Scene (performing arts)
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| - | ''This page is about the composition principle. For the [[Rush (band)|Rush]] song, see [[Show Don't Tell (song)]]'' | + | In [[fiction]], a '''scene''' is a unit of [[drama]]. A '''sequel''' is what follows; an aftermath. Together, scene and sequel provide the building blocks of [[Plot (narrative)|plot]] for [[short story|short stories]], [[novel]]s, and other forms of fiction. |
| - | '''Show, don't tell''' is an admonition to [[fiction]] writers to write in a manner that allows the reader to experience the story through a character's action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the narrator's exposition, summarization, and description. The advice is not to be heavy-handed, but to allow issues to emerge from the text instead, and applies to non-fiction writing too. | + | ==Characteristics of a scene== |
| + | Scene has been characterized from several different perspectives. The concept of a scene in fiction comes from theater, where it describes the action that takes place in a single setting.{{Ref|fn6}} Raymond Obstfeld, in ''Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes'', describes scene as having a structure similar to a complete novel, with a beginning, a middle, and an ending.{{Ref|fn10}} | ||
| - | ==The principle== | + | Jack M. Bickham, in ''Scene & Structure, How to Construct Fiction with Scene-by-scene Flow, Logic and Readability'', describes a scene as a segment of story action, written moment-by-moment, without summary, presented onstage in the story "now." He also portrays a scene as having a fundamental pattern: |
| - | An early example of giving this advice lies with [[Henry James]]. In the preface to the New York edition of ''[[Daisy Miller]]'', he left a pencil-mark in the margins of his notes, reminding himself to "Dramatize, dramatize!" | + | * Statement of a ''goal'' |
| + | * Introduction and development of ''conflict'' | ||
| + | * Failure of the character to reach his goal, a tactical ''disaster'' | ||
| - | The mantra "Show, don't tell" has become stock advice for fiction-writers. [[Janet Evanovich]] considers it to be one of the most important principles of fiction: "Instead of stating a situation flat out, you want to let the reader discover what you're trying to say by watching a character in action and by listening to his dialogue. ''Showing'' brings your characters to life." | + | The nature and characteristics of scene are a matter of ongoing discussion. |
| - | "Show, don't tell" should not be applied to all incidents in the story. According to James Scott Bell, "Sometimes a writer tells as a shortcut, to move quickly to the meaty part of the story or [[scene (fiction)|scene]]. Showing is essentially about making scenes vivid. If you try to do it constantly, the parts that are supposed to stand out won't, and your readers will get exhausted." Showing requires more words; telling may cover a greater span of time more concisely. A [[novel]] that contains only showing would be incredibly long; therefore, a [[narrative]] can contain some legitimate telling. | + | ==See also== |
| + | * [[Plot (narrative)]] | ||
| + | * [[Fiction]] | ||
| + | * [[Theatrical scenery]] | ||
| - | [[Scene (drama)|Scenes]] that are important to the story should be dramatized with showing, but sometimes what happens between scenes can be told so the story can make progress. According to [[Orson Scott Card]] and others, "showing" is so terribly time consuming that it is to be used only for dramatic scenes. | ||
| - | |||
| - | According to novelist [[Francine Prose]]: | ||
| - | <blockquote> | ||
| - | [The Alice Munro passage] contradicts a form of bad advice often given young writers—namely, that the job of the author is to show, not tell. Needless to say, many great novelists combine "dramatic" showing with long sections of the flat-out authorial narration that is, I guess, what is meant by telling. And the warning against telling leads to a confusion that causes novice writers to think that everything should be acted out ... when in fact the responsibility of showing should be assumed by the energetic and specific use of language." | ||
| - | </blockquote> | ||
| - | |||
| - | The issue of when to "show" and when to "tell" is the subject of ongoing debate. | ||
| - | |||
| - | ==See also== | ||
| - | *[[Style (fiction)]] | ||
| - | *[[Creative writing]] | ||
| - | *[[Fiction]] | ||
| - | *[[Exposition (plot device)]] | ||
| - | *[[Writing style]] | ||
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Revision as of 22:39, 6 February 2011
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In fiction, a scene is a unit of drama. A sequel is what follows; an aftermath. Together, scene and sequel provide the building blocks of plot for short stories, novels, and other forms of fiction.
Characteristics of a scene
Scene has been characterized from several different perspectives. The concept of a scene in fiction comes from theater, where it describes the action that takes place in a single setting.Template:Ref Raymond Obstfeld, in Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes, describes scene as having a structure similar to a complete novel, with a beginning, a middle, and an ending.Template:Ref
Jack M. Bickham, in Scene & Structure, How to Construct Fiction with Scene-by-scene Flow, Logic and Readability, describes a scene as a segment of story action, written moment-by-moment, without summary, presented onstage in the story "now." He also portrays a scene as having a fundamental pattern:
- Statement of a goal
- Introduction and development of conflict
- Failure of the character to reach his goal, a tactical disaster
The nature and characteristics of scene are a matter of ongoing discussion.
See also
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Scene (drama)" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
