What is a Scene Sequel?
I shared the concept of scene sequels in my book Painting the Past: A Guide for Writing Historical Fiction. Another novelist introduced me to scene sequels about 10 years ago and I’ve been using them ever since.
Yes, there are scene sequels in The Duchess of Idaho. I’ve found them very useful as I’m putting the finishing touches on the book. When I began writing DOI, I could see the internal and external conflicts for Grace Wentworth, my main character, so clearly in my mind, but I was having trouble articulating what I knew on the page.
I used scene sequels as a way to slow down and allow my characters, and my readers, time to think through the various events that Grace encounters on the Oregon Trail.
The Four Steps of a Scene Sequel
Step 1: Emotion
This is where the character is reacting to what has happened. In that moment when something happens, we feel it first. Before rationality, before logic, there is emotion.
Step 2: Thought
When the emotion of the moment fades away we begin to think. Sometimes logically. Sometimes not. But the intention is to make sense of what is happening. What does this really mean? What is the right thing to do? For me, the thought stage is where the character questions what has happened, what should have happened, what might happen. If I do A, will B, C, or Z result?
Step 3: Decision
After the thinking is done, what will you do? What will Grace do after she learns her parents’ secret? What will she do about her own secret? The decision is the moment when the character chooses one way or the other based on their thoughts about the event.
Step 4: Action
This is the result of the decision. Once the decision is made, then the character has to do something about it. Sometimes the decision is to sleep on it. Sometimes the decision is to deal with it later. But there should be some kind of culmination to the thinking and the decision.
Keeping Track of the Four Steps of the Scene Sequel
The novelist who told me about scene sequels said she kept the formula on a sticky note on her computer for years to keep the steps fresh in her mind as she was writing. The formula is relatively simple, yet it allows us to understand the characters and their experiences on a deeper level.
I think part of the reason scene sequels work so well is because they mimic our real-life process of dealing with whatever it is we have to deal with. First we react in an emotional way, then we think about it, then we decide what to do, and then we do it (or we decide to do nothing, which is also a decision).
A scene sequel isn’t the kind of thing you want to use at every little event, but whenever something momentous happens it’s helpful to slow down and allow your characters to feel, think, decide, and do. This will create a richer, fuller story for your readers.
