The #1 Thing Every Scene Needs (Fiction Writing Advice)

Find out what separates a meaningful scene from one that should be cut.
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[@woodtroll3279]

One of my favorite scenes is in Jaws when Quint is revealing his backstory about the USS Indianapolis. That scene goes from light hearted banter between three dudes to a rather serious and heavy moment, shifting chief Brody and Hooper from ignorance to knowledge. It give us a glimpse into what crafted Quint and his strange antics.

[@markdrejza4351]

My only thought to this comment is that I don’t think the purpose of the scene was so much knowledge about Quint, although I can understand saying there is a shift in that knowledge. It is more about knowing what it’s like to be attacked by sharks. I would say the shift is in the level of fear/horror/terror in the other characters. It’s a campfire ghost story, when you think about it. Just when they are in the middle of a “guys bonding” moment, Quint’s story provides the character’s and the reader insight that they have no idea what fear is. “Waiting for your turn…”. Only Quint know what that’s like. So, I would add “fear” to what is shifted by the scene…because, just as that scene is ending, the shark is breaking through the hull.

[@djwarrior1421]

Just love how quick and informative your videos are. Keep up the "giving of examples." They really help.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks! I try to add examples whenever possible. Unfortunately I've been crunched for time lately, so I haven't been able to delve into examples as much these days

[@blackto0oth]

You are an incredible teacher - thank you for making sense of these ideas 🙏

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thrilled to hear it helped!

[@dianasaurstudio]

I've never heard this tip before! Wow so simple yet effective. It's interesting that some changes, such as Luke learning of being Darth Vader's son, are set up in reverse, in a sense. Because the "change" is more of a reveal the audience also finds out. Not sure if that makes sense.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Good point. And yes, Ignorance to knowledge is a big change. Often the most impactful in a story

[@TrevorDuran3390]

I was gonna say, "something that moves your story forward."

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

aka CHANGE!

[@oliverford5367]

Too many films and books have a good premise, an interesting opening, a memorable ending - but the middle really drags. Often the premise is established, but then not much happens and it repeats itself until it's wrapped up. Think about how many movies or books could have quite a bit in the middle cut out and you could still follow what's happening. I saw Jennifer's Body recently and you can cut out at least 2 of her killings in the middle and the film would still work. One film that gets it right is The Matrix. Every five minutes the state of play changes, from the initial sequence, to Neo in his daily life, to being chased by agents, to deciding to wake up, to learning about the Matrix, to training, to seeing the Oracle, and so on! The move is fast-paced and exciting because the state of things is always changing.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Good call on The Maxtrix, and you're right--many stories fail around the middle. Newer writers especially struggle with "Saggy Middle Syndrome" when it comes to writing novels or longer works. The problem is that there aren't enough guideposts in the middle sections of plot structure. Most guides tell writers "Hey, just wing it till the 3rd Act" and winging it doesn't always work.

[@PhoenixCrown]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Good point. I mentioned the Matrix in a separate comment (one of my favorite scenes ever is when he's reborn as The One). Thanks for the insight on saggy middle syndrome, but what do you mean by "guideposts?" I think the issue with SMS comes from an author thinking they need to hit a certain length or wordcount but not having necessary, meaningful changes in the story. Either the story needs more change, or it should be shorter. For example, a simple quest story just needs to get the characters from point A to point B. You could either write that with a bunch of chapters where this happened and then this happened... but nothing really changes. Or you could come up with plot points that build on each other, feed into the overall story and themes, and help develop characters. But I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on this. The middle of my story includes a sequence of scenes that does a ton of character development and worldbuilding, but in a way that moves the plot forward, the midpoint of my story is the MC realizing his power, and the rest of the middle is him coming to terms with his biases and brainwashing. It doesn't feel saggy to me (but I'm the author!). Keep on writing.

[@MistyMaven-dj8ci]

🐦 💩 MUST HAVE MEANING people!!! 🤣 This has gotta be the most hilarious explanation I’ve ever heard.

[@renzezekieldivida3014]

Change = benefitial plot story/ character development. Aight, I'm gonna try this out.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yep, change is what gives stories their meaning

[@Deadseriousliving]

I’ve been working my way thru your videos … great content thx! And I just so happened to grab Bad Parts, too.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks, and double thanks! Hope you enjoy the book! If there's ever a writing-related subject you want me to cover in a future video, let me know

[@uncertaintyunravelled8273]

Thanks for the help. Appreciate the vid.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Glad it helped! If you ever want me to cover a specific subject, let me know!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

What's your all-time favorite movie scene and what story value changes in it? Let us know!

[@TrevorDuran3390]

You ever see "Enemy of the State"? I love the mobster restaurant scene. The "tape" scene.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Nope, but Will Smith, Gene Hackman, and Jon Voight sounds like something worth checking out

[@TrevorDuran3390]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty please watch the whole movie. The scene is much better with context.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Will do. Hopefully something this week

[@TrevorDuran3390]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty let me know how you like it. I think it's aged very well.

[@GalaxxE_Gaming]

1:00 why does this make me laugh 😂

[@kaijuge6934]

The finale of Knives Out stands out to me... (spoilers) First of all, there was a huge change right before the finale when Blanc went from being Marta's enemy to her ally, preventing her from confessing to the crime she didn't actually commit. Then we go from Marta's ignorance of the tox report to knowledge-the victim had no morphine in his system, so she didn't kill him. Blanc went from disappointed to excited as he related his theory, and we go from ignorance of Ransom's actions to knowledge. Then Marta went from being unable to lie effectively to making Ransom confess by lying (though she had done this before, the way she pulled that off would not work here. And, of course, Ransom went from free to arrested. It's an amazing scene.

[@cheswyneyman5480]

How familiar are with Dan Harmon Story Circle? Dan Harmon talks about descent and return, and why that works. Why every story element have to be in a certain order for the audience recognize it as a story is because each human mind has a rhythm and when you play within this rhythm it resonate. Rhythm of Biology, Rhythm of Psycology and Rhythm of Society. Content idea for a future video if not covered already.

[@valkordarkmoor9108]

What about character introductions like where they are introduced and then nothing more happens until later. Does the mere addition of a major character count as change?

[@ctsuhako1]

It's probably the scene in Rocky where he doubts himself and he tells Adrienne that he just wants to make it to the last round. Is that Ignorance to Knowledge? Love your writing channel!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Ah, the "I can't do it" scene. I would say it's most likely Fear (-) to Courage (+) since he's clearly intimidated at the beginning of that scene. Then he sets a goal for himself and becomes determined to pull it off.

[@djwarrior1421]

So many scenes, so little space to share. First scene that pops into my brain is the scene from The Wizard of Oz when Dorothy is nearly inconsolable that she will not get back to Kansas (despondent) that ends in her waking up in bed (filled with hope). The other scene comes from Braveheart. The scene where William Wallace is (thankful) for Robert The Bruce's devotion to the cause, but ends when the helmet is removed from Robert The Bruce, revealing him as William's killer and ultimate (betrayal).

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Great examples! And I need to rewatch Braveheart in the worst way

[@PhoenixCrown]

Gibson's acting when he's betrayed in that scene is incredible. So good.

[@robinsprung207]

Hello, great content my friend! Just discovered your channel and really like what you are doing. Keep up your amazing hard work! Looking forward to your growth and more great uploads on KZbin!!!

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for the kinds words! Went ahead and subbed to your channel as well!

[@robinsprung207]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thanks! :)

[@TheBluenyt09]

Sounds awzum! Every part of the plot should have a reason or an answer to whats going on😎👏👏👏

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Yep. Change is impact. And if scenes don't change the stakes/characters/etc., you can't expect them to have impact.

[@chriswest8389]

What about context, or anticipation, tension ,with a delayed payoff- a future scene

[@ridleyformk1244]

5:52: SPOILERS! One of my favorite scenes ever is from The Lion King. It's when Scar pinned Simba on a cliff. Hewispheprs in his ear, and tells him that he was the one who killed Mufasa. Simba leaps from the cliff and shouts 'Murderer!' at Scar. This is like an ignorance of knowledge story value, like you said. Simba is ignorant of his father's true killer till Scar tells him, which also shows Scar's pride as well.

[@brianedwards7142]

This is ultra nerdy but my whole life I have been infatuated with the Lost in Space Robot, the original, not the remake. There's a scene near the end of s1 e3 or e4 where, up to that point the Robot had referred to Will as William Robinson but Will tells the robot not to be so formal and call him Will. The robot says "I will call you Will" and begins to transform from a menacing weapon to a kind of talking Lassie and Will's best friend.

[@gintooky7995]

That was helpful thx

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Thanks for watching!

[@stephvandykeozzy]

The part when the Tyrannosaurus Rex comes out of the paddock is the best part in Jurassic Park. Not only does it show the danger the Rex poses, it symbolizes that the dinosaurs are out loose. It is part of the movie's plot. That would be from unknown to aware?

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Great scene. I would say the value changes from Safety (+) to Danger (-) or Control (+) to Chaos (-)

[@stephvandykeozzy]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Oh okay. I never thought of that before.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

@@stephvandykeozzy Yep, figuring out values is something you'll get the hang of as you analyze more scenes

[@stephvandykeozzy]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Thank you. I’ve been trying to get into detail of the scenes lately.

[@cinefeed4420]

Very good thx

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Glad it helped--let me know if there's another subject you want covered!

[@iosyntropy]

this topic is a very under rated and one of the least discussed in the writing advice ive gotten. since this was two years ago it would be a perfect topic to re-do or add on. theres few things as helpful as learning that a chapter needs to almost be its own story with its own beginning middle climax and end, and youre a good teacher, so i think alot of people would appreciate more of this one! the video question was whats your fav movie scene that changes the value of story - the climax scene of "the game" with mike douglas - oh man.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

I just watched The Game last year--LOVED that ending. Made the entire story leading up to it 100x better. I'll consider doing another video on this subject. This video didn't do too well (Maybe because I need a catchier title?), so most of my audience hasn't heard the advice

[@iosyntropy]

@@WriterBrandonMcNulty yes!!!!

[@kellywilliams1332]

so i have a question about each chapter needing its own arc, which I think is essentially what you are saying, if I'm correct. How exactly do you do this? Can you point to an example? Thanks.

[@iosyntropy]

@@kellywilliams1332 hi kelly, i dont have an example from the top of my head, but im sure if you open any chapter of any book there will be a detetctable onset of reasons for the chapter to exist (beginning) then there will be measures taken to do something (middle) then something will have eithe been learned or accomplished or learned the hard way what not to do to learn or accomplish (end). then there will be something that makes you interested in the next chapter like a sinple wuestion, that leads to the onset of reasons for the next chapter's beginning

[@JustLooseMe]

The greatest scene(s) I know are from the first Pirates of the Carribean. First scene (after the prologue) we see Elizabeth looking for the Medaillon. (Which tells a lot about her, that she kept it and that she didnt look for it very often) than we learn about her standing an her relationship to her father and get foreshadowing about her drowning scene later. Then the Introduction of Will and how he gets treated with friendly ignorance. That Scene changes alot because she gets the dress (which will put her in danger later) and puts on the amulett (which will kick off the whole adventure) and she learns about the upcoming proposal. WE on the other hand learn alot about the character through clever show AND tell without it feeling like an infodump. And then the first fight between Will and Jack. Again we learn a lot about both Characters and the characters do as well. Will refers to pirates as "it" they both show that they are great fighters, Jack shows that he is willing to do anything and the scene changes multiple times. First Jack tries to hide. (Which fails) then Jack want to go through the front door. (Which fails thanks to Will) Than Jack need to look for another way out and every time Will stands in his way. On top of that Jack gets the first Idea who Will really is. And he gets the knowledge that Will is in fact a good smith and fighter which plays a role to trust him later in his escape attempt. On top of that, Jack figures out that Will has a crush on someone out of reach which gives him leverage later on. The Fight is more a disguise foe both Characters figuring each other out.

[@PhoenixCrown]

One of my favorites is in the Matrix when Neo is reborn. The most famous "No." He goes from ignorance to knowledge and I guess weak(er) to strong. You can have knowledge like a detective's clue, but for Neo this climax this is a revelation.

[@kaijuge6934]

This is the One Piece anime's biggest problem, and it's not even solvable. One chapter of manga usually doesn't give enough content for a well-paced 20 minute episode of anime, so it has to be drawn out. But that means we get runtime where nothing can change because the anime is bound to the manga, and so there are a bunch of empty scenes where nothing changes. Unfortunately, I don't think there are better ways of going about it. Having One Piece go by seasons would be worse, at least in my view, than the constant flow that's been going for 20+ years, and this video finally explains the issue with filler-there can't be any change! The anime is following a manga, so it can't diverge from that! Thus, anime-only scenes are hollow.

[@grapplermodel]

How bout story values that are like negative to more negative. Then the next scene is more negative to worse. Before they go positive(+). Coz im using this for one of my characters to show he is unlucky. He loses money in first, then loses his girlfriend, then loses his job, then a family member dies and he confronts himself in the mirror. Then he'll go positive after where he does a good deed to make a change.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Consider showing the character being hopeful (+) after losing the money, then he loses more (-) Or you can have something unrelated to his financial/family/romantic situation changing from +/-. As long as something changes, the scene matters.

[@JosephSchneider26]

I mean a bird shitting on the sidewalk could be a drive of change. If a very conscientious lady who's heavily invested in the cleanliness of her neighborhood saw this it could be the final straw that makes her snap. Or a guy who earns his living by cleaning the sidewalk finally realizes how empty his life is. I get that you wanted to stick to that one example, I just wanted to add this piece of advice: Look at a scene from different angles!

[@Whofan9211]

Do the values stay the same in every scene or can they change from one scene to another? For example, scene one goes from ignorance to knowledge, and scene two goes from alive to dead. Scene three goes from ignorance to knowledge, and scene four goes from love to hate.

[@ThatsJustMyBabyDaddy]

Game of Thrones does this very well.

[@WriterBrandonMcNulty]

Absolutely. Since they condense so much content into each episode, ever scene must count

[@Whofan9211]

Is it okay for something to coexist with the change? For example, if a scene goes from ignorance to knowledge is it okay for two characters to discuss a character's personal life, or should the focus be only on the change at hand?