Master Class: Making a Scene [David Gates]
What is a scene anyway? (A mini-narrative with beginning, middle, climax, and end, most often an encounter involving two or more people.) Where do you begin a scene? (As close to the end as you can; e.g., after the phone rings, someone walks over, picks it up, says hello.) Where do you end a scene? (When it’s done what it needs to do; e.g., before they hang up.) What happens in a scene? (Something had better.) How does it move the larger narrative forward? (By letting us in on something we don’t already know, either about the story or the people.) What is each person in a scene trying to achieve—overtly or secretly? (Something that conflicts with what someone else is trying to achieve.) But you’re not saying that every encounter in fiction is a form of combat? (I’m not?) But not if the people are friends or lovers, right? (Especially if.) Bring in a scene or two from your own work, and be prepared to discuss why it’s necessary to your larger narrative, what it’s accomplishing, and what’s happening in it—both the actual events and the undercurrents. We’ll pay particular attention to dialogue: what’s said and how it’s said; what’s not said and what that says.
FAQ
Complete FAQMost classes are offered at a general and member tuition rates based on instruction hours, with Hugo House members receiving a 10% discount on classes fewer than six sessions.
Early bird discounts are available during the first two weeks of registration and apply to both general and member tuition rates.
To help provide financial accessibility to our class offerings, some classes each quarter are offered with a sliding-scale tuition model, allowing students to pay what they can for the class. For these classes, tuition increments starting at $5 and going up to 125% of the standard pricing will be listed on the page.
Hugo House will only process refund requests that are submitted 5 business days or more before the class start date. To request a refund, log in to your account, go to “My Account,” select the “Orders” tab on the left-hand side, click the appropriate order, and request a refund for your specific class. Administrative fees apply. Please see our full refund policy here.
Class sessions may be recorded if a session falls on a holiday, or if a student has access needs. Class recordings are not guaranteed.
We do not tolerate racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, transphobic or any other oppressive behaviors, regardless of who commits them. Please check out our full community guidelines by clicking here. If an instance of community guidelines are violated and not resolved within the classroom, students may let us know by filling out the student incident report.
Classes may be cancelled if less than the minimum number of students are enrolled within ten days before the class start date. If Hugo House needs to cancel a class for any reason, students can choose between receiving a full credit toward future classes or full refund.
Make a Donation
Donations made throughout the year help fund our programs and operations.
