STEIN on WRITING
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Sol Stein STEIN on WRITING STEIN ON WRITING. Copyright © 1995 by Sol Stein, All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010. Production Editor: David Stanford Burr Design: Pei Loi Koay Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stein, Sol. Stein on writing : a master editor of some of the most successful writers of our century shares his craft techniques and strategies by Sol Stein. p. cm. ISBN 0-312-13608-0 1. Authorship. I. Title. PN151.S84 1995 808’.02—dc20 95-31793 CIP First Edition: December 1995 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Liz, who knows better, with love Acknowledgments I am grateful for the experienced advice on this book, as on many of my other books, from Patricia Day and Elizabeth Day Stein. My editors at St. Martin’s Press, Tom McCormack and Marian Lizzi, provided me with both encouragement and thoughtful suggestions, as did Loretta Hudson. For their insights, I am indebted beyond easy measure to the writers famous, infamous, and not-yet-known, as well as the teachers, readers, and students with whom I shared a life of editorial work and joy, and from whom I learned much of what is between these covers. Contents Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 4 Contents .............................................................................................................................. 5 Preface................................................................................................................................. 7 Part I.................................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1......................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2....................................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3....................................................................................................................... 36 Part II ................................................................................................................................ 40 Chapter 4....................................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 5....................................................................................................................... 59 Chapter 6....................................................................................................................... 65 Chapter 7....................................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 8....................................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 9....................................................................................................................... 77 Chapter 10..................................................................................................................... 83 Chapter 11..................................................................................................................... 87 Chapter 12..................................................................................................................... 96 Chapter 13................................................................................................................... 101 Chapter 14................................................................................................................... 111 Chapter 15................................................................................................................... 118 Chapter 16................................................................................................................... 121 Chapter 17................................................................................................................... 124 Chapter 18................................................................................................................... 129 Chapter 19................................................................................................................... 142 Part III ............................................................................................................................. 145 Chapter 20................................................................................................................... 146 Chapter 21................................................................................................................... 149 Chapter 22................................................................................................................... 158 Chapter 23................................................................................................................... 160 Part IV............................................................................................................................. 166 Chapter 24................................................................................................................... 167 Chapter 25................................................................................................................... 173 Chapter 26................................................................................................................... 179 Chapter 27................................................................................................................... 181 Part V .............................................................................................................................. 185 Chapter 28................................................................................................................... 186 Chapter 29................................................................................................................... 190 Chapter 30................................................................................................................... 197 Chapter 31................................................................................................................... 200 Part VI............................................................................................................................. 205 Chapter 32................................................................................................................... 206 Chapter 33................................................................................................................... 216 Part VII............................................................................................................................ 219 Chapter 34................................................................................................................... 220 Chapter 35................................................................................................................... 224 Glossary of Terms Used by Writers and Editors ............................................................ 226 About the e-Book...............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined. Preface Some years ago I addressed the Southern California Chapter of the National Writers Club on a day when a rowboat might have been more appropriate than a car for getting to the meeting. The torrential rain seemed determined to widen the Pacific Ocean at the expense of a state that was once described to me as “mostly desert.” I managed the few hundred feet between the parking lot and the hotel without drowning. Once inside, I expected to find the meeting room deserted. Instead I happily discovered a full house, eighty-eight professional nonfiction writers and journalists come to hear me talk about fiction. I asked these weatherproof stalwarts, “How many of you want to write the Great American Novel?” and eighty-eight hands shot up. If there are writers in America who do not have several hundred pages of a would-be novel in a drawer or at least in mind, I have not met them. Conversely, every novelist I’ve known has occasion to write nonfiction. For those writers who, at least initially, want to read only about fiction or nonfiction, I offer a road map to this book. The Contents page provides an overview of the main subjects covered. Part I, “The Essentials,” is for all writers. Part II concerns the craft of fiction. Eavesdropping by nonfiction writers is permitted. Part III deals with subjects of interest to all writers. Part IV deals mainly with the application of fictional techniques for the enhancement of nonfiction. Part V, “Literary Values,” deals with upscale writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Part VI, “Revision,” has separate chapters for fiction and nonfiction. Part VII contains a chapter on where to get help, a final word, and a glossary of terms used by writers and editors. The reader will find that I frequently use examples from writers I have known or worked with because their material is familiar to me. From time to time I also quote from my own work, allegedly for copyright reasons and convenience, but perhaps also to underscore that I practice what I teach.