The Scene You Forgot to Write
Lisa CliffordFabulously, I’m seeing manuscripts with strong stories, great characters and the potential for wonderful emotion, yet they are missing scenes.
What? Missing a scene? What on earth do you mean? How can that be?
So, imagine. Something crucial has happened in the life of your character. But instead of getting the reader to experience it, the writer whacks in a paragraph about it. What I’m seeing is a lot of big stuff summarised into a paragraph. Often even after the event so that the big stuff is squished into Backstory. Eeeek! Now every Art of Writing writer knows how I feel about squishing anything into backstory. No squishing!
What I mean is that the reader is informed that the marriage collapsed, that the betrayal occurred, that the mother left, or that the decision was made. Big, character foundational, plot propelling events. Not minor details. Foundational moments, that have made the character do what they are doing now or did what they did in the past (which is often driving the story) should be lived by the reader.
That one part when the good scene has been missed (forgotten?) usually shows up in very particular ways. You might tell us that two people fell in love without showing us the moment the connection sparked. Or you tell us that a friendship ended, but we never see the argument that fractured it. A character is described as traumatised, (or changed!) but the scene that caused the transformation is missing.
Look out for these sentences that can often flag a missing emotional turning point:
‘After that…’
‘Eventually…’
‘Over time…’
Why does this happen? Very often it is speed. Writers get into that familiar quick, quick space of just let me get the story down. There is momentum, urgency, a desire to move forward rather than slow things down. Sometimes the writer knows exactly what happened and assumes the reader will feel it too.
So how does a writer know when something needs to be a scene? Ask yourself: what has changed because of this event? Did it change a relationship, a belief, a direction, a sense of self? If the answer is yes, the reader probably needs to be there.
Another question: is the emotional impact of this moment more important than the bla bla bla factual information it delivers?
If the feeling is the point of the scene, then a summary at the end of your scene will not cut it.
STOP A MINUTE!! If you feel yourself thinking, I’ll just explain this bit. Maybe, really, that bit needs to be shown in a scene.
If you’ve ever written, ‘They argued and everything changed,’ and then moved briskly on, this may be your moment. You may need a little help with this whole scene business
Enter the 2026 Craft Clinics on Zoom. We kick off on February 17 with The Art of Scene. No waving vaguely at the drama. No summarising the good bits.
Then we keep going and Early Bird prices are still available.
On March 17, Memory into Memoir tackles how lived experience becomes narrative, rather than a long list of meaningful events that never quite land.
On April 14, The Major Dramatic Question helps you identify the central tension driving your work, the quiet engine underneath everything that stops readers wandering off to make tea.
And on May 12, Character and Conflict asks the essential question. What does your character want, and what on earth is getting in the way?
The Sydney Story Workshop is going to be a banger of a weekend. No, really. It is. Three days devoted entirely to storytelling. It’s the kind of writing weekend that leaves you itching to get back to the page.
Running Friday 21 to Sunday 23 August 2026 at Woollahra Library, Double Bay, The Art of Writing: Sydney Story Workshop. Three days. Seven masterclasses. Five extraordinary teachers. A literary agent Q&A with the chance to present your précis. Lunch included because thinking is hungry work.
We close the workshop with a panel devoted entirely to money. How writing can pay. A ghostwriter, a travel writer and an expert who understands the fellowship and residency system.
Places are limited. Book your place now or write to us about a payment plan to secure your spot.
This retreat in Rome is going beyond anything we’ve ever done before and that’s saying something!
Deposits are now open for The Art of Writing’s Rome retreat. Set within a remarkable, one-of-a-kind venue, this is Rome as it is lived rather than visited: observed closely and walked slowly with historical guided writing tours.
The Rome retreat is only for 7 writers as we are inside Palazzo Doria Pamphilj (street view of entrance we are next door to the Gallery in the residential building) - too fantastico! There are only 3 places left.
Your week in Rome includes:
- Four mornings of creative writing classes
- Seven intimate teaching sessions
- A Sense of Place writing walk through Rome
- A historic walking tour with local insight
- Welcome drinks & opening dinner
- Final dinner together
- Morning cappuccinos
- And loads of hanging out and chatting with the most amazing locals!
✨ Special guest speaker: Anya Camilleri
Rome Timeless Craft is now open for full payment and deposits.
Loving writing often means learning how to do it properly. Then your story will meet you on the page, again and again.
See you next week!
Lisa
