Make A Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld Page B

character's thoughts, feelings, or actions.
    3. It must lead to new consequences, actions, or behaviors that carry your plot forward.
    Every scene must reveal some piece of new information that enlightens the reader just a little bit more. Here we'll look at the different types of plot information more closely.
    Who
    Much scene time is devoted to characters, since they are generally the most important element of any fictional narrative. You'll want to include a bit of general character information in your narrative—what kind of work your protagonist does, his religion or lack of one, his habits. Does he, for instance, go to AA meetings twice a week, or sing in a gospel choir? These details tell us who your character is in general, not necessarily who he is in relationship to your plot. Character-related plot information, on the other hand, tends to come up over the course of a narrative, often having to do with identity or hidden origins being revealed; someone's past catching up with him; a dark secret being brought to light; or a surprising change of heart. Here's an example of plot-related character information from Ann Patchett's novel The Magician's Assistant, in which the protagonist, Sabine, learns after her husband and partner's death, from his lawyer, that he was not who she thought.
    "Parsifal's name wasn't Petrie. It was Guy Fetters. Guy Fetters has a mother
    and two sisters in Nebraska. As far as I can tell the father is out of the picture—either dead or gone ..."
    "That isn't possible," she said.
    "I'm afraid it is."
    When it comes to characters and plot, think about how your characters can surprise each other, and the readers, by revealing new information about themselves (and not necessarily after death), about things they have hidden or covered up, or about something that is being denied or protected. Most importantly, when you reveal this character information, you should do it directly, through speech or dialogue if possible. Or, if the person has died, either in the form of correspondence he left behind, or through the mouth of another person. Try to rely as little as possible on the thought bubble—in which a character thinks a revelation.
    What
    What is perhaps the widest possible category of all plot information. It is, in essence, what is often described as your hook—the storyline or angle that makes your narrative unique and from which all other plot events will flow.
    In The Magician's Assistant, for instance, Parsifal's death is the significant situation of the novel—the first big piece of what information—that launches the book. The necessity of sharing the information about Parsifal's death with his family sets the next plot events in motion, and leads to great insight and change in Sabine and the other characters. These two main pieces of information drive the entire plot, and each has its own string of consequences that each scene deals with in one way or another.
    In every scene you should ask yourself, literally: What is next? What piece of important information do I need my characters to learn, and my readers to become aware of? Remember that every scene needs a new piece of information, or else there's no point to writing it.
    Where
    Where is one of those lucky bits of information that does light duty in terms of plot most of the time. Occasionally setting is crucial to your plot, especially if one must trace the steps of a murderer, or revisit a place in order to learn something new, or if your narrative is specific to a geographical location. Most of the time, place serves as a backdrop for the other bits of information. In Sabine's case, she has to travel from Los Angeles to Nebraska, two vastly different worlds. Sabine meets with cultural challenges due to the differences between Nebraska and California ways of life, but the plot does not depend upon much information being imparted about place in every scene.
    On the level of the scene, when place does come into play it may