Friday, July 16, 2021

Deleting Scenes

Welcome to summer and our group blog. It’s another interesting topic this month. Marci Baun came up with it, Deleting scenes: Do you ever delete scenes? When and why do you delete them? And what do you do with them? Do you save them? Or just toss them?

Yes, I delete scenes. Earlier when I was writing one of my fantastic scenes and when I read it over it added nothing to the story. I knew I couldn’t leave it in, but it was so great. I put it in a folder so I could use it later or even in another book. I never did reuse it.

I still delete scenes. These days it’s usually part of a scene., usually part of a scene. I find myself writing into a corner and I may not find my way out, so I cut it and start over. I hit writer’s block and when I go over the scene, I try to write I find I’m trying to make my characters do something that goes against their personality and beliefs. So, I cut the scene and go back to where the character wants me to go. When I cut them now, they get tossed. I’ve learned if they get cut they probably aren’t that good.

When I’m writing a scene there are some things a good scene needs. The setting needs to be clear to the reader at the beginning. The scene needs to share important information to the reader about the characters and/or the story.  There needs to be a clear goal about what the scene needs to accomplish. Conflict and action are important and should result in an emotional change and end the scene with an ending that keeps the readers turning one more page.



I’m looking forward to reading about other writers have to say about their scenes.

Anne Stenhouse http://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com

Dr. Bob Rich https://wp.me/p3Xihq-2n4

Skye Taylor http://www.skye-writer.com/blogging_by_the_sea

Connie Vines http://mizging.blogspot.com/

Marci Baun http://www.marcibaun.com/blog/

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.com

Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com/

Helena Fairfax http://www.helenafairfax.com/blog

Rhobin L Courtright http://www.rhobincourtright.com 

13 comments:

  1. It’s painful to delete a scene. I appreciate the fact you can delete with no regrets!

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  2. I'm still unwilling to throw them out completely. I may never use them, but I still keep them. LOL Call me an electronic pack rat, if you will. LOL

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    1. If you need to keep them that works. I found I never went back and looked at anything I had kept.

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    2. Me too. They don't eat much on the hard disk. :)

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  3. You've are so right about when you've written yourself into a corner, it's time to listen to your characters and Maine that means dumping the scene that got you into the corner.

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    1. That was the one thing I noticed that most of us commented on - writing into a corner meant you needed to delete and rewrite the scene.

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  4. I'm with you, Beverly. When I cut a scene, I just delete it. If it won't work in the context that I wrote it into, it probably won't work anywhere else either. Besides, I can always write it again--and maybe even better!

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  5. I like your attitude. You're right, we can probably write it better.

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  6. I liked how you thought about the reader and their reaction to your wording.

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  7. Hi Beverley, Congrats on being able to dump. I can let go short ones, but once it's up to 2/3 paras, I'm stuck with it in out-takes. Anne

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  8. Oh Beverley, I have a trick for avoiding having your people act out of character. Instead of me observing them and recording what I see, I listen to them and write what they tell me to. :)

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  9. Hi bevereley, I love your summing up of the things a scene needs to do. It's sometimes hard to see that a scene has gone nowhere until you've written yourself into a corner. I've enjoyed this month's Round Robin. Thanks for sharing your process

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