The First Scene & Beyond
Chapters 14-18 from Make A Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld
Welcome back to the Marginalia Book Club where we dive into craft books for writers in order to improve our techniques.
Each post will cover specific sections of our current book, with thoughts, questions, and a space for discussion. Whether you're reading along or just curious, I hope you’ll find something to spark your imagination and deepen your understanding of the writing craft.
Here’s the schedule for the rest of this book:
Week 4: February 11, 2025: Chapters 19 - end
We’ll be gathering together on Zoom on Saturday, February 15, 2025 at 12pm ET. You can register for free here to grab the link.
Now, let’s dig into today’s focus: chapters 14-18 from Make a Scene by Jordan Rosenfeld (Bookshop | Amazon).
Chapter 14: The First Scene
Whether your opening scene is the inciting incident or just the moment before the problem becomes unavoidable, grabbing the reader’s attention from the start is essential. Personally, I almost never download a book—even a free one—without first checking the sample opening chapters. With a TBR pile longer than my remaining lifespan, I refuse to clutter my Kindle with books that fail to hook me.
Juggling all the tasks a first scene needs to accomplish can feel overwhelming. No wonder so many writers struggle to get past the beginning! A compelling first scene is an art form—it has to introduce the characters in a way that makes us care (or at least worry), establish the setting, genre, and tone, and give us a reason to keep turning the pages. That doesn’t mean all first scenes need to be fast-paced, but they do need to open the door of intrigue.
📢 What’s one of your favorite opening scenes from a book, and why did it hook you?
Chapter 15: Contemplative Scenes
Ah, ye olde internal monologue—how well we knew ye. And how many books have I DNF’d because they drowned in it?
I hadn’t consciously considered the idea of an entire scene being purely contemplative before. While good pacing requires moments of reflection where characters process events, I usually think of these as beats within a scene rather than a scene unto themselves. If I’m on a constant mission not to bore myself, the idea of lingering too long in contemplation feels risky. Then again, how we define the start and end of a scene makes a difference.
"The key thing to remember here is that thoughts are slow and timeless, so pages and pages of them will drag your pace down to a crawl." So true.
Rosenfeld suggests maintaining energy in contemplative scenes by having “the character’s thoughts interact with the setting.” This not only gives readers something to visualize but also allows the environment to reflect the character’s emotional state, subtly reinforcing the mood and tone.
I wonder if these contemplative scenes align with the “sequel” in the scene-and-sequel framework. Since they’re not required to introduce new information or external conflict, their purpose is to allow the character to process what’s happened and decide what’s next. That sounds a lot like a sequel to me.
📢 How do you balance internal reflection with maintaining reader engagement? Do you enjoy writing (or reading) contemplative scenes, or do they feel like a pacing risk?
Chapter 16: Suspense Scenes
If you write intuitively, it probably feels natural to place a suspenseful scene after a contemplative one—to ratchet up tension after a moment of reflection. I don’t consider suspense my strongest skill, so I found a lot to latch onto in this chapter.
Suspenseful scenes thrive on danger, escalating stakes, emotional intensity, and pressure. The key is to string the reader along, steadily increasing their anxiety—but not for too long. Like everything else in storytelling, balance is key.
Setting can play a huge role in heightening tension. And sensory details—weather, physical touch, color, and light—help create an atmosphere of unease. Another great tool is delivering the unexpected. Keeping readers slightly off-balance ensures they stay engaged and eager to turn the page.
📢 What techniques do you use (or appreciate in books) to build and sustain suspense?
Chapter 17: Dialogue Scenes
Dialogue is a powerful tool in the writing arsenal. It reveals character—not just in what is said, but in how it’s said. It also conveys plot information, but that information must be earned. No deus ex machina allowed!
Readers should feel that every revelation is a natural, inevitable outcome of the story rather than something dropped in for convenience.
Emotional reactions to new information are just as important as the information itself. A character’s response—whether spoken or unspoken—adds depth, tension, and realism. Timing also plays a crucial role: revealing key details later in a scene can maximize impact, making the moment land with more weight.
This chapter builds on earlier concepts, reinforcing that dialogue should carry dramatic tension and subtext whenever possible. The best scenes layer multiple elements at once, making each component do multiple jobs. While much of this may come intuitively to experienced writers, having it laid out explicitly helps us apply these principles with greater intention.
Chapter 18: Flashback Scenes
Flashbacks can be a powerful storytelling tool, but they must be handled carefully to keep readers oriented. A well-executed transition is key—using specific dates to help us go back in time, reiterating past incidents, or having a character actively remember something can help ease the reader into a time shift without confusion.
Parallel stories featuring different characters can also serve as a type of flashback, gradually revealing their connection to the main storyline. However, whether a flashback is a standalone scene or part of a dual timeline, its relevance must eventually become clear.
Since flashbacks pull the reader away from the forward motion of the story, they should ideally be brief and tightly focused. Unlike present-moment scenes, they often lack tension—because the events have already happened, their outcomes are fixed. This makes it even more important that flashbacks feel essential, revealing crucial action, character depth, or information that enhances our understanding of the main story.
Interesting post! I'm currently reading through my second draft and taking notes for revision, so I've been thinking about scenes a lot. :)
Also, I recently listened to the mastermind episode of Ink & Magic, and it was great! I found it informative with fun banter. It reminded me of the format of the Six Figure Authors podcast.