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Continuing the series examining the art of the scene, Angie and Elizabeth delve into an early scene from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Nickel Boys. A deft scene by a highly skilled author. Elizabeth and Angie discuss how what a character wants in a scene ties into the themes that drive the whole book; the balance between abstract and concrete; choosing scenes that matter to create your story; changing and building desires; what marks the end of a scene and what happens in a scene; the definition of a sequence; how questions drive scenes and stories; setting up surprises and revelations so we believe them; character change; rising stakes and how they prevent repeat beats; how to integrate backstory actively in the moment it’s necessary to the present scene. Use this scene as a template to write your own, and your strength as a reader to inspire you! In other news, Angie is working on Math, Climate Change and Comedy and Elizabeth is expanding her definition of noticing…and affirming that reading counts in the work of a true writer.
Story Makers is a podcast that features in-depth conversations with accomplished writers, filmmakers and industry experts about story craft, technique, habit and survival–everything you need to know to stay inspired, connect to your creativity, find others’ wonderful stories and your own success.
The hosts:
Elizabeth Stark is a published, agented novelist and distributed filmmaker who teaches and mentors writers at BookWritingWorld.com.
Angie Powers is a distributed filmmaker and published short story writer with an MFA in creative writing and a certificate in screenwriting from UCLA who teaches story structure at BookWritingWorld.com.