Craft Focus: Scene Between the Beats
This week’s craft focus in Page Turner Planning is about skipping a beat. Well, not exactly. But that sounds better than pausing a beat.
We spend a lot of time talking about big beats. The turning points. The moments that move the plot forward. But stories don’t live only in the explosions. They live in the spaces between—the scenes where nothing “happens” on the surface, yet everything shifts underneath.
Those are the scenes that give a story emotional texture.
What Is a Scene Between the Beats?
A scene between the beats is a moment that sits between two major plot points. It doesn’t advance the main storyline in obvious ways. Instead, it deepens character, reinforces theme, or subtly alters a relationship dynamic.
It might be:
a quiet conversation after an argument
a moment of reflection alone
an almost-touch that doesn’t quite happen
a shared silence that says more than words
a small choice that reveals a big truth
These scenes slow the pace just enough to let emotion settle. They give readers time to feel what just happened—and to anticipate what’s coming next.
Your Action Steps This Week
Start by identifying a stretch in your manuscript between two major beats. The Meet Cute and the Adhesion in a romance. The first and second clues in a mystery. This is often where pacing feels rushed or oddly thin.
Now ask yourself what your characters need emotionally in that space.
Write a new scene—or revise an existing one—that focuses on internal reaction, relationship nuance, or thematic resonance rather than plot progression. Pay attention to body language, thought patterns, and subtext. This is about mood, not movement.
When you’re done, read the scene and ask:
Does this deepen my understanding of the character?
Does it make the next beat hit harder?
Does it reinforce the core emotional question of the story?
If the answer is yes, you’ve done it right.
A Personal Pause (Practicing What I Preach)
On a personal note, I’m taking a pause this week.
I’m heading out to California for a week-long writing retreat on the beach. But… I don’t plan to write.
I plan to plan.
I have two books I want to revise, and I know the endings aren’t landing the way they should. I also think I let the characters off too easy in some beats. So instead of writing new words, I’m going to step back and look at these stories scene by scene.
I’ll be breaking them down using a combination of:
Shawn Coyne’s Story Grid
Theodora Taylor’s Butter Techniques (an online class)
Holly Lisle’s How to Revise Your Novel (this was my first revision class over a decade ago!)
I’ve got notecards. Sticky notes. Colored pens. Big tables. Ocean air.
For me, this is a break.
Playing with story—pulling it apart and seeing how it works—is one of the most restorative things I can do.
Want to write with me? Did you know I have a whole Youtube Channel of writing sprints for you to use anytime? And it’s free! New sprints are posted daily!
