The Shocking Writing Tip 80% of Writers Have Been Getting Completely Wrong—And How to Fix It Now
Most writers have been fed the same tired mantra on how to write a scene: crank up the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist—and voilà! You’ve got drama. But here’s a question that might twist your mind a bit: what if every scene isn’t a battleground? What if the classic “goal-blocker-conflict” checklist just doesn’t cut it for the scenes that actually make stories sing? I’ve seen plenty of scribes get tangled up in this oversimplified dogma, thinking every moment must be a duel of wills, when in truth, some of the richest, most compelling scenes build on subtleties beyond who’s trying to outwit whom. Think about that haunting moment in The Shining or the warm, awkward cafe chat in Bridesmaids—not exactly conflict contests, right? The real challenge, then, is to shift perspective. Instead of drilling down on character battles, why not start by deciding what you want the audience to see, learn, or feel? This subtle tweak unlocks a world where scenes become powerful nuggets of storytelling—concise, purposeful, and sharply revealing. Curious about how to flip the script on conventional scene writing and craft moments that actually connect? Let’s dive in. LEARN MORE.
