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Make a Scene: Writing a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time
The definitive guide to writing scenes--now revised and expanded!
Scenes are the building blocks for any work of fiction--the DNA sequence that makes a novel un-put-downable and unforgettable. When writers are able to craft effective, engaging scenes, they can develop a complete, cohesive story--and a mesmerizing experience for readers.
Make a Scene Revised and Expanded Edition takes you step-by-step through the elements of strong scene construction and demonstrates how the essential aspects of a compelling story--including character, plot and dramatic tension--function within the framework of individual scenes to give momentum to the whole narrative. You'll learn how to:
- Craft an opening scene that hooks readers and foreshadows conflict.
- Develop various scene types--from contemplative to suspenseful to flashback--that are distinct and purposeful.
- Establish characters' intentions within a scene that drive the plot.
- Transition into new scenes by clearly establishing details of setting, character, and point of view.
- Create resonating climactic and final scenes that stay with readers long after they've finished your story.
The revised and expanded edition includes brand-new examples, an increased focus on advancing plot and character development, and the same knowledge and clarity that writers have come to expect from Jordan Rosenfeld. Make a Scene is an essential part of any novelist's library--make sure it's in yours.
Scenes are the building blocks for any work of fiction--the DNA sequence that makes a novel un-put-downable and unforgettable. When writers are able to craft effective, engaging scenes, they can develop a complete, cohesive story--and a mesmerizing experience for readers.
Make a Scene Revised and Expanded Edition takes you step-by-step through the elements of strong scene construction and demonstrates how the essential aspects of a compelling story--including character, plot and dramatic tension--function within the framework of individual scenes to give momentum to the whole narrative. You'll learn how to:
- Craft an opening scene that hooks readers and foreshadows conflict.
- Develop various scene types--from contemplative to suspenseful to flashback--that are distinct and purposeful.
- Establish characters' intentions within a scene that drive the plot.
- Transition into new scenes by clearly establishing details of setting, character, and point of view.
- Create resonating climactic and final scenes that stay with readers long after they've finished your story.
The revised and expanded edition includes brand-new examples, an increased focus on advancing plot and character development, and the same knowledge and clarity that writers have come to expect from Jordan Rosenfeld. Make a Scene is an essential part of any novelist's library--make sure it's in yours.
272 pages, Paperback
Published July 19, 2017
114 people are currently reading
226 people want to read
About the author
Jordan Rosenfeld
17 books366 followersJordan 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 8, 2020
I found Make a Scene extremely helpful in understanding specifics. At first, thinking about each scene and the types of scenes there are may not seem as helpful in writing a novel as one might think, but a novel is built on scenes. They are the heart of the writing. After reading the whole book, I keep in on hand next to the novel I'm writing to refer to. If I'm writing a certain type of scene or need a reminder about the architecture of a scene, the book puts me back on track. Make a Scene is a companion always ready to help out while writing.
January 1, 2023
If you've read comprehensive writing craft books, then do yourself a favor and dive into this book on creating scenes. There are many books on plot and character but hardly any on crafting the crucial scene. Chock-full of techniques and examples. Describes core scene elements (setting, five senses, character (GMC), plot, subtext (for example, theme and the character subconscious), dramatic tension) and then uses them to describe some of the major scene types.
Well-organized; lots of lists and headings makes finding the right information a breeze. Excellent tips on scene revision--for example, how to revise a vignette that doesn't add to the plot and character arcs. Includes a revision checklist.
I bought a copy.
Well-organized; lots of lists and headings makes finding the right information a breeze. Excellent tips on scene revision--for example, how to revise a vignette that doesn't add to the plot and character arcs. Includes a revision checklist.
I bought a copy.
abandoned
June 14, 2024Abandoned at 28%. I was planning on pushing through to the end but you know what? I don’t deserve the punishment.
You want to know what made me abandon the book? This bit: “here’s the cold truth: every scene of your narrative must pertain to your plot”. That's simply not true. Why would you want to change what art fundamentally is? Art is THE expression of humanity. Does every single thing that happen in our lifes define our life plot? Nah, I can't even remember what I had for lunch hours ago, what are you even saying.
My problem with this book is that it is only useful if you compulsively plan your story to the extreme, and I’m not a planner. But even if I was, I think the focus is all wrong. So far, this book’s only advice is: your story has to include this, this and that. Why? Because every great story has these scenes with these elements. And that's not bad advice per se, studying other people's works is a great exercise, but I don't think having a list of things can help you create something, much less get your imagination going. I firmly believe that making any kind of art is not a rational process, since it forces us to tap into what makes us human and that’s not something you can achieve by thinking rationally. Sometimes, you have to trust your gut and let it take you wherever. You really need to let go, to trust something other than your inmediate thoughts, and I don't think this book encourages that.
Making art is a fun activity, let people indulge in it shamelessly. Not everything has to have a grand meaning or be thought out to the syllable.
You want to know what made me abandon the book? This bit: “here’s the cold truth: every scene of your narrative must pertain to your plot”. That's simply not true. Why would you want to change what art fundamentally is? Art is THE expression of humanity. Does every single thing that happen in our lifes define our life plot? Nah, I can't even remember what I had for lunch hours ago, what are you even saying.
My problem with this book is that it is only useful if you compulsively plan your story to the extreme, and I’m not a planner. But even if I was, I think the focus is all wrong. So far, this book’s only advice is: your story has to include this, this and that. Why? Because every great story has these scenes with these elements. And that's not bad advice per se, studying other people's works is a great exercise, but I don't think having a list of things can help you create something, much less get your imagination going. I firmly believe that making any kind of art is not a rational process, since it forces us to tap into what makes us human and that’s not something you can achieve by thinking rationally. Sometimes, you have to trust your gut and let it take you wherever. You really need to let go, to trust something other than your inmediate thoughts, and I don't think this book encourages that.
Making art is a fun activity, let people indulge in it shamelessly. Not everything has to have a grand meaning or be thought out to the syllable.
May 29, 2020
I find myself to be a "pantser" when it comes to writing and have a whole collection of scenes I struggle to organize. This book breaks down novels into scenes (rather tan character arches, or a hero journey, or a beginning-middle-end) and gives a how-to on what senes are, types of scenes, and their purpose in storytelling.
The first 2 parts are an overview of how a scene is built and what is needed to make a valuable to your story. The third part list types of scenes (dialogue, suspense, prologues, etc) and gives details on how to make those sense work and where to put them in your plot. The last part gives some mention to other parts of story you want to consider in a scene (POV, secondary characters), though you probably already have read a book that gives you more detail on these aspects, I appreciate they were mentioned. The best part of part 4 was the checklist for scene assessment, for diagnosing and fixing scene problems (including those you didn't know you had).
A lot of great examples are given on nearly every question you could have on making a scene. I also like the way it was organized, so whenever I'm working on a scene and feel stuck I can quickly navigate to the area or scene 'type' I'm struggling with. I will certainly keep referring to this book as I continue to write.
The first 2 parts are an overview of how a scene is built and what is needed to make a valuable to your story. The third part list types of scenes (dialogue, suspense, prologues, etc) and gives details on how to make those sense work and where to put them in your plot. The last part gives some mention to other parts of story you want to consider in a scene (POV, secondary characters), though you probably already have read a book that gives you more detail on these aspects, I appreciate they were mentioned. The best part of part 4 was the checklist for scene assessment, for diagnosing and fixing scene problems (including those you didn't know you had).
A lot of great examples are given on nearly every question you could have on making a scene. I also like the way it was organized, so whenever I'm working on a scene and feel stuck I can quickly navigate to the area or scene 'type' I'm struggling with. I will certainly keep referring to this book as I continue to write.
March 16, 2021
This one had some good tips, namely on laying out options for how you might handle pacing, and beginning and ending scenes…though I have to label it another how-to writing one that took a while to finish, and felt like most of what was said could’ve been summed up shorter.
I didn’t feel like I learned much from this one, though to be fair I’ve read a lot of books on writing already, so there might be more in this for someone else. I’d also put this in the writing-more-structured-stuff-just-to-publish camp than the writing-for-art camp, and took some of the author’s advice with a grain of salt.
(Irrelevant, but the cover of this newer edition looks so cool, I kept turning the book over to look at it again. Props to the artist!)
I didn’t feel like I learned much from this one, though to be fair I’ve read a lot of books on writing already, so there might be more in this for someone else. I’d also put this in the writing-more-structured-stuff-just-to-publish camp than the writing-for-art camp, and took some of the author’s advice with a grain of salt.
(Irrelevant, but the cover of this newer edition looks so cool, I kept turning the book over to look at it again. Props to the artist!)
February 17, 2025
Probably good for beginner writers (and those who don’t read a lot to learn more of this in practice). Sometimes the tone felt a bit condescending… maybe that’s just me. I do like the idea of each scene having a consequence (Newton’s Laws in action). There’s a lot of sound advice in this book.
I like the cover of this edition, that and it being a book club book made me pick it up (and finish it).
Loads of repetition, referencing other books, and at times contradicting itself (e.g. not every scene needs subtext to going for every scene needs subtext). Listening to my book club, though, it seems I might have missed some of the nuance…
Not a bad book, but not something I think I’ll look at again.
I like the cover of this edition, that and it being a book club book made me pick it up (and finish it).
Loads of repetition, referencing other books, and at times contradicting itself (e.g. not every scene needs subtext to going for every scene needs subtext). Listening to my book club, though, it seems I might have missed some of the nuance…
Not a bad book, but not something I think I’ll look at again.
July 10, 2022
This took me awhile a while to get through, not because it was dense, but because there's so much good information that I had to dole it out a chapter at a time to really absorb what she was conveying.
Even if you think you know how to write a scene, this book helps keep that in focus and, at the very end, she makes suggestions on how to revise scenes.
It's worth the price of the book for that alone.
Even if you think you know how to write a scene, this book helps keep that in focus and, at the very end, she makes suggestions on how to revise scenes.
It's worth the price of the book for that alone.
October 10, 2017
This book gave me a lot to think about. The focus is on creating your novel scene by scene and refining each scene so all are powerful. There was a chapter for each scene type as well as ideas for how often you want to see each type of scene. I will be referring back to this book in the writing process. This wouldn't be my first book to read about plot if you're starting out learning about plot.
November 11, 2021
How do you make each individual scene in your novel pop yet ensure they're all united and coherent. Language, character and plot development, detecting "stale" scenes, POV, action and variety; a good overall summary of best writing practices through the lens chapter-by-chapter action.
Recommended to writers.
Recommended to writers.
June 19, 2018
Some really great information and a wonderful concept weighed down by repetition and pacing issues. I loved this book at first, but ultimately ended up forcing myself to finish reading it. In terms of the material it feels like the author attempted to divine a five course meal from a light snack.
July 22, 2021
Useful
I found the early chapters very useful. While there were some very practical tidbits in the 2nd and 3rd sections that read as true across the board, some of the advice seemed more subjective and could be taken or left behind.
I found the early chapters very useful. While there were some very practical tidbits in the 2nd and 3rd sections that read as true across the board, some of the advice seemed more subjective and could be taken or left behind.
October 21, 2024
Great introduction to scenes in books. Loved how the author used excerpts from various sources to explain the topis in examples. A thourugh list of scenes, how what they consist of, and what kids there are.
March 25, 2018
I stopped reading after "not every scene needs subtext".
December 23, 2020
4.5/5 stars.
July 7, 2021
Really straightforward, with fantastic (and frequent!) examples throughout. Coexists perfectly with Story Genius.
March 13, 2022
Really solid guidance for writing fiction; recommend for writers and aspiring writers who want to work on improving mastery of writing various elements of craft
June 15, 2022
Maybe more like 2.5. It's fine. It felt a bit longer than it should have been and was kind of a slog at a few points, but I felt like I did learn a few things.
December 5, 2024
Beat book for an aspiring author. Break out your highlighter!
February 4, 2023
Similar to the other book by this author, I felt that this offered some nice points and put everything into one book, but in terms of offering up new points or tricks, I felt that it fell a little flat. A nice comprehensive guide to writing if you are newer in the book/writing world, but I feel like it is pretty surface level and nothing you couldn't learn on your own with a little bit of research.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews