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Scenes are the building blocks of stories. Favorite scenes stay with you, even when you’ve forgotten the title, author and plot of a story.

“The Signature of All Things,” by Elizabeth Gilbert, One Story

From Gilbert’s novel coming out in October, this excerpt introduces Alma, a product of over-educated parents. My favorite scene is where an astronomer arranges party guests into a solar system, sets them in orbit and assigns Alma the role of a comet. Try that at your next soiree.

•  “Shed Season,” by Karen Munro, Redivider: a journal of new literature and art

Not only is Craig oversized, he sports an unwieldy rack of antlers. The severe awkwardness of his situation is captured in a scene in a restaurant booth where he tries to eat without colliding with the wall behind him or the soffit above his head. His misery is heartbreaking. 

• “Sylvia, on the Night Shift,” by Evelyn Somers, Shenandoah

Sylvia wants to initiate her sister into grown-up activities, like driving. An early scene sticks with us: a door-to-door salesman selling cemetery plots with the slogan: SEE IT BEFORE YOU NEED IT—BUY BEFORE YOU DIE.  Let’s just say that sis does not remain uninitiated into grown-up activities.

• “Today’s Special,” Ordinary Life: Stories, by Elizabeth Berg

Each scene depicts what is special about the ordinary. Want comfort for your body and soul? Head to your locally owned diner, where …

Gossip isn’t sharp or malicious—it’s necessary, human reporting, and we listen with ears far more sympathetic than critical.

From Object Lessons: The Paris Review presents The Art of the Short Story

• “Flying Carpets,” by Steven Millhauser

This story is entirely descriptive of one summer vacation a young boy spends fixated on the season’s “must have” toy: a magic carpet that flies. The action takes place in the boy’s upstairs bedroom, his backyard, and all the places he flies to as he tests the limits of his new power. When you write, what boundaries do you set in your scenes?

• “Old Birds,” by Bernard Cooper

Scenes build around a father with Alzheimer’s, wandering the streets, and his aging son, eager to surrender to his own “stillness of repose.” The bones of the story are in two scene introductions: “my father wanders.” And “the first time it happened…”

• “Pelican Song,” by Mary-Beth Gaitskill

Poor little rich girl and thirty-year-old adult child dubbed bunny, good girl, and sweetheart is emotionally stunted by handouts she didn’t earn, lip service that doesn’t satisfy, and her mother’s preference for a wife beating husband over a healthy relationship with her daughter. A devastating “Mommy, look at me” scene reveals how ill equipped both mother and daughter are to face emotional bankruptcy.