Stein on Writing
by Sol Stein
A legendary editor's craft book: show versus tell, the 'triage' method of revision, dialogue, suspense, point of view, and the first page that sells. Blunt, practical and still assigned by editors to their writers.
Read it if…
you want an editor's view of what makes prose work.
See the book →
Skip it if…
you want inspiration; this is surgery.
Try instead: Self-Editing for Fiction Writers →
Three things you will actually use
- Show, do not tell, especially on page one.
- Triage your revision.
- Dialogue is not conversation.
Do this first
Apply triage to one chapter: cut the worst paragraph first.
Our verdict
An editor's surgery.
See the book →
Compare with other Career books
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers
Renni Browne and Dave King · Career
The revision checklist.
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