How to Avoid Boring Your Readers: Include These Three Scene Elements
Photo by Vincent van Zalinge / Unsplash.
“I couldn’t put your book down”—the words every writer wants to hear! When I’m editing a novel, I imagine myself in the average reader’s shoes, asking what is encouraging me to keep turning pages. And while there is no single, magical answer to this question, there are three common culprits when readers feel bored: a missing goal, a lack of motivation, or an unspecified conflict.
If I’m not feeling engaged by a scene, these are the elements I examine first. More often than not, one or more of these items are absent, and by adding them in, the scene will become a page-turner. Let’s examine them each in more detail.
Goal
Plot is grounded in a character trying to achieve something. Sometimes, the genre defines that goal (e.g. solving a crime in a mystery; surviving in a thriller; getting a happy ending in a romance). These are examples of story-level goals—the big thing that your protagonist is working towards throughout the entire novel. Without that major objective, a story can feel disconnected or like it’s not going anywhere.
On the way to achieving this major goal, your protagonist also needs smaller objectives at a scene level. Usually, these are steps taken toward their story goal. These steps give the novel a feeling of momentum. And that is what most readers want—to feel like they are being taken on a journey.
“Readers want to feel like they are being taken on a journey.”
When you’re writing a first draft, it’s common to forget about the protagonist’s scene goals as you explore character and worldbuilding, so be sure to add these in during the editing phase; they’re often there beneath the surface and just need to be brought out.
Scene goals should be difficult but achievable. Sometimes your characters will fail to achieve them and other times they will succeed; in the latter case, it’s often best if there’s a “but” after afterwards (e.g. Princess Leia keeps the Death Star plans from Vader, BUT she is captured). The “but” part encourages readers to keep turning pages. Scene goals can also change, or a character could only make some progress towards the goal in a single scene, but the most riveting scenes connect the character’s goal to the main plot in some way.
Occasionally, your character doesn’t need a particular goal in a scene, because stuff is happening to them and they are reacting to it (this is more common at the beginning of a story). But if the scene feels particularly slow, or meandering, or like nothing is happening, it might be because your protagonist should have a goal they are trying to achieve. Figure out what they want, and have them take (or try to take) a step toward it in that scene.
Goal examples:
Star Wars: A New Hope. In the opening scene, Princess Leia’s goal is to keep the Death Star plans out of the Empire’s hands and get them to the Rebel Alliance. The stakes make the action—where storm troopers are shooting at the two droids and Leia is captured—much more intriguing than if Vader was just boarding a Rebel ship because he felt like it. This scene is a small step in the direction of the protagonists’ overarching story goal, which is to save the galaxy from the oppressive Empire. Leia achieves her scene goal by transferring the plans to R2-D2, but then she is captured.
Pride and Prejudice. In the first major scene, Mrs. Bennet informs her husband that a rich gentleman has moved in nearby, and her goal is to marry one of their daughters to him. She demands that he call on the gentleman and introduce himself. Though Mrs. Bennet is not the protagonist of the story (her daughter, Elizabeth, is), her objective reflects Elizabeth’s main story goal—to find romantic happiness. Mrs. Bennet does not seem to succeed, as Mr. Bennet refuses, causing much frustration and hullabaloo. Later, Mr. Bennet reveals he’s just teasing her as he has already called on the gentleman in question.
Frozen. At the beginning of the story, Anna’s goal is to make a snowman and play with Elsa and her ice magic; it’s a perfectly relatable goal for a child. As an adult, her overall story goal becomes rescuing her sister and saving the kingdom from forever winter; this first scene is still connected to that, as Elsa’s powers are what causes the cold weather in the first place. Anna succeeds in her goal and Elsa comes to play with her, but Anna gets seriously injured.
Motivation
Motivation connects readers to your story’s protagonist. Why do they want what they want? What is driving them?
The most relatable motivations connect to a basic desire that most readers can empathize with, such as the need to survive, be loved, or protect others. Your character’s need to succeed can be selfish, altruistic, or somewhere in between, but it needs to be understandable. Motivations can also change as the story progresses.
The protagonist’s motivation should also be proportionate to the antagonist’s. For example, if Sally wants to win a swim competition because it would be cool to have a gold metal, but silver or bronze would also be fine; but Mathilda wants to win because it was her deceased dad’s dream and she wants to honour his memory, there is an imbalance. The most intense, most fun-to-witness conflict happens when the two drives are similar, and only one person can get what they desperately want.
Check your scenes for missing motivation or a motivation that isn’t strong enough. If your character is taking a big risk via their actions, they better have a darn good reason.
Motivation examples:
Star Wars: A New Hope. The three main characters in A New Hope are Luke, Han, and Leia, and they each have different motivations. Leia’s scene goal (to save the Death Star plans from Vader’s clutches), and her end goal (defeating the Empire), are motivated by a selfless duty to protect the galaxy. This might be a bit boring if Leia was the only protagonist, but because we have Han, who is motivated (at first) by a selfish desire for money and survival; and Luke, who is motivated (at first) by a desire to be a hero and avenge his adopted parents’ death; we see a variety of responses to the Empire’s rule. Leia is also easy to sympathize with after the Empire destroys her home planet in front of her.
Pride and Prejudice. Mrs. Bennet is largely motivated by pride (she wants the social standing from having daughters marry rich men), though she probably has some love for her daughters and desire for their security. Her obsession and the way she nags Mr. Bennet is humorous, because we can both relate to the desire for security and financial wellbeing but also see how the way she goes about it is over-the-top. As the protagonist, Elizabeth’s motivation is to find happiness from true love, and Mrs. Bennet’s actions in the opening scene function as a foil to demonstrate Elizabeth’s wiser, kinder-hearted nature.
Frozen. As a child, Anna’s motivation is to have fun, love her sister, and be loved in return. She is best friends with her sister and wants to play. It’s simple, but it works! (None of these elements have to be complicated to tell an engaging story.) As an adult, her motivation remains mostly the same—she is driven by love for her sister.
Conflict
Conflict is what keeps readers at the edge of their seats. Sometimes, conflict is missing in a scene because writers love their characters and want them to be awesome and succeed. Good news—your characters can be awesome and succeed, but you need to give them a hard time first.
Conflict doesn’t have to come from a single villain—it can stem from nature, a setting, society, a relationship, a ticking clock, a moral obligation. A storm, a confusing maze, or a society that forbids a couple to be together can be just as frustrating as an antagonist pulling strings in the background. But keep in mind that conflict is the most interesting when it connects to the main plot.
“Conflict is the most interesting when it connects to the main plot.”
Too much random conflict (e.g. our protagonist slips on a banana) can make the story feel disjointed. There are some categories that are exceptions to this (such as survival stories), but, in general, conflict between people is the most interesting to read about, since it’s relatable and brings out strong emotions in the reader. The villain dropping a banana on purpose to trip up the protagonist is more aggravating, makes us feel more for the protagonist and hate the villain more, than a random event that stalls the protagonist’s progress.
If conflict is missing in a scene, look at what is already simmering under the surface. Perhaps two friends disagree but are too amiable about it. Perhaps the villain could show up and cause some problems. Perhaps the protagonist is experiencing inner conflict due to their own morals.
Conflict examples:
Star Wars: A New Hope. Leia’s goal in the first scene of A New Hope is appropriately tough to achieve, because Darth Vader has boarded her ship and is searching for the plans. Vader seems pretty unstoppable because of his troops, powers, and ambivalence about torturing people to get what he wants. Leia is not just up against him as an individual, but against the entire Empire.
Pride and Prejudice. Mrs. Bennet gives her all to persuade her husband to visit the rich gentleman, but Mr. Bennet refuses. Mrs. Bennet’s appalled reaction is what makes this scene’s conflict engaging to watch. Though he’s not a villain, Mr. Bennet is stopping Mrs. Bennet from getting what she wants, and this conflict directly relates to the main plot. If Mrs. Bennet was not so strongly motivated to marry off her daughters to wealthy gentlemen, and Mr. Bennet was not so strongly motivated to mess with her, the conflict would not be as interesting either.
Frozen. Anna wants to play with Elsa. At first, there is a slight barrier as Elsa wants to sleep, but Anna soon convinces her. It may seem like Anna gets what she wants too easily (didn’t I say it was supposed to be difficult?), but it needs to be easy here to provide the stark contrast later; after Anna is injured, Elsa refuses to play with her anymore.
If readers are asking “what will happen next?”, then your scenes are working. If they’re not, examine these three elements and see what could be added or brought to the surface. Every scene of a story is key to moving the plot forward and/or revealing character information. Keep your readers engaged by making each one count.
