The story as a whole and every scene* within it begins with a goal. Your characters want something—something they will have difficulty accomplishing. What they want frames the plot on both the macro and micro levels. What they want defines them, and by extension the theme of the book.
The possibilities for scene goals are endless—and very specific to your story. Your characters can want anything in any given scene, but within that universe of options, you must narrow down the desires expressed within any given scene to those that will drive the plot. Wanting to buy pink carnations for Mother’s Day is a worthy goal, but if your character’s mother is a nonexistent player in your story of a nuclear war, it’s not going to belong in your story—and certainly not as a scene goal.
Scene goals are the dominoes I’m always talking about. Each goal is a step forward in your story. One goal leads to a result that prompts a new goal and on and on. Bing-bing-bing—they knock into each other, one domino after another. If they don’t—if one goal is out of place in the overall story—the line of dominoes will stop and the story will falter, perhaps fatally.
Plot Goals vs. Scene Goals
Structuring Your Novel (affiliate link)
Your protagonist’s overall plot goal will be a problem that will require the entire story to solve. She may want to become President, she may want to rescue her kidnapped daughter, she may want to marry the boy next door, or she may want to find healing and a fresh start after the death of her father. If we break this overall, story-long goal down into bite-size pieces, we find that it’s really made up of one small goal after another.
Your character may not even start out knowing that she wants a fresh start or that she wants to marry the boy next door (although it should be immediately evident to readers by implication if nothing else). But in the very first scene, she’s going to know she wants something.
Maybe she knows she wants the neighbor boy’s dog to stop chewing her petunias. Then she knows she has to meet him and convince him to chain up his dog. Then she knows he’s infuriatingly cute. Then she knows she wants to go out with him. Then she knows she has to overcome her bad first impression. Then she knows she should bring a peace offering. Etc., etc., etc.
Before you know it, all these little scene goals will lead you right up to the overall story goal.
The most important factor to keep in mind as you identify each scene goal is its pertinence to the plot. Subplots may provide opportunities for goals that aren’t directly related to your primary goal of marrying the neighbor boy, but they, too, must eventually tie into the overall plot in an impactful or thematically resonant way. If the accomplishment or thwarting of any given scene goal won’t affect the overall outcome of the story, it’s probably not pertinent enough.
Options for Scene Goals
Scene goals will manifest in wildly different ways. Your character may want to burn a packet of letters, take a nap, hide in a closet, or sink a boat. But most scene goals will boil down into one of the following categories.
Your character is going to want:
1. Something concrete (an object, a person, etc.).
2. Something incorporeal (admiration, information, etc.)
3. Escape from something physical (imprisonment, pain, etc.).
4. Escape from something mental (worry, suspicion, fear, etc.).
5. Escape from something emotional (grief, depression, etc.).
Your character’s methods of achieving these things will often manifest in one of the following ways (although this list certainly isn’t definitive):
1. Seeking information.
2. Hiding information.
3. Hiding self.
4. Hiding someone else.
5. Confronting or attacking someone else.
6. Repairing or destroying physical objects.
Partial and Overarching Goals
Although scene goals will always be short-range (as opposed to the long-range plot goal), they won’t always be confined to and completed in a single scene. Sometimes your story will demand overarching goals that span several scenes. For example, your character may know in scene #3 that she wants to go out with the neighbor boy, but this isn’t a goal she can accomplish in just one scene. She may not achieve this particular goal until scene #11.
This is where partial goals come into play. Just as scene goals build up to the overall story goal, partial goals build up to fulfill overarching goals within a sequence of scenes, which themselves eventually lead up to the overall goal. In our example, the character’s journey to reach this particular overarching goal might include partial goals such as purposefully bumping into the neighbor boy several times, getting his phone number, and apologizing for yelling at his dog.
Overarching goals that require several scenes to accomplish do not negate the need for individual goals within each interim scene. But don’t limit yourself with the notion that each scene must be an island unto itself. Each scene is just a small part of the larger whole. Since everything must be integral, everything can’t help but be intertwined.
Questions to Ask About Your Scene Goals
Once you’ve identified your scene’s goal, stop and ask yourself the following questions:
1. Does the goal make sense within the overall plot?
2. Is the goal inherent to the overall plot?
3. Will the goal’s complication/resolution lead to a new goal/conflict/disaster?
4. If the goal is mental or emotional (e.g., be happy today), does it have a physical manifestation (e.g., smile at everyone)? (This one isn’t always necessary, but allowing characters to outwardly show their goals offers a stronger presentation than mere telling, via internal narrative.)
5. Does the success or failure of the goal directly affect the scene narrator? (If not, this character’s POV probably isn’t the right choice.)
Scene Goals in Action
Let’s examine a few scene goals in action.
Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen: Mrs. Bennet’s goal in the first chapter is to convince her husband to call upon the newly arrived Mr. Bingley. Even though she’s not the story’s protagonist, she is the primary actor in this first scene, so it’s appropriate the first goal belongs to her. The chapter offers a wonderful opening goal, since it not only presents a short-term scene goal, but also perfectly frames the story’s overall goal.
Mrs. Bennet’s scene goal in the first chapter of Pride & Prejudice is to convince her husband to gain an introduction to the newly arrived eligible bachelor. (<i>Pride & Prejudice</i> (2005), Focus Features.)
It’s a Wonderful Life directed by Frank Capra: The angel Joseph’s goal in the first scene is to find an angel he can send to George Bailey’s aid. Like Pride & Prejudice, the movie opens from a perspective outside the protagonist’s, but it presents an instant and accurate picture of the overall story goal (i.e., save George Bailey by helping him understand his life is worth living).
The opening of the classic film It’s a Wonderful Life focuses on the scene goal of finding an angel who can save George Bailey from committing suicide. (<i>It’s a Wonderful Life</i> (1947), Liberty Films.)
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card: The book opens with several short scenes indicating the goals of people other than the protagonist (used, once again, to frame the plot’s overall focus). Ender’s first goal is to avoid the bullies and make it to the school bus without incident.
The first scene goal of the titular protagonist in the classic sci-fi novel Ender’s Game focuses on what will become a thematic struggle: outsmarting bullies. (<i>Ender’s Game</i> (2013), Lionsgate.)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World directed by Peter Weir: Both the overall story goal and, by extension, the first individual scene goal are introduced in the movie’s opening shot with the revelation of Jack Aubrey’s orders to find and destroy the French privateer Acheron. The movie establishes this goal quickly by allowing readers to directly read the orders, then jumps into the first scene with the officer of the watch glassing the sea in search of any anomaly that may prove to be their quarry.
The film adaptation of Master and Commander: Far Side of the World establishes both the plot goal and, by extension, the scene goal by flashing the protagonist’s naval orders onscreen. (<i>Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World</i> (2003), Miramax Films.)
Once you have a proper goal in place, the rest of your scene should flow easily and organically. As long as each scene is integral to your story and moves the plot forward, you will be on course to achieve a solid and cohesive novel.
*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.
Stay tuned: Next week, we’ll talk about Options for Conflict in a Scene.
Complete Series:
- Part 1: Mastering the Two Different Types of Scene
- Part 2: The Three Building Blocks of the Scene
- Part 3: Options for Goals in a Scene
- Part 4: Options for Conflict in a Scene
- Part 5: Options for Disasters in a Scene
- Part 6: Variations on the Scene
- Part 7: The Three Building Blocks of the Sequel
- Part 8: Options for Reactions in a Sequel
- Part 9: Options for Dilemmas in a Sequel
- Part 10: Options for Decisions in a Sequel
- Part 11: Variations on the Sequel
- Part 12: Frequently Asked Questions About Scene Structure
- Further Posts About Scene Structure
Wordplayers, tell me your opinions! What is your character’s current scene goal? Tell me in the comments!
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8 Different Types of Scenes
How to Write Emotional Scenes (Without Making Them Cringey)
6 Ways to Craft Spectacular Set-Piece Scenes
3 Questions to Make Sure You Aren’t Missing Out on Important Scenes
About K.M. Weiland | @KMWeiland
I’ve been reading the entire series, but this one is particularly helpful. I’m just finishing up the first draft of my YA contemporary fantasy and am thinking back to make sure I’ve hit all the necessary notes. Thank you for a valuable post, once again!
Just want to say really enjoying the series on Scenes. I’ve read in many places each scene has to have a conflict/goal, etc, but often got confused by thinking of goals that were too big (story goals as opposed to scene goals). This post was very helpful in explaining this!
@Angelica: I find focusing on Scene structure particularly helpful in the outlining and revising stages, since they’re both left-brain, logical exercises.
@Brenda: Really, a story is just a mosaic: lots of little pieces (scene goals) that build to one big picture (story goal).
Do you have any other articles on character goals?
I understand that not all goals have to be concrete, but I am finding myself struggling to find concrete goals for my protagonist in order to move my plot forward.
I haven’t written the novel but I can already see some of my story’s issues. My main character starts off wanting to impress others, but his goal changes to making himself happy instead of impressing others.
Lots. You can find them by using the search function in the top right column (or at the bottom of the page, if you’re on a mobile device) or here.
Every scene in my story has a well defined purpose. Some of those purposes are deepening characters or the story world, or setting up and foreshadowing future events. Those scenes may not necessarily make obvious how they progress the plot or what the protagonist’s goal might be at that moment. As the scene progresses, however, if the protagonist did not begin with a goal, he creates one that provides the opportunity for the deepening or foreshadowing.
For example, in one scene the protagonist is just hanging around, doing nothing. When he sees an opportunity, he decides he wants to help. What he learns instead is if you startle a hunter, the hunter’s reaction can be unpleasant. How hunters react to being startled is important to the plot later, so not only have we deepened the characters, we have foreshadowed the future.
Sometimes, scene goals can be subtle, but they are always fun, or frightening.
Scene goals don’t always have to be big – or obvious – but we will usually get more bang for our buck if we’re able to make the scene goal obvious to the reader, and the sooner the better. But as with everything in fiction writing, we just have to play things by ear to find the options that best fit each specific scene.
Depends on the character. In part one, the younger twin sister who graduated high school wants to cope with the break up of her boyfriend. In part two, a young man is forced in search of food and tech fragments. Parts one and two are loosely connected by the world I’ve built in a political plot.
When structure scenes, would it be considered tacky to give each scene sort of a premise sentence?
I’ve came to a point where I realized, why not try writing multiple premise sentences if one sentence only carries me up to around 30 minutes of writing time?
Are you talking a sentence for yourself, in your outline, or a sentence to start each scene? Either way, it shouldn’t be a problem. Readers need to know what the character’s goal is as soon as possible, so stating that outright is rarely problematic.
Well more like stating the scene goal in the outline. Although I do try to keep the goal concrete, for example character x needs to return home to retrieve her wallet, as she forgot to bring it to work. Its sort of like concrete goals for video games.
When it comes to outlining, I highly recommend doing just that. If you can plot out each scene’s arc – goal, conflict, disaster – as well as the sequel’s arc, you’ll be way ahead of the game in constructing a solid plot from beginning to end.
It makes outlining fun, when you can figure out when to make everything that can go wrong, do go wrong. Like one that has to go to work, accidently get tossed through a portal. As a character I would think, “Hey, I didnt intend that for my day!”
Ah, yes, our poor suffering characters!
Thank you for this! I’ve been struggling to kick off my whodunit. I know my victim, detective and killer(s). My character questionnaires are done. The setting needs work but I have ideas. And the list of things I know will happen is underway. But I was hard pressed to get the first scene going. Now I know the goal can play out over several scenes. So, so helpful to know!
I agree on everything you’re saying but there’s just one thing that’s bothering me. What if the character doesn’t have a goal in that scene?
For example, my MC (Danielle) is just going about her normal day and she has to go to school. I assure you, I’m not going to write an entire scene on her school day. However, the scene introduces an important character in the early chapters. I can’t omit this in any way because this is a vital scene.
It feels as though I’m skipping the goal and going straight to the conflict. Unless her goal is to go to school but this wouldn’t really contribute to her overall story goal – which reminds me of another question. Not related to this particular post but if my overall story goal is established at the first plot point is that too late? If so, would I have to have another goal early on in the act which then is replaced by the new goal at the first plot point?
Remember, conflict is nothing more or less than an obstacle to the character’s scene goal. If he doesn’t have a scene goal, then there can be no conflict. Examine your existing scene conflict and see if you can figure out why it is an obstacle to your character–that’s where you’ll find your scene’s true goal.
“I’m skipping the goal and going straight to the conflict” – or the disaster.
Danielle is reminded of her past immediately when she meets the new teacher in this scene. Not only that but, to her, he seems to be focusing on her more than anyone.
This scene occurs just after she is almost kidnapped. Suppose her goal was to “get through the school day without any complications” or “without getting worked up” due to the recent events, her conflict would be the teacher because he is reminding her of the those particular events and working her up. Then the disaster would occur at the end of the chapter where she hears about her best friend’s accident (or rather, right before she does).
Does it seem like a strong(ish) structure?
It’s definitely functional. I would suggest brainstorming a little to see if you can come up with a stronger goal, but if you can’t, this does work.
I had a look like you suggested and had some ideas. I already had two and a half chapters written before I read this series so I decided to shuffle the events of my second chapter around a little to fit the structure.
Her goal in chapter 2 is to go to the police. Initially, I made sure she achieved that goal. But your advice got me thinking – what if she didn’t? Then her goal in the next scene would still be to go to the police, but after school and with her best friend instead of her best friend’s brother. This is conflicted, but only slightly, by her best friend’s singing lessons which also take place after school. The disaster is then her best friend’s accident, therefore her goal remains unachieved.
Although the teacher’s introduction does not conflict the goal directly, it does conflict future goals.
Thanks a bunch!
Sounds great! Good job on digging deeper. 🙂
Very useful notes, but I’m really struggling with the idea of goals. In my middle-grade fantasy, the protagonist is a reactionary figure (deliberately so). In fact, the 1st plot point is his realisation that he has been called to a mission. From there, I think the the scene/sequel progression will be much easier.
It’s the beginning I’m struggling with. Something significant happens to the MC in the hook and I guess his goal – though not that clear to him – could be to understand the significance. However, I’m then struggling with the progression of conflict, disaster, reaction, etc. until the mission – and his role in it – is made clear by the mentor.
Think of it this way. Even though the character’s main story goal will never become 100% clear until the First Plot Point, the character will always want *something* from the very beginning. This is usually a “larger” desire that then ties into the main story goal in some way. But this desire will be what will influence and drive his scenes all the way through the First Act.
Hi, Thank you so much for your outline on how to write a scene. My problem is, what happens if your scene doesn’t really frame the story goal?
It could be the scene is problematic, or it could be that it instead focuses on an Incident or Happening, as in this post: https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/incidents-and-happenings/
Hello! I love the idea of a character who is not the protagonist having the first goal and definitely want to use that in my prologue. But, instead of adding to the overall protagonists story goal, it directly conflicts with it – is this ok?
Generally speaking, I am not a proponent of prologues, especially antagonist-driven prologues. There are several reasons for this, all of which I outline in the posts below, but the primary two are:
1) It forces readers to begin the story twice, usually with the least interesting hook first.
2) The first character readers meet is the first character they’ll attach themselves to. If that character turns out not to be the protagonist, there is always a slight jarring effect when readers have to recalibrate to the true main character.
More here:
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/skip-prologue/
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/when-not-to-skip-prologue/
http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/find-out-if-your-prologue-is-destroying-your-storys-subtext/