In a new post, September Fawkes broaches a subject many would deem blasphemous: writing scenes without conflict. While nearly every scene will have a character goal, antagonist, conflict, and consequences, there are scenes that don’t. “These are exceptions, and the writer should implement them intentionally, not out of laziness or ignorance,” Fawkes cautions. She identifies the following types of scenes that need little, if any, conflict.
- Incidents. An incident is like a half-scene, in which a character has a goal but encounters no resistance. “You could put in antagonists and conflict, but sometimes that’s not what the story is about,” Fawkes says. “Sometimes your character needs to simply succeed in a goal in order to progress to the next part of her journey (which is what the story is really about).” Nonetheless, the incident does create a turning point, as the hero decides what to do after achieving the goal. An incident can convey information, show off a hero’s abilities, or set up a reversal later, but in a way that doesn’t carry the weight of a full scene and its expectation for conflict.
- Happenings. Happenings bring people together, usually to introduce them. In a RomCom, the “meet cute” scene is a happening. In a murder mystery, the characters arriving for a fatal dinner party would be another. These scenes can convey information that the hero isn’t necessarily seeking and provide a distraction or misdirection.
- Setup / Prequel Scenes. “Some scenes are simply setups for payoffs later,” Fawkes says. While they are often integrated into full scenes, they may not be. Sitcoms rely on set-up scenes to create the situation the characters will respond to for the rest of the episode. Sometimes called a “prequel” scene, setups provide the context needed to understand what happens later. Caveat: don’t use setup scenes to dump information.
- Scene sequels. “A sequel is a reactionary segment that follows a typical scene, but sometimes that reaction is important and long enough to make up its own scene,” Fawkes explains. “In short, they are made up of three phases: reaction (emotional response), dilemma (logical response), and decision (which leads to a new goal).” Sequels don’t need to be lengthy – they might comprise a page or two at the end of a chapter, a few paragraphs, or even a few sentences.
- Thematic Scenes. Sometimes, a scene merely explores your story’s theme without progressing the plot. The scene may provide a metaphor for your hero’s struggle or emphasize the point you wish to make, but without direct goals and conflict.
- Victim Scenes. In some ways the opposite of the incident, the victim scene shows your character in defeat. “Victim scenes can also be useful in establishing the passive pain and unfairness your protagonist suffers in his day-to-day life,” Fawkes writes. “Sometimes we need to show the protagonist is helplessly trapped in a situation before something like the inciting incident comes along and offers him a way out.”
