Non-Fiction Book Review - 'Techniques of the Selling Writer' by Dwight V. Swain

2023 EDIT: Part of my 2023 clear-up, of books I no longer like, or am no longer interested in, or remember well as standing out, or find as special anymore, or I otherwise will not miss.

Final Score: 3.5/5





Original Review:



I had considered giving 'Techniques of the Selling Writer' a low rating whilst reading, because for all its helpful and heartfelt writing techniques, planning and human insight, it does drag on for far too long. A few chapters in the middle are at least over 100 pages long, and the examples of good writing were not strong enough to sustain my attention; hence why it took me three weeks to finish the whole thing. For that it nearly put me off both writing and reading altogether. There is also the casual sexism for something written in the 1960s, and the author continuously assumes that his readers - and most professional writers - will be male by default.

But 'Techniques of the Selling Writer' isn't really dry, and the last third made up for the monotonous page-turning I endured in the middle. The author, Dwight V. Swain, truly understood what it means to be a writer and how you can live like one.

In his book, Mr. Swain hammers in the importance of feeling and projecting your creative, lively passion into your work, something I agree with wholeheartedly. He emphasises the essentiality of conflict - Conflict! Conflict in Every. Single. Scene and Motivation. Also, his talks of main story goals, stimulus, character feeling-to-motivation, reaction-to-action, keeping heroes heroic, character choices, the point-of-no-return, scene and segment planning, and how to handle important scenes and make them flow together flawlessly are inspiring. As is his definition of a climax and how and why it must work for the hero and the reader.

Swain even defines "to identify with" as a person who looks up to, is envious of and aspires to be someone else, rather than there being anything strictly relatable and compatible between the two. I can see some sense in that statement.

So despite not enjoying the reading experience like with many other writing books I've read, 'Techniques' is worth a shot. Writing and selling your work are all about putting your whole being - heart, brain, time, energy - into creating something new, alive and worth your own time and attention. Whether this book does that itself is - as always - up to the reader.

Final Score: 3.5/5