By Cunning & Craft
Sound Advice and Practical Wisdom for Fiction Writers
by Peter Selgin
Writer's Digest Books, 2007
ISBN 978-1-58297-491-0
$19.99 hardcover, 272 pages
Read an Excerpt
People are the center of fiction. In Chapter 1: People of By Cunning and Craft, find out how to tap into your characters motivations and build characters that your readers will feel like they know. Plus, download a PDF of the Table of Contents and Chapter 1: People.
About the Book
Writing successful fiction is a balance between trusting one’s own instincts and making the right conscious choices. In By Cunning & Craft, award-winning novelist and short-story writer Peter Selgin shows you how to combine the instinctive process of creation with sound technical ingenuity.
With precise instruction and examples from classic and best-selling works, this authoritative guide helps you master the ten essential fiction-writing elements: inspiration; character; point of view; structure and plot; theme; dialogue; description; scenes, summary, and flashback; voice and style; and revision.
Whether you’re facing the blank pages of a first draft or trying to revise a completed manuscript, By Cunning & Craft provides you with the guidance you need to outfox common writing pitfalls and make sure your work isn’t wanting in wit—or perfection.
Table of Contents
Introduction: The Case for Cunning & Craft
I. People
II. Point of View
III. Structure and Plot
IV. Dialogue
V. Description
VI. Scene, Summary, and Flashback
VII. Voice and Style
VIII. Theme
IX. Revision
X. Inspiration, Perspiration, Publication
Selected Bibliography: Books on Craft
Index
