Rating: 
Summary: Writing brilliance in 224 pages or less.
Review: After struggling with my own writing endeavours for two years now, I've found a refreshing guide to the world of fiction. The sections in the book are clearly listed, which enables me to find examples quickly for the problems that I'm experiencing in the moment. The examples are clearly articlulated and address almost all of my writing porblems and short-comings (and I hear there are a lot!) This book's largest contribution to my writing is it's motivational quality. Along with all of the examples and introductions to new techniques, I've found the student references a source for insparation, and in a world where insparation doesn't fall through the ceiling, I'll take it where ever I can get it. And for me, these pages are plentiful. This is a soid buy, the kind that will keep you up late scratching yourself in front of a blank screen until it's fills.
Rating: 
Summary: Found this helpful!
Review: As a beginning writer I needed something to help me plan my scenes. I knew what I wanted to write, but just didn't know how to go about making it effective. This book does a good job outlining tips and suggestions which will definitely make your scenes better.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful and usefull book
Review: I did learn from this book and used it and liked it.
I recomend it highly.
I have read almost 100 others about writing but this one is between one of the top bests.
Rating: 
Summary: Many, many doubts... read my review and decide for yourself
Review: I must warn you: this is a very personal review. Your experience might be very different to mine, leaving me with mixed feelings on how to rate this book.If you are like me, you will have read several books on writing by now. You probably started out with the basics (e.g. Stein On Writing?) and now you would like to focus on specific subjects, parts of your talent that need some fine tuning. Well, I'm not saying this book is of no use, but there was nothing new to be found for me. The index is impressive, it certainly gives you the idea that there's lots to be learned... but I couldn't find anything I didn't know. Because I am a novice writer, I find it hard to question the masterpieces quoted in the examples. But... I can't help but wonder, is it just my taste or are most of the examples really nothing to write home about? It is up to you. I would recommend reading "Characters and Viewpoints" by Orson Scott Card, which delivers much more than the title promises. My personal opinion is, you don't need "Crafting Scenes". If you find your scenes are not ideal, it is a lot more likely that something else is wrong instead. Picking up Orson Scott Card's book will proof my point.
Rating:
Summary: Actual Techniques You Can Use
Review: If you want to move beyond books that merely encourage you but don't provide actual tools, then I recommend this book. If you merely want to be cheered from the sidelines, go elsewhere - but this book is excellent, very insightful, extremely useful. Well worth the money.
Rating:
Summary: One of Top Five Books about the Craft I've Read
Review: In lucid, easy-reading language, Obstfeld tells you everything you ever needed to know about writing scenes but couldn't find anywhere else. Just his chapter on openings alone, is well worth the price of the book. But there's so much more. His explanations of promise and pay-off are more instructive than anything else I've read, and Obstfeld has better guidelines for writing action/suspense scenes than other books I've read devoted to the genre. Obstfeld writes both genre and literary fiction, and is patronizing about neither one. The examples he uses are outstanding. I can't imagine anyone reading this book and not emerging a better writer because of it. It's that good.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding help for all writers
Review: It is difficult to imagine a more helpful and concise book for writers than Obstfeld's "The Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes". As part of a series from Writers's Digest, this book covers the critical component of any novel: writing encounters, chapters, and scenes that have the ability to grip the reader and keep them turning pages. Though the book is trade paper sized and only 211 pages, it is simply jammed with helpful ideas. Each chapter covers an essential aspect of writing scenes expertly. There is information on: * Beginning a Scene
* Length
* Point of View
* Setting
* Ending a Scene
* Character, Plot, & Theme Development
* Writing the Payoff
* Character Meetings
* Finales
* Structure
* Revising Plus there are chapters that discuss how to write genre-specific scenes (sci-fi, romance, etc.) that are also compelling. A typical chapter within the book starts with quotes from others on the art of writing. Obstfeld then lays out general concepts and cites examples from novels and movies that support his chapter topic. Excerpts from several award-winning novels raises the quality of the book as it lets beginning writers see how the "pros" do it. Some chapters include workbook-like assignments to help readers flesh out their scenes. While all the chapters are developed well, the one covering character, plot, and theme development is particularly enlightening. The author elects to write an encounter scene with an emphasis on each aspect. It is amazing to see how a scene can change as it is written to the characters rather than plot and vice versa. Obstfeld has taught writing professionally in addition to having published more than two dozen novels and it shows in his style. He can quickly and directly address a topic and elucidate it easily. As a result, writers of all varieties and levels of talent can benefit from "Crafting Scenes". Highly recommended to all writers and truly worthy of a five star rating.
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding help for all writers
Review: It is difficult to imagine a more helpful and concise book for writers than Obstfeld's "The Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes". As part of a series from Writers's Digest, this book covers the critical component of any novel: writing encounters, chapters, and scenes that have the ability to grip the reader and keep them turning pages. Though the book is trade paper sized and only 211 pages, it is simply jammed with helpful ideas. Each chapter covers an essential aspect of writing scenes expertly. There is information on: * Beginning a Scene
* Length
* Point of View
* Setting
* Ending a Scene
* Character, Plot, & Theme Development
* Writing the Payoff
* Character Meetings
* Finales
* Structure
* Revising Plus there are chapters that discuss how to write genre-specific scenes (sci-fi, romance, etc.) that are also compelling. A typical chapter within the book starts with quotes from others on the art of writing. Obstfeld then lays out general concepts and cites examples from novels and movies that support his chapter topic. Excerpts from several award-winning novels raises the quality of the book as it lets beginning writers see how the "pros" do it. Some chapters include workbook-like assignments to help readers flesh out their scenes. While all the chapters are developed well, the one covering character, plot, and theme development is particularly enlightening. The author elects to write an encounter scene with an emphasis on each aspect. It is amazing to see how a scene can change as it is written to the characters rather than plot and vice versa. Obstfeld has taught writing professionally in addition to having published more than two dozen novels and it shows in his style. He can quickly and directly address a topic and elucidate it easily. As a result, writers of all varieties and levels of talent can benefit from "Crafting Scenes". Highly recommended to all writers and truly worthy of a five star rating.
Rating:
Summary: How to stifle a talking head!
Review: Raymond Obstfeld has written over thirty-five books, ten screenplays and innumerable short stories and poems. He has written literary, mainstream, and genre novels; he also teaches writing at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, California.
Obstfeld views the scene as a mini-story; it should have a beginning, middle, and an end; it should build to a climax; it should provide resolution. He shows how to use dialogue, point of view, or description to begin a scene as well as such techniques as "in medias res," starting in the middle of the action. He also shows how endings propel the reader into the next scene, emphasizing emotions and intellectual impact. He shows how to use cliff-hangers and jump cuts to increase suspense.
A really great suggestion is to outline your scenes on notecards to give yourself an overview of your novel; this will help you avoid too many "talking head" scenes and help you improve the pace of your novel. He also shows how to improve those talking head scenes when there isn't any alternative, such as in a mystery novel where the detective is doing a lot of interviews. He does this through misdirection, where the main character is involved in some action, such as driving to the airport and getting stuck in traffic. Thus the reader is getting information and is also worried about whether the hero will make it on time.
Another bugaboo Obstfeld addresses is description. Readers often skip this if it's too long, looking for the meat of the story; yet if you skimp on description, you lose credibility. Rather than describe everything the narrator sees, tastes, touches, smells, and hears in a scene, he suggests you focus on one of them, such as describing the smells coming from fast food restaurants in a working class part of town.
Obstfeld cautions the writer to never play it safe; he actually encourages beginning writers to "write themselves into a corner." The character now has no good alternative; both of his choices are unacceptable. What the heck does he do? This forces the beginning writer to think with more depth and his story will be fresher as a result.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely fantastic
Review: This book is written by a real writer who had written, and sold, numerous works, insluding screenplays. He knows what he is talking about and it shows in the book. It is eminently practical and offers a look at how to make scenes work from a writer's perspective. You won't find old, hand-me-down, paint-by-the-numbers schemes in this book. What you will find is an approach that will let you write "from the inside"--the way a real writer does. If you want to write well, this is the book to buy.
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