June 4, 2010

Have you ever finished a rough draft or a revision, then wondered if the story held together and all the elements were there in the right places?

Did you suspect some of your favorite scenes should be cut, and other boring ones needed beefing up? Yet you had no idea where to begin…

Welcome to the Club

That happens to me with every book. Only this time, I stumbled across a book at Border’s that has turned out to be a gold mine of help. It’s one of the best writing craft books I’ve read in a long time: Make a Scene: Creating a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time by Jordan E. Rosenfeld.

Make a Scene takes you through the basics of strong scene construction, showing you the necessary core elements needed (e.g. setting, charactere development, tension). However, Rosenfeld also applies these core elements to ten specific different scene types. The requirements are different for first scenes, suspense scenes, dialogue scenes, epiphany scenes, and six other types.

With specific checklists, questions, and excellent examples, the author acts like a personal instructor as he helps you analyze your scenes and then revise and add what’s missing.

Talk About a Bargain!

This 275-page book is perfect for anyone who’s ever thrown up their hands over revising a book and making it stronger. No longer will you have that vague feeling that something’s wrong, but no idea how to fix it!

To top it off: today, at least, there are multiple new and used copies at Amazon.com for under a dollar. If I were you, I’d head right over there and grab a copy while they last.

You’ll be glad you did!

7 Comments »

1. 

   This sounds an excellent book!
   I have been rather out of the loop
   ut maybe something like this will get me started again!

   Comment by elizabeth — June 4, 2010 @ 9:10 am

2. 

   Thanks for this resource, Kristi…I am always looking for great information about scene-creating, and this sounds great!

   Comment by Carol Grannick — June 4, 2010 @ 9:35 am

3. 

   Sounds great!

   Based on your rec. I just ordered one – for 10 cents + shipping =)

   Comment by Liz — June 4, 2010 @ 12:16 pm

4. 

   Liz, what a bargain! Even at full price, this is the best bargain I’ve got all year. It is jam packed with excellent and HELPFUL advice. I hope he sells out!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 6, 2010 @ 8:18 am

5. 

   You bested me, Liz – I paid $4 + shipping, and thought that was a deal!

   Comment by Yvette — June 6, 2010 @ 8:03 pm

6. 

   Thanks–this book sounds great. I need to revise a chapter book, but I’m so used to picture books and poetry that I’m feeling daunted by the whole scene thing. I just ordered this:>)

   Comment by Laura Salas — June 14, 2010 @ 4:49 am

7. 

   That sounds like a great book. I bought mine through Alibris.com and used the $1 off coupon, getting it for just the shipping charges. Thanks, Kristi for your wonderful ideas.

   Comment by Chris Meads — June 17, 2010 @ 11:06 am

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