The opening movement of a scene that grounds the reader and establishes who wants what before pressure builds.

Scene opening. Orient the reader and establish immediate intent. Scene craft is where abstract structure becomes testable goals, opposition, and change.

As a structure label, it helps you map drafts. Labels serve the story, not the other way around.

This term narrows the broader idea of **scene**. Keep parent and child roles distinct in outlines.

Why it matters

Launch phase fits the scene–sequel ladder in Scene Builder, so goals, beats, and phases stay testable on the page.

Common pitfalls

Starting in summary instead of a concrete moment.
Delaying the scene goal past the first page.
Using launch phase as a label without checking whether the page actually performs the job.
Treating child and parent terms as interchangeable in beat sheets.

Example only

A courier slams the ledger on the desk. Your POV character needs the name inside before sundown.

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Launch phase

Also called

beginning phase

BeginnerScene & sequel craftReferenceBroader: Scene

The opening movement of a scene that grounds the reader and establishes who wants what before pressure builds.

Scene opening. Orient the reader and establish immediate intent. Scene craft is where abstract structure becomes testable goals, opposition, and change.

As a structure label, it helps you map drafts. Labels serve the story, not the other way around.

This term narrows the broader idea of **scene**. Keep parent and child roles distinct in outlines.

Why it matters

Launch phase fits the scene–sequel ladder in Scene Builder, so goals, beats, and phases stay testable on the page.

Common pitfalls

Starting in summary instead of a concrete moment.
Delaying the scene goal past the first page.
Using launch phase as a label without checking whether the page actually performs the job.
Treating child and parent terms as interchangeable in beat sheets.

Example only

A courier slams the ledger on the desk. Your POV character needs the name inside before sundown.