Scene and sequel
Methods & processDwight Swain's rhythmic unit: an action scene (goal, conflict, disaster) followed by a reaction sequel (emotion, dilemma, decision).
Example
Scene: the meeting collapses. Sequel: shame, then dilemma, then decision — confess everything. Next scene: the confession.
The scene/sequel pair, formalized by Dwight V. Swain in Techniques of the Selling Writer (1965), breaks narrative into alternating units. The scene is proactive: a character pursues a goal, meets conflict, suffers a disaster. The sequel is reactive: absorbing (emotion), weighing options (dilemma), choosing (decision) — and that decision becomes the next scene's goal.
This simple mechanism solves two problems at once: rhythm (tension/breathing alternation is built in) and causal chaining (each scene springs from the previous one, never from chance). Modulating sequel length is one of the most effective pacing dials there is: thriller = short sequels; psychological novel = ample ones.
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