Scene By Scene

Although I track my daily writing progress by word count, I write by scene. (Which leads me to question why I track by word count instead of number of completed scenes. Hmm. Perhaps because the tracking App that I use tracks by logging in word count. Something to think about and consider.)

For Book #2, Series #1, there are seventy-five (75) total scenes planned.

My goal is to write three (3) scenes per day, every day, with the intention of banking extra scenes along the way just in case something comes up and which is more than likely inevitable, to derail my writing for a day.

With the Goal, Motivation, Conflict, and Disaster (GMCD) noted for each scene, subject to change of course, I focus on the one single scene before me.

For Book #1, Scene #, I addressed the GMCD for each scene just prior to the scene without pre-planning, which in looking back tended to slow down my writing; therefore, this time around I have constructed the GMCD for each scene in advance, so that all that remains in front of me is the fast drafting of the actual scene.

Whose scene is it? Who is the Point of View (POV) character? Keeping in mind the GMCD for the scene, what would that POV character do? What happens then?

For me, the First Draft is diving in and telling of the story, scene by scene.

No Goal, No Scene (GMCD in Action)

From the photo, you can see that my scenes are depicted by different colored index cards for each point of view (POV) character in the story. (Notecarding can be fun and Index Cards can be your friends!)

The cards are laid out in order of occurrence by character (or color), which leads to the next step of placing them in the main character's storyline, so that I end up with a blend of colored cards that depict a forward-moving story.

Once the cards in order, my next step is to figure out the character's GOAL for the scene.

For the first scene, which is also the Inciting Incident, the main character, Junior, is going about getting himself recaptured by the bad guys, on purpose, so that he can help his friend that's already been recaptured; therefore, Junior's goal IS to get get recaptured.  It's that simple.

For each scene, I look at, "What is the character's MOTIVATION for wanting what he or she wants?"

Junior's friend has been recaptured, and he was unable to prevent the friend being taken. He cares about the friend. His deepest need is to belong, so he considers this friend to be part of his family. That's his motivation for wanting to get recaptured. Again, simple.

So, what CONFLICT is preventing him from getting recaptured? Who or what is standing in his/her way of getting what he wants?

The captors certainly aren't expecting Junior to walk up and turn himself over to them, so Junior must get their attention, then things go wrong with his attempts to get their attention.

The DISASTER at the end of the scene answers the question of whether the character achieved or reached his goal.

Did Junior get himself recaptured?

Yes, however, Junior is injured, and because he's been recaptured we know that bad things are in store for him.

There you have the Goal, Motivation, Conflict, and Disaster (GMCD) for the Inciting Incident and also the first scene of Book #2, Series #1.

Without a character's GMCD within the scene, a scene, at least in the genres I write, doesn't serve a purpose, so without the GMCD follow-through for each scene, there is no scene.

So, with seventy plus (70+) scenes to go, I'm off to learn my GMCDs.