Setting the scene for your reader is critical. After all, as readers, we want to know what’s what when a scene opens.
And yes, this means setting the scene with every opening. If this is missing, you run the risk of your reader jumping out of the story in order to figure things out. Keep your reader engaged!
When any scene in your story opens, the reader wants to know three key things.
- Whose point of view are we in?
- What point in time is it?
- Where are we?
A new scene can mean a shift in all three, in two, or one. But if there is no shift in anything, then there’s no need for a scene break.
Let’s take a deeper look at each.
Point of view
I have never read this anywhere, but I firmly believe that the first name that opens a scene signals whose POV the scene is in. Test the theory for yourself.
For me, it’s frustrating to be two or three paragraphs into a scene and discover it’s not in the POV I thought it was. Things like that pull the reader out of the story.
That also means don’t open the scene with a pronoun—unless that character is a mystery character whose identity isn’t revealed until much later.
A brother! Abby and Sally had a brother! Abby’s gaping mouth and wide eyes reflected Sally’s own surprise at this news. They grasped hands.
You initially expect the POV is Abby, but Sally is the true POV character. The use of the pronoun own is also a clue. However, the reader might miss that, and reader clarity is the trump card.
So, revision to the rescue.
A brother! Sally and Abby had a brother! Abby’s gaping mouth and wide eyes reflected Sally’s own surprise at this news. They grasped hands.
This is a very small change, but it can mean the difference between clarity or confusion.
Time
Every story is a progression of time. It might only be days. It might be years. Most books fall somewhere in between.
Because of that progression, it’s important to let your reader know if only minutes have passed since the end of the last scene—which also might have been the end of a chapter—or if it’s been days, weeks, months.
Be creative in how you express that passage of time.
Example:
In chapter 1 of Discovering Her Inheritance (releasing fall 2023) I end the first scene while the characters are at Wendy’s for lunch.
I begin the next scene like this:
“I can hardly wait for the holidays. It’ll be so much fun having you at the ranch,” Abby said as we entered my apartment after lunch.
If you’re dealing with a situation that is a “ticking time bomb,” then you can be more direct.
Example:
One hour. One stinking, wasted hour listening to political rhetoric while my daughter pleaded for her life trapped at the bottom of the bay.
Story Location
Readers know a scene break can signal a change in story location as well as a shift in POV and time.
In my example I gave above about time, I showed the shift in time and place in one sentence.
“I can hardly wait for the holidays. It’ll be so much fun having you at the ranch,” Abby said as we entered my apartment after lunch.
Give your readers credit. You have immersed them in the story and elements from one scene will carry over to the next. If you’re doing things correctly, they won’t struggle to figure things out.
Most readers, including me, expect major shifts when a chapter opens.
If all you’ve done is shift POV from one scene to the next, they’ll recognize that as long as other elements of the previous scene are present. This type of shift happens a lot in romance because the reader wants to see the scene from both characters.
Here’s an example from Operation: Camouflage Christmas.
“Looks like rain,” Bernard said. Drops began falling from the sky as they were ordered to get in line to march. Brooke yelled cadence with passion. It looked to be a wet evening for them all, but Brooke still shined bright in the midst of it, a fierce determination on her face as the Cadre began cadence with the Bravo Company responding. …
Face forward, Bernard. Don’t give yourself away—yet.
****
Soaked, exhausted, and starving, Brooke thought she might catch a glimpse of Noah floating by. It was pitch dark and the rain was pouring down. It was difficult to keep on her feet while maneuvering through the unfamiliar dark and muddy woods.
The author has maintained the elements of time and location through the description of the weather and that they are still on maneuvers. All that has occurred is a shift in POV, from Bernard to Brooke.
You are probably setting the scene more than you realize, and these examples show how subtly or not-so-subtly you can do it.
Have a question about all this? Drop it in the comments, and I’ll be sure to answer.