Scene vs. Summary
🔍 Section 1: Identify Scenes and Summaries
Pick a chapter or a section of your manuscript.
Read through and highlight or underline the scenes — moments where you fully show characters acting, dialogue, and emotions.
Highlight or note the summary sections — where you skip through time or events quickly.
Reflection:
Do the big emotional or plot moments have scenes?
Are less important events summarized?
Is there any scene that feels unnecessary or slows your pacing?
🎯 Section 2: Example Rewrite
Choose one summary paragraph that covers multiple events quickly.
Rewrite it as a scene, focusing on one key moment with action, dialogue, and feelings.
Then compare — which version better serves your story? When might summary work better here?
🔗 Section 3: Timing and Stakes
Does your story take place over a short or long period?
If it’s short (a day or less), do you need more scenes to show time passing?
If it’s longer, what moments deserve scenes and which can be summarized?
✏️ Section 4: Scene/Summary Visual Map
Create a timeline or list of your story’s events.
Mark each event as a scene or summary.
Look for balance: Are scenes clustered too closely? Are there long summary gaps? Adjust as needed.
💡 Bonus Reflection
How does the balance between scenes and summaries affect your story’s pacing?
Do your readers get enough emotional connection in your scenes?
How can you use summary to build anticipation or skip over less important moments without losing your reader?
