In a new post, Janice Hardy says that a strong scene is really just a series of questions. “Plotting is both easy and hard,” she says. “But it all comes down to just answering yes or no.”
How does that work? As you develop your scene, you ask a series of simple yes/no questions to keep things moving forward. At the end of each beat, where you’ve answered the current question, you ask the next question that’s been set up by the answer to the first. In general, a scene can end in one of four ways: Yes, No, Yes but there’s a catch, No and things get worse.
“These questions are designed to move the story forward and advance the plot,” Hardy says. “You can use this yes or no approach at the end of every scene, or you can layer it throughout the scene to keep the reader asking questions and being drawn more into what’s happening.”
Hardy examines the trash compactor scene from Star Wars to illustrate this approach. The audience can guess the answer to the main question – Will our heroes make it out of the garbage masher? – because otherwise, this would be a short film.
To add tension, the answer to this scene question needs to be: Yes, but there’s a catch. In this case, the catch is the garbage eating monster. This creates a series of new questions:
Will the monster get anyone? Will Han and Leia save Luke from the trash monster? What was that noise? And why did the monster let go of Luke? Can they get out before whatever scared the trash monster finds them?
And so on. By adding new questions, including cutting away to what the droids are doing, the scene creates a variety of complications, as well as possible solutions to the scene problem, creating tension for the audience. Even if the audience does not believe the heroes will be trash compacted, they are now worried about someone being injured or captured, or additional dangers that might await them outside.
As you plot, Hardy recommends that you consider the questions you pose as your protagonist gets into trouble. Is the answer always yes or does your character get into trouble? Is the answer a simple yes/no or are your scenes layered so that the outcome is uncertain? “While you don’t want to muck them up by adding too much for the sake of drama, adding multiple (and often connected) layers of problems and potential solutions can keep readers guessing about what will happen next–and give you more options for your story,” Hardy says.
