In his Story Grid approach to writing a novel, Shawn Coyne lists five commandments that he argues are essential to effective fiction. These elements, he says, determine whether or not a scene works:
- Inciting incident: An event or disturbance that sets the scene into action
- Progressive complication / turning point: The action or revelation that forces the POV character to make a decision
- Crisis: The viewpoint character is forced to make a decision that will result in a bad outcome no matter what they do, or that will benefit them and harm others. This decision is critical to make the character active instead of passive.
- Climax: The action the character takes as a result of the crisis decision. This results in a (possibly) slight shift in values that provide purpose to the scene.
- Resolution: The outcome of the climax. The resolution should signify some change; if not, one of the other commandments might be missing.
- A scene comprises large-scale and small-scale structures - An alternative scene framework.
- § Writing
Coyne, Shawn, and Steven Pressfield. The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know. Illustrated edition. Black Irish Entertainment LLC, 2015.
Kerry, Abigail K. “Use The Story Grid Scene Analysis Template to Read With Purpose,” March 30, 2020. Link.
Adapted from David Drysdale's Moby Diction notes.