The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer Paperback – March 27, 2007

This book was fantastic and expertly written. It was so good I bought her other book called The Last Draft. Sandra Scofield knows how to teach a writer to become better at the craft. Wow! I recommend Scofield's books to anyone learning the craft of writing. These are timeless and I find myself reading and re-reading these two books and am constantly learning from her.

Although I have written technical materials for years, I am relatively new to writing fiction - about 2 years. I consider this a novice-to-intermediate text. The good news is that if you are a novice, all the basics are here in a very practical and useable format. If you are an intermediate writer, there is a considerable amount of advanced material as well, so you won't get bored. If you are advanced, you are probably reading criticism and analysis of Proust, and, yes, this book is too basic for that. The teacher is from the Iowa's Writers Workshop, so she knows her stuff. This book deals in-depth with a specific topic that is important. I have found it more helpful and practical than many other writing books I have. Bottom line: I write better because of this book.

I thought this book was very good. The author seemed to be speaking directly to me. The only problem for me was which of her strategies to actually use? There were so many ways to analyze and evaluate your work. I ended up designing my own method made up of some of her suggestions which is, in my opinion, the best way to use a book of this nature. I was a little bothered by the way the author used scenes from so many books that I had not read. I feel that I was not able to truly understand Ms. Scofield's analyses when the scenes were isolated from the rest of the novel; although she had summarized the total novel for the reader.

I bought this book after it was recommended in a memoir class. I'd known of it previously, but assumed it was more for a beginner. I was wrong. This book would be excellent for someone just starting out, but also a great reminder for all level of writers on the salient points on crafting a good scene. This is one of those books I'll refer to for as long as I am writing, and especially when revising a draft.

This is the first utility book on fiction writing I've read that truly delves into the art and science of writing a scene.It provides an excellent discussion of the elements of a successful scene, particularly its "beats" necessary to drive the scene so that the scene itself can drive the story. This book is well worth its price.

Novelist Stephanie Cowell brought The Scene Book to my attention, and I'm grateful. Sandra Scofield packs her slim volume with essential and well-organized information on creating scenes with a pulse--the life-blood of engaging storytelling in print and on stage and screen. As both a novelist and playwright, I've gained useful insights from this book, which apply to my own writing, and I've quoted from and recommended "The Scene Book" to audiences at writing workshops.

A good book for writer's interested in educating themselves about writing good scenes.

This is an extremely valuable tool for anyone that is trying to learn to be a better writer. The information and the exercises are well presented and easy to understand. I highly recommend this book to all writers and would be writers.