Solutions for Novelists: Secrets of a Master Editor

by Sol Stein

In ths book, Sol Stein, one of the greatest editors of our time, offers help on the most important recurrent problems novelists encounter when learning their craft. With numerous examples from the work of both established bestselling authors and talented newcomers, combined with detailed analysis, he reveals the secrets that can lift a piece of creative writing and give it that spell-binding quality that holds the reader enthralled. The need to give the reader a unique experience, the necessity for conflict between characters, the importance of instant attraction, what makes a character compelling and a plot gripping; why dialogue should never mimic spoken conversation and how misplaced or unnecessary words can slow down the narrative - all this and more is conveyed in this entertaining yet practical book that provides all the benefits of an individual tutorial.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

202 pages, Paperback

First published August 25, 2000

About the author

Sol 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.

Reviews

[Joe Stamber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this immediately after an earlier book by Sol Stein, Solutions for Writers (I can't insert the link, it doesn't seem to be working). Solutions for Writers was the sort of book you read and make notes of useful information from, whereas this book was more of one to just read. There is a section with lists of tips at the back, and a couple of chapters have a summary of tips at the end, but most of the book is more rambling in nature. Stein talks about his own work and other writers' work and how he has improved on earlier drafts by following his own advice. Solutions for Writers is referred to regularly. There are anecdotes from his experiences with other writers, some named, some not, and these add to the general amiable flow of the book. There is certainly useful information here, but I'm not sure I learned much that I hadn't already discovered in Solutions for Writers.

[Louisa Heaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I asked for this book for Christmas, because so many people had recommended it in podcasts and via word of mouth, etc. The first chapter was great. A revelation as to how to plan out your book, before writing it and I looked forward to every other chapter beingjust as informative.
But I felt it wasn’t. Not to me, anyway. It was more of a biography of an editor and HIS growth as an editor, rather than giving me solutions as a writer. There were one or two chapters that were just two or three pages long and these were better and should have been longer, but the longer chapters were just a bit ... I don’t know.
Take what you can from this bookas a writer. For some people, it might be a whole gold mine, but I didn’t get that.

[Reuben Eckhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection.

His advice regarding the purpose and process of writing dialogue is unbelievably good. The advice on writing scenes is excellent, clear and provides the author with a directors eye that persuades him or her to think of the experience of the reader.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book rather haphazardly, skipping back and forth, and not completing it. However, it has useful material in it for writers, and I made quite a few notes at the time about it, especially the chapter entitled, Where Writers Go Wrong.
You can see a blog post about the notes here: http://tinyurl.com/owxnzrd

I read this book earlier, in 2005, and apparently it made so little impression on me that time that I'd forgotten I'd read it by the time 2014 came round. However, my second reading plainly was good for my writing skills. Perhaps I was paying more attention second time round.

[David Hambling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taste is a difficult thing. I don't think I want to write the kind of thing that Stein likes; none of the examples he uses seem like particularly good writing to me.

Way too many anecdotes that are "this incredibly famous writer wrote something and I improved it" which don't convey anything useful except to someone's ego.

But I guess there is some decent advice in there.

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read!

[Claire Wingfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recommend this to many of the writers I work with, as there is so much good advice about the craft of writing.