Make A Scene Read Online Free PDF

is: a pedophile.
    Here Humbert writes of a time when he merely wanted to hold her, to be loved by Lolita, and of her ultimate denial:
    Sometimes ... I would shed all my pedagogic restraint, dismiss all our quarrels, forget all my masculine pride—and literally crawl on my knees to your chair, my Lolita! You would give me one look—a gray furry question mark of a look: "Oh no, not again" (incredulity, exasperation); for you never deigned to believe that I could, without any specific designs, ever crave to bury my face in your plaid skirt, my darling! ... "Pulease, leave me alone; will you," you would say .
    Emotional withholding is a great way to elicit sympathy, empathy, and concern for otherwise unlikable characters, as well as to build concern and drama around sympathetic characters.
    Withholding information is the most common type of withholding you'll find in scenes. Many things can be withheld: the whereabouts of a kidnap victim; the location of a stolen treasure; the address of the apartment where a Jewish person is hiding from the Nazis. Withheld information usually sets up a power struggle, as the person who has the information holds power over the person who wants it. (That is, unless you decide to bring in a torturer, which shifts the power back again.) Every scene should contain some plot information that is withheld, or else you might conclude your narrative too early on and fall into the bad habit of repeating information the reader already knows.
    Withholding objects is also an option. You might remember a game from childhood known as monkey in the middle, in which two children toss an object back and forth over the head of a third child, who tries desperately to grab for it. While it looks like a game, it's also a form of torture for the third child.
    A person witnessing this scene would want to intervene on behalf of the poor child and grab the coveted item out from the hands of those tossing it.
    You can play a form of monkey in the middle with your characters if there is an important object that your character wants, but that he must not gain too soon. This is a great technique when two characters want the same object, whether they are fighting for their lives over a gun on the floor, plotting to steal a precious piece of jewelry, or seeking a locked-up teddy bear that represents comfort. The longer you withhold the object from the person or people who want it, especially during the middle of the scene, the more tension you can build.
    The Element Danger
    A fantastic way to up the ante in the middle of the scene is to put your protagonist or someone he loves in danger. This can be physical danger—the maiden tied to the railroad tracks—like in Annie Proulx's novel The Shipping News. The main character, Quoyle, is a doormat of a man who has terrible self-esteem and who can't swim. His inability to swim is a metaphor for how he navigates the world. When he sees a body bobbing in the harbor, he takes it upon himself to rescue it, capsizing his boat in the process and nearly drowning himself. While clinging to a floating ice chest, Quoyle's life flashes before his eyes, and for the first time, the reader sees that he wants to become a stronger man.
    Putting your character in danger is one of the most immediate ways to capture the reader. How your character reacts to danger also reveals something about his true nature. Perhaps your timid character suddenly shows some bravery, or, conversely, a macho character turns out to be quite terrified when his life is at stake.
    Then there is emotional danger, such as an encounter with a psychotic person, blackmail that threatens a character's livelihood, or mental abuse such as in this bit of a scene from Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres. Here, an abusive father suddenly rages at one of his grown daughters, Ginny, whom he considers disloyal:
    He leaned his face toward mine. "You don't have to drive me around any more or cook the goddamned