So I've spent the past six hours at least writing eight or nine pages of my book, but its the most pivotal point in the story. I wrote something in addition to the scene which I'm happy with, in terms of how its written. I just don't know if it fits the story. I feel like its maybe a little darker/harder hitting than I had previously thought of doing. How do I figure out whether to keep it in or not?
Does the scene further the plot, build the world, or develop a character? If no, drop it. Would the reader miss it if it was gone? If no, drop it. If you answered "No" to both questions but want to keep it anyway, find a way to change one answer to "yes."
Yeah, that's a helpful mini guide to scene plotting. I originally put it in because I thought it was the type of thing one of the bad guys would do to my MC. Except on this rare occasion, the scene wasn't focused on her. She's present, and trying to be the hero but she's not the main focus here. I've revised the scene and decided to take out the bit that was going off route.
