: How long has the "scene" method been used for writing a novel? I've noticed that many authors discuss "building" their novels using scenes as the fundamental building block. Be it by software

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How did your education propose that you prepare a project before sitting down to write it? I mean rather than using notecards, how did you define the plot?

Scenes obviously dominate screenwriting. So it's likely a crossover from that. Calling the events that happen in one time & place a "scene" is just a handy metaphor, and I'd be surprised if it had an identifiable point for when the metaphor crossed over from screenwriting to other forms.

I have a filmmaking background, and in college I took three screenwriting courses and one creative writing course, and the screenwriting courses were 100% structure, beats, and scenes, while the creative writing course contained absolutely no formalized structure advice, just focused on reading great stories, then writing and workshopping short stories. The screenwriting teacher was younger and the creative writing teacher was older, so that may support the idea that the scene metaphor is a newer phenomenon in creative writing.

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