: Re: Do too many scenes exhaust the reader? I'm now analyzing the scenes in my manuscript. I broke my manuscript into scenes using the definition that a new scene begins when a person, place,

@LarsenBagley300

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So, have you ever watched a show with a cliffhanger two part episode? You'll notice this even if your show has a commercial break? Chapters don't end with a resolution (unless you have the ending). They end with the set up for the next scene.

Consider an episode of a TV show as a Chapter in a book. And a scene as a a transition between one or more sets and groups of characters. These end with the protagonist about to do whatever he or she is going to do to get out of the conflict... but that will be resolved when we return from the break. In a standalone episode, this is broken by commercial where they reveal the newest complication... Or the Cliffhanger, which ensures viewers will tune in next week to find out how this gets fixed? Or worse yet, the Season Finale Cliffhanger, where now you not only have to wait over the course of the summer hiatus, but also hope and pray the show is doing well enough that the network won't kill it over the course of the summer.

I would recommend scene 4 ending Chapter 18 and Scene 5 opening Chapter 19.

Of course, if you're righting a book you there is a significant difference to TV in that you do not control the flow of information between the audience and the story, the reader does. So you need to hint at breaking points. For me, I use a Series of ---- to denote scene breaks for a reader (in Microsoft Word they will form a straight single line if you hit enter). And usually, for books, a scene will leave the characters involved and check in on situation in the story (the allies, the villains, the flashback to the past).

This gives a feeling of suspense, as now the reader has to get back to your hero to see what happens and how he/she fights out of this one. Scene 1 and two should be one scene along with scene 4 and maybe scene 5 if it's not sufficient to carry the next chapter. Scene 3 remains intact but if it's a pure flashback (you are showing those actions rather than telling them) then it is it's own separate scene, possibly chapter. If it cannot tell the chapter, do not leave the present time and have the MC fondly remember them in a way that engages the reader (recalling her camp trip).

Another rule is avoid backtracking. This is why flashbacks are hard, because they happened in the past and an overuse of them can distract the reader from the present action. Yours is very awkwardly placed in what should be the middle of a scene. Again, if it cannot carry a chapter, it needs to remembered in the present or described earlier in the book. If it does happen earlier in the book, recall it. If the reader needs a flashback to perfectly recall that aspect, it's on him to turn the pages and rewatch. Flashbacks work in TV and Movies because the reader does not have the ability to reread, you have to actually show him the part he missed. If it happened in the book, its a memory and your MC will likely not have perfect memory recall.

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