Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain

It’s something I’m forever grateful for now, but at the time, the only thing I really looked forward to was the glass of fresh pineapple juice my teacher would give me each visit. When I was but a wee lad, my mother inflicted piano lessons on me. This means sitting down and banging your head against the wall until new concepts sink in. Like anything else worth learning, if you want to improve, you’re going to have to put in some practice.

Just don’t expect to write the next great novel. If you only want to focus on writing one day out of the year, go for it. “In writing, more than in almost any other field, initiative is the key.” There are a multitude of reasons for this and Swain discusses several of them. But in the end, it always seems so friggin’ difficult to simply do that which we profess to love. We engage in the occasional pecking of keys. Some are more important than others, but if you’re not careful, they also make great excuses. These things are all well and good and have their place in your life. Don’t have a significant other? Something else calls you away. Don’t have kids? Your significant other needs a minimum of one hour to tell you just how much so-and-so pissed him/her off today. The kids are so happy to see you, they don’t let go of your leg until one of you passes out from exhaustion. “Too many would-be writers are really would-be authors. Your feedback is appreciated, and if you're so inclined, you can find future entries from the series on my blog. I believe a lot of budding writers will get some mileage from the articles and I highly recommend picking up your own copy of the book. I've spent the past six months reading and rereading this book, finding it valuable enough to want to share the insights I've gained from it.

Swain's Techniques of the Selling Writer. I wanted to share the first in a series of articles I'm working on which focus on Dwight V.

Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight V. Swain