Scenes are the building blocks of a novel. But while a scene is advancing the book’s  story question, each scene is, in itself, a story in miniature. 
 
This workshop focuses on how to develop a scene that is chock-full of character development, conflict, emotion, and—for the reader—a vivid sense of "being there."
  
We begin with the Big Picture, because scenes take power from their connection to the story’s through-line and from working together with related scenes.

Next we’ll explore the scene goal of the focal character, along with levels of motivation, emotional stakes, and expectations.  
          
Then we consider the opposition, because there can never be a straight line from wanting to getting. How does the focal character deal with the antagonist, which might even be her own inadequacy or fear?
  
We explore why the character must meet with disaster in every scene. Failure means a new plan, or a change of goals. Success is worse, because it always leads to unexpected consequences.
  
We'll examine the initiating incident, scene openings, working with scene and sequel, character intimacy through focused POV, ways to create exciting scenes and settings, and how to draw the reader into the next chapter. 

Above all, we?ll never lose sight of the most important element: translating events into feelings. Every scene, every "beat" in a scene, must evoke an emotion in the character that resonates in the emotions of the reader.  

September 27, 2010 through October 24, 2010

This workshop will be conducted via a Yahoo! email loop.  Email invitations will be sent 48 hours prior to the beginning of the workshop.

Just register for the workshop and complete the payment process via PayPal.  The cost is $15.00 for FFnP members and $25.00 for non-FFnP members.

Lynn Kerstan,  former college professor, folksinger, professional bridge player, and nun, is the author of nine Regency romances, seven historical romances, and three novellas. She is presently developing a paranormal series. 
 
A five-time RITA Finalist (one win), she is regularly featured on awards lists. Since Romantic Times launched its Top Picks feature, every Kerstan novel has been a Top Pick. Two have been selected by Library Journal for its Best Books of the Year list (2002 and 2003), and Dangerous Passions was named to Booklist?s Top Ten Romances of 2005 list.  
            
For many years a teacher of English literature and writing at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. and the University of San Diego, Kerstan now conducts popular-fiction workshops for writers groups and conferences. An Internet junkie, she can be found online at StoryBroads, blogging with Anne Stuart, Maggie Shayne, Patricia Potter, Tara Taylor Quinn, and Suzanne Forster.  
            
Kerstan lives an exemplary life in Coronado, California, where she plots her stories while riding her boogie board, walking on the beach, and watching Navy SEALs jog by.