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corita 's review for:
Techniques of the Selling Writer
by Dwight V. Swain
I reread this book every few years. I just finished it again. I love the refresher course. Swain gets so much right. Aug. 21, 2018.
Techniques of a Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain has been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I hadn’t read it because I didn’t like the cover. For me, the dollar sign in place of the “S” is a turnoff. The cute ploy suggests the book is about making money rather than a practical writing guide for fiction writers.
Each time I thought about reading it, I put it back on the shelf. Oh, foolish girl!!
Techniques... is a practical writing guide as well as a guide to producing writing that sells.
What I liked:
I’m tempted to say, “I liked everything,” which would be true, but here’s what sets this book apart from other books:
1) It’s organized in a logical progression from the smallest writing unit to the broad strokes of storytelling.
2) It’s detailed and specific.
3) There are lots of examples.
4) The writing is clear and easy to understand.
5) Swain’s breaks down the techniques genre fiction writers use to tell compelling
stories.
6) I’ve tried his techniques and have seen a marked improvement in my writing.
Warnings:
I don’t want you to think this is a perfect book or a quick and easy read. There are some potential issues. I didn’t mind these things, but I imagine they could be stumbling blocks for some.
1) The book is dense; he packs more into 300 pages than most writing books. I get frustrated with books that are thin on content.
2) It’s dated, which anyone would expect from a book published 45 years ago; be prepared for talk about typewriters and other outdated things. If you think this might annoy you, remember that this book is still in print for a reason.
3) This is the kind of book you’ll read slowly and study–this is a plus for me, but I know some people want a quick an easy fix.
4) Some say that the writing is dry, but I didn’t notice. My academic background might make me jaded. The content is so valuable that I didn’t notice dry writing.
If you are an aspiring writer or a writer who want to improve, I recommend this book.
For me, it’s a must-have.
Techniques of a Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain has been sitting on my bookshelf for years. I hadn’t read it because I didn’t like the cover. For me, the dollar sign in place of the “S” is a turnoff. The cute ploy suggests the book is about making money rather than a practical writing guide for fiction writers.
Each time I thought about reading it, I put it back on the shelf. Oh, foolish girl!!
Techniques... is a practical writing guide as well as a guide to producing writing that sells.
What I liked:
I’m tempted to say, “I liked everything,” which would be true, but here’s what sets this book apart from other books:
1) It’s organized in a logical progression from the smallest writing unit to the broad strokes of storytelling.
2) It’s detailed and specific.
3) There are lots of examples.
4) The writing is clear and easy to understand.
5) Swain’s breaks down the techniques genre fiction writers use to tell compelling
stories.
6) I’ve tried his techniques and have seen a marked improvement in my writing.
Warnings:
I don’t want you to think this is a perfect book or a quick and easy read. There are some potential issues. I didn’t mind these things, but I imagine they could be stumbling blocks for some.
1) The book is dense; he packs more into 300 pages than most writing books. I get frustrated with books that are thin on content.
2) It’s dated, which anyone would expect from a book published 45 years ago; be prepared for talk about typewriters and other outdated things. If you think this might annoy you, remember that this book is still in print for a reason.
3) This is the kind of book you’ll read slowly and study–this is a plus for me, but I know some people want a quick an easy fix.
4) Some say that the writing is dry, but I didn’t notice. My academic background might make me jaded. The content is so valuable that I didn’t notice dry writing.
If you are an aspiring writer or a writer who want to improve, I recommend this book.
For me, it’s a must-have.