Sol Stein was the agent and editor for such writers as James Baldwin, Dylan Thomas, Jack Higgins, W.H. Auden, Budd Schulberg, Jacques Barsun, F. Lee Bailey, David Frost and Linoel Thrilling, to name a few. The wealth of information presented in Stein on Writing is abundant, creative and exciting to read. The book is not a book of theory, although, the reader will find theory of fiction and non-fiction. It is, rather, a book of usable solutions. If you, as a writer, find your work flawed, you will find suggestions and techniques on how to improve it. Good writers will find methods to improve their craft in ways that many of them have never dreamed. The objective of the book is how to write good material the first time around.

Stein attacks the problems of writing from many different angles. One is the concept of a fictional work related to the writing of a play. I found this most interesting, having studied theatrical writing in college for many years. After all, fiction is partly the act of giving the reader a scene that will be vivid in their imagination. What is more vivid than a play?

Augustin Eugene Scribe, a French playwright, developed the theory of “The well made play” in the mid 1800s; this theory is still used in the writing of melodrama such as one would find in John Gresham or Steven King’s work. It is also used in the writing of television soap operas. If you can find Elements of the Well Made Play it would be the perfect companion to Stein on Writing, but is not completely necessary, as Stein covers the subject well in chapter seven. He does not, however, call it the “well made play theory.”—the chapter is on plot.

One of the side benefits of Stein on Writing is that there is plenty of suggestions for writing non-fiction. The “new school of journalism” goes beyond the old “who, what, why, when, where, how and how much” to incorporate the elements of fiction writing. The new school tries to develop a scene while including the facts. This is perceived as both good and bad by many reporters.

I bring up the issues of journalism and playwriting because I have always seen them as cogent to historical fiction writing. It assuredly warms the heart to be validated by one such as Sol Stein. In recounting historical events, we unquestionably are reporters of these events, and as fiction writers, we must keep the reader interested by giving a visual image, a picture that ensnares the reader’s imagination and keeps him or her reading until the very last page.

Stein on Writing includes a chapter entitled “The Adrenaline Pump: Creating Tension” (not related to the adrenaline mentioned in Hunter Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) that make the price of the book worthwhile. For the fiction and nonfiction writers, chapters like “Liposuctioning Flab” and “Amphetamines for Speeding up Pace” are just a few of the many ideas that will turn any writing around. Revisions and not neglected in Stein on Writing. Sol Stein regards the act of editing as triage. He suggests getting to the vital signs of the work first. How do you discover the signs that give the work life. He explains it all. This chapter alone should save writers countless hours of aimless wondering through their material for those critical signs of vitality that may need fixing.

I could go on and on about this book. In the end, just get it. Go to amazon.com and read the reviews posted there. That will reinforce what I have already told you and perhaps give you an increased idea regarding the depth of the book.

For the beginning writer, I would also suggest a software program, a companion to the book, and written by Stein, called WritePro. You can actually receive a free copy of lesson 1 (out of the 15) from http://www.writepro.com/wp_sales.htm which will give you a “feel” for how Stein intended to train writers. WritePro is a teaching program, as opposed to the Dramatica series of software writing aids, which seem to be an organizational series of programs for the writer. The lowest price I found for WritePro was $149. The program is modeled after the book and, in this reviewer’s opinion, should be used hand in hand. Read the book, then start to write using the software’s limited word processor. I would suggest to writers who are in remote areas or do not have the bucks to attend one of the many writer’s workshops around the world that Stein on Writing, used in conjunction with WritePro, would be sufficient to teach the craft of writing and give the participant insight to the more cerebral aspects of literature.

The writer that is involved with getting published is also covered in the book. Several 800 numbers are given in part VII (chapters 34 and 35) that will get one started on this difficult path.

In keeping with my American Bandstand rating system, I will have to give this book a 1. The lyrics were hot and you can dance till you drop. Get the book folks. You will learn something that you didn’t know about masterful writing. It is one that you will want to keep beside the computer, or on the desk close at hand.