All-Day Scene Writing Workshop (Lifetime Access to Recordings)
Learn how to craft spectacular scenes that will captivate readers, page after page
Let me guess, fellow scribe…
…it happened to you.
You have an AMAZING idea for a story (and yes, that really deserves to be in all-caps).
Maybe it happened something like this:
- While drying the dishes, you started to muse on the expression “heart of gold,” when suddenly, an idea for a new fantasy series with dragons sprung into your mind.
- A snarky line of dialogue came to you, in a flash, out of nowhere. You started brainstorming ideas about what kind of person would say such a thing…and ended up creating a hero who’ll make the heroine of your next romance novel—not to mention readers—swoon.
- You were driving down the highway and saw an abandoned diner (the greasy-spoon kind), and it struck you that this would be a good site for a murder. This, in turn, sparked an idea for a mystery novel...which you then spent the rest of your drive plotting out.
Maybe it happened another way.
Regardless, you emerged with a story idea that you fell in love with—the characters, the plot, the setting…everything.
And you know that readers—once they get their hot little hands on your story—will fall in love, too.
In the ideal scenario, your readers would be so enthralled by the first scene that they read, they would feel compelled to read the next…and the next…and the next…
…until they’ve finished your book.
In other words, you’d captivate them from first page until the last.
And when they emerge from the story world you had painstakingly crafted page by page, they’d wonder, How is it already 2 AM in the morning?!
Not only that…
Once they reach the end, they’ll turn into a whole chorus of Olivers, crying, “Please, writer, can I have some MORE?”
(Depending on your target audience, their enthusiasm might be additionally expressed through dozens of emojis with heart eyes.)
Which means when you publish more books, they’ll instantly click the “buy now” button.
They don’t even have to think about it because you’ve become an auto-buy for them.
*oh yeah*
Plus, because you thoroughly engaged them with your writing, they are eager to shout your name from the rooftops.
That is to say, they are eager to recommend you to all of their friends.
Which means you can make more sales—and increase your income AND your impact—without engaging in a huge marketing push.
*oh yeah squared*
You can’t wait for that joyous day.
But.
You have to finish the darn thing first.
Finish, as in write the rough draft…
…and then edit the heck out of it to turn it into a story that’s ready for the spotlight.
Essentially, to bring your story to life—and get it into the hands of your readers—you have to build it the way that readers will read it.
Scene by scene.
And, maybe for you…that is not going so well.
It’s kind of like learning a foreign language.
You want to say something like:
The apple was a harbinger of destruction; one sweet bite would poison the kingdom.
But, because of your current level of vocab and grammar, all you can say is:
Apples are red.
Perhaps, that’s how you feel at the moment, about your story.
You want to craft scenes that will transport your readers to another world…
…but everything is coming out boring and banal—the literary equivalent of “apples are red.”
While your story certainly has the potential to garner 1000s of heart-eyed emojis…
…in its current state, you don’t believe it’s good enough to keep your readers entertained.
And you’re not sure what to do to make it better.
What you’d really like is just to glide—like a brightly colored hot-air balloon—over this patch of frustration.
Yes, glide right over the Frustration Patch and not have your self-confidence nicked by its thorns.
That’s what you’d like.
And have no doubt, fellow scribe—you can get there.
With time and with practice.
But…
…you can shorten that time—if you practice with the right tools.
That’s why I (H. R. D’Costa of scribemeetsworld.com *waves hello*) am so excited to say that I’ve created a resource that can help you really move the needle to craft scenes that you’re proud of.
It’s the magical, 3-stage process to writing scenes that I share in my All-Day Scene Writing Workshop.
I created it so you’d have a better scene-writing process—something that would boost your confidence in your ability to craft spectacular scenes.
I wanted you—whether beginner or more experienced novelist—to have all the tools you need to write and edit spectacular scenes that will captivate your readers and turn your novel into a page-turner.
After you enroll in this value-packed workshop…
You’ll get immediate and indefinite (a.k.a. lifetime) access to the recordings from the live event, which was hosted in Spring 2023.
Which means you can watch the videos:
- at your leisure
- again and again
That’s almost 6 hours’ worth of craft secrets that’ll ultimately enable you…
…to glide right over the Frustration Patch.
To enroll now, click the red enroll button, below.
Is this scene-writing workshop right for you?
Let’s see…
Do you feel dissatisfied with your scenes because they are plagued by problems like these?
- You felt bored while reading your scene—yikes! You know readers will feel the same way.
- You have the sinking feeling that you didn’t hit the right balance between showing and telling.
- Although you’ve done your best to convey your characters’ emotions, your scene feels like it has the emotional depth of a robot (no offense to AI *grin*).
- Your descriptions feel dull. You wish they’d feel more vivid and alive.
- To you, your scene was clear as a crystal vase…but your beta-readers said they were confused by what was going on.
- You have the sneaky suspicion that you didn’t choose the right POV (point of view) character for the scene.
- The dialogue in your scene is flat, or as they say, “on the nose.” Consequently, your characters feel more like cardboard cutouts than humans of flesh and bone.
- You’re pretty sure you didn’t end your scene in a way that would make readers feel compelled to read the next scene.
If any of the above situations describe you…
…then you will really love the All-Day Scene Writing Workshop!
Through it, you’ll learn how to use a step-by-step process that’ll ease the frustration of writing and editing scenes.
Basically, each of your scenes will undergo 3 major iterations, becoming successively better with each one.
So you can see what I mean, here’s an overview of this 3-stage iterative process you’ll use to write and edit your scenes:
During stage 1, you write a “starter scene.” That is, you brainstorm ideas for what could happen during your scene. You get the bare bones down on paper.
During stage 2, you make clarifications. This is where you analyze whether your readers will experience, on the page, the same picture that’s unspooling in your head—and adjust accordingly.
During stage 3, you polish your scene to perfection. This is where you enhance your scene to make it as vivid as possible through figurative language, sensory details, POV usage, pacing choices, dialogue tricks, etc.
To sum it up, you’ll be employing the following writing philosophy (which, I believe, I first came across through author Sean Platt) to your scenes:
- Say it (stage 1).
- Say what you mean (stage 2).
- Say it well (stage 3).
Under the umbrella of these 3 stages, you are going to learn a lot.
As a sampling, you’ll learn:
- what you need (at a minimum) to brainstorm raw material for a scene
- the magical ingredient that will make it 10 times easier (and more fun!) to write your scenes
- a simple way to prime your mind and get it into the best scene-writing state
- an easy technique to achieve the ideal ratio between action, description, character thoughts, and dialogue
- the mathematical equation that will help you better apply the rule “show not tell”
- how to generate a treasure trove of ideas for figurative language and sensory details to weave into your scenes
- how to prevent your characters from always responding with a nod, a shrug, or a grin
- what you need to craft dialogue that sings
- the weird thing that can ruin a reader’s experience (but which you’re probably overlooking)
- questions to ask yourself to determine the best POV character for your scene
- tactics to speed up or slow down (depending on what’s needed) the pacing within your scenes
- + MORE!!!
Remember, after you enroll in this value-packed workshop…
You’ll get immediate and indefinite (a.k.a. lifetime) access to the recordings.
Which means you can watch the videos:
- at your leisure
- again and again
That’s almost 6 hours’ worth of craft secrets that’ll ultimately enable you…
…to glide right over the Frustration Patch.
To enroll now, click the red enroll button, below.
At this point, you might be thinking…
…that 6 hours of recordings on writing craft sounds enticing, but also maybe a little daunting, as well.
Don’t worry!
All the recordings come with timestamps (look for them underneath each video), which will make it easier to navigate this goldmine of content.
Plus, auto-generated subtitles have been enabled, which makes the videos easier to follow, too.
When enrolling, though, please be aware of two things:
- Because this workshop was geared toward novelists, not all the content will apply to screenwriters (but some of it will).
- Due to the nature of this product, there are no refunds. All sales are final.
What real writers have to say about the All-Day Scene Writing Workshop
Remember, after you enroll in this value-packed workshop…
You’ll get immediate and indefinite (a.k.a. lifetime) access to the recordings.
Which means you can watch the videos:
- at your leisure
- again and again
That’s almost 6 hours’ worth of craft secrets that’ll ultimately enable you…
…to glide right over the Frustration Patch.
To enroll now, click the red enroll button, below.
If you’re reading this page right now…
You may’ve seen my 2.5-hour editing masterclass at the 2023 Perfect Your Process Summit, where I also shared the 3 stages of iterative editing.
However, that masterclass taught you how to use iterative editing to improve your plot (i.e. feeling confident that you’ve chosen the right scenes for your story).
In this online scene workshop, although you’re going to be using the same philosophy of iterative editing, you’re going to be learning a completely different set of editing skills.
Because in this workshop, the focus isn’t on plotting.
This online workshop is about the nitty-gritty of scene writing (i.e. feeling confident that you’ve chosen the right words and sentences to go into your scenes and have really brought them to life).
Put another way: this all-day workshop will cover completely different content than my editing masterclass from the 2023 Perfect Your Process Summit.
But if you liked that deep dive into craft—like these attendees, who said…
…then I believe you’ll really enjoy the recordings from this all-day scene writing workshop :)
By the end of the workshop, you’ll walk away with:
- a scene that will shine like a lustrous pearl
- a process that you can use again and again to craft spectacular scenes in the future
Remember, after you enroll in this value-packed workshop…
You’ll get immediate and indefinite (a.k.a. lifetime) access to the recordings.
Which means you can watch the videos:
- at your leisure
- again and again
That’s almost 6 hours’ worth of craft secrets that’ll ultimately enable you…
…to glide right over the Frustration Patch.
To enroll now, click the red enroll button, below.
What was the schedule like during this all-day scene writing workshop?
Here is the planned schedule for the workshop, so you can understand how the video recordings are organized.
Note that the day was divided into 3 sectors that match each stage of iterative editing (as applied to scene writing).
Stage 1 of Scene Writing
- 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM: Welcome + Introduction
- 10:15 AM – 11:30 AM: Stage 1 of scene writing (how to generate raw material for a scene; i.e. saying it)
- 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM: Put stage 1 into practice and brainstorm a scene + lunch break
Stage 2 of Scene Writing
- 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM: Stage 2 of scene writing (clarifying the raw material to reflect your intentions for the scene; i.e. saying what you mean)
- 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM: Put stage 2 into practice and edit your scene so it says what you mean + snack break
Stage 3 of Scene Writing
- 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM: Stage 3 of scene writing (polishing your scene to make it sparkle; i.e. saying it well)
- 5:00 – 6:15 PM: Put stage 3 into practice and edit your scene so you say it well + dinner break
- 6:15 PM – 7:00 PM: On-the-spot scene critiques (for live attendees only) + closing
Can’t wait to share my scene-writing secrets with you!
~ H. R. D’Costa
scribemeetsworld.com
Curriculum
Remember, after you enroll in this value-packed workshop…
You’ll get immediate and indefinite (a.k.a. lifetime) access to the recordings.
Which means you can watch the videos:
- at your leisure
- again and again
That’s almost 6 hours’ worth of craft secrets that’ll ultimately enable you…
…to glide right over the Frustration Patch.
To enroll now, click the red enroll button, below.
Meet Your Storytelling Mentor
Meet Your Storytelling Mentor, H. R. D’Costa
Hi. I’m H. R. D’Costa, an author, speaker, and writing coach who wants to share mindset and plotting resources with you…
…so you hold fast to your writing dream—even when life tells you to let go.
See, I know what it’s like to struggle to develop your story ideas in a way that resembles the stories that you love.
In fact, I struggled so much with plotting (as well as with several limiting beliefs) that I gave up on my writing dream and almost became a lawyer. Twice.
It seemed easier than doing what I really wanted: to be a writer.
But then, I made a radical decision. I decided to say good-bye to my full-tuition scholarship to law school and apply my analytical skills to another purpose—the art of storytelling.
As a result, I embarked on a multi-year quest where I analyzed 100s of movies, screenplays, and novels in order to understand how great stories work (great as in audiences remain captivated from first scene until THE END).
I shared my discoveries on my website, Scribe Meets World; in my Ultimate Story Structure Worksheet (downloaded over 37,000 times by writers from around the world); and in 10 writing guides, including:
- Sizzling Story Outlines (voted #1 Plotting Tool by WritesWithTools.com)
- Story Stakes (which is a “must-have in your top 10 books on writing” according to one Amazon reviewer)
- Sparkling Story Drafts (which was praised as being “an essential roadmap for both new and veteran writers” by Elizabeth Spann Craig, award-winning blogger and bestselling author of 25+ cozy mysteries)
In short, through my multi-year-quest, I’ve amassed a Rolodex of techniques to transform dull, lifeless scenes into spectacular scenes that sparkle with vitality.
That’s why I’m so excited to share the scene-writing secrets I’ve uncovered.
That’s why I’m so excited to bring you this all-day scene writing workshop.
I don’t want you to give up on your writing dream the way I once did.
Not even for one nanosecond.
If you’d like, think of me as the Watson to your Holmes. The Excalibur to your Arthur.
The Obi-Wan to your Luke. The Luke to your Lorelai. The Gilbert (and Diana) to your Anne.
The folding toothbrush to your Reacher ;)
Frequently Asked Questions
The workshop is suitable for novelists (or short-story writers) of all stripes.
You can be a plotter (who outlines in advance) or a pantser (who discovers your draft as you go along).
You can be seeking a deal with a traditional publisher or planning to publish your book as an indie author.
You can be a beginner or a seasoned pro…or somewhere in between—all are welcome :)
That said, re: writing level…
…the emphasis of the workshop is going to be on what goes into a spectacular scene—rather than on how to follow formatting rules. So you should have basic familiarity with scene format (which can come simply from reading your favorite novels).
Phrased another way: no matter what writing stage you’re in—
- just got the dream of writing a novel
- in the middle of planning a novel (but haven’t written a scene yet)
- in the middle of drafting scenes
- in the middle of editing scenes
- between writing projects
—you can benefit from watching the recordings from this all-day scene writing workshop!
What if you’re a screenwriter?
That’s a trickier question to answer. Some of the craft advice in the workshop applies to screenplay scenes; some doesn’t.
It’s up to you to decide whether the workshop would be a good investment for you, as a screenwriter.
To watch the recordings from the workshop, all you need is access to the internet.
It’s also a good idea to bring something to take notes with.
While the possibility of scene critiques was offered when the workshop was hosted live in Spring 2023, that feature is not part of the online recordings.
However, once you enroll in the workshop, you’ll be able to watch the two critiques that were conducted during the live session—which can give you greater insight into your own scenes.
Due to the nature of this event, there are no refunds. All sales are final.
Yes. But not in regard to writing (or filmmaking). Still pretty cool, though.
Your Storytelling Mentor
A graduate of Brown University, H. R. D’Costa is an author, speaker, and writing coach specializing in story structure and story stakes.
Through her website scribemeetsworld.com, her “deep dive” writing guides, and online course Smarter Story Structure, she provides novelists and screenwriters with practical tools to create stories that readers can’t put down.
Her popular resource, the Ultimate Story Structure Worksheet, has been downloaded over 37,000 times by writers from around the world.
Writers of all skill levels love H. R. D’Costa’s deep dives into craft, and have regularly praised her for her insight and clarity.
Writers such as Louis Schlesinger, Winner of the Thomas Wolfe Fiction Prize (2021), who said this about H. R. D’Costa’s writing expertise:
H. R. D’Costa’s writing tips are concrete and practical. Yet, they go deep—like the 90% of the iceberg that is below the surface.
More Praise for H. R. D’Costa
I just wanted to say thank you, H. R. D’Costa, for your amazing books on writing. They are a very important part of my writing process. Plus, I recommend them often to members of the Phoenix Screenwriters Association, especially when they need help with story structure, stakes, or outlining.
~ JESSICA BROWN, screenwriter and Board Member of the Phoenix Screenwriters Association (+ moderator of the Writers’ Insights Workshop and the Writers Lounge)
I’ve literally read a tall stack of “how to write” books and none of them really worked or helped me figure out the process. Fortunately, H. R. D’Costa’s books have been a tremendous resource. They’ve actually clarified everything for me. So helpful and easy to understand, too!
Now, with her writing guides, I feel more hopeful that I can write what I always wanted: a book that I can’t find in a bookstore, and that I would enjoy reading if I discovered it on the shelves.
~ DARIO SALCIDO; aspiring novelist, part-time TV and film actor, full-time Dog Dad
I have read all of H. R. D’Costa’s books, and I continue to re-read them, and they are the first screenwriting books I recommend to my fellow UCLA students and anyone wanting to master basic to complex story structure. H. R. D’Costa’s books have imparted such screenwriting knowledge to the depths of no other. I have 365 screenwriting books in my library, and while I learn from everyone, H. R. D’Costa, for me, is the BEST!
~ TJ FREEMAN; film & television writer, songwriter, actor, musician
How to enroll in this all-day scene writing workshop?
After you enroll in this value-packed workshop…
You’ll get immediate and indefinite (a.k.a. lifetime) access to the recordings.
Which means you can watch the videos:
- at your leisure
- again and again
That’s almost 6 hours’ worth of craft secrets that’ll ultimately enable you…
…to glide right over the Frustration Patch.