Writers ask a lot of questions while drafting a novel—who are the characters, how does the worldbuilding work, what are the goals, motivations, and plot twists? And readers have their own questions driving them forward. Will the hero win? Will the lovebirds fall in love? Will the hockey team survive?

But we don’t always ask the question that can save us a ton of time and frustration.

What’s the point of this scene?

This question isn’t about the story’s theme or the protagonist’s goals—it’s about why you decided to put this scene into your story in the first place.

If you can’t answer why a scene is in your novel, it’s a huge red flag that the scene might not be serving the story.

Let’s look at some possible answers (and pitfalls) to “What’s the point of this scene?”