Add ‘Big Scenes’ to Give Story Some Oomph

Does your story’s plot feel flat, as if there’s not enough build-up to the final, fateful act? The story probably lacks big scenes.

A big scene occurs when the story’s drama – which occurs because it is central to the theme – is powerful. Because of this, a big scene is more than just flash and bang.

Think of one of the great big scenes of all time: the final battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi. It’s larger than any scene that has occurred before in the movie (perhaps larger than any scene in any of the six Star Wars movies, which is prefect as this is the last episode in the series). There’s more at stake than ever: Luke’s life, the lives of his friends such as Princess Leia and Han Solo, the fate of the rebels against the evil Empire. This scene, however, also is thick with thematic elements: son vs. father, the value of self-control vs. rampant emotions, and good vs. evil.

A big scene is more than just the story’s climax, however. Indeed, a big scene should come at regular intervals. Think of the rising action portion of a story’s plot. It’s not a steady, even climb up to the climax but a series of bumps, with a dramatic action that ascends and then falls only to build again. Each bump represents a big scene.

Usually each big scene is bigger than the last. That’s because as nearing the story’s climax, the main character must be increasingly pushed to make a final, do-or-die-like decision. Each of the story’s thematic points are increasingly explored and questioned.

Re-examine your own stories to see if there are big scenes in them. If not, reconsider how you’ve plotted the tales. Is there a more exciting way to tell the story by testing a thematic issue through suspenseful action in increasingly more dramatic ways?

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My name is Rob Bignell. I’m an affordable, professional editor who runs Inventing Reality Editing Service, which meets the manuscript needs of writers both new and published. I also offer a variety of self-publishing services. During the past 15 years, I’ve helped more than 400 novelists and nonfiction authors obtain their publishing dreams at reasonable prices. I’m also the author of the Storytelling 101 writing guidebooks, four nonfiction hiking guidebook series, and the literary novel Windmill. Several of my short stories in the literary and science fiction genres also have been published.

Check out some of my guidebooks for plotting your story: