What do you think?
Rate this book
Stein on Writing
A master editor of some of the most successful writers of our century shares his craft techniques and strategies
Stein on Writing provides immediately useful advice for all writers of fiction and nonfiction, whether they are newcomers or old hands, students or instructors, amateurs or professionals. As the always clear and direct Stein explains here, "This is not a book of theory. It is a book of usable solutions--how to fix writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the first place." With examples from bestsellers as well as from students' drafts, Stein offers detailed sections on characterization, dialogue, pacing, flashbacks, trimming away flabby wording, the so-called "triage" method of revision, using the techniques of fiction to enliven nonfiction, and more.
Stein on Writing provides immediately useful advice for all writers of fiction and nonfiction, whether they are newcomers or old hands, students or instructors, amateurs or professionals. As the always clear and direct Stein explains here, "This is not a book of theory. It is a book of usable solutions--how to fix writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the first place." With examples from bestsellers as well as from students' drafts, Stein offers detailed sections on characterization, dialogue, pacing, flashbacks, trimming away flabby wording, the so-called "triage" method of revision, using the techniques of fiction to enliven nonfiction, and more.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
609 people are currently reading
9133 people want to read
About the author
Sol Stein
34 books109 followersSol Stein was a best-selling novelist and the publisher of works by James Baldwin and Che Guevara. He also worked with David Frost, Jack Higgins, Elia Kazan, Dylan Thomas, and W.H. Auden.
Stein and Baldwin met as students at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where they worked on the literary magazine.
Stein served in the Army during World War II. In 1949 he received a master’s degree in English literature from Columbia University.
In the 1950s Stein worked at Voice of America, wrote plays, and moved into publishing. He established his own publishing company, Stein & Day, in 1962 with his then-wife. Stein used other publishers for his own novels so he would not be competing with the authors that Stein & Day published.
Stein & Day closed after 27 years, and Stein wrote the nonfiction A Feast for Lawyers as a result of the bankruptcy.
Stein went on to write books about writing, and he taught in colleges. He also helped create WritePro, software to teach fiction writing to its users.
Stein and Baldwin met as students at DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx, where they worked on the literary magazine.
Stein served in the Army during World War II. In 1949 he received a master’s degree in English literature from Columbia University.
In the 1950s Stein worked at Voice of America, wrote plays, and moved into publishing. He established his own publishing company, Stein & Day, in 1962 with his then-wife. Stein used other publishers for his own novels so he would not be competing with the authors that Stein & Day published.
Stein & Day closed after 27 years, and Stein wrote the nonfiction A Feast for Lawyers as a result of the bankruptcy.
Stein went on to write books about writing, and he taught in colleges. He also helped create WritePro, software to teach fiction writing to its users.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 527 reviews
April 29, 2011
Sol Stein is pompous. If I judge correctly from his writing, he is a curmudgeon with a serious personality defect. His view is very narrow and it is the only right view. I wouldn't want to be his friend, his client, or even his trashman. I was not impressed with Stein.
That being said, Stein does know something (not everything) when it comes to writing. Though there were times during my read of Stein on Writing when I wanted to fling the book across the room, there were more instances where I jotted down helpful notes and immediately followed his advice. The results were amazing. Stein says cut “had” so I cut “had” from my manuscript. He's right! He says get rid of the adverbs, so I did. Over and again, I found Stein's simple rules to have a significant effect on my own manuscript. Rarely does he justify his reasoning—he doesn't have to, he's “a master editor of some of the most successful writers of our century”—but he's often right. Sure, you have to listen to his rants about how brilliant he and his students are—really, they're not—but in the end, it's worth it.
If you choose to read this book, it's important you know what you're getting into. First, know that Stein doesn't like you. He's not going to like your book. Your idea isn't original and your voice never was. He doesn't like the way you bake cookies. If you own a cat, he's a dog person. Own a dog and, well, cats aren't so bad after all.
Next, know that Stein feels no need to explain himself and that some of his examples are absurd. Perhaps I shouldn't say this about a “master editor,” but sometimes Stein is just way off. Take a look at the following examples, and please let me know if I'm missing something:
As an example of how to begin a piece of fiction, Stein recommends the story “The Eighty-Yard Run.” Stein writes, “See how much Irwin Shaw accomplished in the first sentence.” He never explains what it is that we're supposed to see in this passage, so it is up to the reader. Let's take a look at the passage: “The pass was high and wide and he jumped for it, feeling it slap flatly against his hands, as he shook his hips to throw off the half-back who was diving at him.” That's it. That's the brilliant opening sentence. What exactly “hooks” us in this sentence? Does Shaw really convey as much as Stein argues? Well, we know that we're entering right in the middle of action—a football game. The focal character is receiving the ball. The quarterback's throw was a little off. We know the receiver has hands, and that they're capable of feeling. We know that another player is diving at him. And that the receiver is trying to shake him off. Most important, we learn the receiver can jump and has hips. I make fun, but do you see my point? I repeat Stein's set-up for this passage: “See how much Irwin Shaw accomplished in the first sentence.” Sorry, Sol, I don't see it.
Stein argues that his examples excite the reader's curiosity, introduce a setting, and lend resonance to the story. They should tell as much as possible in as short a space as possible. He also argues that great opening sentences should be unusual or shocking. I have no problem with Stein's ideas of what makes a great opener. He is right on. But how exactly does this sentence exemplify these principles? It is certainly vivid in its tight space. It's pretty clear what is happening too. Otherwise, in my opinion, it's a dud. It's a football game. The characters are doing what's expected. There is nothing revealing or hooking about this sentence. Unless you're a huge fan of football, I see no reason to continue reading “The Eighty-Yard Run.”
One more, and then I'll get off my soapbox. Stein writes, “A layman might say, 'Ellen looked terrific in her gown.' That's top-of-the-head writing, which can be improved: 'In her gown, Ellen looked like the stamen of a flower made of silk.'” Stein goes on to say that the first sentence “doesn't say anything particular about either Ellen or the gown.” He's right there. It's not the most revealing sentence. “The second is visual,” Stein argues, “and tells us how Ellen and the gown came across in a way that made them both look good.” “Ellen looked like the stamen of a flower made of silk.” Really? First of all, I think the simile is wordy and confusing. Why not just say “the stamen of a silk flower.” Secondly, a “flower made of silk” does not make me think she “looks good.” It makes me think she's fake, pretentious, cheap, etc. And, finally, the stamen of a silk flower? What does this mean? She's slender? She's the representation of a reproductive organ? This is the advice of “a master editor”? A student writing this in undergrad would be torn apart. Hell, published authors would be ridiculed for this line.
(This is where I welcome taunting for my ignorance. If I have really misunderstood the brilliance of these lines, please gently let me know.)
So, my advice is to take Stein on Writing with a grain of salt, but if you're a student of writing, do read it. When Stein makes a point, he makes it well. It is the single most helpful craft book I have read. So much so that I hope someday to reread it. I'll still want to fling it across the room (if I own my own copy, I probably will), but I know I'll be a better writer for having made the small sacrifice.
That being said, Stein does know something (not everything) when it comes to writing. Though there were times during my read of Stein on Writing when I wanted to fling the book across the room, there were more instances where I jotted down helpful notes and immediately followed his advice. The results were amazing. Stein says cut “had” so I cut “had” from my manuscript. He's right! He says get rid of the adverbs, so I did. Over and again, I found Stein's simple rules to have a significant effect on my own manuscript. Rarely does he justify his reasoning—he doesn't have to, he's “a master editor of some of the most successful writers of our century”—but he's often right. Sure, you have to listen to his rants about how brilliant he and his students are—really, they're not—but in the end, it's worth it.
If you choose to read this book, it's important you know what you're getting into. First, know that Stein doesn't like you. He's not going to like your book. Your idea isn't original and your voice never was. He doesn't like the way you bake cookies. If you own a cat, he's a dog person. Own a dog and, well, cats aren't so bad after all.
Next, know that Stein feels no need to explain himself and that some of his examples are absurd. Perhaps I shouldn't say this about a “master editor,” but sometimes Stein is just way off. Take a look at the following examples, and please let me know if I'm missing something:
As an example of how to begin a piece of fiction, Stein recommends the story “The Eighty-Yard Run.” Stein writes, “See how much Irwin Shaw accomplished in the first sentence.” He never explains what it is that we're supposed to see in this passage, so it is up to the reader. Let's take a look at the passage: “The pass was high and wide and he jumped for it, feeling it slap flatly against his hands, as he shook his hips to throw off the half-back who was diving at him.” That's it. That's the brilliant opening sentence. What exactly “hooks” us in this sentence? Does Shaw really convey as much as Stein argues? Well, we know that we're entering right in the middle of action—a football game. The focal character is receiving the ball. The quarterback's throw was a little off. We know the receiver has hands, and that they're capable of feeling. We know that another player is diving at him. And that the receiver is trying to shake him off. Most important, we learn the receiver can jump and has hips. I make fun, but do you see my point? I repeat Stein's set-up for this passage: “See how much Irwin Shaw accomplished in the first sentence.” Sorry, Sol, I don't see it.
Stein argues that his examples excite the reader's curiosity, introduce a setting, and lend resonance to the story. They should tell as much as possible in as short a space as possible. He also argues that great opening sentences should be unusual or shocking. I have no problem with Stein's ideas of what makes a great opener. He is right on. But how exactly does this sentence exemplify these principles? It is certainly vivid in its tight space. It's pretty clear what is happening too. Otherwise, in my opinion, it's a dud. It's a football game. The characters are doing what's expected. There is nothing revealing or hooking about this sentence. Unless you're a huge fan of football, I see no reason to continue reading “The Eighty-Yard Run.”
One more, and then I'll get off my soapbox. Stein writes, “A layman might say, 'Ellen looked terrific in her gown.' That's top-of-the-head writing, which can be improved: 'In her gown, Ellen looked like the stamen of a flower made of silk.'” Stein goes on to say that the first sentence “doesn't say anything particular about either Ellen or the gown.” He's right there. It's not the most revealing sentence. “The second is visual,” Stein argues, “and tells us how Ellen and the gown came across in a way that made them both look good.” “Ellen looked like the stamen of a flower made of silk.” Really? First of all, I think the simile is wordy and confusing. Why not just say “the stamen of a silk flower.” Secondly, a “flower made of silk” does not make me think she “looks good.” It makes me think she's fake, pretentious, cheap, etc. And, finally, the stamen of a silk flower? What does this mean? She's slender? She's the representation of a reproductive organ? This is the advice of “a master editor”? A student writing this in undergrad would be torn apart. Hell, published authors would be ridiculed for this line.
(This is where I welcome taunting for my ignorance. If I have really misunderstood the brilliance of these lines, please gently let me know.)
So, my advice is to take Stein on Writing with a grain of salt, but if you're a student of writing, do read it. When Stein makes a point, he makes it well. It is the single most helpful craft book I have read. So much so that I hope someday to reread it. I'll still want to fling it across the room (if I own my own copy, I probably will), but I know I'll be a better writer for having made the small sacrifice.
March 7, 2025
5 ⭐
Well, who would’ve thought reading about writing could be so enjoyable. And now I’m writing about reading about writing... And now your reading my writing about reading about writing... Humans are fascinating creatures.
I’m not entirely sure why I picked this up. I don’t have any plans to write a book (another hobby to half-commit myself to is the last thing I need!) so I guess it was a curiosity of why exactly I enjoy some books more than others. What are some authors doing better than others? I already knew that much of the joy I get from reading comes from the subtle craft of the author but it was so rewarding to have key components of this craft, some rather intuitive and others less so, explained in such a clear and authoritative way by the author.
I enjoyed some of Sol Stein’s reflections on what it is to be a writer; what the role entails. Two things that stuck with me were that a writer deals with the unspoken. They write what others think but rarely say. I very recently came across an update from a fellow Good Reader in which he spoke of the beauty he found in reverie in the throws of a book that truly resonated. And that, when he snapped back to reality felt a glass wall of types between himself and others (Noel, if you read this, I hope you don’t mind me commandeering your thoughts). I don’t think this feeling is unique, I believe for readers it is probably a universal truth because real life interactions rarely reach the depths of what we find in good literature as much of the truly meaningful stuff is left unspoken. An author creates dialogue, and dialogue and spoken word are not the same (”Dialogue is a lean language in which every word counts”). On top of this, we have access to the innermost thoughts of major and minor characters.
Another interesting point about the writer that Stein makes is that a writer is the opposite of a psycotherapist who tries to calm negative feelings. People who hate stress, anxiety, suspense etc. In real life, LOVE them in literature and it is the writer’s job, nay, responsibility to exacerbate these feelings. This ties in with something I read a week or so ago in Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ regarding katharsis. In the case of the old tragedies it is fear and pity that the dramatist is most trying to evoke. Unlike Plato who believed that certain feelings should be suppressed, Aristotle believed that it was more about feeling the right degree of emotion in the right circumstances and that:
”By stimulating the emotion to which they are excessively prone, tragedy discharges the tendency to excess; it thus relieves the pressure which their disordered emotional makeup exerts on them, so that in ordinary life they will not be so prone to indulge the emotion in question”
I think that explains, wonderfully, this counterintuitive aspect of human nature.
A few points that barely scratch the surface of the book but which I nevertheless found quite interesting:
- Efficiency in writing: Build story through dialogue and characterise through action (Show, don’t tell). The reader should be able to visualise (like a film in one’s own mind) at all times. Avoid narrative summary wherever possible.
Examples given of quality characterisation included Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, James Henry, Shakespeare, Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene.
- Eliminate coincidence. Plant seeds and enjoy the harvest.
- Avoid cliche sayings. Wherever you see one in your script, think of something original.
- Actually, basically, perhaps, I dare say, I don't know what to think, it occurs to me, you see, anyway.... Eliminate all of these unless they are a tick of the character. Also avoid excess adjectives/adverbs (”If you see an adjective, kill it!” - Mark Twain).
- Draw out suspense as long as possible and have multiple arcs of suspense that you can switch out scene by scene.
- Increase drama/conflict by giving two characters different scripts. When people enter into an argument in real life they each hold completely different scripts in their heads. Different beliefs, different intent. We each believe that the conversation should go in a particular direction and conflict, glorious conflict, is inevitable.
- The crucible: the container that holds the characters together as things heat up. The key to this is that the motivation of two characters to continue to oppose each other must be greater than the motivation to run away (in a marriage, on a boat, in a prison cell etc.). A place in which conflict or drama cannot be escaped offers heightened tension
As I said, these are just a few points that hardly do the work justice but they are investigated in gratifying depth and narrated (I listened to the audiobook), by Sol Stein himself, clearly and professionally. There was a little bit of a “Look at me, look how good I am!” vibe from Stein himself when it came to referencing a lot of his own work or name-dropping successful books and authors that he’d personally edited but I was ok with it on a practice-what-you-preach or walk the talk basis. It didn’t grate on me as some narrators have in the past.
Lastly, I just want to express my most tongue-in-cheek indignation at this wanker who Stein quotes at some point or other during the reading:
”In America only the successful writer is important, in France all writers are important, in England no writer is important, in Australia you have to explain what a writer is.”.
- Geoffrey Cotterell
Piss off, Geoff, you flog!!
Adieu. 😂
Well, who would’ve thought reading about writing could be so enjoyable. And now I’m writing about reading about writing... And now your reading my writing about reading about writing... Humans are fascinating creatures.
I’m not entirely sure why I picked this up. I don’t have any plans to write a book (another hobby to half-commit myself to is the last thing I need!) so I guess it was a curiosity of why exactly I enjoy some books more than others. What are some authors doing better than others? I already knew that much of the joy I get from reading comes from the subtle craft of the author but it was so rewarding to have key components of this craft, some rather intuitive and others less so, explained in such a clear and authoritative way by the author.
I enjoyed some of Sol Stein’s reflections on what it is to be a writer; what the role entails. Two things that stuck with me were that a writer deals with the unspoken. They write what others think but rarely say. I very recently came across an update from a fellow Good Reader in which he spoke of the beauty he found in reverie in the throws of a book that truly resonated. And that, when he snapped back to reality felt a glass wall of types between himself and others (Noel, if you read this, I hope you don’t mind me commandeering your thoughts). I don’t think this feeling is unique, I believe for readers it is probably a universal truth because real life interactions rarely reach the depths of what we find in good literature as much of the truly meaningful stuff is left unspoken. An author creates dialogue, and dialogue and spoken word are not the same (”Dialogue is a lean language in which every word counts”). On top of this, we have access to the innermost thoughts of major and minor characters.
Another interesting point about the writer that Stein makes is that a writer is the opposite of a psycotherapist who tries to calm negative feelings. People who hate stress, anxiety, suspense etc. In real life, LOVE them in literature and it is the writer’s job, nay, responsibility to exacerbate these feelings. This ties in with something I read a week or so ago in Aristotle’s ‘Poetics’ regarding katharsis. In the case of the old tragedies it is fear and pity that the dramatist is most trying to evoke. Unlike Plato who believed that certain feelings should be suppressed, Aristotle believed that it was more about feeling the right degree of emotion in the right circumstances and that:
”By stimulating the emotion to which they are excessively prone, tragedy discharges the tendency to excess; it thus relieves the pressure which their disordered emotional makeup exerts on them, so that in ordinary life they will not be so prone to indulge the emotion in question”
I think that explains, wonderfully, this counterintuitive aspect of human nature.
A few points that barely scratch the surface of the book but which I nevertheless found quite interesting:
- Efficiency in writing: Build story through dialogue and characterise through action (Show, don’t tell). The reader should be able to visualise (like a film in one’s own mind) at all times. Avoid narrative summary wherever possible.
Examples given of quality characterisation included Dostoyevsky, Flaubert, James Henry, Shakespeare, Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene.
- Eliminate coincidence. Plant seeds and enjoy the harvest.
- Avoid cliche sayings. Wherever you see one in your script, think of something original.
- Actually, basically, perhaps, I dare say, I don't know what to think, it occurs to me, you see, anyway.... Eliminate all of these unless they are a tick of the character. Also avoid excess adjectives/adverbs (”If you see an adjective, kill it!” - Mark Twain).
- Draw out suspense as long as possible and have multiple arcs of suspense that you can switch out scene by scene.
- Increase drama/conflict by giving two characters different scripts. When people enter into an argument in real life they each hold completely different scripts in their heads. Different beliefs, different intent. We each believe that the conversation should go in a particular direction and conflict, glorious conflict, is inevitable.
- The crucible: the container that holds the characters together as things heat up. The key to this is that the motivation of two characters to continue to oppose each other must be greater than the motivation to run away (in a marriage, on a boat, in a prison cell etc.). A place in which conflict or drama cannot be escaped offers heightened tension
As I said, these are just a few points that hardly do the work justice but they are investigated in gratifying depth and narrated (I listened to the audiobook), by Sol Stein himself, clearly and professionally. There was a little bit of a “Look at me, look how good I am!” vibe from Stein himself when it came to referencing a lot of his own work or name-dropping successful books and authors that he’d personally edited but I was ok with it on a practice-what-you-preach or walk the talk basis. It didn’t grate on me as some narrators have in the past.
Lastly, I just want to express my most tongue-in-cheek indignation at this wanker who Stein quotes at some point or other during the reading:
”In America only the successful writer is important, in France all writers are important, in England no writer is important, in Australia you have to explain what a writer is.”.
- Geoffrey Cotterell
Piss off, Geoff, you flog!!
Adieu. 😂
Read
November 19, 2022
There you are, all set to do your writing. The question is: What does it take to be a writer dedicated to writing book reviews? To explore this question, here's a video where I'm interviewed and the topic is book reviewing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaQtO...
May 29, 2023
Ein sehr lesenswerter Schreibratgeber, für den jedoch Ruhe und Zeit mitgebracht werden muss, um die Worte reflektieren zu können. Sol Stein schreibt präzise, eloquent und humorvoll über Schreibtechniken, was nicht nur grundlegende Ratschläge sondern ebenso seine Erfahrungen als Autor und Lektor inkludiert. Anhand einiger Beispiele wird das Gesagte einleuchtend erklärt. Ich konnte einiges für mein eigenes Schreiben mitnehmen und empfehle es aus diesem Grund weiter! Einige Aussagen waren mir persönlich zu subjektiv und daher teilweise schwer nachvollziehbar: Auch wenn seine Einstellung zu ✨Trivialliteratur✨ für sein Empfinden durchaus berechtigt sein mag, passt der leicht abwertende Ton für mich nicht in einen allgemeinen Ratgeber. Nichtsdestotrotz sehr lehrreich!🥰
Want to read
January 13, 2015Although I am merely a writer of book reviews, I do have high hopes that my recapitulations will be instrumental both for readers (reluctant to ardent)as well as authors. I was thrilled to receive this gift.
Taking one of the first tips, I'm trying something different. Rather than read the book in its entirety, then review it; I'm going to attempt to record thoughts along the way.
1. I was surprised when, on page 10, I noticed what I believe to be a grammatical error. I hope I'm wrong. The last sentence "......we shrink from politicians who may have GOT their facts right...." seems to have an incorrect verb tense. If I remember my 6th grade grammar, it would be "...who may have GOTTEN their facts wrong."
Unless I learn differently (your cue to weigh in here), I'm going to assume that my memory is fuzzy and the sentence is correct.
Taking one of the first tips, I'm trying something different. Rather than read the book in its entirety, then review it; I'm going to attempt to record thoughts along the way.
1. I was surprised when, on page 10, I noticed what I believe to be a grammatical error. I hope I'm wrong. The last sentence "......we shrink from politicians who may have GOT their facts right...." seems to have an incorrect verb tense. If I remember my 6th grade grammar, it would be "...who may have GOTTEN their facts wrong."
Unless I learn differently (your cue to weigh in here), I'm going to assume that my memory is fuzzy and the sentence is correct.
August 14, 2016
Excellent advice and many examples for better writing.
Stein is an author, editor, and publisher. His advice is geared toward fiction, with some thoughts for nonfiction. I am a reader and reviewer of books, not a writer. I have strong likes and dislikes about books I’ve read. I’m reading some “how to write books” to see if I agree with the experts. I’m delighted to say that writers who follow Stein’s advice will very likely make me happy when reading their books. I am more liberal than Stein in two areas: the first three pages of a book and his fifth commandment. Scenes that end prematurely are a subject Stein did not discuss, but I believe he would agree with me.
ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, & FLAB:
For a while now I have been confused when I hear people say “cut adverbs.” I’ve loved some colorful writing that adverbs produce. I made a list of wonderful sentences with adverbs written by J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, and Georgette Heyer. I recently read three Hemingway short stories and noticed a lot of adjectives and adverbs in two of them. That intrigued me because he is famous for concise writing. Stein is the first expert who explains this subject to my satisfaction. Although he recommends cutting most adjectives and adverbs, he gives examples showing when they are valuable. I like his view. Stein and I both like the following paragraph which is full of adjectives and adverbs. Although a novel filled with this should probably be labeled poetry rather than fiction. Still it shows the emotional and sensual ability of adjectives and adverbs. Stein calls it “a nearly perfect paragraph.” It was written by a student of his, Linda Katmarian.
“Weeds and the low hanging branches of unpruned trees swooshed and thumped against the car while gravel popped loudly under the car’s tires. As the car bumped along, a flock of startled blackbirds exploded out of the brush. For a moment they fluttered and swirled about like pieces of charred paper in the draft of a flame and then were gone. Elizabeth blinked. The mind could play such tricks.”
Stein says “She’s breaking rules. Adjectives and adverbs which normally should be cut are all over the place. They’re used to wonderful effect because she uses the particular sound of words ‘the low hanging branches swooshed and thumped against the car. Gravel popped. Startled blackbirds exploded out of the brush. They fluttered and swirled.’ We experience the road the car is on because the car ‘bumped’ along. What a wonderful image. ‘The birds fluttered and swirled about like pieces of charred paper in the draft of a flame.’ And it all comes together in the perception of the character ‘Elizabeth blinked. The mind could play such tricks.’ Many published writers would like to have written a paragraph that good. That nearly perfect paragraph was ...”
Another example. Stein does not like the sentence “What a lovely, colorful garden.” Lovely is too vague. Colorful is specific therefore better; but lovely and colorful don’t draw us in because we expect a garden to be lovely or colorful. There are several curiosity provoking adjectives you might use. If we hear that a garden is curious, strange, eerie, remarkable, or bizarre, we want to know why. An adjective that piques the reader’s curiosity helps move the story along.
Stein says when you have two adjectives together with one noun, you should almost always delete one of the adjectives. He also recommends eliminating the following words which he calls flab: had, very, quite, poor (unless talking of poverty), however, almost, entire, successive, respective, perhaps, always, and “there is.” Other words can be flab as well.
PARTICULARITY (attentiveness to detail):
I love the following comparison. “You have an envelope? He put one down in front of her.” This exchange is void of particularity. Here’s how the transaction was described by John LeCarre. “You have a suitable envelope? Of course you have. Envelopes were in the third drawer of his desk, left side. He selected a yellow one A4 size and guided it across the desk but she let it lie there.” Those particularities ordinary as they seem help make what she is going to put into the envelope important. The extra words are not wasted because they make the experience possible and credible. (My favorite part: “Of course you have.”)
FLASHBACKS AND SCENES THAT END PREMATURELY:
Stein discourages flashbacks. He says they break the reading experience. They pull the reader out of the story to tell what happened earlier. Yay! I agree! I don’t like them either.
I don’t recall Stein discussing “ending scenes prematurely,” but I think (or hope) he would agree with me that they also “break the reading experience.” For example, Mary walks into a room, hears a noise, and is hit. The next sentence is about another character in another place. Many authors do this to create artificial suspense. It makes me angry, and my anger takes me out of the story because I’m thinking about the author instead of the characters. You can have great suspense without doing this. Stein says “The Day of the Jackal” is famous for use of suspense. The scenes in that book have natural endings.
FIRST THREE PAGES OF A BOOK MAY NOT BE AS CRITICAL AS THEY USED TO BE:
Stein said a “book must grab the reader in the first three pages or they won’t buy the book.” This was based on studies watching customers in book stores. They looked at the jacket and then the first one to three pages. They either put it back or bought it. I think the internet changed things by providing customer reviews. I buy around 280 books a year. I never buy a book based on the first three pages. My decision to buy is based on customer reviews and/or book jacket summaries. I suppose the first three pages might still be important for customers in physical stores like Barnes & Noble and Walmart. But today we have books that become best sellers as ebooks and subsequently are published in paperback, for example Fifty Shades of Grey. Bloggers and reviewers spread the word, not bookstore visitors.
STEIN’S TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR WRITERS:
I’ve edited for brevity and to remove thou shalt’s.
1. Do not sprinkle characters into a preconceived plot. In the beginning was the character. (I like this, but I also think Stephen King has a good idea - something to try. He creates a “situation” first, then the characters, and last the plot.)
2. Imbue your heroes with faults and your villains with charm. For it is the faults of the hero that bring forth his life, just as the charm of the villain is the honey with which he lures the innocent.
3. Your characters should steal, kill, dishonor their parents, bear false witness, and covet their neighbor’s house, wife, man servant, maid servant, and ox. For readers crave such actions and yawn when your characters are meek, innocent, forgiving, and peaceable. (I love this.)
4. Avoid abstractions, for readers like lovers are attracted by particularity.
5. Do not mutter, whisper, blurt, bellow, or scream. Stein prefers using “he said.” (I’m not sure about this one. I like hearing these words. Maybe in moderation?)
6. Infect your reader with anxiety, stress, and tension, for those conditions that he deplores in life, he relishes in fiction.
7. Language shall be precise, clear, and bear the wings of angels for anything less is the province of businessmen and academics and not of writers. (I assume this includes cutting adjectives, adverbs, and flab - but keep the good ones.)
8. “Thou shalt have no rest on the sabbath, for thy characters shall live in thy mind and memory now and forever.” (I’m not sure how this is advice to writers.)
9. Dialogue: directness diminishes, obliqueness sings.
10. Do not vent your emotions onto the reader. Your duty is to evoke the reader’s emotions.
OTHER IDEAS:
Do not write about wimps. People who seem like other people are boring. Ordinary people are boring.
Cut cliches. Say it new or say it straight.
If not clear who is speaking put “George said” before the statement. If it is clear, put “George said” after or eliminate “George said.”
Don’t use strange spellings to convey dialect or accents.
NARRATOR:
Christopher Lane is excellent.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 11 hrs and 16 mins. Swearing language: one instance of the word s*** (as I recall). Sexual content: none. Book copyright: 1995. Genre: nonfiction, how to write.
Stein is an author, editor, and publisher. His advice is geared toward fiction, with some thoughts for nonfiction. I am a reader and reviewer of books, not a writer. I have strong likes and dislikes about books I’ve read. I’m reading some “how to write books” to see if I agree with the experts. I’m delighted to say that writers who follow Stein’s advice will very likely make me happy when reading their books. I am more liberal than Stein in two areas: the first three pages of a book and his fifth commandment. Scenes that end prematurely are a subject Stein did not discuss, but I believe he would agree with me.
ADJECTIVES, ADVERBS, & FLAB:
For a while now I have been confused when I hear people say “cut adverbs.” I’ve loved some colorful writing that adverbs produce. I made a list of wonderful sentences with adverbs written by J.K. Rowling, John Grisham, and Georgette Heyer. I recently read three Hemingway short stories and noticed a lot of adjectives and adverbs in two of them. That intrigued me because he is famous for concise writing. Stein is the first expert who explains this subject to my satisfaction. Although he recommends cutting most adjectives and adverbs, he gives examples showing when they are valuable. I like his view. Stein and I both like the following paragraph which is full of adjectives and adverbs. Although a novel filled with this should probably be labeled poetry rather than fiction. Still it shows the emotional and sensual ability of adjectives and adverbs. Stein calls it “a nearly perfect paragraph.” It was written by a student of his, Linda Katmarian.
“Weeds and the low hanging branches of unpruned trees swooshed and thumped against the car while gravel popped loudly under the car’s tires. As the car bumped along, a flock of startled blackbirds exploded out of the brush. For a moment they fluttered and swirled about like pieces of charred paper in the draft of a flame and then were gone. Elizabeth blinked. The mind could play such tricks.”
Stein says “She’s breaking rules. Adjectives and adverbs which normally should be cut are all over the place. They’re used to wonderful effect because she uses the particular sound of words ‘the low hanging branches swooshed and thumped against the car. Gravel popped. Startled blackbirds exploded out of the brush. They fluttered and swirled.’ We experience the road the car is on because the car ‘bumped’ along. What a wonderful image. ‘The birds fluttered and swirled about like pieces of charred paper in the draft of a flame.’ And it all comes together in the perception of the character ‘Elizabeth blinked. The mind could play such tricks.’ Many published writers would like to have written a paragraph that good. That nearly perfect paragraph was ...”
Another example. Stein does not like the sentence “What a lovely, colorful garden.” Lovely is too vague. Colorful is specific therefore better; but lovely and colorful don’t draw us in because we expect a garden to be lovely or colorful. There are several curiosity provoking adjectives you might use. If we hear that a garden is curious, strange, eerie, remarkable, or bizarre, we want to know why. An adjective that piques the reader’s curiosity helps move the story along.
Stein says when you have two adjectives together with one noun, you should almost always delete one of the adjectives. He also recommends eliminating the following words which he calls flab: had, very, quite, poor (unless talking of poverty), however, almost, entire, successive, respective, perhaps, always, and “there is.” Other words can be flab as well.
PARTICULARITY (attentiveness to detail):
I love the following comparison. “You have an envelope? He put one down in front of her.” This exchange is void of particularity. Here’s how the transaction was described by John LeCarre. “You have a suitable envelope? Of course you have. Envelopes were in the third drawer of his desk, left side. He selected a yellow one A4 size and guided it across the desk but she let it lie there.” Those particularities ordinary as they seem help make what she is going to put into the envelope important. The extra words are not wasted because they make the experience possible and credible. (My favorite part: “Of course you have.”)
FLASHBACKS AND SCENES THAT END PREMATURELY:
Stein discourages flashbacks. He says they break the reading experience. They pull the reader out of the story to tell what happened earlier. Yay! I agree! I don’t like them either.
I don’t recall Stein discussing “ending scenes prematurely,” but I think (or hope) he would agree with me that they also “break the reading experience.” For example, Mary walks into a room, hears a noise, and is hit. The next sentence is about another character in another place. Many authors do this to create artificial suspense. It makes me angry, and my anger takes me out of the story because I’m thinking about the author instead of the characters. You can have great suspense without doing this. Stein says “The Day of the Jackal” is famous for use of suspense. The scenes in that book have natural endings.
FIRST THREE PAGES OF A BOOK MAY NOT BE AS CRITICAL AS THEY USED TO BE:
Stein said a “book must grab the reader in the first three pages or they won’t buy the book.” This was based on studies watching customers in book stores. They looked at the jacket and then the first one to three pages. They either put it back or bought it. I think the internet changed things by providing customer reviews. I buy around 280 books a year. I never buy a book based on the first three pages. My decision to buy is based on customer reviews and/or book jacket summaries. I suppose the first three pages might still be important for customers in physical stores like Barnes & Noble and Walmart. But today we have books that become best sellers as ebooks and subsequently are published in paperback, for example Fifty Shades of Grey. Bloggers and reviewers spread the word, not bookstore visitors.
STEIN’S TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR WRITERS:
I’ve edited for brevity and to remove thou shalt’s.
1. Do not sprinkle characters into a preconceived plot. In the beginning was the character. (I like this, but I also think Stephen King has a good idea - something to try. He creates a “situation” first, then the characters, and last the plot.)
2. Imbue your heroes with faults and your villains with charm. For it is the faults of the hero that bring forth his life, just as the charm of the villain is the honey with which he lures the innocent.
3. Your characters should steal, kill, dishonor their parents, bear false witness, and covet their neighbor’s house, wife, man servant, maid servant, and ox. For readers crave such actions and yawn when your characters are meek, innocent, forgiving, and peaceable. (I love this.)
4. Avoid abstractions, for readers like lovers are attracted by particularity.
5. Do not mutter, whisper, blurt, bellow, or scream. Stein prefers using “he said.” (I’m not sure about this one. I like hearing these words. Maybe in moderation?)
6. Infect your reader with anxiety, stress, and tension, for those conditions that he deplores in life, he relishes in fiction.
7. Language shall be precise, clear, and bear the wings of angels for anything less is the province of businessmen and academics and not of writers. (I assume this includes cutting adjectives, adverbs, and flab - but keep the good ones.)
8. “Thou shalt have no rest on the sabbath, for thy characters shall live in thy mind and memory now and forever.” (I’m not sure how this is advice to writers.)
9. Dialogue: directness diminishes, obliqueness sings.
10. Do not vent your emotions onto the reader. Your duty is to evoke the reader’s emotions.
OTHER IDEAS:
Do not write about wimps. People who seem like other people are boring. Ordinary people are boring.
Cut cliches. Say it new or say it straight.
If not clear who is speaking put “George said” before the statement. If it is clear, put “George said” after or eliminate “George said.”
Don’t use strange spellings to convey dialect or accents.
NARRATOR:
Christopher Lane is excellent.
DATA:
Unabridged audiobook reading time: 11 hrs and 16 mins. Swearing language: one instance of the word s*** (as I recall). Sexual content: none. Book copyright: 1995. Genre: nonfiction, how to write.
June 29, 2011
I have not found many books about the craft that I want to read. Most of what I have seen of the "how to write" genre is focused on overcoming personal and emotional insecurities and the variety of techniques writers use for staying with the "pen and page", or sticking to the work (wow, get obsessed, drink more coffee and abandon having a real social life, and boom, no more writer's block.) Stein goes much deeper and so I have yet to put him down. For one, he focuses more on the reader's experience than the writer...hmm(?) Stein is not for the fledgling writer, but for those of us who are already committed to exercising the craft.
December 3, 2020
I listened to this for free via the Audible Plus Catalog. Stein on Writing first published in 2000, but the information is still relevant. Every chapter has useful tips. Many chapters are for both fiction and nonfiction writers. I especially liked the chapters on characterization, plotting, suspense, tension, dialogue, and pacing. There’s even designated chapters on how to show instead of tell, similes and metaphors, and revising. There are lots of great examples in each chapter, mostly from classics. It was interesting when he discussed book titles, especially when he said that the most memorable titles are mixed metaphors, for example, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. Once you listen to this audiobook, you’ll want to buy the book to add to your home library for future reference.
October 7, 2017
Definitely one of my top 10 writing guides. 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
We hear about avoiding clichés and generalities, but here Stein puts forward a positive admonition.
Instead of going through a page-by-page edit, you should fix the major problems first, much like a developmental editor would. I'll be using this revision process going forward.
1) Humanized your characters.
2) Your villains are morally villainous rather than merely badly behaved.
3) Created a credible conflict between your protagonist and antagonist.
4) All your scenes are important and memorable.
5) All actions are clearly motivated.
6) Your first page is compelling enough for the reader to turn to page two.
His occasional self-aggrandizing salesman voice can be irritating, but don't let that get in the way of learning numerous, solid techniques to improve your craft. A must-read book on the craft of wrting!
Particularity
We hear about avoiding clichés and generalities, but here Stein puts forward a positive admonition.
"To characterize, particularity is used to show how an individual looks dresses, or speaks without resort to cliches or generalizations."Triage revising
Instead of going through a page-by-page edit, you should fix the major problems first, much like a developmental editor would. I'll be using this revision process going forward.
"Even some of the most experienced authors are not aware of a better way of revising than repeatedly starting at page one and going through to the end... the writer, having gone through his entire manuscript, is likely to grow "cold" on his manuscript... What follows is a guide to the triage method of revision, which gives priority to those matters that are the principal causes of rejection by editors."The process is to make sure that you've achieved the following:
1) Humanized your characters.
2) Your villains are morally villainous rather than merely badly behaved.
3) Created a credible conflict between your protagonist and antagonist.
4) All your scenes are important and memorable.
5) All actions are clearly motivated.
6) Your first page is compelling enough for the reader to turn to page two.
His occasional self-aggrandizing salesman voice can be irritating, but don't let that get in the way of learning numerous, solid techniques to improve your craft. A must-read book on the craft of wrting!
May 20, 2021
It gave me writerly whiplash to read this book right after Annie Dillard's Writing Life book. The two could hardly be any more different. Dillard's book is this meditation into the life of a writer and this almost mystical engagement with the minutiae of the world itself, a harrowing soulful journey. The chapters have a loose focus but don't necessarily cohere around any tangible teachable topic.
Stein on Writing felt strange and soulless in comparison. It's no-nonense beat by beat instruction manual on how to write better. Here's a chapter on point of view. Here's a chapter on flashbacks. If you want to be a commercial bestseller, write like this. It's useful stuff!
I'm not sure I recommend either book? I mean, I guess I do. I learned things from both, but there has to be a middle ground.
I listened to the audiobook of this, and the monotonous narrator got old but remained oddly appropriate. Stein recommends reading your own written dialogue aloud in as monotone of a voice as possible, so that you can evaluate the words on their own without assuming any stylistic flourishes. I think that's my main takeaway from this book.
Stein on Writing felt strange and soulless in comparison. It's no-nonense beat by beat instruction manual on how to write better. Here's a chapter on point of view. Here's a chapter on flashbacks. If you want to be a commercial bestseller, write like this. It's useful stuff!
I'm not sure I recommend either book? I mean, I guess I do. I learned things from both, but there has to be a middle ground.
I listened to the audiobook of this, and the monotonous narrator got old but remained oddly appropriate. Stein recommends reading your own written dialogue aloud in as monotone of a voice as possible, so that you can evaluate the words on their own without assuming any stylistic flourishes. I think that's my main takeaway from this book.
June 2, 2009
If you can slog through the Stein ego and attitude, there are some useful things here. But it's hard not to question a self-titled "master editor" on his editorial skills when he sees no problem with quoting his own fiction as masterfully written and obvious models for all of us. And his students' fiction, too. At best, these examples are uninspiring; at worst, they are actively horrible. So my main question is--why would you do that, when you have thousands of years of perfectly marvelous literature to choose from?
I don't know. But, since this is a book, and you are sitting in the quiet comfort of your home or the park or whathaveyou, and you are not trapped in the kitchen at a party in Williamsburg by a tall craggy aging jerk who has pinpointed you as the kind of young lady moved by ideas, you can dodge and skip past Stein's more ridiculous moments and scan for useful suggestions, of which there are a few. If you actually are at that party, I suggest you feign an urgency to urinate and slip out the door ASAP.
I don't know. But, since this is a book, and you are sitting in the quiet comfort of your home or the park or whathaveyou, and you are not trapped in the kitchen at a party in Williamsburg by a tall craggy aging jerk who has pinpointed you as the kind of young lady moved by ideas, you can dodge and skip past Stein's more ridiculous moments and scan for useful suggestions, of which there are a few. If you actually are at that party, I suggest you feign an urgency to urinate and slip out the door ASAP.
September 14, 2022
I am honestly never not going to buy anything that claims to improve my writing. But this one, more than any other, came with a renown and reputation that especially piqued my interest.
This book does exactly as the title suggests: acts as an aid to those wishing to improve their own penmanship. It comes with explanations of what to do and examples of how to do it. And the author, himself, is living proof of the acumen on his words.
It may seem odd that I could give the elusive five stars to a book I have been toiling over for months, but that is because the information this imparts and the knowledge it conveys is of such a standard that it takes this length of time to properly swallow, acknowledge and put into practise.
This book does exactly as the title suggests: acts as an aid to those wishing to improve their own penmanship. It comes with explanations of what to do and examples of how to do it. And the author, himself, is living proof of the acumen on his words.
It may seem odd that I could give the elusive five stars to a book I have been toiling over for months, but that is because the information this imparts and the knowledge it conveys is of such a standard that it takes this length of time to properly swallow, acknowledge and put into practise.
September 10, 2015
I have read parts of this book. It is a terrific stimulant to improved writing. I will take it with me this summer as I edit my new novel.
February 18, 2012
STEIN ON WRITING by SOL STEIN is clearly to date the most impactful book on writing I’ve read. If you were to glance inside my copy you’d find dog-eared pages, highlights galore, asterisks, and notes written throughout.
STEIN ON WRITING is precise information, right to the point with useful examples. The language isn’t over the top. A must read for writers at any stage of their journey, but especially for those new to the craft and unpublished.
Here are a few notes I took pertaining to specific areas of the book:
Page 8 – Feelings, no facts.
Page 20 – Must grasp/shock in first sentence and or paragraph.
Page 36 – The first paragraph should contain:
Trigger curiosity.
What will they see.
Focus on an individual.
Visible characteristics of the individual.
Individual doing or saying something.
Startling or odd fact to grab attention.
Page 42 – Readers insist on seeing what they are reading because of TV.
Page 43 - Description needs to be part of the storytelling, not static.
Page 45 – Storyteller, not an interior decorator.
Page 49 – If characters are alive, they become the story. You must know and be attached to the characters in order for the plot to work, not the other way around.
Page 57 – Talk and act, not tell.
Page 54 – Good examples of showing not telling.
Page 55 – Show with eyes, not just state color. How/what are they expressing.
Page 55, 56 – Words need to not be just informative, but evoke something. Need to stir feelings in readers, even in description.
Page 62 – What makes a character.
Page 71 – Individualize minor characters through main characters eyes, not narrative.
Page 75 – Separate our lives/beliefs from characters.
Page 81 – Character questions to ask.
Page 197 – Get rid of the flab!
Page 260 – Need to visualize each paragraph/scene first to get a sense of the surroundings to give great detail.
If I had to pick one thing that stuck out the most that I learned from STEIN ON WRITING, I would have to say to cut out the flab. After reading about eliminating flab, I went to work on my own manuscript, getting rid of the words that clog our writing and hinder our reading experience.
STEIN ON WRITING is precise information, right to the point with useful examples. The language isn’t over the top. A must read for writers at any stage of their journey, but especially for those new to the craft and unpublished.
Here are a few notes I took pertaining to specific areas of the book:
Page 8 – Feelings, no facts.
Page 20 – Must grasp/shock in first sentence and or paragraph.
Page 36 – The first paragraph should contain:
Trigger curiosity.
What will they see.
Focus on an individual.
Visible characteristics of the individual.
Individual doing or saying something.
Startling or odd fact to grab attention.
Page 42 – Readers insist on seeing what they are reading because of TV.
Page 43 - Description needs to be part of the storytelling, not static.
Page 45 – Storyteller, not an interior decorator.
Page 49 – If characters are alive, they become the story. You must know and be attached to the characters in order for the plot to work, not the other way around.
Page 57 – Talk and act, not tell.
Page 54 – Good examples of showing not telling.
Page 55 – Show with eyes, not just state color. How/what are they expressing.
Page 55, 56 – Words need to not be just informative, but evoke something. Need to stir feelings in readers, even in description.
Page 62 – What makes a character.
Page 71 – Individualize minor characters through main characters eyes, not narrative.
Page 75 – Separate our lives/beliefs from characters.
Page 81 – Character questions to ask.
Page 197 – Get rid of the flab!
Page 260 – Need to visualize each paragraph/scene first to get a sense of the surroundings to give great detail.
If I had to pick one thing that stuck out the most that I learned from STEIN ON WRITING, I would have to say to cut out the flab. After reading about eliminating flab, I went to work on my own manuscript, getting rid of the words that clog our writing and hinder our reading experience.
January 17, 2008
The risk in recommending a book on writing is that too much weight will be placed on how well-written the review is. I doubt Stein would want these sentences to serve as testimony to his expert tutelage. Be that as it may, I will still raise my voice in praise like the gospel choir at the Triple Rock Church. (In one section he said metaphors could be effective, though I'm not sure references to James Brown and The Blues Brothers were what he had in mind.)
Anyway, the book is full of useful tips. To my eye, Stein has plenty of lit cred, too. In fact, you might come away thinking that he'd have all his charges writing literary fiction, with maybe a little Raymond Chandler thrown in for conflict and economy. But then he does say that good genre fiction and even non-fiction can benefit from the elements he covers.
So what are these elements, you might ask? They're really too numerous to list. Beyond that, many will just strike you as obvious when stated in summary form (e.g., engage your reader right from the start, throw out superfluous adjectives, or the ever-popular "show--don't tell"). The beauty, as usual, is in the examples.
For those who recognize that writing is hard and are looking for ways to make it read easy, I give Stein a full nod. And please don't take a quickly constructed, overly turgid, adjective-plagued review as disproof of its quality.
Anyway, the book is full of useful tips. To my eye, Stein has plenty of lit cred, too. In fact, you might come away thinking that he'd have all his charges writing literary fiction, with maybe a little Raymond Chandler thrown in for conflict and economy. But then he does say that good genre fiction and even non-fiction can benefit from the elements he covers.
So what are these elements, you might ask? They're really too numerous to list. Beyond that, many will just strike you as obvious when stated in summary form (e.g., engage your reader right from the start, throw out superfluous adjectives, or the ever-popular "show--don't tell"). The beauty, as usual, is in the examples.
For those who recognize that writing is hard and are looking for ways to make it read easy, I give Stein a full nod. And please don't take a quickly constructed, overly turgid, adjective-plagued review as disproof of its quality.
October 12, 2016
Impossible to disagree with the advice on there. I did not warm up immediately to the writer's persona in the book though. I think sometimes the 'manipulator' in the writer needs to leave place to the 'believer'. All the advice is great nonetheless. Points taken.
November 7, 2018
This is the perfect book for anyone who wants to write a bestseller. Stein is a master of the bestseller. He doesn’t overlook sharing any small help to get you on your way toward the bestseller, any small strategy that will move you even a wee bit closer to the bestseller.
(I’m not personally interested in writing a bestseller. It’s the only reason I didn’t give this book five stars. Just me.)
(I’m not personally interested in writing a bestseller. It’s the only reason I didn’t give this book five stars. Just me.)
August 17, 2024
Excellent book. I am buying the paperback version and a highlighter.
March 2, 2018
Stein’s book is about how to write good fiction and, ostensibly, how to apply good fiction techniques to non-fiction. Really, though, Stein is about one type of writing only – good literary technique (tension and conflict; character definition and evoking emotion, etc.). He acknowledges popular-commercial fiction but does this with a not-so-subtle air of distain. Literary writing is for “permanence,” writing for the ages and that sort of thing. It is, Stein says, “a calling, not an occupation.” It’s not for daily entertainment, as if there’s something wrong with that.
And nowhere does Stein acknowledge another type of writing, thinkers who write, when content is more important than technique. Referring to John Gardner’s comment that detail is the lifeblood of fiction, it could be that such detail is fly-over country for those who are more interested in ideas and what is written versus how it is written. Stein says we should move from generalities to visual particulars. “She boiled water in a lidless pot so she could watch the bubbles perk and dance” is much preferred he says to “She boiled water.” Really? Just how important is it for the reader to know that a “she” needed to watch bubbles perk and dance? Stein rewrites the introductory paragraph to Arthur Hailey’s Airport, but it comes across as way over done. Technique takes over. It moves the writer to the front and gets in the way of the story. Good writing Stein says pays attention to diction. Describing a famous general as “humane” won’t work because it is “a colloquial parlance” for ‘“regular guy,’” which “a hundred readers would pile many meanings relating to their own experience.” Yet it could be this is precisely what is needed to make a point and not get bogged down. Stein advises that “bald pink knees” is the crucial part of a sentence that states that a male sat on the balcony with his “bald pink knees thrust against the ironwork.” Well, that seems more distracting than not. Who might care about the color of knees? “Thrusting” conveys enough, though I suppose it explains why knees are pink and not white, but aren’t knees bald by definition? And, like other writing books, Stein advises his readers to cut adjectives and adverbs, and to “make every word count,” the efficiency of which seems to counter the emphasis he puts on cluttering detail.
Here and there, Stein provides good writing tips (e.g., role of titles, the three main points of view, the use of markers to identify characters) that make this a helpful book to read. Clearly, he has all of that high-level experience and a lot to offer a reader from that perspective ("a master editor" the book cover states), though sometimes he is just too much: “The craft of creative writing is at least as complex as the craft of science,” he writes. “I have one student who is an aeronautical engineer and another who is an obstetrician, and I dare say both would admit that writing to a professional standard involves craft at least as complex as their occupations. You wouldn’t want a layman walking into a hospital operating theater to deliver a child. Nor would you want a layman to design the next airplane you travel in.” Stein has his professional standards and he relays them in this book, but it's fair to say that there’s far more subjectivity involved than what he allows.
And nowhere does Stein acknowledge another type of writing, thinkers who write, when content is more important than technique. Referring to John Gardner’s comment that detail is the lifeblood of fiction, it could be that such detail is fly-over country for those who are more interested in ideas and what is written versus how it is written. Stein says we should move from generalities to visual particulars. “She boiled water in a lidless pot so she could watch the bubbles perk and dance” is much preferred he says to “She boiled water.” Really? Just how important is it for the reader to know that a “she” needed to watch bubbles perk and dance? Stein rewrites the introductory paragraph to Arthur Hailey’s Airport, but it comes across as way over done. Technique takes over. It moves the writer to the front and gets in the way of the story. Good writing Stein says pays attention to diction. Describing a famous general as “humane” won’t work because it is “a colloquial parlance” for ‘“regular guy,’” which “a hundred readers would pile many meanings relating to their own experience.” Yet it could be this is precisely what is needed to make a point and not get bogged down. Stein advises that “bald pink knees” is the crucial part of a sentence that states that a male sat on the balcony with his “bald pink knees thrust against the ironwork.” Well, that seems more distracting than not. Who might care about the color of knees? “Thrusting” conveys enough, though I suppose it explains why knees are pink and not white, but aren’t knees bald by definition? And, like other writing books, Stein advises his readers to cut adjectives and adverbs, and to “make every word count,” the efficiency of which seems to counter the emphasis he puts on cluttering detail.
Here and there, Stein provides good writing tips (e.g., role of titles, the three main points of view, the use of markers to identify characters) that make this a helpful book to read. Clearly, he has all of that high-level experience and a lot to offer a reader from that perspective ("a master editor" the book cover states), though sometimes he is just too much: “The craft of creative writing is at least as complex as the craft of science,” he writes. “I have one student who is an aeronautical engineer and another who is an obstetrician, and I dare say both would admit that writing to a professional standard involves craft at least as complex as their occupations. You wouldn’t want a layman walking into a hospital operating theater to deliver a child. Nor would you want a layman to design the next airplane you travel in.” Stein has his professional standards and he relays them in this book, but it's fair to say that there’s far more subjectivity involved than what he allows.
November 1, 2014
I rarely gush over writing books and this off the top of my head.....
I recommend many writing books to my students and writer friends, depending on what my friend/student needs (of course I always recommend my own, Pen on Fire). Stein on Writing is the best book on the craft of writing fiction, and nonfiction. Stein was a publisher He published MY LEFT FOOT (and talks about this in a short section on writers who make excuses for why they're not writing).
Stein knew James Baldwin (they met in high school). He published a book of letters between Baldwin and he, when Baldwin was writing the collection of essays, Notes of a Native Son.
In STEIN ON WRITING, Stein nails all the important aspects on craft. I like that he covers nonfiction as he does, too. The book isn't just for beginners, although beginners would absolutely benefit. Writers at all levels, including published writers who want to be reinvigorated or need to refresh, need to read this.
I never write reviews this long for any website. Is it obvious that I think all writers should read Stein's book?
I recommend many writing books to my students and writer friends, depending on what my friend/student needs (of course I always recommend my own, Pen on Fire). Stein on Writing is the best book on the craft of writing fiction, and nonfiction. Stein was a publisher He published MY LEFT FOOT (and talks about this in a short section on writers who make excuses for why they're not writing).
Stein knew James Baldwin (they met in high school). He published a book of letters between Baldwin and he, when Baldwin was writing the collection of essays, Notes of a Native Son.
In STEIN ON WRITING, Stein nails all the important aspects on craft. I like that he covers nonfiction as he does, too. The book isn't just for beginners, although beginners would absolutely benefit. Writers at all levels, including published writers who want to be reinvigorated or need to refresh, need to read this.
I never write reviews this long for any website. Is it obvious that I think all writers should read Stein's book?
April 3, 2012
Incredible book that helped me learn how to deepen characters and plot and enrich my writing.
Gripe: Stein refers to his own fiction too much for my taste - especially when he uses passages from his own work as examples of good writing. It felt a bit narcissistic, and also, how can he have the professional distance to truly know if he's nailed something? I'd have loved this book more if he'd used other works exclusively to illustrate his teaching points.
But it still gets five stars, because closing the book makes me want to rush to my current manuscript and touch each character with the magic wand I feel Sol Stein has given me.
Gripe: Stein refers to his own fiction too much for my taste - especially when he uses passages from his own work as examples of good writing. It felt a bit narcissistic, and also, how can he have the professional distance to truly know if he's nailed something? I'd have loved this book more if he'd used other works exclusively to illustrate his teaching points.
But it still gets five stars, because closing the book makes me want to rush to my current manuscript and touch each character with the magic wand I feel Sol Stein has given me.
September 20, 2011
Once again, Sol Stein, gives me the information I need to continue with my writing.
Here are some of the best tidbits:
Show rather than tell.
Create tension and suspense.
Dialogue deals with character and plot simultaneously.
Use all six senses: smell, taste, touch, hear, see and it.
Less is more.
The purpose of a title is to sound exciting and exude resonance(prolonged response).
If figures of speech are overdone, they backfire.
Here are some of the best tidbits:
Show rather than tell.
Create tension and suspense.
Dialogue deals with character and plot simultaneously.
Use all six senses: smell, taste, touch, hear, see and it.
Less is more.
The purpose of a title is to sound exciting and exude resonance(prolonged response).
If figures of speech are overdone, they backfire.
March 1, 2013
Stein on Writing and Stephen King's On Writing are probably the best books on the craft of writing that I've read. Using his own work and the work of others, Stein shows the biggest problems most writers have and proposes solutions.
October 21, 2008
Good tips--
The book is literally a gold mine of useful tips and solutions to writing problems until about halfway through. After that it becomes vague, platitudinous, and unhelpful.
I learned a lot from his chapters on the first sentence & first paragraph, suspense, tension, and characterization. The rest of the book didn't really resonate with me, though.
Although from about page 150 the tips get blah (to use the Author's own word),I think the first half of the book is worth buying the entire thing.
The book is literally a gold mine of useful tips and solutions to writing problems until about halfway through. After that it becomes vague, platitudinous, and unhelpful.
I learned a lot from his chapters on the first sentence & first paragraph, suspense, tension, and characterization. The rest of the book didn't really resonate with me, though.
Although from about page 150 the tips get blah (to use the Author's own word),I think the first half of the book is worth buying the entire thing.
March 17, 2010
This is what a writing class should be- but almost never is. Stein taught me more about writing than anything since...reading! For fiction writers of all genres I cannot recommend the book highly enough. (Nonfiction help is included as well, but as I'm not a nonfiction writer, I cannot comment on that.)
October 4, 2007
In a more perfect world, J.K. Rowling would have slowed down a second and read this wonderful 300pg tome on "Why 'said' is the only verb one should ever ever ever use to convey that any type of speech has occurred, and why good writing uses that one but sparingly."
November 24, 2015
If we remove the cocky (and often distasteful) remarks and name-dropping, this book has nothing more than any reasonably-good creative writing books/courses has to offer, but then, it does cover the basics, so I guess it is inappropriate to give it less than 3 stars.
March 14, 2023
Le meilleur bouquin que j'ai lu sur l'écriture ! Je recommande chaudement.
March 17, 2020
“The pleasures of writer and reader are interwoven.” This is the essential thought that is threaded throughout this book for both fiction and nonfiction. Many writers often fail to focus on the reader while they are in the process of writing. Stein instructs the writer how to make “the reader,” as he puts it, “King.” I probably have 30 writing books on my shelf and this one will go front and center for easy reach because it’s a perfect reference book on how to fix your writing problems, flaws, and weaknesses. The content is a jump-start for your creativity and an inspiration to improve the quality of your work. I liked Stein’s perspectives on “keeping the story visible and on stage” to give readers a sense of immediacy. He addresses at length character desire and motivation and how that creates plot that will keep the reader in suspense. His explanation on the omniscient voice and the pitfalls will help any writer who wants to develop a memorable narrator. Backstory, flashbacks, show vs. tell, and revisions are instructive chapters that will show writers their weak spots and how to correct them. And his ending? Stein’s Ten Commandments for Writers. Here’s one of them: “Thou shalt not vent thy emotions onto the reader, for thy duty is to evoke the reader’s emotions, and in that most of all lies the art of the writer.” The literary values here are irresistible. Highly recommended. Paula Cappa is an avid book reviewer and an award-winning supernatural mystery author.
September 6, 2019
Sol Stein is in a unique position to enlighten would-be writers on the craft. He is the rare combination of successful author who is also an accomplished book editor. He wrote several novels and nonfiction titles that grazed the bestseller lists, worked as head editor at Beacon Press and then served as Publisher and Editor-In-Chief at his own publishing house for 27 years.
There is a certain approach to writing fiction in which character comes before plot, where stories are developed by taking a pair of compulsive characters with strong opposing goals and then tying them together in an unbreakable bond (what the author calls a "crucible"). If you subscribe to this approach, Stein on Writing will be filled with helpful advice. I found it almost as insightful as my favorite book on writing The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri. Stein also illustrates how non-fiction writing benefits from rich characterization and suspenseful conflict.
Unfortunately, the experience of reading this book was marred by the author's irrational bias against commercial fiction. Every few pages he disparages all commercial fiction as lazy half efforts to entertain readers without a care for believable motivations or compelling prose.
Not only is it incredibly difficult to write good commercial fiction, but readers are only entertained when these authors use many of the techniques Stein himself suggests in this book. He cherry picks and savages a particularly cliched John Grisham excerpt for example, without acknowledging the deft characterizations, dramatic conflict, intricate pacing and sometimes delicious prose in many novels with commercial aspirations.
There is a certain approach to writing fiction in which character comes before plot, where stories are developed by taking a pair of compulsive characters with strong opposing goals and then tying them together in an unbreakable bond (what the author calls a "crucible"). If you subscribe to this approach, Stein on Writing will be filled with helpful advice. I found it almost as insightful as my favorite book on writing The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri. Stein also illustrates how non-fiction writing benefits from rich characterization and suspenseful conflict.
Unfortunately, the experience of reading this book was marred by the author's irrational bias against commercial fiction. Every few pages he disparages all commercial fiction as lazy half efforts to entertain readers without a care for believable motivations or compelling prose.
Not only is it incredibly difficult to write good commercial fiction, but readers are only entertained when these authors use many of the techniques Stein himself suggests in this book. He cherry picks and savages a particularly cliched John Grisham excerpt for example, without acknowledging the deft characterizations, dramatic conflict, intricate pacing and sometimes delicious prose in many novels with commercial aspirations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 527 reviews