How do I make a scene live?

I’ve just been reading John Brown’s presentation on Story. He gives such good insightful inspirational information at conferences. I love hearing him over and over because his material is relevant and motivational.

He says it’s the responsibility of the storyteller to create enough tension to make the reader wonder what will happen next. He goes on to talk about showing versus telling. Sometimes I find myself showing a scene and then telling what just happened. I’m getting better at cutting out the telling part, but I still do it some of the time.

Sometimes I get so involved in what’s happening to my characters that I forget to give enough explanation to my reader. They are going, “What?” Then I have to stop and slow down—envision what I want the reader to know, and then explain myself through the picture I’m painting.

Another aspect of story John Brown discusses is how much to reveal. When I first began writing, I was eager to spill all the information and back story pertaining to the characters in the first chapter. I have learned to back off in this area and plan out my reveals. Sometimes I’m still not wonderful at doing it, but I’m getting better.

Isn’t that what we’re all about? Getting better? I hope!

Happy Writing! Christy Monson