17: The Power of Writing By Scenes
- Renee Ella
- Sep 15, 2025
- 3 min read
One of the first lessons my First Draft Course with The Writer’s Studio Australia drilled into me was this: if you want to create page-turning tension that keeps readers hooked, stop obsessing over chapters and start writing in scenes.
Scenes are the building blocks of a story. They’re where micro-tension builds, where pressure mounts, and where characters shift in ways, big or small, that carry your story forward.
What Is A Scene?
“Each scene is an event that changes the character’s situation in a meaningful way.” – Margaret Dilloway
At its core, a scene is a single unit of time and place where your character faces conflict, experiences change, and pushes the story forward.
As Stacy Frazer put it: “Every story is actually two stories when it comes to your protagonist.”
The external story: the visible plot events and action.
The internal story: the growth, struggles, and transformations happening inside the character.
To keep readers hooked, a scene should show shifts on both levels - external and internal.
As Donald Maass says: “Micro-tension is the moment-by-moment tension that keeps readers in a constant state of suspense over what will happen, not in the story, but in the next few seconds.”
That micro-tension is what keeps your book unputdownable.
Mini Character Arcs of Change
Each scene is a mini-arc in itself.
Your character starts with a specific scene desire. They face conflict within the scene as they chase that desire. Then, they reach a decision point in the scene on how to move forward. That choice leads to change.
Stack these mini-arcs together and you build the larger transformation: the overarching character arc of your story.
Take this quick example:
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone — when Harry follows Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest.
Scene Desire: to find the injured unicorn.
Conflict: fear and danger as he encounters Voldemort drinking unicorn blood.
Decision / Change: Harry realises the wizarding world is far darker and more threatening than he imagined.
Externally, Harry survives a terrifying encounter. Internally, his innocence takes a step back as he grasps the true stakes of his new world.
Benefits of Writing by Scenes
It makes writing digestible. You only need to know what’s happening in the next 500–2000 words, which makes progress feel more achievable.
It strengthens pacing. Each scene has a purpose and drives momentum, helping you avoid saggy middles.
It sharpens cause-and-effect. Scenes naturally highlight how one event leads to the next.
It deepens theme and character. You can see how each moment contributes to both the external plot and internal growth.
My Routine
Before I draft a scene, I take 5–10 minutes to fill in my scene template. The difference is night and day. My scenes feel layered, intentional, and full of tension when I prepare. When I don’t? They often fall flat.
This small habit creates a huge return in the depth and quality of my writing.
My Scene Template
Adapted from The Writer’s Studio Australia, this template keeps me focused on the drama, conflict, and tension that makes a scene work.
Scene Summary – Summarise the scene in one unit of time/place, including the POV character’s emotion and the inciting problem.
Desire – What does your character want here and now in this specific scene?
Internal Opposition – What values, fears, or doubts conflict within the character?
External Opposition – Who/what is in their way to achieving their desire?
Problem – The tangible challenge they must overcome.
Question – The yes/no question raised at the scene’s start.
Setting – Where it takes place, and how it affects the POV character.
Emotion – What they feel and where they feel it in their body.
Images – Sensory details that impact the character:
SEE:
HEAR:
FEEL:
SMELL:
TASTE:
Intuition – What gut sense or instinct do they have about the situation?
Irony or Humour – What do you know that the character doesn’t?
Attitude or Mask – What mask are they wearing over their true emotions?
Epilogue
Writing by scenes gives you freedom. It transforms the overwhelming task of “write a book” into the manageable step of “write this moment.” More importantly, it ensures your story stays alive on the page: full of micro-tension, cause-and-effect, and character growth.
So next time you sit down to write, don’t ask yourself, “What happens in this chapter?” Ask instead:
“What change takes place in this scene?”
Because novels aren’t built chapter by chapter. They’re built scene by scene. One shift of change at a time.
Happy writing,
Renee Ella
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