A great big caveat regarding this video: As I mentioned many times before, I write by instinct. You do too, to a large extent, even if you happen to be a big planner and outliner. All of us have an inner instinct at work when we write.

I have never sat down and asked myself, "What is the scene that is the inciting action of the middle of the novel?" I have never asked myself, "What scene concludes the middle of the novel?" I never have, and I probably never will. That said, when I sit down and analyze my novels, I can indeed see that there is a clear beginning, middle and end to the beginning, middle, and end. But I don't analyze it or think of it this way as I'm writing.

I'm providing this video as an alternative to the way I write. This is a more structured approach that will work for some writers and not for others. Even if you choose not to work this way, it's worth having the information somewhere in the back of your mind.

I believe the more important part of this week's lesson and the part that will be useful for every writer in this class, no matter your method, is in the written lecture preceding this one: the types of scenes you must include: scenes of intimacy, scenes of struggle, etc.

And now, with that great big caveat, onward...