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

by Jordan Rosenfeld

Practical, usable information for writers of all skill levels. With precise instruction, examples from bestsellers, unique exercises, and scene-writing tips from successful authors such as Elizabeth Cox and Sheila Kohler, this book shows readers how to craft each scene so that it renders a vivid emotional punch, establishes and maintains tension, and propels the reader forward.

Unique angle for fiction writing book. The majority of fiction writing books focus on the generalities of writing dialogue, developing characters, creating tension, etc. This book shows readers how to apply those skills on the crucial scene level.

Accessibility and applicability. This book's short, focused chapters provide readers with quick entry points into the text and lead straight to easy-to understand tips readers can use to apply the techniques to their own work.

Scenes are essential fictional units, and if a single unit falters, then an entire novel or short story can be weakened. While there is no paint-by-numbers formula for writing powerful scenes, writers can drastically improve their entire manuscripts by understanding the primary components of a given scene and how to manipulate those components to create the desired amount of drama, emotion, tension, energy, and intrigue. Make a Scene explains the fundamentals of strong scene construction and how other essential fiction-writing techniques, such as character development, pacing, description, and transitions must function within the framework of individual scenes in order to provide substance and structure to the overall story.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Reference, Crafts, Self Help, Research, Personal Development

276 pages, Hardcover

First published November 23, 2007

About the author

Jordan Rosenfeld is author of the novels Fallout, Women in Red and Forged in Grace and seven books on the craft of writing, including the brand new Sound of Story: Developing Voice and Tone in Writing, How to Write a Page-Turner, the bestselling Make a Scene, Writing the Intimate Character, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, Writing Deep Scenes and Write Free. Her freelance writing has been published in hundreds of publications, including: The Atlantic, The New York Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Salon, Scientific American, The Rumpus, Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Washington Post and many more. She is also a freelance manuscript editor, writing coach and teaches online classes. Jordanrosenfeld.net. She blogs about midlife, creativity and writing at the Substack "Writing In the Pause."

Jordan holds an MFA in Fiction and Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars, and a BA from the Hutchins School at Sonoma State University. Her essays and stories have appeared in literary journals such as the Blue Moon Review, Night Train, the Pedastal Magazine, Pindeldyboz, Opium, LitPot, Smokelong Quarterly, Spoiled Ink, the Summerset Review, Void Magazine, Zaum and in literary anthologies. Her fiction has also been performed by actors as part of the Page on Stage project in Santa Rosa.

For three years, Jordan hosted the literary radio program Word by Word: Conversations with Writers, which received an NEA Chairman’s grant for literary projects in 2005, on NPR-affiliate KRCB radio. She interviewed authors such as T.C. Boyle, Aimee Bender, Louise Erdrich, and Mary Gaitskill.