Dwight V. SwainBesprekingen

My editor suggested I read this book. I am glad I did. I learned a lot about writing that I never learned from a regular University degree. A must read for any author looking to improve their writing to sell on the commercial market.

One of many writing books I read over three months. Good, but his other one's a bit better, I think.

One of many writing books I read over three months. I thought this one quite useful.

This is the likely the only novel by Swain. He was a US author who contributed several short stories to the SF pulp magazines in the 1940s-50s. This publication by Panther UK contains this novella and a short story by E. C. Tubb.

The Swain story is typical "man on dangerous mission" Thriller but set in a future society. It's a pretty good adventure with some clever future tech.

The E.C. Tubb story is called "The Predators" and is a boring tale about future Advertising Agency getting sued. (Did not finish)

The short answer: There are many better books, period. This is the only book that I've ever returned.

[b:Stein On Writing: A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies|186004|Stein On Writing A Master Editor of Some of the Most Successful Writers of Our Century Shares His Craft Techniques and Strategies|Sol Stein|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388291952s/186004.jpg|179798] is Comprehensive and detailed with a plethora of examples. Two techniques, which I haven't seen described in this useful and epiphanic way in any other book, stand out: particularity and triage revising. (See my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2100163563)

This book is more succinct and achieves better clarity:
[b:GMC: Goal, Motivation and Conflict: The Building Blocks of Good Fiction|370005|GMC Goal, Motivation and Conflict The Building Blocks of Good Fiction|Debra Dixon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469900087s/370005.jpg|359980]

Jim Butcher's Live Journal advice on writing also describes the scene-sequel technique (and tags, the 2-sentence story question, ) that "techniques of the selling writer" formulates, but it explains the concepts more effectively and succinctly:

http://jimbutcher.livejournal.com/

Note: You have to read the entries from the bottom of the page up.

[b:The Elements of Style|33514|The Elements of Style|William Strunk Jr.|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1393947922s/33514.jpg|35832] is much better for mechanics and composition.

You'll also find that whereas "techniques of the selling writer" predominantly uses sexist examples and exemplifies a privileged world view, these books provide a much more enlightened view to writing.

Edit (15 October 2017): Added Stein on Writing.

Creating Characters – How to Build Story People by Dwight V. Swain is a non-fiction title for writers that delves into the art of character creation.

The Cover: I’ll start by saying that this book is almost 30 years old. Yet, while the cover art feels somewhat dated, it is only due to the character images and the clothing they wear. But then, they are characters and no doubt represent the stories they are set in. The colours are vibrant, the font is clear and it is a simple and clean cover. Combine this with the title and it represents a great match for the contents of this book. It clearly depicts the topic in a visual representation of the content inside.

The Good Stuff: There is solid advice within this book that will help writers create better characters. The advice is explained well, simple to understand, and helpful. There are things that I know that I’d say are common sense, yet the author made me stop and think about them, considering them more than I would have if I had not read this title. I found the book interesting in places and breezed through these sections with gusto.

The Bad Stuff: I felt there was unnecessary wordage in places that stunted the read for me. It was explaining things more than once or a little too much. I didn’t feel this way all through the book though, only in places, and it was easy to scan over and pick up the thread further on.

Overall, this is a good book for anyone who wants to gain a clear insight into creating interesting characters. If all it does is stimulate your mind to think a little more about people’s drives, quirks, and mannerisms, I’d say it has done its job. I’m giving this one a thought-provoking 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Techniques of the Selling Writer, as the name suggests, is written for writers who want to be published. It will provide you with the best tried and tested techniques for selling your work.

The Bad Stuff: To be honest, there is nothing bad about this book in my mind.

The Good Stuff: This book is packed with useful information for new writers and those longer term, yet to be established writers.

I found this to be a very good and informative book. I would recommend it to any writers starting out or trying to develop their skills further. In fact, I would go as far as saying that this is one of the books on my 'must have' list. I give it 4 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Rhubarb.

Although Dwight V. Swain's Techniques of the Selling Writer is older than I am (which is pretty darn old), it stands the test of time and remains a valuable read for writers, especially beginners and those still striving to perfect their craft. So, you may be asking, why bother reviewing a 49-year old book? Fair question. It's one of the most cited and referenced books on writing I've encountered, and after reading it, I can understand why. If you haven't heard of it, or given it a try, I'll attempt to convince you.

Techniques of the Selling Writer focuses on the premise of understanding your reader’s motivation for reading. With that goal in mind, the book then provides instructions on how to successfully assemble your story to give your readers a powerful emotional experience. Dwight V. Swain's book can be thought of as a builder's manual for crafting a satisfying and rewarding story.

Possibly the most well-known concept Swain presents in this book is the Motivation-Reaction Unit (MRU). The core building block of storytelling, MRUs are comprised of something that your point-of-view (POV) character experiences (sees, hears, thinks, or even tastes or smells), which motivates him/her to react to. At its basic level, a story consists of a character experiencing life (and its inevitable conflict) and reacting to it, over and over again. Techniques of the Selling Writer explains MRUs in fine detail and provides a plethora of examples. Swain then shows you how to take MRUs and use them to build scenes and sequels using structure and simple patterns, which in turn comprise chapters, and, ultimately, your novel.

Swain's scene pattern consists of Goal-Conflict-Disaster combinations, followed by a corresponding sequel, which is comprised of a Reaction-Dilemma-Decision trio. If this process seems formulaic and too structured for your taste, understand there is nearly an infinite amount of flexibility in how you can apply and interpret these suggestions. They are guidelines to help you build your story without gaps that leave your reader confused.

For me, Techniques of the Selling Writer was not a quick read, as the concepts and multitude of examples required time to digest, and I found myself reading much slower than I do with a fiction novel, for fear of skimming through something important.

And, as nothing is perfect, I found a few issues that could be potentially off-putting. I think the book offers more examples than most people probably need. I felt like I understood Swain's points after reading about half of the provided examples. In addition, as can be expected with a book published in 1965, some portions are outdated, based on today's technology, markets, and culture. I would recommend focusing on the storytelling advice and not worrying about the dated content (it comprises only a small part of the book).

This is definitely going into my top 3 books about writing. I doubled back and re-read passages, not just because I was tired and distracted, but also because I could instantly see the implications for various stories I've written and/or am working on. I plan to go back and take notes on most of the book, because there's so much in here that I feel I, personally, need to absorb. It hit all my weak points as a writer, and the author's beliefs on why writers write, and how to do your own best work pretty much coincide with my own thoughts on the matter... which I guess makes me almost 50 years out of date!

The book was published in 1965, which makes for a staggering amount of miscellany that's out of date, from the author's casual sexism to "a scientist says that a machine to play unbeatable chess would have to be 'slightly larger than the universe.'" Uh. Yeah. He had quaint little complaints about distraction in the pre-internet world. Those things aside, I think this book has the potential to do more for my writing than any other how-to-write book I've read, but it wouldn't be right for everyone.

Excellent resource for any writer. A little dated, in style and information, but there is enough material still applicable to make this a must-read.

This book explains very common sense techniques to writing, all geared towards one goal - to elicit a particular reaction from the reader. The story is all about the READER - I like that, and even though this book was first released years ago, his methods still hold water. Swain explains how to hold the reader's attention, and make the scenes and sequels flow. #Iamwriting #stillwriting

This is an excellent guide for those who are interested in writing professionally. Swain has laid out the book in a way that makes sense, so that you can skim or skip any section that doesn't interest you. That being said, I read every word, as interested as I would have been with a work of fiction. Swain's suggestions are brilliant, and at the same time he advises you to be as flexible as possible when using his advice. I'll come back to this book again and again.

A word of warning: This book was written decades ago, and that's clear--it's very sexist and at times racist. But don't let that stop you. Just ignore the gendered references and accept Swain's suggestions for writing.

If I reflect on bestselling books like J.K.Rowling's "The Philosopher's Stone" or Stephanie Meyer's "Twilight", they both closely match Dwight Swain's requirements for a good commercial novel.
From interviews it seems that both Rowling and Meyer felt an overwhelming desire to write their worlds, and I assume that they weren't referencing "Techniques of the Selling Writer", so maybe they were just lucky to get everything right in a most natural way.
For not so talented writers, Swains "How To" book explains techniques for plot, character, emotion and pacing in order to retain the reader and avoid the worst mistakes, but it's still inevitably of greater interest to a budding novelist rather than the general book buyer.

Swain says that writing is one of the hardest ways to earn a living, which isn't a surprise, and he interestingly says that the inspiration of the writer's created world gives its own reward and helps in carrying a work through to completion.

This is a book of technique mainly for those just beginning to write. It's full of practical advice for those who would like to make their stories more believable, the players and the stories themselves less flat. The tone is conversational, but the advice moves beyond common sense and simplistic motivational segments found in some other similar books. How to create and flesh out a character concept is covered, but there is also explanation of how to implement character as well, so that the image inside your mind can come alive to the reader through effective dialog and personal development through the plot line. A valuable tool when used for the intended audience of beginners and those writing alone, but it will be of less value to anyone who has had the fortune/misfortune of having work criticized by other writers who use these techniques themselves.

Very very good.

Well written. Anyone wanting to be published should have this one in their library.