So, I’m doing this thing where I am writing the rough draft in a special way: pseudo screenplay.
I recommend doing this if you are having trouble getting the scene started. Otherwise, I recommend writing the scene in a normal fashion, a linear development. If that does not work, try to layer in each fiction element one at a time.
Just for preview:
Start with dialogue.
Add some action.
Add a setting description at the beginning.
Sprinkle in the sensory details.
Add some body language and facial details.
Add some inner dialogue.
Add some internal sensations.
Add some backstory if necessary.
I’m start off by writing just dialogue between characters. Just begin anywhere in the scene, especially a part where you know what is going to happen. It can even be smack in the middle — the idea is to just get it going. You don’t have to write the entire conversation of the scene unless you want to. You can go back and add more later if needed. This is to just prime the pump.
It looks like this (not my real project; it’s just a corny example):
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
Next, I’ll add some action (new stuff in italic):
Tessa picked up a knife from the counter and pointed it at Nita.
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
She gestured the knife toward Nita to emphasize each word.
Nita shaked her head and smirked at her older sister.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
Nita picked up the baseball base leaning against the wall. It was her son’s.
I add in some description of the setting at the beginning of the scene, so the readers feel anchored. I also add more action and dialogue as necessary:
The seven o’clock shadows of the Monday evening stretched through the window and the screen door of Nita’s kitchen. She sat at the table, snarfing down the sugar free chocolate striped cookies.
The kitchen’s screen door flew open and banged against the wall. Nita dropped her cookie onto the tabletop.
Tessa: You hussy.
Tessa picked up a knife from the counter and pointed it at Nita.
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
She gestured the knife toward Nita to emphasize each word.
Nita shaked her head and smirked at her older sister.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
Nita picked up the baseball base leaning against the wall. It was her son’s.
Be sure to add in examples of the five senses. I’ve already done a little of this (i.e. ‘banged’) This helps the reader feel like they are there as the scene unfolds:
The seven o’clock shadows of the Monday evening stretched through the window and the screen door of Nita’s kitchen. The smell of the neighbor’s cut grass permeated the air. In the distance, she heard Mrs. Allen’s pomeranian yipping to be let back in.
Nita sat at the table, snarfing down the sugar free chocolate striped cookies. The munching and groan of pleasure from Nita filled the kitchen and the entire house.
The kitchen’s screen door flew open and banged against the wall. Nita screeched and dropped her cookie onto the tabletop.
Tessa stood for several seconds just panting. She reached up a hand and pointed at her sister.
Tessa: You hussy.
Tessa picked up a knife from the counter and pointed it at Nita. The expression on her face is almost agony.
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
She gestured the knife toward Nita to emphasize each word.
Nita shaked her head and smirked at her older sister.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
With a clank, Nita picked up the metal baseball base leaning against the wall. It was her son’s.
Next, I focus on body language and facial expressions. I’ve already done a little bit of this, but I look for more opportunities:
The seven o’clock shadows of the Monday evening stretched through the window and the screen door of Nita’s kitchen. The smell of the neighbor’s cut grass permeated the air. In the distance, she heard Mrs. Allen’s pomeranian yipping to be let back in.
Nita sat at the table, snarfing down the sugar free chocolate striped cookies. She closed her eyes. The munching and groan of pleasure from Nita filled the kitchen and the entire house.
The kitchen’s screen door flew open and banged against the wall. Nita screeched and dropped her cookie onto the tabletop. Eyes wide, she grit her teeth.
Tessa stood for several seconds just panting. She reached up a hand and pointed at her sister. The expression on her face was almost agony.
Tessa: You hussy.
Tessa picked up a knife from the counter and pointed it at Nita. The expression on her face is almost agony.
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
She gestured the knife toward Nita to emphasize each word.
Nita shaked her head and smirked at her older sister.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
With a clank, Nita picked up the metal baseball base leaning against the wall. It was her son’s. She raised the bat and jutted out her chin in defiance.
So far, I’ve layered in external fiction elements. They show what is happening on the surface. Now it’s time to start layering internal ingredients like inner monologue. Inner monologue should only belong to the point-of-view character of the scene.
The seven o’clock shadows of the Monday evening stretched through the window and the screen door of Nita’s kitchen. The smell of the neighbor’s cut grass permeated the air. In the distance, she heard Mrs. Allen’s Pomeranian yipping to be let back in.
Stupid dog, thought Nita. But I’m not going to let it spoil my evening. I have three or four hours to myself and mama is going to enjoy them.
Nita sat at the table, snarfing down the sugar free chocolate striped cookies. She closed her eyes. The munching and groan of pleasure from Nita filled the kitchen and the entire house.
The kitchen’s screen door flew open and banged against the wall. Nita screeched and dropped her cookie onto the tabletop. Eyes wide, she grit her teeth.
Oh, no. She found out. But, who told her?
Tessa stood for several seconds just panting. She reached up a hand and pointed at her sister.
Tessa: You hussy.
Tessa picked up a knife from the counter and pointed it at Nita. The expression on her face was almost agony.
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
She gestured the knife toward Nita to emphasize each word.
Such the drama queen. No surprise there. Just keep your cool.
Nita shaked her head and smirked at her older sister.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
She doesn’t mean it with that knife. But just in case.
With a clank, Nita picked up the metal baseball base leaning against the wall. It was her son’s. She raised the bat and jutted out her chin in defiance.
Now, adds internal sensations only the point-of-view character would feel:
The seven o’clock shadows of the Monday evening stretched through the window and the screen door of Nita’s kitchen. The smell of the neighbor’s cut grass permeated the air. In the distance, she heard Mrs. Allen’s pomeranian yipping to be let back in.
Stupid dog, thought Nita. But I’m not going to let it spoil my evening. I have three or four hours to myself and mama is going to enjoy them.
Nita sat at the table, snarfing down the sugar free chocolate striped cookies. She closed her eyes. The munching and groan of pleasure from Nita filled the kitchen and the entire house.
The kitchen’s screen door flew open and banged against the wall. Nita screeched and dropped her cookie onto the tabletop. Eyes wide, she grit her teeth.
Oh, no. She found out. But, who told her?
Tessa stood for several seconds just panting. She reached up a hand and pointed at her sister.
Tessa: You hussy.
Tessa picked up a knife from the counter and pointed it at Nita. The expression on her face was almost agony.
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
She gestured the knife toward Nita to emphasize each word.
Such the drama queen. No surprise there. Just keep your cool.
Nita shaked her head and smirked at her older sister. Her head started to pound.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
She doesn’t mean it with that knife. But just in case. An icy sensation splashed. Nita’s stomach.
With a clank, Nita picked up the metal baseball base leaning against the wall. It was her son’s. She raised the bat and jutted out her chin in defiance.
Finally, add in some backstory if the opportunity allows it. Backstory is most effective if it helps further the reader’s understanding of what’s currently going on. Also, it doesn’t have to be a bunch of paragraphs of history about the character. Sometimes, one or two sentences layered in can be effective:
The seven o’clock shadows of the Monday evening stretched through the window and the screen door of Nita’s kitchen. The smell of the neighbor’s cut grass permeated the air. In the distance, she heard Mrs. Allen’s Pomeranian yipping to be let back in.
Stupid dog, thought Nita. But I’m not going to let it spoil my evening. I have three or four hours to myself and mama is going to enjoy them.
Nita sat at the table, snarfing down the sugar free chocolate striped cookies. She closed her eyes. The munching and groan of pleasure from Nita filled the kitchen and the entire house.
The kitchen’s screen door flew open and banged against the wall. Nita screeched and dropped her cookie onto the tabletop. Eyes wide, she grit her teeth.
Oh, no. She found out. But, who told her?
Tessa stood for several seconds just panting. She reached up a hand and pointed at her sister.
Tessa: You hussy.
Tessa picked up a knife from the counter and pointed it at Nita. The expression on her face was almost agony.
Tessa: I can’t believe you would betray me like this. You’re my sister.
She gestured the knife toward Nita to emphasize each word.
Such the drama queen. No surprise there.
Seeing Tessa standing there with a knife reminded Nita of years ago. That time when her older sister held her John Meyer poster in both hands, wore the same angry look, and threatened to rip it in half. Over a boy? Nita could not remember. But she remembered that Tessa did not have the guts to actually do it. Mainly because Nita could beat her up. But is Tessa bluffing now?
Just keep your cool.
Nita shaked her head and smirked at her older sister. Her head started to pound.
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
She doesn’t mean it with that knife. But just in case. An icy sensation splashed. Nita’s stomach.
With a clank, Nita picked up the metal baseball base leaning against the wall. It was her son’s. She raised the bat and jutted out her chin in defiance.
Rinse and repeat. Start over with more dialogue, action and everything else until you feel the scene is finished.
If you want, you can do some minor cleaning up. I don’t mean editing, but mostly format stuff. Like fixing the dialogue tags so your scene looks less like a screenplay and more like a novel. For example:
Nita: Oh, please. You’ve done worse to me over the years.
“Oh, please,” said Nita. “You’ve done worse to me over the years.”
If your goal is to get a rough draft in a short period of time, even small editing can wait. It depends upon your goals. In the end, the hope is that you have a rough draft of your scene as quickly as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect, of course. It’s just something for the writer to come back to and improve. We have to start somewhere, right?
Just for review:
Start with dialogue.
Add some action.
Add a setting description at the beginning.
Sprinkle in the sensory details.
Add some body language and facial details.
Add some inner dialogue.
Add some internal sensations.
Add some backstory if necessary.
Photo by Janelle Welch
Andrew M. Friday 
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