Capturing the Scenes
Deleting scenes is a natural part of story creation
Editor’s note: an earlier version of this article first appeared on my author website in 2019.
Whenever I buy a movie or TV series on DVD or Blu-Ray, I always make a point of checking out the bonus content. I especially enjoy watching deleted scenes. I'm always curious to see what the director left on the cutting room floor and how they would have changed the story. Leaving certain scenes to the imagination can alter a story’s direction almost as much as the scenes ultimately included in the narrative.
Deleted scenes usually don’t make the final cut for a good reason. These scenes typically bog down pacing, include unnecessary exposition, or don't move the story forward as much as the director hoped.
Authors face a similar dilemma when editing a short story or novel. Scenes you cut from a story can determine how that story unfolds almost as much as the scenes you leave in the narrative.
Making Tough Cuts
Discarding a scene that you spent hours or even days creating isn't an easy thing for an author to do. Sure, if these scenes are inferior to the rest of the story, then cutting them out is simple and painless. But that isn't always the case. A scene can contain powerful imagery, witty dialogue, or intriguing character moments and still act as a narrative roadblock if it impedes the pace and flow of the main story.
I originally intended to include a flashback sequence in Pandora Reborn detailing how Casey and Christina became best friends before Ron met either teen. The scene had cool imagery, fun dialogue, and featured a tense battle with a monster.
Ultimately, I had to cut the scene. It did not fit organically into the flow of the main narrative when I wrote my initial draft. The scene also revealed no new information readers didn't learn elsewhere. It ended up being a well-written tangent that didn't move the story forward. One unexpected positive outcome from cutting the scene is I found a use for a reworked version when I wrote Snow Dragon five years later. My once-deleted scene became a pivotal suspenseful character-building moment in the novella for both Casey and Christina.
Ironically, I ended up cutting out a pair of scenes and a subplot from Snow Dragon when I wrote the first draft. Both scenes involved Dean Lambert, a key character in Pandora Reborn, and they would have featured the reptilian monster destroying his home and endangering the buried chest he guarded which imprisoned the antagonist from my earlier novel. Ultimately, it screamed fanfic type fan service and detracted from the main story I wanted to tell, so the whole subplot got tossed in the garbage.
While writing Under a Fallen Sun, I found myself cutting another scene I liked. I wanted to include a scene that featured Paige skipping out on a college party to scour social media posts to see if anyone had leads on the whereabouts of her missing brother Todd. This would have culminated with a flashback involving a competitive driveway basketball game between the siblings.
While the scene as a whole functioned as a nice character moment, it just didn’t fit anywhere in the story without slowing the pace considerably. I had to brainstorm and find other ways to show the nature of their relationship as my story progressed.
Scenes Left Unseen
Overwriting is a classic mistake some authors make. I’m not strictly talking about embellishing descriptive language in scenes until your narrative turns into flowery word vomit. Overwriting can also pertain to adding unnecessary scenes and subplots.
Including scenes of any length that do not propel the story forward will only draw your reader out of your story. Authors must use just enough brushstrokes to paint a visual picture inside a reader's mind. Then they should let go of the reader’s hand and allow them to fill in the remaining details on their own.
As an author, you can build a character and make a world seem bigger than what's revealed on the page by including subtle references and allusions to unseen events and interactions. Maybe it's found within a line of dialogue or a fleeting thought from your main character. Perhaps an element within the setting, like a sign or a landmark, alludes to a past event.
Hinting at what occurs off the page is more fun for readers anyway than cramming a superfluous scene into the mix. Allusions and hints open a door and invite their imagination into the story. You make it possible for readers to collaborate with you, in a tangible and exciting way, as you build your fictional world.
Check out the My Books page at Strange New Worlds for further information and purchase links for the stories mentioned in this article.
