On Being a Writer: Scene & Sequel

On Being a Writer: Scene & Sequel
Simply put, a scene defines a goal, presents conflict, ends in disaster, thus driving the story forward. The sequel ties that scene to the next, gives the reader and your hero a bit of a rest. It’s much like inserting peaks and valleys in your writing. In the scene we climb to the peak and descend to the valley which is the sequel, then we climb up to the next peak or conflict that is going to fall into the valley on the next disaster. Others relate the sequel to the bridge between scenes.

The three things a scene should include are:
Goal: A hero wants to posses something, wants revenge for something or wants to be relieved of something. Thus she wants to achieve something or she wants to resist something.
Conflict: Not argument between characters as some might believe, but rather is what happens in opposition to what hero wants.
Disaster: Something happens to prevent the hero from reaching her goal. It need not be disastrous in the strict sense of the word. It might simply be someone showing up she did not expect with information she did not know that puts an entirely new light on her struggle to achieve her goal. Or it can simply be a dark hint of what may happen if she pursues her goal, rather than a specific disaster.