We writers all know that not all scenes in your story are created equal. Some scenes we spend weeks preparing for; some scenes we feel afraid to write; some scenes we are wildly excited about finally, finally getting to. Those scenes are the keystone scenes. If you're familiar with your ancient and medieval architecture, you'll know the term: it refers to the center stone in an arch, the one that bears all the pressure of the arch stones and keeps the arch together. The keystone scene in your story is the one (or two, or more) that holds the story together and makes the whole piece of writing "worth it." (Read more »)