“Start your story in the middle of the action" A glance into my scene writing process with the scene written at the end.

Like taking a whetstone to a blade keeps the edge keen, practicing writing helps keep us sharp. So, I have decided to practice with prompts. I find them here, there, and everywhere. Some of them I write myself and others I pull from neverending sources of inspiration such as Reedsy Prompts. I gather a handful of prompts I like per week and decide to write one or two as time permits, always striving for at least one. Now, for the process!

I develop a summary first; this helps me understand where the scene is and where it is headed:

Two brothers often meet, beneath the stars and lantern light, to duel as they have over every argument they’ve ever had—one's wit and magic against the other's skill with dodging and daggers. The first to cry out in pain or bleed loses.

Then, I spend some time getting to know the characters. This takes one of two paths:

1. I have a name but know nothing about them yet. This means I get to make it up as I go, taking the name and forming the character around, keeping its meaning or making them go completely against it.
2. I know at least one thing about them and must name them based on it. This means I get to consider meaning when choosing the name, and I can use it to understand the character further.

In the case of this story, I knew each character's fighting style and that they are brothers first. I quested for a name that sounded good and plausible for two brothers. Then I write a blurb about each character to try to feel them out before writing the scene outline.

**Darius (He that informs himself) Graves (Older)** is a roguish fellow skilled at throwing daggers and dodging.  He can throw a dagger one at a time, dodge, taunt, slash, or deflect. He uses stamina and constitution.  He is willing to do almost anything to irritate his brother into making a mistake. Dominic is not prone to errors otherwise.

**Dominic (Lordly) Graves (Younger)** is a mage-like fellow who can sling spells: arcane shock, minimal shield, vanish, destroy, and consume energy. Energy is used to fuel his spells.  He has a fiery temper and is easily goaded by Darius’ taunts. He knows Darius will make a mistake if he runs out of stamina-- Dominic needs to keep a spell in his back pocket until then.

Scene Outlines are tricky, and they look different for everyone. This scene had a simple rhythm I wanted to keep to:

• Darius Taunts
• Dominic Responds
• Dominic Attacks
• Darius Attacks

Because I am a Pantster (Someone who figures it out as they write) at heart, my outlines tend to be VERY simplistic. Every so often, there may be additional comments:

- Darius Taunts: "I know you're a lousy shot, but that was pathetic."

- Dominic Retorts: "Like you've hit me either."

-Dominic Attacks with fire

-Darius Throws a Knife

Once that is done, I begin filling in the first draft of the scene. Once I feel the scene is completed sufficiently and ready to move on to the next scene, I give it a little time and begin the polishing process. This involves reading and re-reading, tweaking my wording as I go along.

And eventually, I ended up with a polished scene like this:

“I know you're a lousy shot, but that was pathetic,” Darius taunted, avoiding a violet spark of arcane energy crackling across the flagstone, another dark scorch mark adorning the stone around the garden fountains. The servants would not be happy.

“Like you’ve hit me either,” Dominic retorted, his eyes narrowing; snapping his fingers, a blue-violet flame swirled around them, “I won’t miss again,” Dominic muttered another spell under his breath; the wind started to move. Picking up and swirling. Normal flames would have extinguished beneath such a gust, but the arcane flames fanned higher, burned brighter, and twisted, filling the courtyard with ghostly light.

A magical shield kept Dominic safe from the growing blaze; Darius had no such protection. Feeling as though the increasing heat would melt away his skin, he did the only thing he could think of; he jumped into the fountain's water. It was but an afterthought that it was what Dominic had counted on.

Unable to see past the statue of the praying woman which adorned the fountain, Darius scrambled to his feet upon the slick marble. Then all thought, but one ceased as a sudden surge flowed through him, igniting his body and mind with agony. The water was the perfect conduit for arcane lightning.

Darius was glad the pain clenched his jaw shut; if he had cried out in surprise or pain, the duel would be over. A blast of thunder followed the lightning, and Darius was free. Deep breathing through his nose and mouth, he could not give himself long to recover, but by sheer determination, he managed.

Darius hoped the warding magic Dominic had used to protect himself was down; he shot a throwing knife as soon as he saw Dominic’s prematurely smug grin. He had either let his shield down or lacked the energy to maintain it. Faster than Dominic could perceive, the blade's edge clipped Dominic’s ear, and Dominic yelped and bled. It was over.

Clapping his hand to his ear, Dominic’s face turned red, “You, you cheated!” He accused, “There was no way I didn’t hit you in the fountain; that was enough lightning to stun a horse.”

“Don't be a poor sport; you’ll do better next time.” Darius chuckled, clapping his brother on the shoulder, "I'm off to see Camilla; I'll send her your regards. Maybe she has a cute friend, and we can do a double next time."

Dominic glowered, pulling the final dregs of his magic to heal his clipped ear. Muttering something beneath his breath as a silver light shot across the heavens.

"To the victor goes the spoils," Darius chuckled as he walked away. In truth, he had no serious machinations on pursuing Camilla, but only to goad his brother into making the next move. Darius had pretended not to notice the letters they exchanged in secret at twilight, the paper scented with her cardamom and cinnamon perfume. Now he would go to Camilla, not to woo her, but tell all about his brother's vexation.

There you have it, a finished scene ready to lead into the next. Thank you for reading and allowing me to share my process with you. If you have a process, feel free to talk about it in the comments section below. As always, if you like my work, don't hesitate to subscribe and see more or share my work.

~God Bless