae Riley belongs to an extensive family on her dad’s side. Her great-grandfather’s five marriages to three women make up a family with as many branches as the Mississippi. And those relationships come into play in some of my novels. So at the front of every novel, I insert family trees so readers can flip to them if they are uncertain of a relationship.

Second, my mysteries throw a lot of clues and red herrings at readers. So it helps if Rae organizes the information she uncovers in tables or flowcharts or Venn diagrams. Those provide a quick reference if readers need a reminder as they follow the clues with Rae.

Graphics can add realism.

Rae Riley Mysteries are told from the first-person point of view of–you guessed it–Rae Riley. To make the reading experience as real for readers as possible, I want them to be so thoroughly in Rae’s head that they feel like they are experiencing the story with her. One way I do that is through graphics.

Rae is an amateur photographer. So it makes sense for her to draw tables or maps to help her understand the clues better. And by reproducing Rae’s work in graphics, it gives readers as sense that they are evaluating the evidence just as Rae would.

In The Riddle in the Lonesome October, the key to a lost inheritance is an Edgar Allan Poe poem. I used a different font when Rae reads the poem. I used another font for sections of a memoir written by a pastor’s wife and that hold clues to the inheritance. In both cases, the different fonts convey the sense that these passages are reproduced from actual books, lending to the fun of the treasure hunt.

Graphics should be crystal clear.

If you decide to insert graphics in your novel, make sure they appear sharp in both the ebook and paperback. A fuzzy graphic looks cheap.

Graphics should be uncluttered.

Don’t add more information or detail than you need. Readers will find graphics more useful if they can glance at them and don’t have to give themselves headaches picking out every detail.

Above all else …

Don’t use graphics as a substitute for storytelling. The information in the map Rae draws is always discussed by the characters. I don’t put anything in a graphic the characters haven’t talked about or Rae hasn’t thought about. The graphics are meant to enhance the story, not take its place.

What do you think of graphics in novels? What are your favorites? Maps, family trees, or something else?

Here are all my writing tips and prompts for the month.

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How to Build Scene Tension in Any Novel

How to write scenes in a novel

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the only thing that keeps readers turning page after page of a novel is tension. Tension must be relieved eventually, and the only ways readers can relieve it is to keep reading or close the book. As important as tension is, it’s difficult to teach to new writers. So below are some tips on how to build scene tension in any novel.

Develop characters who add tension.

Creating characters who have conflicting qualities or personalities that don’t mesh is the easiest way to inject tension in a scene. Analyze your cast of characters. Is everyone of them kind, thoughtful, and unselfish? Are they all introverts or extroverts? Are they all neat or slobs? Are they same age or come from the same socio-economic, racial, or ethnic backgrounds? Differences automatically create tension.

If you find that too many of your characters act and talk the same, dig into how to make them different from each other. The mellow mom and her uptight daughter would conflict in certain situations. The outgoing brother and his reserve brother. The friend who’s a rule-follower and the friend who sees rules as suggestions. These characters with opposite qualities are the raw material from which to mine tension.

Develop internal conflict within your protagonists.

Let’s say I’m writing a teen novel. My main character is a seventeen-year-old girl in her senior year of high school. She dreams of going to college, but she takes care of her home and younger siblings since her mom was disabled in a car accident. She doesn’t want to ditch her family, but she doesn’t want to ditch college either.

When a protagonist has two desires that appear mutually exclusive, you have gold for adding tension to your novel.

Develop conflict with the setting.

Any setting or situation that is outside the comfort zone of the protagonist holds a lot of potential for creating tension in a scene. I write about using uncomfortable settings here.

Remember that not all tension is the same.

There’s a major difference in tension between a middle-aged woman losing patience with her elderly mother who keeps chatting with people on a shopping trip, and a cop who is furious at his rule-following superior because he believes the superior is allowing a criminal to escape justice.

Use a variety of tensions to keep readers hooked. I find this easy to do when I write mysteries. Some suspects my amateur sleuth talks to will be happy to share information. Other will be secretive–but is it because they are guilty or is something else going on in their lives? Some suspects will be plain hostile. Those differences in characters create different levels of tension, keeping the storytelling interesting.

Here are more tips on writing with tension.

What are some of the best tense scenes you’ve read?

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