Scene by Segment
Recording of MasterClass from April 30, 2025
Are you a fiction writer or penning creative nonfiction? Then treat yourself to this recording of a 2-hour intensive master class that will change forever (for the good!) the way you approach plotting and writing your fiction scenes.
Filmmakers have used storyboarding techniques for decades to piece together the camera shots that make up scene segments. Fiction writers can do the same to great effect.
Creating beats or segments that emphasize the key impacting, emotional moments require strategic thought and placement. This is what “Scene by Segment” will teach you.
In this master class, a number of writers participate in sharing their process of taking a basic scene summary and breaking it into segments that focus on specific camera shots or angles. As we go through a variety of scenes with these writers, you’ll see exactly how to do this with your own manuscripts.
Here are the exciting things you will learn from this intuitive, creative method:
- How to drill down, from the general scene action you have in your head to crafting a powerful visual moment-by-moment experience for your readers
- How segmenting helps you determine exactly which details you need to show through the character’s POV
- How to decide which camera shots you need to drive home key moments in your scene for the strongest emotional impact
- How to work backward, from your last shot, to help you build to your high moment
- Ways to use segmenting to enhance low-energy scenes (such as when characters are internalizing or dialogue-heavy action)
In this two-hour recording, you’ll see why strategically segmenting your scenes is the best and most intuitive way to “show, don’t tell”!
Your Instructor

C. S. Lakin is the award-winning author of thirty books and blogger at Live Write Thrive, a top-ten site for writers. She works as a book copyeditor and writing coach, specializing in manuscript critiques. Her writing craft book series The Writer's Toolbox teaches aspiring and experienced novelists how to write terrific stories. More than 5,000 writers have taken her online video courses over the last 10 years. She loves nothing more than to help writers craft stellar novels and experience success and joy in their writing journey.