STOP Writing Scenes Until You Know the LAMB Method!

[@Mikroniix]

You make really good condensed and concise content in a sea of relatively unedited, rambling, talking heads. Please don't stop any time soon.

[@Bookfox]

Thank you so much! I'm doing my best over here.

[@Mikroniix]

@@Bookfox your videos and blog posts are awesome! I find them really, really helpful.

[@BidwellRunner]

@@Bookfox You are doing great. Really want to echo my appreciation for how to the point you are. I never feel like I am wasting time watching your videos.

[@SempiternamentePisa]

Absolutely agree with @Mikroniix. This channel is what I've searched for years. Greetings from Italy and keep going. Ciaooo! :)

[@jeaniusbeforenine]

​@BidwellRunner 1000% agree. Ugh, I get so mad watching and reading hours and hours of information to the find only ONE piece that's useful. I'm always looking out for advanced writing techniques and am almost always disappointed. I actually get nervous spending hundreds of dollars for writing courses or conferences, because people don't seem to actually teach advanced tips and don't want to waste that much money on the CHANCE of learning something new. But here, Bookfox is free and *safe*. I KNOW I will get something good out of every video I click on.

[@appledough3843]

0:17 Avoid dead ends (Piece of new info, decision made but not yet acted upon, a new complication) 1:30 2 steps forward, 1 step back 2:14 Maintain credibility (Prepare audience for what you want to establish) 3:21 Credible motivation 4:43 Cause & Effect (King died then the queen died of grief) 5:34 Keep your eyes on the goal (How does this scene further the plot?) 6:13 Remind the reader of the central conflict 7:14 Create interesting obstacles 8:29 Raise the stakes 9:24 Simplify your scenes players

[@wifikun2466]

Thank you

[@5Gburn]

Thanks!!! I'd missed a couple.

[@SannyTrademark]

You forgot: 10:30 Dog

[@christopherclouser340]

This channel has sneakily become the best writing advice channel on KZbin. Keep up the great work. So much good writing advice in each of your videos.

[@Bookfox]

Wow, thank you! Glad I could help you along the writing journey!

[@salientrogue3117]

I second this sentiment.

[@KevinMcGee_CSSian]

And the 1-second comic asides work as well. :)

[@negyt7665]

​@@Bookfox This is absolutely true about your channel. Please keep going. You do valuable work!

[@jayhawk3027]

I just cut the nurse's name out of my novel and reverted her to the unnamed status. I also cut a whole scene near the end, and the story tightened right away. You are my favorite KZbin writing coach from now on. Thank you!

[@ronaldlabelle9264]

#3 is great! I tend to write *very* highstakes stories, but I like to start them with a vignette. I imagine it like zooming the camera out until the story, the world, the STAKES are revealed in full. Start with a tease of a macguffin, then have that macguffin become focused and important, then finally you reveal the macguffin as a tease of a much larger plot device/story pillar. Great tool in the toolbag.

[@reluctantstereotypes]

Another brilliant video. You are the best. I've watched many - too many - rambling, writing tips videos that take 15-20 minutes of my life, without ever providing more than novice-level advice. I love your perfectly targetted content and your, straight to the point, presentation style. And you always provide great examples. Thank you.

[@KimtheElder]

🎯

[@FlippingThePage]

Just started editing for the first time ever (took me eight years to finally complete a first draft 😅) and your videos have been my raft in the storm!

[@Osoro.Shirosoro]

Are people serious?!! THIS CHANNEL NEEDS MORE ATTENTION ! ! ! (Sorry, english not my first language) He gives the best advice !

[@ronanpazpappalardo5602]

I was thinking just the same. His content is pure gold.

[@WaiSoeThein]

Your videos do help. No bias, no fixed opinions, no filler speeches. Just concise and well presented advices.

[@IchNachtLiebe]

In the novel I'm working on, point 2 really resonated with my style. I don't leave every chapter at massive cliffhangers but I leave them on a mystery. "Main character find the item he was looking for, but it's broken." It's a small conflict that isn't resolved in the chapter but the reader wants to know how it's fixed. For every question I answer I add two questions.

[@5Gburn]

Nice!

[@Shougun2007]

Great stuff! Well presented and straight to the point. As a sound engineer I have to point out the psychological effect of cutting out all breath pauses. It's stressful for the listener to sit through an entire 10 minute video where a middle to high-energy voice is blasting information within roughly the same note register, with all pauses and moments of silence cut out. I can understand the desire to keep the video short and retain engagement, but the actual effect is unfortunately often counter-productive. I think you do a great job of varying your vocal presentation with melody and intensity, but the editing imo counters that ambition. Please consider the natural dynamics of the narrative energy curve in the video. It takes courage to allow silence, but as listeners we need troughs in order for the energy peaks to have a meaningful impact.

[@HarryRosewood]

This guy is seriously underrated. I'm currently writing a novel, and watching lots of writing related youtubers, this is the best content there is after Sanderson's lectures in BYU. But Brandon talks about fantasy and if you're writing something different - look no further. Structured and well organised information.

[@5Gburn]

I like Sanderdon's lectures for the big picture and genre specifics, but if I had to choose one, I'd choose Bookfox. SO much specifically applicable advice. Definitely doing his dialogue course, if nothing else.

[@ronaldlabelle9264]

Bookfox has mastered the skill of helping all styles of writer agnostically. As a soft world builder, I find for *myself* that very few youtube authors can get through a video where they don’t give bad advice or diss softer approaches. Bookfox stays laser focused on the universal craft of making great tales.

[@ryanizanami4866]

This is a really condensed and perfectly organized set of advice

[@Bookfox]

Appreciate those kind words!

[@isaackimmel1420]

Jane Austen is really good at making a character look like they have one motivation and then revealing a very different one.

[@Zee-pi3io]

I love your videos. You and Ellen Brock are my favorite writing advice youtubers. Everytime I watch your stuff Im running through different scenes I'm working on and how I can apply it. So useful!

[@cj-cv7zv]

I feel like a lot of this is intuitive, but this puts it all into words in a great way that makes you consciously aware of the techniques

[@sunrise_reverie]

I truly do enjoy your content. You skip past the obvious stuff and go straight into the interesting, meaty advice with cool examples. Very cool channel!

[@popesuavecitoxii2379]

Just in time! I'm outlining my novel and these tips gave me some new ideas

[@motherofplumerias3943]

Ok, amazing advice aside, I have to acknowledge that when you started talking about The Great Gatsby, that background light turned green. I don’t know if that was done on purpose or coincidental, but that was on point. 😂😂

[@valeriegriffith5409]

Thank you for being YOU. I continue to be inspired by your thoughts and writing experiences. ❤

[@ryanizanami4866]

Thanks for bringing this to us.

[@scobrado]

@Bookfox, this is very solid info. Thanks. I admire your delivery and look. I offer one pointer: Up the wardrobe. Brooks Brothers, baby. Nothing says serious like a killer look. Tell me what your wife says. (Now everybody wants to read more on this comment thread...)

[@Ngr666Kong]

A True unsung hero is you dude, Thanks

[@essenko]

This is packed and precise, keep on this Channel !

[@stevensandersauthor]

Helpful and concise is a great combination. Thanks!

[@JudiChristopher]

1:47 I LOVE THAT Movie... "Where the Crawdad Sings"

[@JudiChristopher]

000ooopppss I mean the BOOK too.

[@kellistephens3135]

Love this video! I only follow you and Jessica Brody for advice, because I don't want to overconsume and not actually write anything. I'm using scene templates to map out ideas before I write, but I will be rewatching this after I finish fast-drafting. This advice is great and I know will help make my scenes stronger through each new draft!

[@JudiChristopher]

6:57 Here in New Mexico, where "Breaking Bad" was Filmed Walter White (laughing) does a Commercial about picking up trash... and they use the barrel and his pants he lost in the dessert. Excellent Commercial for New Mexico... We love our "Breaking Bad" TV show.

[@delstanley1349]

Disguised Motivation Entry- One of the first I can remember: As a kid and fan of Rod Serling's I remember "The Twilight Zone"- episode "To Serve Man." A nine foot alien comes to Earth. His motivation? He will bring peace and goodwill on Earth, to serve all mankind. How? All the Earth's deserts will be transformed to flowering farm lands and crops. They will end world conflict by putting up force fields around each country, and all of the Earth will no longer have to bear wars. No more armies and thus no wars, no more hunger. As they said they came to Earth to serve it, to make it a true Garden of Eden. Ah, such friendly and kindly beings. Well, they were truly motivated to serve man. On their plates. On the planet Kanabas (?). Yes, the Earth would become a garden of eating alright. "To Serve Man" was a cookbook on how to prepare Earthlings for the Kanabas who had a taste for such exotic cosmic delicacies. Humans flocked to spaceports to travel and see the home planet of such benign and goodwill creatures who ventured across the heavens all the way to Earth to serve us all. These bearers of peace brought back bare pieces of humans back home for the Kanabas' ovens, perhaps sushi style, idk. Want DISGUISED MOTIVATION!

[@roxanne_george]

Very useful and great presentation, thank you! ❤

[@begelston]

Thanks for your channel, I'm enjoying your videos. You're a great resource and clearing house of the best advice for writers.

[@eveelliotauthor]

Great video and tips - I disagree about Gatsby's motivation being love for Daisy. That's just what he tells himself (and Nick). What he really wants is to be good enough for her, and her rich crowd. The green light across the water, taunting him with the lifestyle that old money has, and which he will never achieve no matter how much money he makes. I think it's a good example of a character whose motivation is not what it initially appears to be.

[@crownprincesslaya2]

awesome summary, thank you so much!

[@purelightapologetics4930]

Thank you so much for the advice! I never really liked writing, but there’s a story that needs to be written and I’m trying to write it.

[@la_chofiss]

i love it when videos like these use gone girl as an example 😊

[@JudiChristopher]

EXCELLENT VIDEO Thank YOU so much for sharing this video

[@KodomoKomodo16]

I can't believe this is free on KZbin.

[@velvetbees]

Thank you. I bought her book.

[@marikothecheetah9342]

Hi Roxie! Virtual pats! I like your videos because they provide concise, concrete technique to use. And you provide concrete examples, which is even better.

[@hmmmmmmmmmmm27]

Thank you for sharing this to us!! 🙏❤ The best writing book recommended I'm starting to read now. Great video👏

[@mirandaschneider6049]

4:43 Snape killed Dumbledore, his motivation seemed evil then was revealed to be good

[@Buchnerd_Souly]

4:40 remember a story where a character motivation appear to be one thing in the beginning and then switch to something else later: Casey McQuiston - I kissed Shara Wheeler (no way to explain this without spoiler) Iain Banks - The Wasp Factory (the real motivation of the father was not only for the protagonist a very disturbing revelation) Clive Barker - Imagica (when you think about the story in retrospection the true motivations of all characters was truly hidden in plain sight)

[@JudiChristopher]

"Bravo Darling... Bravo" That Thumbnail was so ... Intriguing... Great Advertising... ...Great Visualization. I just had to "Click" on this video.

[@WoodlandChronicles]

Great advice!!

[@Paulo_Schnaufer]

What an excellent content!

[@serhiikoba3505]

I actually like going through one of your videos before writing. It helps me to generate ideas)

[@adriang6259]

some of these I think about constantly. Hopefully I can work on it during the editing, ie address some of the rules. Thanks for the tips

[@jollygoodhorrorshow7395]

This was actually helpful. Thanks!

[@scottyvanantwerp]

Great breakdown!

[@jj-sc1kq]

Thanks for the nice video. #6 is an interesting one for me. As I am usually thinking about a tv show instead of book (or book series) my story has as many as 4 goals in any one scene. (and I expect that some goals we should be moving away from instead of towards.) So a scene can be thought of as a minor story. (albeit one that can have loose ends that are wrapped up in other scenes.) So I need to keep the end of the scene in mind. The Episode is a story, So I have to keep my mind on the goal of the episode. The season is a story. So I have to keep my mind on the goal of the season. The over-arching series is a story, so I should keep my mind on the goal for that too. Keeping all these in mind as I move through a scene feels rough. And I think this really encapsulates the biggest issue I have with plotting out that story.

[@NuclearSnailStudios]

bookfox = best!

[@electricdispatch6257]

6:06 - if you have a scene that you like because it's building character or because it's funny, see whether there's a way to make that scene functional As Well. Early in Pulp Fiction, when Vincent and Jules are debating whether it's reasonable to throw a man off a balcony because he gave your wife a foot massage, it's entertaining dialogue, it's establishing a tone and a world - which is all good stuff but arguably dispensable... But that scene is also telling us that Marsellus is someone you do not want to mess with, which is actually essential information, because it turns out all the disparate threads of the plot have to do with different people messing with Marsellus Wallace, intentionally or unintentionally, directly or indirectly. So what might on first viewing feel like a scene that's only there because it's funny and entertaining, actually turns out to be doing important work in preparing us for the rest of the movie.

[@KimtheElder]

I really like: How does this scene get me closer to the ending? I think mine do, but that question also helps me focus down on the specific parts of the scene and tighten them up. ✂️😭

[@randywesterberg2488]

I need to start writing, but I can’t stop listening.

[@valhatan3907]

Kinda unrelated, but I want to write this comment as an answer to a preview comment I saw but couldn't find 😂 I like to not giving my character a surname. Other than because of my culture is unfamiliar with that, is because I put my effort on firstname and surname became afterthought. I even often "hide" the surname in the story.

[@JudiChristopher]

4:10 I did not like the movie "Gone Girl" It felt like ... she got away with something she should Not have gotten away with. (Note to self: Maybe that is the story all a long... HUM?)

[@paperst4r.]

HIIIIIII I LOVE YOUR VIDS SOSOSOSOSOSOSO MUCH

[@markwhat3637]

4:40 Breaking Bad. In the beginning, Walt says that he's doing all this to protect his family financially. But in the end, he admits that he did it all for himself. To show he was tough and he liked it

[@carlahemeon4453]

With regards to cutting characters from a scene -- I have the opposite problem, which I'd love some advice for. Too often, say in a fight scene or really, anything in a public space, I can focus on just my important characters to the degree that the reader might be surprised to learn that these three guys did NOT single-handedly fend off the army. How do you include other characters doing things without losing focus on your main ones?

[@annavernick1490]

can you add observations of the army in your character's POV? " he saw the 1st guard overwhelming the front so skedaddled to the left to attack from behind" haha! So what I realise I mean is that perhaps your characters respond to what the other guys in the group are doing?

[@carlahemeon4453]

@annavernick1490 That's a good idea. I guess my characters have been a little blinded to what's happening around them!

[@LizzyMeyer-g1d]

Hi, I am really enjoying watching your videos! I do have one suggestion though. You always use really extreme examples, from like adventure/horror/thriller etc., and for the book I am trying to write, it isn’t very applicable. I would appreciate it if you would use more varied genres, maybe throw in some middle school fiction or something.

[@edzejandehaan9265]

ALL psychokinesis would be groundbreaking...😅

[@likliksnek]

Awesome video, thank you. :) A question regarding not naming characters: I tend to write close 3rd POVs. So when my character is with people he knows, he wouldn't say "my friend with the baggy shirt", he'd say "my friend Tim", even though Tim may only be a cue-giver for that scene and never appear again in the story. Even just saying "a friend came up to me" feels a bit in such situations, like I'd deliberately withhold the name of the person. Do you, or anyone else, have a tip how to deal with this? Especially in the beginning of the book I find it often difficult to make clear which people in the character's vicinity are actually important to remember.

[@momiriseni5320]

What I would really like to see is even just one video that would not focus on standard storytelling (with examples of popular literature or movies). I don't care about characters much when reading, and I like Kafka, Bruno Schulz, Thomas Ligotti, Lovecraft, Ballard, Lem and Priest, and the movies of David Lynch. Neither one of them is much engaged in tropes as depicted here. How come all the advice is oriented toward your typical bestselling book? For instance, season three of Lynch's Twin Peaks, or his movie Inland Empire, is pure intuitive filmmaking. Ligotti's stories often depict objects without a human protagonists. And where there are protagonists, they are not important. Those things tend to stay with me forever, unlike some character tormented by personal problems. I listen to many of your videos, and am thankful for them, but what about the literature that goes further than standard Show, don't tell", into ""Don't show, suggest"? And suggests some ideas and concepts beyond plain storytelling?

[@throwaway4345]

yo I like your videos but I dont like spoilers, maybe you could give more general examples

[@joletapetty6706]

I wish there was an addendum to the last rule: every character doesn't need a surname!

[@themoldycupcake8572]

Simplifying characters in scenes can be difficult. For example, I’m writing a scene where all six characters are eating breakfast together. However, I feel like every single character’s name is important because, by the end of the chapter, they’re all eating breakfast again, but one of the characters is replaced with someone else and has a different name. My problem is that, since this is the first chapter, I don’t want my readers to be overwhelmed by too many names. Help!😂

[@charlytaylor1748]

I stopped reading lord of the rings in a couple of Pagés due to name overload. Russian novels can be difficult too!

[@alainiskandar3472]

Im reading pride and prejudice and you just spoiled me the proposal from Darcy I hate you, but love the content.

[@valhatan3907]

That's an age years old book ...

[@alainiskandar3472]

@ i never got to read it before

[@NancySherer-t9v]

I'd like to write a party scene, but end up with too many characters. Any thoughts?

[@abdieljimenez6129]

This channel is great!

[@Grynworzalofficial]

I remember my Dad, the quite Fonz fan saying "Ah Bullshnizzle." Which is Australian for, good sir you have made a mockery of Fonzie sheek. But it was when he saw Fonzie in shorts. That shook his reality. And then the dark times of the 80s came and we still all lose it hysterically anytime the mention of, "The perm," comes up, the piccies come out. That's when the world went wrong, my dad going from Fonzie too Richard Simmons.

[@FrankMcStank]

Step 11: Just write super good.

[@adeptusjoker7176]

Pyrites...? I don't remember that character at-- Oh.

[@DiegoGarcia-zt4ne]

algo comment

[@RidingwithStymie]

Great information, but I wish when you edit your videos, you would leave a bit of white space. It is mind-numbing to have to listen to someone rattle on non-stop like a machine gun. It doesn't give the listener time to absorb/digest the information, and quickly becomes an overload. After a few minutes, I turn off the video and move on to something else.

[@RidingwithStymie]

I tried to watch the video a second time, but at 85% speed. No go. PLEASE SLOW DOWN.

[@theq6797]

What tension? I don't understand it, I read many books and I didn't feel any tension. I am reading it, because I am curious what next or how it will end. I don't care about any feelings most of the time including while I am reading a book. There are exceptions, but they are very rare. Same with movies. So no, "Two Steps Forward, One Step Backwards" is wrong. Character can have a streak of success and it can be a fun story (or part of story). No obstacle story could be a good story just like All Steps Forward, No Step Backwards.

[@hayleylewis1458]

There are no scenes in a book. Scenes are screenwriting necessity’s. You are here specifically giving advice for authoring a book. The reality is, Anyone can author a book. ( this requires little to no skill to author a book! Screen writing is actual writing, Noone is on the internet looking for advice on how to author a book, cos that takes zero skill, screenwriting is where structure, and tools matter. No one is here looking for book writing skills cos you don’t need any for such a boring stupid endeavour. Anyone can write a book, scenes are form screenwriting. Yes if you want to write an interesting book learn screenwriting structure!

[@sern9120]

Sorry , but the unmodulated pushy oversell presentation style , overpowers the content and makes it impossible to absorb. Please consider slowing down and editing the content of its verbosity in favour of clarity of communication. Similar rules apply as for writing I should think ?

[@laurenmask6557]

Jesus Christ is Lord❤✝

[@hippomancy]

your deletion of scenes that do not contribute to story motion would eradicate so many classics... it would all become some Hemingway yawn... goodbye Tolstoy, Dostoevski, Dickens, Pratchett, Garcia Marquez, Chaucer, ...

[@michaelhunter2136]

You need to fire the guy doing postproduction on your videos.

[@Bookfox]

Why. What would you like changed?

[@hmules130]

Usual suspects

[@DragonCreature1]

Crawdads was a horrible story. Spectacular advice otherwise, though!

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

It really doesn't matter what a person writes unless they have coin, connections, crews, clout, computer code, control, corporate communities, and opulent opportunities. After all, Zon's "Rings of Flour" was obviously approved and passed corporate QA with *flying colors* (LMAO), but even the most exemplary storytelling won't be read without wealth and power behind it. 💪😎✌️ #copium 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨

[@ticijevish]

Jumping the Shark isn't what you make it out to be. As in the Happy Days example, when a work of serial fiction "jumps the shark" is when the show reaches its pinnacle and everything that follows is not as good as that. It is NOT an eye-roll moment. It certainly wasn't in the Happy Days, the shark-jumping episode is to this day regarded the best episode of the series by almost everyone. Maybe do your research next time? A simple googling would have saved you from having egg on your face.

[@Johnny-crooks]

I must say...as a writer of three books non published and never will be...i have watched a number of your videos and each time there is a new method or a top 10 list of do's and donts...at the end of the day you make it feel like no one will be plublished because there is a million different gimmicks and top 10 lists you have to watch...there is no knowledge that comes from a million different ways of trying to teach or tell someone how to be better when the so called knowledge provided changes each and every video...i know i will never be published and like your channel mixed with the other thousand that are on youtube, you make it more difficult giving a thousand different ways how to do one thing..