Sequels*, even
more than scenes, offer all kinds of
flexibility. In large part, this flexibility is what can make sequels difficult to quantify
in stories. Unlike the scene, sequels can be so subtle they blend
right into the scenery. This can sometimes lead authors to believe sequels aren’t as important as scenes, but their flexibility in no way eliminates their necessity. For
every scene, there must be a sequel, even if it isn’t immediately
recognizable.
To help you realize the possibilities of the sequel, let’s take a look at some of the
common variations.
Variations on the Sequel Reaction
· The reaction is
“ongoing.”
You may find you need to allow your character to react to
events as they happen, instead of all
at once after the scene. To some extent, characters will always be
reacting throughout a scene. If one
character throws his milk in another’s face, it won’t make sense for the second
character to delay his reaction. If nothing else, his internal narrative will
tell readers how he felt about the unasked for milk bath. By the time you reach
the sequel proper, you may have
already shared the character’s initial reaction with readers. You may choose to
develop that reaction further, or you may decide you’ve covered it fully enough
and can move right on to the dilemma.
· The reaction is
delayed.
If the character must overcome his dilemma with a split-second
decision, you probably won’t have time to explore his reaction in immediate
depth. Let’s say your character is faced by a life-threatening disaster. The
baddie shoved him off a cliff, and he’s hanging by his fingernails to a spindly
root. Letting him hang there while you spend two pages musing on his terror,
hopelessness, and general annoyance at the bad guy’s inconsiderateness is going
to bring your story to a screeching halt—not to mention giving that root more
than enough time to break. Realistically, your hero is going to have to react
to the dilemma and decide on a course of action in a matter of seconds. No
problem with that, but you’re always going to want to try to return to the
moment later on, in a quieter setting, and record your character’s reaction.
· The reaction includes
a flashback.
The meditative quality of the flashback means it will be
much more at home within the sequel
than the scene. The flashback itself,
depending on its length, may take on the structure of a scene (goal, conflict, disaster), but because it is a memory of
something that happened previously, it will usually fit best within the
introspection of the sequel’s
reaction phase.
Variations on the Sequel Dilemma and Decision
· The decision ends up
being a dead end.
The sequel may include “half scenes,” in which the character makes a decision and
puts the goal into action, only to have it go nowhere. If you flesh this out, the dead-end goal may take the form of a scene disaster. But if you choose to summarize it, it can serve to
lengthen the dilemma/decision section. After regrouping from the dead-end decision, the
character will decide upon a new goal and the next scene will progress.
Variations on the Sequel as a Whole
· The sequel can take place in a matter of
seconds.
If the character’s original goal is foiled by a disaster, he may need to immediately react, take stock of the dilemma, make a new decision,
and enact the new goal right away. When the entire sequel takes place on such a short timeline, you won’t have any need to dwell on
each of its elements. Make sure the reaction, dilemma, and decision are clear,
either explicitly or from the context, then move on.
· The sequel can take half a sentence or
several chapters.
The length of your sequel
will control your story’s pacing. Longer sequels
will slow down the pacing and reinforce plausibility. They can go on for
chapters, if necessary. Shorter sequels
will keep the scenes’ action rolling
and allow the story to move with greater speed. If the logical sequence of
events calls for it or if you’re merely trying to amp up your story’s pacing,
you may want to shorten the sequel to
a mere sentence or two.
· The sequel’s sections can be disproportionate.
Although this series has placed equal emphasis on all three parts of
the sequel to allow us to fully study
them, the reaction, dilemma, and decision won’t always be given
equal weight.
Sometimes you’ll want to spend more time on the reaction, sometimes more on the
dilemma. Some dilemmas and decisions will be so clear from the
context that you won’t even need to mention them outright. What’s important is
that all three sections are there, even if you don’t flesh them out in the
text.
· The sequel’s sections can be included out of
order.
You’re not going to want to do this one very often, but you
can mix up the sequel if you need to.
Sometimes logic may require you to delay the reaction until after
the character has already faced his dilemma. For example, if an elephant stomps
on his foot, he’s probably going to act before he can put his reaction into mental words. You’re still including all of the elements within the same section (in contrast to the previously mentioned variation, in which the reaction is moved to an entirely new section), just rearranging them.
· The sequel is interrupted by a new scene.
Your character may have returned to base after a disastrous
battle. He may be knee deep in his reaction phase—mourning his dead comrades—and
just getting ready to face the dilemma—figuring out what dirty
turncoat leaked the battle plans—when, surprise!,
the bad guys launch an attack on the base. Your character suddenly has new
priorities and goals. Your reasons for doing this may have been to postpone the
dilemma about the turncoat, to ramp up the pacing and stakes, or even to
keep readers a little off balance.
Once you have a solid grasp on the elements of the sequel, you’re free to play around with
them to your heart’s content. Mix and match, interrupt them with new scenes, smoosh them or stretch them—whatever
your story needs. The only solid requirement is that you know your character’s reaction, dilemma, and decision within each sequel and that you make those elements
clear to readers, either outright or by implication.
So there you have it! You’ve now learned the two parts of
the Scene and the three elements that compose those parts—the scene’s goal, conflict, and disaster and
the sequel’s reaction, dilemma, and
decision. You’ve learned how to build these elements into a solid Scene, which
will, in turn, create a solid story. You’ve figured out the variations that
will allow you to mold your Scenes to your story’s unique demands. And, in so
doing, you’ve gained a deeper understanding of what makes a story work on a
technical level. Welcome to the broad new world of conscious Scene structure!
Stay tuned: Next
week, I’ll be concluding the series with a post answering Frequently Asked Questions about Scene structure.
*For the purposes of this series, “Scene” with a capital S will refer to the scene in general (which can include in its definition the sequel). I’ll use a small s and italicize scene and sequel to refer to the two different types of Scenes.
Tell me your opinion: Can you think of a sequel variation in a popular book or movie?
Related Posts: How to Cut the Filler and Tighten Your Book
5 Reasons to Write Your Scene in Order (and 3 Not to)
Control Your Speed, Control Your Pacing
Tell me your opinion: Can you think of a sequel variation in a popular book or movie?
Related Posts: How to Cut the Filler and Tighten Your Book
5 Reasons to Write Your Scene in Order (and 3 Not to)
Control Your Speed, Control Your Pacing
Click the “Play” button to Listen to Audio Version (or subscribe to the Wordplay podcast in iTunes).
Story by K.M. Weiland
Tags: decision , dilemma , Feature , goal , reaction , scenes , sequels , story structure , structuring your story's scenes , SYN
Thank you for going over the sequel so thoroughly. It's probably one of the biggest areas I need to pay attention to in my revisions so my characters grow.
Sequels can often be overlooked simply because they're misunderstood (in large part because of their confusing name). But if we can gain a solid understanding of them, our stories will benefit tremendously.
Thank you, I've enjoyed your solid presentation on sequels! :D
Thanks, Rich! I've enjoyed writing the series. Always solidifies what I know myself when I have to put it into learnable terms.
This reminds me of Viktor Frankl.
"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
Viktor E. Frankl
www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/viktor_e_frankl.html#sw1GKwx0bBdTjfwA.99
I like that. Sometimes that space is the authors' greatest asset.
WOW, what a helpful series of posts. I now have a spreadsheet titled "Scenes", with columns for goal, conflict, outcome, reaction, dilemma, and decision. It's helped me map out my story's structure and identify what's missing. More than once I've thought, "wait a sec, I'm completely missing the dilemma here!"
Thank you very much for this!!
Before writing this series, I did just that with one of my WIPs. Amazing how everything wrong with a story becomes so much clearer when you break down it down to the micro level.