SONOMA COUNTY WRITERS CONFERENCE 2026 · TALK RESOURCES
How Bestselling Authors Build Scenes
Kristen Tate
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Scene-Tagging Template
The Word template from the talk. Tag each sentence in a scene by its main job (action, dialogue, setting, character, interiority, summary, or backstory) and see the mix you've built.
Download the template (.docx)Talk Slides
The full slide deck from How Bestselling Authors Build Scenes, including the God of the Woods chapter breakdown, as a PDF.
View the slides (PDF)KEEP STUDYING SCENES
Three more scenes, up close
Each of these novels was on the “a dozen scenes, a dozen mixes” slide. Here's the full breakdown.
Summary as character development in V.E. Schwab's Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil
How to use summary to compress time without losing emotional depth
Read the scene study
Point-of-view handoffs and interiority in King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby
How to shift point of view mid-scene without head hopping
Read the scene study
Two tools for delivering backstory in Charlotte McConaghy's Wild Dark Shore
How to balance telling and showing when delivering essential backstory
Read the scene studyThe Blue Garret Newsletter
The Blue Garret is my twice-monthly letter for fiction writers: craft and structure — including my Novel Study analyses — honest notes from the editing trenches, and encouragement to keep your own work alive. Plus a Thing of Joy in every issue, because we all need one. Come join us!
Free Craft Guide
Freida McFadden's
The Intruder: A Novel Study Deep Dive
See how a #1 bestseller is built. A detailed craft study of Freida McFadden's The Intruder — the opening hook, an in-depth look at one chapter, and a structural analysis with 5 charts.
Get the free guide
NOVEL STUDY BOOK CLUB 2027
Read like a writer
Study successful novels with a community of novelists and editors: a new novel every six weeks, with craft notes, story spreadsheets, in-depth essays, and live discussions. Relaunching January 2027.
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I'm Kristen Tate — a developmental editor and the author of Novel Study, a close-reading project examining how contemporary novelists construct captivating fiction. I hold a PhD in English literature and work with writers at all stages, from first drafts to final polish.
Learn more about Novel Study and my editorial work at thebluegarret.com.