Your Favorite Scene

When writing a book you basically create one scene at a time, and each new scene builds on the scenes that came before. What each scene has to do is contribute to the plot of the story and move it forward. At the very least it should offer insight into one of the characters. If it doesn't do one of these things, hopefully it will be cut before the book is printed.

So all scenes are important, but not all scenes stick in your mind long after the book is over. For me this is true of books I read and books I write. It's even true of movies. There have been a few movies where I wanted to rewind and see a particular scene again.

In EVENINGS there are many scenes that I loved writing. I loved writing the scene where Victor finally tells off busy body Mrs. Apolonia for criticizing his daughter. Before that, one of the most important scenes for the development of Victoria's inner growth was when she quit working for her father, because this moved her closer to independence. This scene had to be just right, so I worked and reworked it, and it became another of my favorite scenes. Many of the scenes with Eric and his father were also challenging to write, but I loved those because they showed the battle that often goes on between men and their fathers. They love each other, but at the same time there is a sort of competition - a need for the younger man to be viewed as a man, and the need of the older man to still maintain his authority and power even as he feels it slipping away.

I'd like to know as readers, what was your favorite scene? Share your thoughts. On November 16th, I'll draw someone's name for a copy of EVENINGS.