Scenic Technique

• Resembles a movie or play in its manner of presentation.

We are close to the actions in both a spatial and temporal sense.

The author presents actions that take a few seconds to perform in a passage that takes a few seconds to read.

• Scenic techniques used at the beginning of a novel are more likely to capture a reader's attention at once because they are concrete and vivid.

Panoramic technique

• Physical setting is highly generalized; narrative summary of events of a long period of time compressed into a single paragraph

• Panoramic technique at the beginning of a novel often has the advantage of clarity; the reader knows where he/she is in time and space and has a definite point of departure for action that will follow.

• Panoramic technique is economical; author can get necessary exposition out of the way and concentrate on the story's dramatic events.

Both scenic and panoramic techniques are combined in most novels.

• Shifting techniques can prevent monotony in the structure of the story.

• Author must emphasize certain things (scenic technique) and de-emphasize other things (panoramic technique).

• Panorama can serve a transitional function between more important scenes.