Product Description

Whether you are a beginner or an accomplished professional, whether your field is fiction, non-fiction or journalism, you will find in this book a wealth of helpful guidance from one of the century's master editors, unavailable anywhere else. No high-flown theory, just usefull solutions that will show you how to rework writing that is flawed, how to improve writing that is good, how to create interesting writing in the first place. After reading this book you will be able to: grab your readers with your opening sentence - sketch in your characters with a few deft words - create attention-holding suspense - write dialogue that is both exciting and moves the story forward - use flasbacks to telling effect - write love scenes that really work - vary the pace of your writing - judge where to cut and prune - think up really selling titles - enhance non-fiction with the techniques of fiction - and much, much more. Above all you will learn the secrets of successful revision and acquire the art of assessing your own work objectively. Fresh, useful, informative and fun to read and reread, 'Solutions for Writers', is packed with ideas, examples of techniques in practice, and advice that makes you see the craft of writing in an entirely new light. It is a book that you will mark up, dog-ear and cherish.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #93982 in Books
• Published on: 1999-08-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
"Your predecessor," warns Sol Stein in this imminently useful guide, "recited his stories around a fire. If he failed to arouse his listeners' anticipation and droned on, or if his audience guessed what happened next, they either fell asleep or killed him. You are lucky! If you fail to arouse your reader's interest, the worst that will happen is that you won't get published." Perhaps a tad stern for the meek at heart, but if editing a coterie of literary greats--Elia Kazan, Dylan Thomas, and James Baldwin, to name a few--plus hammering out nine novels, two prize-winning plays and a book of non-fiction doesn't earn him the right, what does?

Stein is not one to disguise the fact that writing is hard work. Chapters focus on crucial "how to's"--hooking the reader, creating suspense, cultivating eccentricity, successfully employing literary devices--along with all the essential nuts and bolts. Copious examples enhance the overall effectiveness of his advice. For instance, in "Come Right In: First Sentences, First Paragraphs," he presents a dozen or more first lines from some of the 20th century's best fiction, then shows how an off-putting opener might be improved.

Stern has no easy fixes or magic pills. But if you want practical suggestions for firming flabby prose, you're sure to dog-ear this handy, informative book. --Martha Silano

About the Author
Sol Stein has edited authors as diverse as James Baldwin, Dylan Thomas, Jack Higgins, W.H Auden, Elia Kazan and David Frost. He is himself a successful novelist, playwright and poet and has won awards for his courses in creative writing.