How to Supercharge Your Scenes with Holly Race

The smallest details can make all the difference in novels. Take a single scene, for example. How a scene begins and what that scene involves can elevate a writer’s sentences in such a way that the reader experiences a physical reaction: gasping, gripping the pages, completely immersed in the world of the novel.

In today’s blog post, we welcome The Novelry graduate Holly Race, author of both adult and YA fantasy, to explain all about how to write effective scenes. Holly took The Ninety Day Novel Class at The Novelry, then signed a six-figure deal for her adult fantasy debut novel, Six Wild Crowns, an epic fantasy retelling of the six wives of Henry VIII, which was published by Orbit—an imprint of Hachette—last week and became an instant Sunday Times bestseller.

Holly takes us step by step through the building blocks of a supercharged scene so we can tell stories readers won’t be able to forget.

Ready for the deep dive? Let’s hear Holly’s secrets to writing effective scenes...

There are hundreds of books that tell us how to craft an entire novel—and rightly so! A strong, structural backbone, cohesive world, and compelling character arcs are the difference between a story that receives a ‘meh’ reaction and a ‘wow, I have to read this again and tell all my friends about it’ story that is typical of best-selling novels.

But that’s the macro aspect of novel writing. What about the micro? Because as much as the overall impression of a story is crucial, what reader amongst us doesn’t remember certain moments in a story? The scenes that build to an incredible punchline (I’m looking at you, Catching Fire, and ‘If it weren’t for the baby’)? Making sure that your scenes work on an individual level is every bit as important as ensuring they work within the full scope of your novel.

What is a scene?

First, let’s cover what I mean by a ‘scene’. It’s usually an interaction or moment that is held together by setting, continuous time, or plot point. Sticking to one setting is the norm, but those long walking shots that happened on The West Wing, for example? They also count as a scene, since they contain one conversation. You might also call a montage one scene—even if it jumps through time—because it tells a single piece of your storytelling puzzle. In short, a scene can be seen as a nugget or unit of storytelling.

Five secrets to a perfect scene

So, now we know what a scene is, how can we supercharge the ones we’re writing?

1. When writing fiction, cook a full meal

I like to think of a scene as a plate of delicious food; something rich and complicated. Look, a bowl of plain pasta and cheese has its place. But a good stew or curry, marinated in unctuous wine, herbs or spices, is so much more satisfying.

It’s the same with building a scene: sometimes you need to just convey a simple plot point. But too many scenes that simply convey plot? You risk your readers yearning for something with a little more flavour.

Think of all the different textures you can add to elevate your plot points: you could reveal character and theme, provide unexpected twists or reversals, show us new settings, a new point of view, switch up the pace... You could involve one character, many characters, or perhaps even no characters! 

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Let’s take the short opening scene of Hilary Mantel’s seminal Wolf Hall. In the first chapter, we meet a young Thomas Cromwell at the very start of his journey to greatness. Within a few paragraphs, we sympathise deeply with Thomas, have a thorough sense of the abusive dynamic between him and his father, and an insight into the working-class sphere of a brutal Tudor England.

In layering plot, character and world-building on top of each other, Mantel fashions a scene that packs a huge punch within just a few pages.

The richest and most compelling scenes tend to do more than one thing. They don’t merely move the plot forward; they provide us with a rich combination of story flavours.

The richest and most compelling scenes tend to do more than one thing. They don’t merely move the plot forward; they provide us with a rich combination of story flavours.
—Holly Race

2. Character change: vary your settings, pace and cast

When we’re in the weeds of writing a scene, it can be easy to forget about what’s come before. However, just as creating scenes with depth of meaning is important, so is creating scenes with variety. Concertos, musicals and operas feature fast and slow songs, songs with one singer and songs with the whole cast. They do this because it keeps the audience on their toes, keeps them engaged. Even the best, most carefully crafted scenes can start to feel boring if we’ve read a dozen similar ones just before.

Here are a few elements you can think about varying as you move from scene to scene:

• Number of characters. If you’ve had a ‘quiet’ scene between two characters, can you follow it up with a larger scene featuring more of your cast?
• Conversely, if you’ve just given us a fast-paced action or battle scene, can you next give us a steadier, calmer scene so that we can catch our breath?
• Setting. Do you have a good mix of internal and external scenes? Can you show us a different part of your world?
• If you’re writing contemporary fiction or science fiction, do you have a plethora of phone calls or Zoom-like conversations? If so, can you vary this with some in-person conversations or a different point of view?

By ensuring that you differentiate each scene in some (or all) of these ways, you’ll create more memorable moments for your readers, instead of risking your scenes blending into each other.

When we’re in the weeds of writing a scene, it can be easy to forget about what’s come before. However, just as creating scenes with depth of meaning is important, so is creating scenes with variety.
—Holly Race

3. Meaningful sensory details (aka, no one likes a micromanager)

When we have a very clear image in our head of how a moment plays out in our story, as many writers do, it can be tempting to describe it in minute detail. Of course we want our readers to be able to picture everything as clearly as we can! However, in giving every single dialogue tag an adverb, telling us each tiny hand movement, or taking us through exactly what is on our protagonist’s shelf, we can inadvertently lose sight of what’s pertinent to the story and bog down the pace in needless detail.

Reading is an active pursuit—the most propulsive books invite us to use our own senses and imaginations to fill in the gaps; to riddle a character’s emotions through their behaviour. Writing with the aim of publishing is an act of generosity and an act of sharing, and that should be reflected in the prose.

Ask yourself whether you need to tell us that your protagonist says something ‘angrily’; is that emotion obvious from what they’ve said or from the context of the conversation? Instead of describing a setting in huge detail as the scene starts, could you give us an evocative metaphor, or pick out one or two elements of the setting?

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake

Take the opening image of Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake, for example:

Gormenghast, that is, the main massing of the original stone, taken by itself would have displayed a certain ponderous architectural quality were it possible to have ignored the circumfusion of those mean dwellings that swarmed like an epidemic around its outer walls. They sprawled over the sloping earth, each one half way over its neighbour until, held back by the castle ramparts, the innermost of these hovels laid hold on the great walls, clamping themselves thereto like limpets to a rock.
—Mervyn Peake, Gormenghast

Peake conjures a startlingly unique and atmospheric image of the central setting without ever becoming overly prescriptive.

4. Layer the conflict in your scene structure

In any story arc, character transformation and growth emerges through conflict—be that inner conflict, conflict with another character, or conflict with their environment or society. Don’t lose sight of the conflict within your scenes, as well. This doesn’t need to mean an explosive argument. It can be as simple as a niggling, internal worry on the part of the main character. 

Crucially, when writing dialogue, ask yourself whether you can ‘hide’ the conflict within subtext. In real life, we rarely say exactly what we mean. We get passive-aggressive when we’re annoyed, or try to stifle our excitement beneath a veneer of calm. If we’re in love but don’t know if the feelings are reciprocated, we might offer either a compliment or an insult, depending on our personality. And when characters with very different approaches to expressing their emotions interact? Well, that’s where the fun of writing conflict starts!

In creating distance between what a character is feeling and what they’re saying or doing, writers can craft subtle tension as well as making interactions feel more real. 

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5. Next scene, please: build a scaffold

Scenes tend to feel more satisfying when they have their own mini-structure. I wince slightly when I hear the old adage, ‘enter a scene late and leave it early’. The intention’s good—of course you want to keep the story moving—but often it leads to readers missing crucial aspects of an interaction, or being landed inside a scene without any of the necessary context to understand what’s happened, or why it’s important.

When you’re writing new scenes, think of them as having their own mini-arcs with a set-up, an ‘inciting incident’, a reversal of some kind, and then a concluding image or thought. How are your characters’ journeys influenced by what happens? Has your protagonist’s mind changed at all? Do they make a surprising decision?

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Consider the iconic ‘I volunteer as tribute’ scene at the start of The Hunger Games, for instance—one of the Hero Books at The Novelry. This takes place in the book’s second chapter, in a single setting—the square where the tributes are selected. There are actually multiple ‘beats’ in this one scene:

• Katniss’s decision to volunteer in her sister’s place (an ‘inciting incident’);
• The unexpected gesture of respect from the people of District 12;
• The introduction of alcoholic former victor Haymitch;
• The selection of Peeta Mellark (an ‘end of act two’ darkest moment), one of the few people to whom Katniss owes a meaningful debt.

Each one of these beats raises the stakes of the scene, propelling the central story forward and giving us key insights into the protagonists. By giving the scene its own internal structure, Suzanne Collins packs a huge amount of content and emotional heft into a single chapter and setting.

Final thoughts

A well-crafted scene offers a microcosm of classic story structure. Thinking of scenes in this way helps to elevate them from a mere part of a sequence—a point on a journey from A to Z. Always be on the lookout for ways to add structure, tension and depth to each and every scene, and you’ll be well on your way to creating standout moments that readers will remember long after they’ve finished your book.

Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race

The wives of Henry VIII as you’ve never seen them before...

As tradition has it, the king of Elben must marry six queens and magically bind each of them to one of the island’s palaces or the kingdom will fall. Clever, ambitious Boleyn is determined to be her beloved Henry’s favorite queen. She relishes the games at court and the political rivalries with his other wives. Seymour is the opposite—originally sent to Boleyn’s court as a reluctant spy and assassin, she ends up catching Henry’s eye and is forced into a loveless marriage with the king.

But when the two queens become the unlikeliest of things—friends and allies—the balance of power begins to shift. Together, they uncover a dark and deadly truth at the heart of the island’s magic. Boleyn and Seymour’s only hope of survival rests on uniting all six of the rival queens—but Henry will never let that happen.

Find out more about Holly at her website, and be sure to order the Sunday Times bestselling Six Wild Crowns in the U.S.A. and in the U.K.!

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