Striking the Write Balance: A Deep Dive into Scene and Summary Techniques

Writing Craft

Nov 26

All novels are built from a combination of scene and narrative summary. The balance is the author's choice, but the more we know each component, the better decisions we can make about structuring our story to produce a book others will enjoy.

I used to think of scenes and summaries as concrete, diametrically opposing story components.

This is not so, my friends.

But I’ll share how I used to see it because it’s often presented that way to new writers ⤵️

Scenes = shown moments of dramatic action in the story.

Summary = a series of moments (events over time) condensed together to move things along because they’re boring or information the reader already knows and doesn't lend to the expansion of the critical elements of a story: plot, character, theme, setting, or conflict.

Scene = feeling the experience.

Summary = not feeling the experience (really not true).

You either use one or the other, and your story should have more scenes than a summary (also not true).

I was kind of right and kind of wrong. I'll explain…

Writers often hear that scenes are the building blocks of a story and that you cannot write a novel heavy in summary because no one would want to read it.

I disagree.

It depends on what you're writing and who you’re writing for, and in fiction, one learns never to say never.

I recently reopened Harry Potter, and I was surprised that much of the first and second chapters are heavy with summary.

But if we’re speaking generally about commercial fiction where the story and style are more easily read and accessible to readers, I agree scenes are center stage.

These stories stay very close to genre obligations, which is why it's also called genre fiction. The big translation here is that the reader walks away with the experience they expected.

But just because scenes get the spotlight, it doesn't mean summaries are less important.

In this blog post, we'll break down the distinction between scene and summary, see how I had it wrong (summary is not dull or unemotive), and see that scene and summary are often blended.

We’ll also look at the purpose of each with some examples (they have more in common than one might think) and talk about the rarely discussed middle ground: the half-scene.

What is a scene?

A scene is a moment a reader can watch unfold in real-time and, therefore, experience.

They can feel it.

A scene is composed of action, dialogue, description, and interiority, each of which may have varying roles of importance and weight.

They combine to provide the reader with the experience of being in the moment with the character (like watching a play) to move the story forward by showing a change as a result of conflict (more on changes in a scene in a moment).

A scene is the smallest unit of a story with a beginning, middle, and end, versus a sentence, the smallest unit of writing.

A scene typically takes place in one setting or location.

A scene involves a character or a cast of characters and is told from one point of view (unless you’re intentionally head-hopping and, in general, don't do that unless you've got a good reason.)

A scene is more about showing the reader what is happening than telling them.

Something needs to change in every scene, for the reader or the character(s).

The reader may grow into a deeper understanding of the character or situation, or the character may have a realization or a reaction or take direct action that leads to the next event in the story.

For brevity, I’ve placed three examples of scenes written in different POVs into this document. Have a look if it’s beneficial to you.

What is a summary?

A summary is a series of moments compressed into a short amount of page time that contains events the reader doesn’t need to see unfold.

The information is necessary for the reader to understand the context of time, space, and character worldview, but we don’t need to slow it down and watch it play by play.

A summary is more about telling the reader what happened and how it felt to bring them up to speed for the next scene, sequence, or act.

There are two types of summary techniques:

Sequential: A series of events is summarized linearly to show the passage of time (a morning, a day, a week, or longer)

Circumstantial: describes the feel of a collection of situations over a compressed amount of time.

We’ll look at examples of each:

Examples of a Sequential Summary in 1st person:

Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong, YA suspense

“Eight-thirty in the morning, and I can already declare it a shitty day. I overslept, skipped breakfast, and forgot my travel mug and granola bar on the counter. I also forgot to take my migraine meds.”

Example of a circumstantial summary in omniscient:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling, MG fantasy

Chapter 2 The Vanishing Glass

“Nearly ten years had passed since the Dursleys had woken up to find their nephew on the front step, but Privet Drive had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same tidy front gardens and lit up the brass number four on the Dursleys’ front door, it crept into their living room, which was almost exactly the same as it had been on the night when Mr. Dursley had seen that fateful news report about the owls. …”

Example of a circumstantial summary in third person:

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Coming of Age, Mystery, Literary.

“After ma left, over the next few weeks, Kya’s oldest brother and two sisters drifted away too, as if by example. They had endured Pa’s red-faced rages, which started as shouts, that escalated into fist-slugs, or backhanded punches, until one by one, they disappeared. They were nearly grown now anyway. And later, just as she forgot their ages, she couldn’t remember their real names, only that they were called Missy, Murph, and Mandy.”

These summary examples contribute to tone, theme, voice, and context. There is nothing banal about them.

Remember how I said scene and summary often blend together? Here’s an example👇

Example of summary and scene blend in 1st person:

Someone Is Always Watching by Kelley Armstrong.

When Ms. Lee returns, I ask about Gabrielle. She assures me everything is fine. She suspects Gabrielle has read an inflammatory article on CCTV concerns. (Summary of what happened–telling). Which isn’t like Gabrielle at all. (Internal thought-telling)

I don’t know what to do, and an inner voice whispers that I’m being presumptuous to think I should do anything. This is bizarre behavior for Gabrielle, but our teachers are always on the watch for that. We joke that they treat us like hormone-bombs, always one breakup or bad grade from detonation. (Scene- character thought-interiority)

After class, Devon catches up to me. (Summary of what happened-telling.)

“What's going on?” he says, which may be his first words to me all term.

“I have no idea, but I’m going to find out.”

He hesitates, and then says, “Let me know okay.”

His concern would make a lot more sense if he hadn’t spent the last two months telling his old friends to fuck off when they expressed the least bit of concern about him. (Scene-character thought-interiority)

“I don’t have your new number,” I say carefully.

He takes out his phone and texts me. “Now you do,” he says and walks away. (Scene-action/dialogue)

What do Scenes and Summary have in common?

Both must move the story forward and or deepen the reader’s understanding of the situation. Therefore, both scene and summary contribute to tone, theme, plot, context, and character.

A scene moves the story forward via a change in the character as the result of conflict.

A summary moves the story forward when conflict is not the driving factor.

When to write in scene vs. summary

When to Scene:

All major story events should be a scene.

Think of the major turning points such as the inciting incident, the first plot point (or choice to jump into the second act), the pinch points, the midpoint, the all is lost, the dark night of the soul, the climax and resolution. A scene should capture any time the character faces significant conflict, makes a pivotal decision, or has a major realization or a discovery because we want the reader immersed in these experiences. This is what they came for. These moments contribute vital information the reader needs to understand about the elements within the story (theme, conflict, plot, character development, and setting).

When to Summary:

Transitional moments (getting characters from point A to B), conveying a piece of backstory, relaying information the reader needs to know but not see play out in real time quickly, relaying information one character already knows to another character to catch them up to speed, moments where the only thing that changes for the characters is the passage of time and things are generally staying the same, or moments to deepen context and slow down pace to allow the reader a breath can be summary.

Dealing with character change over large time spans:

What if you need to capture five years of a character's life but don’t want to write five years' worth of scenes when only one or two events matter to highlight the vital change you want to show for the character?

Well, dates are beneficial. You could time stamp, write the critical scenes, and let the white space (scene breaks or chapter breaks) speak for itself.

But you also have the option of using the half-scene.

What is a half-scene?

It’s a summary with bits of action, dialogue, and description dramatized to showcase the important change or moment the author wants the reader to feel and see.

Example of a half-scene:

Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. Genre: Your guess is as good as mine! I’d call it literary. It’s truly a remarkable blend of historical fiction, magical realism, fantasy, and mystery written in the most spellbinding way.

At the end of the month, Joe walked sixty miles to a place quite distant from the river, where he told a story in a competition. He won first prize, naturally, and spent the winnings on a ring. He came home grey with fatigue, collapsed into bed for a week, and, at the end of it, got to his knees and proposed marriage to Margot. (Summary)

“I don’t know . . .” her mother said. “Can he work? Can he earn a living? How will he look after the family?”

“Look at the takings,” Margot pointed out. “See how much busier we are since Joe started telling his stories. Suppose I don’t marry him, Ma. He might go away from here. Then what?”

It was true. People came more often to the inn these days, and from further away, and they stayed longer to hear the stories Joe told. They all bought drinks. The Swan was thriving.

“But with all these strong, handsome young men that come in here and admire you so . . . wouldn’t one of those do better?”

It is Joe that I want,” Margot said firmly. “I like the stories.” (Dramatized action)

She got her way.

That was all nearly forty years before the events of this story, and in the meantime Margot and Joe had raised a large family. Margot and Joe had raised a large family. In twenty years they had produced twelve robust daughters. All had Margot’s thick brown hair and sturdy legs. They grew up to be buxom young women with blithe smiles and endless cheer. All were married now. (Summary)

I believe the author chose to dramatize the conversation between Margot and her mother so we see Margot make her choice and understand why.

Takeaways:

A novel requires both scene and summary.
Scenes allow the reader to experience the moment with their senses and watch it unfold in real-time. Summary compresses events over time by telling the reader what has happened and how it happened.
Both are vital in setting tone, contributing to theme, voice, context, plot (because they allow movement from one event to another), character, and setting and must advance the story.
Scene is the tool to show a pivotal moment of change in the story as the result of conflict.
Summary is the tool to use to weave those crucial moments together.
Scene and summary are often blended, and a writer can use a half-scene to condense time but still show important moments of change in a character's story by dramatizing bits of action, description, or dialogue.

For more reading on Scene and Summary:

Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting Your Story Through Action, Emotion, and Theme by Martha Alderson and Jordan Rosenfeld
Writing Fiction: A Guide to Narrative Craft by Janet Burroway

In the next craft blog post, we’ll dig more into writing compelling scenes!

Don’t miss Crafting Powerful Scenes: A Guide to Writing Scenes That Work!