Connect scenes where this causes that then is blocked with those
I’m sure you’ve read books where scene A is followed by Scene B which is followed by Scene C and so on. For instance:
1. SCENE A: Mary gets in her car and drives to the store.
2. SCENE B: She buys some pasta and sauce.
3. SCENE C: She drives back to her house.
4. SCENE D: Her mother comes over for dinner.
There’s a progression of action that leads to an incident, but the story lacks tension. Consider a rewrite.
1. SCENE A: Mary’s mother calls and says she’s coming over for dinner in two hours.
2. SCENE B: Mary frantically opens her refrigerator and cabinets to find she has no food to cook.
3. SCENE C: Mary charges to her car and drives off for the grocery store.
4. SCENE D: Mary left during rush hour and gets caught in a traffic jam.
5. SCENE E: Mary turns off on a side street and takes a route she knows because she’s a paramedic.
6. SCENE F: This delays Mary and the store is closed.
7. SCENE G: Mary slams on her horn in frustration.
8. SCENE H: This causes a man to come out of a new Chinese buffet she never noticed before.
9. SCENE H: It has take-out but just ran out of containers.
10. SCENE I: Mary grabs two empty containers from the back seat of her car from lunch the day before.
11. SCENE J: Mary charges back into the restaurant and throws food into the containers, making a mess.
12. SCENE K: The owner gets mad and shoves her out the door before she can fill the containers.
13. SCENE L: Mary’s mother will arrive in fifteen minutes so she weaves in and out of traffic.
14. SCENE M: The contents of one container spills out onto the front seat and down to the floor.
15. SCENE N: Mary runs into the house and divides the remaining container’s contents onto two plates just as the doorbell rings.
16. SCENE O: Mary’s mother comes in and suggests they go out to a Chinese restaurant because there isn’t enough food for the both of them.
The action in each scene drives the action in the next one. In this way, the story creates tension and situational humor that ties each of the different plot elements together.
1. SCENE A: Mary gets in her car and drives to the store.
2. SCENE B: She buys some pasta and sauce.
3. SCENE C: She drives back to her house.
4. SCENE D: Her mother comes over for dinner.
There’s a progression of action that leads to an incident, but the story lacks tension. Consider a rewrite.
1. SCENE A: Mary’s mother calls and says she’s coming over for dinner in two hours.
2. SCENE B: Mary frantically opens her refrigerator and cabinets to find she has no food to cook.
3. SCENE C: Mary charges to her car and drives off for the grocery store.
4. SCENE D: Mary left during rush hour and gets caught in a traffic jam.
5. SCENE E: Mary turns off on a side street and takes a route she knows because she’s a paramedic.
6. SCENE F: This delays Mary and the store is closed.
7. SCENE G: Mary slams on her horn in frustration.
8. SCENE H: This causes a man to come out of a new Chinese buffet she never noticed before.
9. SCENE H: It has take-out but just ran out of containers.
10. SCENE I: Mary grabs two empty containers from the back seat of her car from lunch the day before.
11. SCENE J: Mary charges back into the restaurant and throws food into the containers, making a mess.
12. SCENE K: The owner gets mad and shoves her out the door before she can fill the containers.
13. SCENE L: Mary’s mother will arrive in fifteen minutes so she weaves in and out of traffic.
14. SCENE M: The contents of one container spills out onto the front seat and down to the floor.
15. SCENE N: Mary runs into the house and divides the remaining container’s contents onto two plates just as the doorbell rings.
16. SCENE O: Mary’s mother comes in and suggests they go out to a Chinese restaurant because there isn’t enough food for the both of them.
The action in each scene drives the action in the next one. In this way, the story creates tension and situational humor that ties each of the different plot elements together.
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