How to Write a Powerful Scene: 13-Point Checklist for Authors

The Ultimate Scene Checklist Every Fiction Writer Needs

Aug 24, 2025

Great books don’t live and die by chapters. They live and die by scenes.
One flat scene, and readers lose interest. One powerful scene, and they can’t stop turning pages.

So what makes a scene powerful? Here’s the checklist:

1. Give Your Character a Clear Goal

Every scene needs a want. If your protagonist isn’t chasing something, readers stop caring.

Ask: What does my character want right now in this scene or chapter? Make it specific, urgent, and obvious.

Example: In The Hunger Games, Katniss doesn’t just “want to survive.” In the opening arena scene, she wants to grab the bow and arrows before the others. Immediate. Tangible. Life-or-death.

2. Use the Six Commandments of Storytelling

A scene isn’t complete unless it hits these beats:

Inciting Incident
Progressive Complications
Turning Point
Crisis
Climax
Resolution

Example: In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the troll in the bathroom scene hits all six beats. The troll appears (inciting incident), Hermione is trapped (progressive complication), Harry decides to distract it (turning point), he risks himself (crisis), he jumps on its back (climax), and the kids win Hermione’s trust (resolution).

3. Escalate With Obstacles

If the conflict doesn’t rise, tension dies. Every new beat should make things worse.

Example: In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, the escape from Moria keeps escalating—first orcs, then a cave troll, then a full army, and finally the Balrog. Each step feels bigger and more dangerous.

4. Balance Protagonist and Antagonist

A weak antagonist is boring. An unstoppable one is unfair. Balance matters.

Example: In The Dark Knight, Batman versus the Joker works because they’re intellectual equals. Joker doesn’t have brute force, but his chaos perfectly counters Batman’s order.

5. Show, Don’t Tell

Readers want experiences, not explanations.

Example: In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald doesn’t say “Gatsby was nervous.” He shows Gatsby knocking over a clock while waiting for Daisy. Awkwardness embodied in action.

6. Shift the Value

Every scene should end in a different state than it began.

Example: In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth’s visit to Pemberley shifts her perception of Darcy from disdain to intrigue. Start: prejudice. End: curiosity.

7. Keep Your Protagonist Active

Your main character should drive the story and not just react.
In critical moments (especially the climax), the protagonist should make choices and take action, even if that means failing.

Example: In Die Hard, John McClane doesn’t just hide from terrorists. He sets traps, radios the police, fights back. His actions drive the entire film forward.

8. Cut the Infodump

Give only what the reader needs right now.

Example: In The Matrix, Morpheus doesn’t dump the entire history of the war in Neo’s first scene. He starts with the red pill/blue pill choice. Context comes later, just in time.

9. Start Late

Drop readers in the moment things matter.

Example: In Inglourious Basterds, the opening farmhouse scene doesn’t start with Colonel Landa traveling or arriving. It begins with him already sitting at the table, ready to interrogate.

10. Make Dialogue Spark

Good dialogue is never filler. It reveals tension.

Characters should talk to each other, not at the reader.
Link each exchange to the goal of the scene.

11. Keep the Action Logical

Readers should follow the flow without confusion.

Example: In Jurassic Park, the T-Rex breakout scene is a masterclass. From the missing goat to the car windows shaking to the attack, every beat makes sense and builds logically on the last.

12. Polish the language

Polish for grammar, rhythm, and clarity. Make your prose invisible so the reader stays inside the story.

13. Build Setting & Character Deeply

Ground your reader in a vivid scene. Provide enough detail for atmosphere and orientation, but never let description overwhelm the action.

Final Thoughts

A great scene isn’t just words on a page. It’s a battle of wants, a clash of stakes, and a shift that changes everything.

Use this checklist and study the scenes referenced above. Every one of them works because the fundamentals are in place. Do the same, and your readers won’t be able to put your story down.

Want more support on your self publishing journey?