Scene goal

A scene goal is the specific thing the viewpoint character is trying to achieve within a single scene, which turns that scene into a question the reader wants answered before the scene ends.

State the goal and you have stated a question: will she get the loan? The scene now has an ending condition, and everything inside it is measured against that. The Fantasy Fiction Formula frames this as the working unit of construction — each scene goal becomes its own scene question, answered at the scene's close, and as soon as a goal is formed, stated or acted on, something should oppose it. Let no scene pass without opposition.

The answer is usually no, and worse. The best-planned scenes end by making the protagonist's position worse and by eliminating an option they were counting on — and the setback lands hardest when it comes partly out of their own efforts rather than bad luck.

Scenes fail in a small number of identifiable ways, and the list is worth keeping beside a revision pass: a muddled or missing goal; a goal that gets forgotten halfway through; split focus; a passive protagonist; a bystander protagonist; a problem that is simply too big to engage with; the hand of fate solving things; and weak conflict.

Then the pressure is released in the sequel, where the character reacts and chooses the next goal.