How to Structure a Scene and Build a Story
Scenes can seem like elusive, tricky buggers to wrangle.
What makes a scene? More importantly, what makes an interesting and effective scene? When does a scene stop? What elements build a scene?
Today, we’re going to look at Toy Story 2 for answers to these questions.
Toy Story 2 is a lovable and effective movie. And when you break it down, it becomes clear why.
In my own research, that’s exactly what I did. (After viewing it approximately 8 billion times as it’s literally the only thing my 2-year-old will watch.)
When I broke the story down, I found simple patterns and formulas that weave together to form an excellent (and adorable) story.
So, what were these patterns?
First of all, each scene was made up of a few important elements:
Conflict
Stakes
Resolution
As you study more stories and story mechanics, you’ll find that all great stories house these pieces within their scenes. But what are they?
1 | Goal
Put simply, a scene goal is what your character wants within that scene.
Does she want to steal a tool that will help her escape her captor? Does he want to have an important, but nerve-racking conversation with his best friend? Think about what your character is setting out to achieve at the beginning of the scene. (You’ll see plenty of examples in the Toy Story 2 breakdown below.)
According to John Truby, in his book The Anatomy of Story, this goal doesn’t even have to be the protagonist’s. Instead, ask yourself: whose goal is driving this scene?
2 | Conflict
Story is conflict. I know, you’ve probably heard this a thousand times. Well, I’m here to add one more voice to this important storytelling truth.
Without conflict, you don’t have a story!
Molly walks to the market. She finds and purchases everything she needs for salsa. She walks home and makes her salsa. Then Molly serves the salsa at her party.
This is not a story.
The problem is, you can’t just sprinkle conflict throughout your book. You need it within each and every scene. Again, look for plenty of examples below.
3 | Stakes
Conflict isn’t interesting if there are no stakes.
Having two characters yell at one another would definitely quality as conflict. But if they’re only doing it because one of the characters stepped on the other’s toes, then, after a few well-chosen words, they simply apologize and move on, that’s not very interesting.
Your story needs stakes. What happens if the shy girl steps on the queen bee’s toes? Will she shove her in a locker? Spread a nasty rumor that turns her into an outcast? Those are some stakes.
4 | Resolution
And, finally, resolution. Each of your scenes should knock into the next like a domino. They should string together to form a complete, coherent picture.
But here’s the thing. When I say resolution, I don’t want you to picture happily ever after.
You want your readers to experience an emotional ride with your story. Whether it’s Tower of Terror or It’s a Small World level action, sometimes bad things need to happen to your characters.
Let me say that again: sometimes your scene’s resolution will be negative. It’ll knock your character down.
This is another piece you’ll note with the Toy Story 2 breakdown. Under each scene’s resolution, I noted whether it was GOOD, BAD, or NEUTRAL.
And this is where the most interesting pattern came into play during my analysis. I realized that Toy Story 2 had an extremely formulaic rise and fall. One scene to the next.
If scene A had a BAD resolution, scene B had a good one. Sure, in the opening scene Buzz dies (in the video game). That’s BAD. (Which is actually good! You want lots of obstacles to your character’s ultimate goal. This is what will keep your story moving.)
But in the very next scene, Woody, whose goal was to locate his missing hat (GOAL) which had been lost (CONFLICT) so that he didn’t miss out on joining Andy at Cowboy Camp (STAKES) finds his hat. This is a GOOD resolution.
Note below how as the story continues on, the resolutions become less straightforward. Woody’s worldview starts to shift as he progresses throughout his Character Arc, giving him complicated emotions and skewing the black and white ideals he had previously.
This leads him away from his Lie (things need to stay the way they are - a world view/Lie Prospector Pete encourages) toward his new Truth (what’s actually important is to accept change and enjoy things while they last).
Your story might not be quite so cut and dry.
The more you write, the better sense you’ll get for where it’s time to amp up the stakes and end your scene with a BAD resolution so that you can create your very own roller coaster.
Whether it’s got your reader screaming and gripping the seat in front of them, or just enjoying the music and the lull of the water, with maybe a few bumps of the boat.
But, wait! One more thing. The fifth fill-in-the-blank you’ll see in my breakdown below. Your scene needs a purpose.
You can place each of these elements purposefully and perfectly within your scene, but if there’s no point, your editor is going to tell you to chop that scene right out.
Just because a scene is interesting, has conflict, and keeps your reader on their toes with stakes, doesn’t mean it belongs.
It also has to have a purpose. It needs to contribute to your overall story. This is the last bullet point you’ll find in the Toy Story 2 breakdown.
Why was the scene included? What relevant or necessary information did it give us? How did it move the story forward?
So without further ado, let’s see each of these pieces in action. Here is a scene-by-scene breakdown of Toy Story 2:
Buzz fights Zurg
Goal: Defeat Zurg
Conflict: Physical fight with Zurg
Stakes: Buzz will die if he loses (scene level)
Resolution: Buzz dies (BAD)
Point: Show Rex loves the game (this circles back in the subplot with Zurg, when he escapes the toy store and attempts to defeat Buzz)
Woody looks for his hat and prepares to leave for Cowboy Camp
Goal: Find his hat and prepare for Cowboy Camp
Conflict: Missing hat, hiding from Buster the dog
Stakes: Andy might not take Woody if he isn’t able to find his hat (his one chance to be just him and Andy)
Resolution: Woody finds his hat (GOOD)
Point: Demonstrate that Woody thinks it’s important to stay relevant and hold onto the way things are (the essence of Woody’s character arc)
Andy plays with his toys
Goal: Get in five minutes of playtime
Conflict: Andy rips Woody’s arm
Stakes: Woody will not get to go to camp
Resolution: Woody gets left behind (BAD)
Point: Show that change is inevitable/toys don’t last forever (this is Woody’s greatest fear and the lie that Prospector Pete will feed Woody later on)
Woody dreams Andy comes home early and throws him away because he’s broken
Goal: Play with Andy
Conflict: Broken arm makes him unwanted
Stakes: Get thrown away
Resolution: It was just a dream (GOOD)
Point: Show Woody’s fear of being left behind (amp up the stakes with Woody’s character arc)
Wheezy gets taken to the yard sale
Goal: Save Wheezy
Conflict: Woody getting put in the yard sale
Stakes: Woody getting sold
Resolution: Woody gets stolen (BAD)
Point: Begin the move into Act 2 (leaving Normal World)
Al brings Woody back to his apartment - transition
Toys make a plan to save Woody
Goal: Figure out where Woody went and how to rescue him
Conflict: Can’t figure out where he was taken
Stakes: The toys won’t be able to save him
Resolution: Put together that Al from Al’s Toy Barn took him (GOOD)
Point: Set the toys on their rescue mission (still moving into Act 2)
Woody meets Jesse, Bullseye, and the Prospector
Goal: Figure out how to escape
Conflict: Strange toys show up out of nowhere
Stakes: Never getting out
Resolution: Learn Woody was the star of a television show (NEUTRAL)
Point: Introduce new characters
Toys look for directions to Al’s Toy Barn and leave
Goal: Figure out how to get to Woody
Conflict: It’s a long way for a toy to travel
Stakes: Never seeing Woody again
Resolution: The toys leave (GOOD) (complete transition into Act 2)
Point: Set the toys on their rescue mission
Woody watches Woody’s Roundup and learns they are set to go to the museum in Japan
Goal: Get to know the others/his tv show
Conflict: The show was cancelled and they are being sold to a museum
Stakes: Getting shipped to Japan
Resolution: Woody’s arm gets ripped all the way off (BAD)
Point: Introduce Al’s motivation
The other toys make it two blocks
Goal: Get to Woody
Conflict: It’s a long way to Woody
Stakes: Not finding Woody
Resolution: Keep going (GOOD)
Point: Show the toys’ loyalty to Woody (because of what he risked for them in the previous movie - draws more emotion/sympathy/investment from the viewer)
Woody tries to retrieve his arm
Goal: Get his arm back
Conflict: Al gets woken up by the television, Woody and Jesse fight
Stakes: He can’t leave without his arm
Resolution: Woody declares he will leave as soon as his arm is fixed (Jesse and Bullseye walk away in disappointment - BAD)
Point: Show what’s at stake for the other characters (complicate Woody’s current belief and set the stage for him to change/grow into his character arc and new Truth)
The other toys make it to Al’s Toy Barn
Goal: Get across the road
Conflict: Speeding cars on the freeway
Stakes: Getting run over
Resolution: The toys make it to Al’s Toy Barn (GOOD/BAD - they think they’ve made it, but they actually put themselves further away)
Point: Get the toys to Al’s Toy Barn (where they’ll overhear Al’s plan)
Woody gets set up to be fixed up - transition
The other toys get into the store - transition
Woody gets fixed up
Goal: Fix Woody
Conflict: His missing arm
Stakes: He’s being prepared to be shipped off
Resolution: Woody is deemed ready (GOOD/BAD - Woody’s arm is fixed, but “Andy” is painted over on his boot and he all set to leave)
Point: Get Woody ready to leave (amp up the stakes)
The toys search Al’s Toy Barn
Goal: Find Woody
Conflict: Buzz is attacked by another Buzz
Stakes: Buzz might get left behind
Resolution: Buzz is packed away (BAD)
Point: Introduce new obstacle/subplot (rounds out the story)
Woody finds out what happened with Jesse
Goal: Woody wants to leave now that he’s fixed
Conflict: He’s torn when he learns Jesse used to have a kid
Stakes: Woody would have to give up Andy
Resolution: Woody decides to stay (GOOD) (midpoint/Moment of Truth - Woody decides to preserve himself and nurture his Lie)
Point: Change Woody’s goal (make him doubt his belief and play into the LIE that Prospector Pete as the antagonist has been encouraging)
The toys overhear Al’s plan and jump in his bag
Goal: Get to Woody
Conflict: Buzz gets left behind and the toys get left in the car
Stakes: Buzz will get left behind
Resolution: The toys climb up the elevator shaft and Buzz follows (GOOD)
Point: Get the toys closer to Woody
Woody, Jesse, and Bullseye play/the toys get closer - transition
The toys make it to Woody and try to rescue him
Goal: Rescue Woody
Conflict: The toys fight with Jesse and co.
Stakes: Saying goodbye to Andy and the other toys forever
Resolution: The Prospector stops them from getting away (BAD) (transition into Act 3)
Point: Introduce new obstacle to goal, move into Act 3
The toys try to save Woody from the elevator and follow him to the airport
Goal: Rescue Woody
Conflict: The Prospector restrains Woody and Al gets away/Zurg tries to stop Buzz
Stakes: Losing Woody forever
Resolution: Fake Buzz stays with Zurg, the toys make it to the airport (GOOD)
Point: Get Woody
They go after Woody in the baggage area
Goal: Rescue Woody
Conflict: Prospector Pete attacks Buzz and Woody
Stakes: Losing Woody forever
Resolution: They get rid of Pete, but lose Jesse (BAD)
Point: Get rid of Pete (obstacle to end goal)
Woody goes after Jesse in the airplane
Goal: Rescue Jesse
Conflict: The baggage truck and airplane are getting away
Stakes: Losing Jesse forever
Resolution: They rescue Jesse (GOOD)
Point: Get Jesse (set up end goal)
They go home and Andy finds them - transition
They acclimate
Goal: Acclimate Jesse and Bullseye and resume routine
Conflict: n/a
Stakes: n/a
Resolution: It’s worth spending time with kids while it lasts
Point: Wrap everything up
The fastest way to write a strong story is with an effective outline that plots your novel’s beating heart.
In Outline Your Novel, you’ll learn exactly what these beats are, why they matter, and how to outline them effectively to make your story sing.
