The Scene Advancement Principle
Every scene must move the story forward, no exceptions
The Scene Advancement Principle states that every scene in any story, regardless of genre, must advance the narrative. No scene, no matter how entertaining or well-crafted in isolation, should exist if it brings the story to a halt. Wherever the story stands when a scene begins, it must have moved to the next level by the time the scene ends. The story must turn and mount to a higher level.
Steven Pressfield learned this principle from an unlikely source: a porn producer who hired him for a rewrite. The producer explained that every porno movie is the same: talk, talk, screw, screw, and that is why they are so lousy. He wanted Pressfield to make every scene advance the story, even the explicit ones. If characters begin a scene and their relationship is at point A, by the end of that scene the relationship must be at point B: a confession is made, a secret is revealed, the dynamic shifts.
Pressfield immediately grasped that this principle applies universally. Action movies should not let car chases stop the story in its tracks. Flashbacks and backstory should not become detours or story-killers. Every element must carry the story forward. The second principle from the same conversation adds another dimension: never write a scene where only one thing happens. Always have something else going on simultaneously, creating tension, irony, or dramatic contrast that amplifies the main action.
- Every scene must advance the story. Wherever the story stands when a scene begins, it must have moved to the next level by the end.
- Never write a scene where nothing happens but the main action. Always have something else going on at the same time.
- The don't-stop-the-story principle applies to every genre: action, flashback, dialogue, everything.
- Some of the best creative lessons come from the most unexpected sources.
- Audit Every Scene for Story AdvancementReview each scene, chapter, section, or content unit in your work and ask: does the story, argument, or narrative move forward during this section? If a reader or viewer could skip this section and miss nothing in the overall arc, the section fails the advancement test. This applies to any form of storytelling: novels, screenplays, presentations, marketing content, even business communications. Every unit of content must justify its existence by moving the narrative to the next level.Pro tipMark each scene with a one-sentence description of what story advancement occurs. If you cannot write that sentence, the scene needs revision or removal.
- Layer Multiple Elements Into Each SceneApply the second principle: never have a scene where only one thing happens. Add a secondary element that creates tension, contrast, or dramatic irony. The producer example was a bedroom scene where the husband comes home unannounced. Neither party knows about the other. Now you can cut back and forth and milk the suspense. It is not just one thing happening, and when the discovery occurs, the story has advanced. This layering technique transforms flat scenes into compelling ones by creating the kind of dramatic tension that keeps audiences engaged.Pro tipThe secondary element should create dramatic irony (the audience knows something a character does not) or raise the stakes of the primary action.WarningDo not add complications that are merely distracting. The secondary element must ultimately serve the story advancement, not compete with it.
- Apply Universally Across Genres and FormatsExtend these principles beyond their obvious application in fiction. Action sequences in movies should advance plot and character, not just showcase choreography. Flashbacks and backstory should carry the narrative forward rather than becoming detours. Business presentations should have each slide advance the argument. Marketing content should move the reader closer to understanding or action. The principle is universal: any time you are communicating a narrative of any kind, every element must earn its place by moving the story forward.Pro tipIn business presentations, treat each slide as a scene. If removing a slide would not affect the audience understanding or decision, cut it.
A porn producer hired Pressfield for a rewrite and met him at a Santa Monica coffee shop to give marching orders. The producer explained that every porno is talk-talk-screw-screw, which is why they are terrible. He wanted every scene to advance the story. If a private eye and his gorgeous client begin a scene, by the time they finish, their relationship has to have advanced: she confesses something, he reveals a secret. The story has turned and mounted to a higher level.
Steven Pressfield, the author of The War of Art and Gates of Fire, learned these two principles during a breakfast meeting with a porn producer named Henry in a Santa Monica coffee shop. Pressfield had been hired to rewrite a porn script and went into the meeting expecting the worst, even condescending in his mind about what he imagined was low-level entertainment. Instead, the producer delivered two of the best storytelling lessons Pressfield ever received. The first: make every scene advance the story. The second: never have a scene where only one thing happens. The movie was never made and Pressfield never got paid, but he put these principles to use over and over on PG-rated projects for decades. He later saw the producer at a restaurant with his wife and kids but decided discretion was the better part of valor.