Consider this excerpt from a scene in Ben Winters’s excellent The Last Policeman. After reading it, answer the following questions:
- What methods of characterization are used? (Can you list five?)
- Describe the merits of the dialogue.
- How does the plot begin to change in this scene?
- How is setting created in this scene?
- Identify an image. Identify an instance of the use of figurative language.
- How are relationships between these characters revealed to readers?
- What, if anything, distracts you from this scene? How might it be revised?
Draft a scene for your novella. Take a moment to plan it. Be able to describe techniques you’ve used.
