Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time

I'm only five chapters in and after the set up of chapter 1, I've been a highlighting and note taking fiend. This is such an excellent resource, putting language and logic to techniques that writers may or may not have doing to some varying degree. It is so AWESOME to now have a sense of direction in my writing, and it is such an easy read and each page has so much information. Highly recommended to writers of all levels- it's definitely one I'd buy multiples of and give to friends.

It's interesting to see the diverse opinions about this book. I was shocked that anyone would dislike it or feel it wasn't useful, because as a writing teacher, I think it's one of the best books about writing scenes that's out there. Rosenfeld deconstructs scene writing in a way that even beginners can understand. But this book isn't simply for beginners. I used it quite a bit in teaching my advanced students. The thing I've found about writing is that a huge majority of writers don't understand scene construction. When I teach scene and sequel workshops and/or online classes, inevitably, at least half the students will be amazed to find out there's actually a method to constructing scenes. Most have simply been writing scenes aimlessly and are shocked when they realize that every scene must have some kind of conflict. They're amazed by the concept of goal/conflict/disaster, have never heard of Dwight Swain or Jack Bickham, and struggle to master this "new" information. And some of these students have been writing for years and have no idea why they haven't been able to sell. It's kind of sad, really. So after I teach the basics of scene and sequel, MAKE A SCENE fits right in for the next level of learning. I found MAKE A SCENE very useful and very well written and understandable. It would be a great addition to any writer's bookshelf and I highly recommend it.

I have a lot of writing reference books in my library--A LOT of writing reference books--and I'm rather picky when it comes to adding another one. But after reading MAKE A SCENE, I happily made room in the easy-access "favorites" section of my bookshelf. This is one of those rare a how-to books that not only makes me feel sharper as an editor, it inspires me to dive back into the creative phase of the process, not to mention the humor and flowing prose made it a true pleasure to read. The book is a great resource not just for scene-building but for all the fundamentals of good writing, with checklists, or "muse points," to help make your characters more compelling and your plot--even if you write literary fiction!--into the foundation of a page-turner. Beginners will get lots of new information (check out "Architecture of a Scene," and "Core Elements"), while experienced writers will benefit from stepping back and examining why they do what they do from instinct. This book is invaluable for the editing phase of novel writing--remember, each scene has to earn its place--and I know I'll be referring to it often!

Rosenfeld's Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time is an extremely useful book for writers, both fiction and nonfiction. She has divided the book into four parts: Part I Architecture of a Scene; Part II The Core Elements and the Scene; Part III Scene Types; and Part IV Other Scene Considerations. After reading the book cover to cover a month ago, I've turned to it three times in the past month to look up issues including trying to identify what worked so well in Jim Shepard's short story, Love and Hydrogen, locating a specific scene type for a memoir that I'm writing, and trimming narrative summary in a piece that I'm editing. This is truly a comprehensive, compelling, and fun read. The exerpts that she uses as examples are all interesting, not all classic but perhaps soon to be. I highly recommend it to people who write.

I am blown away by the content and quality of Make a Scene. I have never read a more useful book on writing. It is beautifully constructed, full of practical examples, well organized, and a pleasure to read. It addresses all the issues I face in fine tuning my own first novel. Jordan's book should be part of every serious writer's library.

I'm a published writer who already knows a few tricks of the trade. But I was thrilled to read this book and learn so much more. Rosenfeld deconstructs all the different elements of scene writing in a very easily digestable manner, gives examples and reasons for what can work, and what can't. Most importantly, her focus is always on how things will affect the reader, which means that it can help other writers to keep their audience in mind and is a great guidebook to help us edit/trim/revise for maximum impact with our audience. This book is comprehensive, but very well laid-out so it makes for a great quick reference quide. I'm quite sure it's going to help me get more oomph out of my storytelling.