Stein on Writing

A Master Editor Shares His Craft, Techniques, and Strategies

By: Sol Stein

Narrated by: Christopher Lane

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Stein on Writing provides immediately useful advice for writers of fiction and nonfiction, whether newcomers or accomplished professionals. As Sol Stein, renowned editor, author, and instructor, explains, "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 his best sellers as well as aspiring students' writing, Stein offers detailed sections on characterization, dialogue, pacing, flashbacks, liposuctioning flab, the "triage" method of revision, using the techniques of fiction to enliven nonfiction, and more.

©1995 Sol Stein (P)2003 Blackstone Audiobooks

Excellent advice and 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 240 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.

Book copyright: 1995.
Genre: nonfiction, how to write.

Wonderful overview of writing from one the best!

This book is a must-listen for any writer that doesn't already know everything- pretty much everyone!

This book will definitely help improve my writing

Mr. Stein exceptional book is full of useful yet practical information that can help all writers. His thoughtful insights are delivered in a manner that is accessible to someone like novice writers. I am sure more experienced could benefit from this book as well. It is a necessary reference guide.

A book that provides good writing skills.

The book provides good strategies and skills to any writer, fiction and non-fiction alike. It will guide you how to avoid common pitfalls, how to improve the text, remove clatter, etc. The downside is that he has a lot of emphasize on fiction writers, for instance, a whole chapter on love scenes, drama, etc. But non fiction writer also gain insights, and will find some parts exciting and helpful.
The important advantage is that Sol Stein in (was?) an editor, and he teaches from an editor's perceptive. It does not help that you and your relatives find the manuscript you write interesting, or exciting if an editor does not, because you will not publish it. Adopting his point of view will not only help you get your book published, but also make it better in any possible way, from title to content, to first page.
Highly recommended.

Eye opening

Each chapter provides with a clear and valuable lesson. The narrator’s exquisite voice does nothing but enhance the insightful content of the book.

Loved it so much I bought the book!

This is a great book and while it is a good audio version, I personally bought the hard copy because all of the examples he offered were so great and I wanted to be able to see them as well as hear them. Overall, I think this is an excellent book on craft and editing for a stronger piece!

Keep it in your arsenal

Chapter by chapter the most complete book I’ve read on the subject. The detail and examples provide a rich view of each item. Extremely helpful, but caution: your imposter syndrome could take a serious tick up the scale. Enjoy!

Excellent!

Extensive guidance and information from character development to plotting. Very detailed info. A valuable reference gyide.

Essential Reading

A no-nonsense approach to writing from an accomplished editor. Probably my favorite book on the craft so far, Better than Bird by Bird in my opinion. With little to no fluff or filler, the suggestions for improving writing are specific and concrete. Fiction and non-fiction are each treated here which helps frame each as a specific form with a specific function. Would make a wonderful textbook for advanced writing study.

Must Have

Now that I have listened to this book I will have to buy a hard copy. There was not enough room on my MP3 player for all of the bookmarks. This is a book you will want to dog ear.