Different Ways to Start a Scene: Part 2

Theater Festival 6 (Photo credit: Niels Linneberg)

Most people have a favorite way to start a scene and a chapter. One way usually comes more naturally. But variety is important for the reader and for the writer. Why is it important for you? Because different types of openings have different effects. They resume the story at different points in the stimulus – reaction – action sequence. In this way, different openings can fill different narrative needs. And experimenting with different types of openings will expand your skills as a writer.

Scenes rarely begin with a flashback but it can be done effectively. One benefit to starting a scene with a flashback as opposed to using the flashback later in the scene is that there is less of a sense that the events of the flashback have already been resolved. Since the flashback takes place in the past, the effects of events have already been felt – mostly. Consider leaving some questions in your flashback unresolved and when you return to the story's present, make the unanswered question a central issue of the scene. A downside of flashbacks is that you have to reorient your reader each time you change time periods. By starting a scene with a flashback, you reduce the number of times you have to reorient from three times to two.

The typical flow of action is stimulus – reaction – action. But you can mix things up a bit by starting a scene with a reaction. The reaction may be to an action that ended the last scene. Or it could be (since this is the start of a scene) a reaction to a stimulus that you have not shown. A reaction is the feeling or thought that the stimulus (immediate conflict or obstacle) generates in the view point character. The reader will read on to find out what caused this reaction so be sure to answer their questions at some point.

A slower way to start a scene is through description. I say slow but it does not have to be that way. Short sentences, short paragraphs, and active verbs all can hasten the pace. Description is an easy way to ground the reader – especially when the setting has changed. Description, when not using the omniscient point-of-view, is limited to what the view point character can experience. A benefit of point-of-view description is that it is easier to establish both character mood and over-all mood. Point-of-view description gives the character a chance to react to surroundings, maybe drop a bit of background information, or even introduce inner conflict.

Most writers have a favorite way to start a scene but they also often become limited in the options that they use. Consider the needs of your scene and experiment with different types of openings. You may even be inspired.

Different Ways to Start a Scene: Part 1

A scene from the Drama (Photo credit: NJ..)

Most people have a favorite way to start a scene and a chapter. One way usually comes more naturally. But variety is important for the reader and for the writer. Why is it important for you? Because different types of openings have different effects. They resume the story at different points in the stimulus – reaction – action sequence. In this way, different openings can fill different narrative needs. And experimenting with different types of openings will expand your skills as a writer.

Open with an omnipotent point of view when you need the reader to know something that is outside of the point-of-view character's realm of experience. This could be an approaching human or natural disaster. When the reader knows about approaching danger but the viewpoint character is ignorant, the knowledge heightens tension and even tranquil action takes on a new sense Omnipotent point-of-view is also a good way to get in quick back-story that sets up the scene and maybe even introduces tension.

Open with dialogue when you want to start off fast. Dialogue moves so starting with talking means starting with movement. Better yet, start in the middle of the conflict instead of setting it up first. This will disorient readers a bit and they will read on to answer the question what's going on? Opening with dialogue is also a quick way to establish the key characters of the scene – they are the ones talking. As a rule of thumb, have the main scene character talk first, followed by the second-most important character (usually the main character's opponent). This establishes a hierarchy of importance for the reader, much like the way you usually start a book by introducing the main character first.

Another way to start the scene off fast is to open with action – no set up, just an action. Again, the reader will be intrigued and read on to find out the set-up. Plan your introduction of the set-up carefully since it will slow your pace. Set-up, when not given at the start of the scene, can be given in pieces or as a whole chunk. Parts can be implied. Flashback can be used (although that typically slows down the scene even more because it takes place in the past and the reader already knows how it turns out). Opening action can ground or disorient the reader. Disorientation needs to be resolved to keep reader interest after a certain point – it seldom can be continued to the end of the scene without loosing the reader.

This post is getting long (there is so much to say), so I am going to divide it into two parts. Keep tuned!