Beginner with Ywiter

[FWJ]

Hello everyone, I'm not an author, but I'd like to write down my thoughts. I haven't yet understood the chapter and scene system. I know chapters from books. How can I understand scenes in a book's structure?

P.S. The links to the wiki and FAQ don't work.

Thank you.

[Peter Barns]

Hi

A scene in a novel is a distinct unit of storytelling that usually takes place in a single location and time, involving specific characters and actions that move the plot forward or develop character.

Key Characteristics of a Scene:

1. Time and Place: A scene typically occurs in one setting without time jumps.

2. Characters Present: Usually involves one or more characters interacting or experiencing something.

3. Conflict or Change: Something happens—whether it's a conflict, decision, revelation, or emotional shift—that affects the story.

4. Structure: Scenes often follow a mini-arc—beginning, middle, and end. There’s usually a goal, conflict/obstacle, and a result or change.

Example:

In a romance novel, a scene might be:

> A couple arguing in a café about their future—complete with dialogue, body language, and internal thoughts—which ends with one of them walking out.

Purpose of a Scene:

Advance the plot

Reveal or deepen character

Establish or enrich the setting

Build tension, theme, or emotion

Think of a novel as a movie: scenes are like the individual shots or segments that, when pieced together, tell the whole story.

Welcome to yWriter

Pete

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "yWriter" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to ywriter+u...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ywriter/ed453d59-d529-432d-ac41-87105a65775cn%40googlegroups.com.

[FWJ]

Thanks, that was helpful.

[davidyor...@gmail.com]

This question could indicate that you want to use yWriter Chapters to nest thoughts into topics:

1. Big thought

                                                              i.      Related small thought 1

                                                             ii.      Related small thought 2

2. Second big thought

                                                              i.      Related small thought a

                                                             ii.      Related small thought b

You can call a chapter whatever you want; ‘Chapter 1’ or ‘Chapter 1.1’ are just names – numbers only begin to matter if you want to use the chapter renumbering facility in the program.  You can even ‘fake’ nesting chapters by naming and formatting the titles.

 

The nesting structure inherent in yWriter (it uses book terms) is:

Book level

Section of book level

Chapter level

Scene level (this is suggested as basic thought level - though you can ‘go deeper’ by writing structured prose as a scene)

 

There are other yWriter data forms that can be used to store thoughts that are capable of being linked (especially to the scene level)  – eg character, item. location and tags can be used for reporting.

 

There is not really the deep structure that you can achieve in mind maps or nested lists/outlines. Navigation and reporting is done through either general text search or scene-related reports. Wiki-like linking is difficult to implement.

 

yWriter is one of many programs that can be used to organise thoughts and it clearly works well for thoughts involved in authoring. It may work well for the use you envisage or it may not.

 

Regards

David

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/ywriter/c61a3e12-0b62-49ae-bc88-1d2e7cb1b6aan%40googlegroups.com.