4 Scenes, Plot, and Dialogue Free Online FlashCards

What distinguishes a scene from summary?

A scene presents a continuous stretch of action, often in a specific time and place, so readers experience an important moment as it unfolds.

What are the five parts of a useful scene-planning framework?

A scene can be planned through a character’s goal, the obstacle, the tactics they try, the turn, and the outcome.

What can serve as an obstacle in a scene?

An obstacle is anything that makes a character’s goal difficult. It might be a person, a natural force, an institution, a deadline, or the character’s own fear.

How can a scene reveal character?

A scene can develop character through what a person notices, chooses, avoids, or says under pressure.

What makes plot more than a sequence of events?

Plot arranges events so that one helps cause or complicate another; it is more than a list of events.

What question tests whether plot events are causally connected?

Ask, “Because this happened, what happens next?” If the connection is only “and then,” the causal link may need strengthening.

What is rising action?

Rising action consists of attempts to solve a problem that create further consequences or raise the stakes.

What makes a plot surprise satisfying?

A surprise feels satisfying when readers can recognize afterward how the story prepared for it.

What does pacing mean in a narrative?

Pacing is the rate at which a narrative presents events and information.

When should a writer use scene rather than summary?

Expand a confrontation or decision when its details matter; summarize routine travel, repeated attempts, or time passing when dramatizing each moment would stall the story.

What is subtext in dialogue?

Subtext is meaning a speaker implies, evades, or cannot bring themselves to say directly.

What makes dialogue purposeful?

Each dialogue exchange should serve a purpose, such as negotiating, concealing, challenging, persuading, distracting, or exposing disagreement.