Planning and Writing Key Novel Scenes

Miacademy & MiaPrep Learning Channel

In this engaging instructional video, host Justin presents the final challenge of a 'Writer's Escape Room' unit, tasked with guiding students through the process of writing three key scenes for their original novels. The video combines a playful narrative frame with concrete writing instruction, asking students to demonstrate their mastery of written craft by selecting specific scenes from their previously created outlines. Justin emphasizes the importance of intention in writing, challenging students to not just write what happens, but to craft how the reader experiences it. The content reviews essential creative writing techniques covered in previous lessons, including narrative point of view, intentional word choice, sensory details, pacing, and strong beginnings and endings. A significant portion of the video is dedicated to the pre-writing phase, where students are asked to pause and set specific goals for reader impact (what they want readers to think or feel) and then select the appropriate literary tools to achieve those effects. An example of a high-stakes car chase illustrates how techniques like sentence fragmentation and sensory metaphors can build tension. This resource is highly valuable for middle and high school creative writing classrooms as it bridges the gap between outlining and drafting. It moves students beyond simple plot summary into the realm of artistic craftsmanship. Teachers can use this video to launch a final unit project, anchoring the drafting process in specific, measurable writing goals. The included 'escape room' narrative adds a layer of gamification that can be extended into classroom activities, making the often-daunting task of writing novel chapters feel like an achievable and exciting quest.