“You need to know only four things to write a solid story,” advises Dwight V. Swain. These four things form the core of his premier book about fiction publishing. He authored Techniques of the Selling Writer after he had published a great deal of creative fiction. His advice on how to sell your book is distilled from his extensive experience in the writing and publishing industries, as well as his teaching at the University of Oklahoma.
Motivation Reaction Units
In the first chapters of Techniques of the Selling Writer, Dwight V. Swain talks about what he calls motivation reaction units. Simply put, these are the events and the reactions that occur as a result. The motivation reaction units can be as small as a blink of an eye when a puff of air blows into it. It can be as large as a nuclear bomb detonating when a person presses a button.
The motivation reaction unit is a key feature in story writing. Written well, it will make the story more suspenseful and build tension. Used properly, it creates a sequence of actions that keep the reader involved. It is a component of every scene, moving the story along from one event to the next.
Know How to Write a Scene and Sequel
Writing a perfect scene that keeps the reader glued to the page is a basic story writing skill. Each scene has three distinct purposes.
- Define the goal of a character.
- Introduce the conflict that arises in opposition to the goal.
- Create a disaster that makes it seem as if the character won’t succeed in reaching the goal.
The next step in this process is for the fiction writer to write a sequel. The sequel to the scene should come before the next scene in that story line. The sequel also has three parts:
- The reaction to the disaster.
- A dilemma when coming to a solution.
- A decision of what the character must do next.
Using Story Patterns
Techniques of the Selling Writer continues the advice with a precise analysis of the story arc. He describes how a story arc is formed and how it can be used. Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. When novel writing, the author can use the story patterns to guide how the story unfolds. The story pattern is a development process for the plot and characters.
Creating Characters
The book continues with advice on how to create realistic, believable characters. Many plots are character driven, and with Dwight Swain’s advice, the writer can master character building. Science fiction writers also must build worlds that are realistic and follow a set of guiding principals. This section of the book covers world building.
How to Sell a Book
After the chapters on technique, the book guides the writer in how to submit the manuscript to a publisher, and selling the story. Dwight V. Swain includes a sample submission in the appendix.
Although Techniques of the Selling Writer was first published in 1965, it has continued to be a highly popular writing book. The solid advice in this book is thorough enough that a beginning writer could learn every essential element that is needed to craft a good story.
Swain, Dwight V. Techniques of the Selling Writer, 1965, University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0-8061-1191-7
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