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Techniques of the Selling Writer | 
 enlarge | Author: Dwight V. Swain
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
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Rating:  46 reviews
Sales Rank: 24714
Media: Paperback
Pages: 330
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0806111917
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780806111919
ASIN: 0806111917
Publication Date: May 1982
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| Customer Reviews: Read 41 more reviews...
 A horrible waste of time May 19, 2009
Observer Who Read It
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have not learned a single helpful thing from this book. The "techniques" are totally useless and sometimes counterproductive, like the suggestion that a write not review his work with another person. Terrible. I instead highly recommend "Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print (Paperback)
by Renni Browne (Author), Dave King (Author).
 Techniques of the Selling Writer March 7, 2009
Kevin Logan (Arlington, WA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I highly recommend this book if you're serious about writing.
This book initially threw me for loop. Through the first 50 pages I just didn't get it and kept asking myself why it seemed so disorganized, or more properly, organized so unlike other texts on improving writing skill/understanding the craft. I almost abandoned this book. Because of presentation I almost missed the message. That would have been a shame since the message is quite possibly the best I've read in my effort to learn the writing craft.
I suppose it could be conditioning or prejudice that established my apparent want for an easier format so if you're a person who appreciates a more structured format that tends to lend itself to teaching the written word you may feel the same way about this book but I urge you not to abandon it and consider what finally dawned on me, it's written as if it's a conversational or lecture format. It may have only been me who feels this way about the format so I've possibly spent unnecessary time explaining a personal problem. Either way I suggest you read this book if you want to technically understand what came instinctually to you before.
The author takes an approach of explaining the construct of a good story, at novel length, in technical reasoning that tells you how elements of a story can be put together so they work and are effective. He explains there are no tricks or rules. He contends that if you use your existing knowledge of what a good story is to you, apply understanding of the method of how it was created, and work on your craft - learning as you go by doing you might succeed as a writer. His goal is to improve the odds for you.
I've read many books on writing better but they've nearly all assumed a certain level of ability to begin with, as in you're probably on the cusp of success and this book will take you over the top. Mr. Swain's book assumes nothing and teaches you the craft. Although I think I knew a thing or two about writing before his book I believe he taught me understanding, in depth, of what I knew as well as understanding of many things I didn't know.
He will ask you to learn about yourself as a writer, examine your motivation so to speak. He talks about your never ceasing hunt for the right words in your current work so you communicate the desired message to the reader. He provides techniques in how to set the mood or feeling in your story. Of course the main issue in a work of fiction is conflict. When done with his chapter on conflict you'll know how to effectively and efficiently build it. He explains the construction of a story unit by unit in his chapter BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END. You might be surprised by what you learn. I don't think I've ever seen this detail examined as he has done it in any other text. I gained a much greater understanding of story people in his chapter devoted to the subject. He goes on to examine what all this means to a writer who wants to crate commercial fiction, the goal of the book, and gives you his thoughts.
I just finished reading the book and want to start again so I have the ideas firmly rooted in my brain before I put the next word in my story. This book was originally copyrighted in 1965 so be prepared for life as it was then in his examples. I feel it's the only portion of the book that dates it. Otherwise it is relevant in every respect. I'm glad it wasn't the first book I read on writing but I'm also glad I finally read it. It will have a place next to the other very limited set of relevant texts which occupy my resource shelf on my desk. Two of the other four essential resources are THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE, and Webster's Dictionary.
The BEST book on writing I have read! February 7, 2009
Charity M. Lowdermilk
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Dwight Swain is so good--I feel like I have picked his brain. Things that I wouldn't even have thought to ask are included in this classic "how to." As a beginning writer, I found his book invaluable, as he included background for each technique presented and gave the why behind the how. Good advice will not go out of style.
Techniques of The Selling Writer December 3, 2008
Donald J. Wright (Savannah Ga USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This one is a must for the active writer. Even though it was writen in 1965 it is still a great tool. This is one of three must have books. It is writen in a a straight forward almost outline style and can be used over and over again as a reference.
The Best on Writing Dramatic Fiction August 12, 2008
Maine Character (Westport Island, ME)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I bought this book on account of all these rave reviews, and everyone was right - this is one of the very best books on writing fiction there is. I have over twenty, and even after all that, when reading yet another chapter on point of view is like slogging through sludge, Swain brings such refreshing verve and wit to the subject that everything seems new again. And it actually is, since he clues you in to key aspects you'd never considered before.
First, some clarifications - forget the title and the ugly cover. Rip them off, if you like. A better title would be "Techniques of the Dramatic Writer Who People Will Enjoy Reading." `Cause that's Swain's clarification - that this book isn't about pretentious writing for literary journals, and it's not about shallow novels or selling out. It's about solid storytelling and what engages audiences. What will, in the end, sell, simply because it's what publishers are looking for - novels with depth, feeling, and compelling characters that carries audiences along from one scene to the next.
Most books on writing stay at one level - the literary theories that just briefly touch on actual works you've heard of, and the cookie-cutter manuals that stay on the surface without giving you the tools or insight you're looking for. But here you find a combination of psychological depth and street wisdom that never floats off in heavy philosophy and yet never sinks to crude sketches for the popular market. It tells you how to write with both emotional insight and compelling action.
To top it off, Swain not only gives you the basic story structure of a hero facing conflict, but also gives a few nuggets I haven't seen in other books, such as curtain lines, scene and sequel, pet fragments, simultaneity, framing tightly in close-ups, reaction sentences, and the hero's stated goal vs. their true goal. The section on wish fulfillment was especially enlightening. There's also sections on a writer's life and being productive - including fifty pages on Planning, Preparation, and Production - that are sharp and true to life.
"The best observation anyone can make on preparation, planning, and production is that everyone has a God-given right to go to hell in his own way - and don't let anyone kid you out of yours."
Sitting down with this book is like sitting down at an all-night diner with a straight-talking veteran like Gene Hackman and having him lay out the terrain for you. Sketching phrases on napkins and crossing out words, telling you stories about fellow writers, and always setting up dramatic situations and how you can make them better. Spinning out stories about the waitress and explaining between goals of achievement and goals of resistance and how her boss's reaction could be the key.
Swain's enthusiasm is uplifting, his candor refreshing, his insight exactly what you need. He even breaks up each chapter into sections, so there's barely a single page with a solid wall of prose. For instance, the sections on increasing tension include 1) Build with scenes, 2) Don't confuse delay with complication, 3) Tie your characters to your story, 4) Balance your forces, 5) Have enough at stake, 6) Force continuing adjustments, 7) Keep the action rising, 8) Box in your hero, and 9) Drop a corpse through the roof.
Each of these is given a half page or more of explanation: "Your job is to spot holes and plug them; to foresee escape routes and block them; to cut off your hero from all apparent hope. If you don't, your reader's going to see those holes, and scream because your hero doesn't duck out through one."
It clocks in at 320 pages, jumps right in on the very first page, and though written in 1965, it's dated only by the magazines it names, mentions of typewriters, and a funny line about computer tubes. You still find the usual Steinbeck, Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Travis McGee. Everything else is as timeless advice as Shakespeare or Stephen King would give.
(For a pointer, it helps if you already have a few stories under your arm to check with Swain's advice as you go along. Also, when he mentions character types, or dramatic reversals, write in the margins the books and movies you've seen this in. It'll sharpen your perception and help you make the connections between what he's talking about and the works you've always enjoyed. And finally, Chap. 3 is good, but can be skipped to get right to the best parts.)
My only regret is that I wasn't given this book in college, rather than the stale, technical wish-wash that made writing fiction seem like typing up doctorates to please your professors. Those books one had to sit down and slog through, but this one I always looked forward to, knowing that even the things I already knew would be told with bold, brash wit and made new again. Which is, actually, what good writing is all about.
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