October 20 – 23, 2022

Pasadena, CA

Make a Scene: Step-by-Step Scene Construction for Masterful Storytelling

This exclusive virtual workshop will take place on Thursday, October 21. Register today!

You’ve felt the pulse-pounding drama of a good story, caught up in a book that feels so real you might have been inside it. What makes a story come to life? Strong, powerful scenes. Scenes are the building blocks of great fiction and memoir. They bring flat narrative into full-color action, allow you to breathe life into compelling characters through dynamic action, and when added up, they create powerful plots. When you feel connected to the characters and in the midst of action, when you can’t put the book down because you’re gripped by the action, you’re in scenes. But when done carelessly, scenes can drag and take you out of the story.

In this day-long workshop, writers will learn the essential ingredients for scene construction including:

  • how to design scenes from beginning to end
  • how to bring characters to life through “words and deeds”
  • how to evoke effective setting without overkill
  • the role of senses and using imagery
  • how to use scene types to create energy and tension
  • and how to make every scene count toward the plot

We’ll also dive deep into scene layers, and how and where to use certain scenes in your larger plot.

Who Should Attend

  • Novel writers of all genres
  • Short story writers
  • Memoir writers who want to learn fictional techniques
  • Beginning to intermediate writers

Writers do not need a written draft of a novel in order to attend. Come with an idea!

Instructor

Jordan Rosenfeld is author of the novels Women in Red and Forged in Grace and six books on the craft of writing, most recently 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 articles and essays have been published in hundreds of publications, including: The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American, 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 and jordanwritelife@gmail.com