Readers take in dialogue one thought at a time. A frequent mistake of beginners is to combine thoughts, which may be suitable… — Sol Stein Beginners Copy Share Image
To create tension, dialogue needs to be stretched out. That is, characters should not be immediately responsive. — Sol Stein Character Copy Share Image
The biggest difference between a writer and a would-be writer is their attitude toward rewriting. . . . Unwillingness to revise usually signals an amateur. — Sol Stein Attitude Copy Share Image
“It can be said that one slip of point of view by a writer can hurt a story badly, and several slips… — Sol Stein Point of view Copy Share Image
Most of the time, tough, combative, adversarial dialogue is much more exciting than physical action. — Sol Stein Action Copy Share Image
“The novelist is like the conductor of an orchestra, his back to the audience, his face invisible, summoning the experience of music… — Sol Stein Music Copy Share Image
Dialogue, contrary to popular view, is not a recording of actual speech; it is a semblance of speech, an invented language of… — Sol Stein Climax Copy Share Image
I see manuscripts and books that are spoiled for the literary reader because they are one long stream of top-of-the-head writing, a… — Sol Stein Book Copy Share Image
In our not-yet-acknowledged secret garden lie the seeds of some of our best not-yet-written stories — Sol Stein Garden Copy Share Image
Our instinct as human beings is to provide answers, to ease tension. As writers our job is the opposite, to create tension… — Sol Stein Answers Copy Share Image
A reader's emotions can be sparked with few words. That's the power of dialogue. — Sol Stein Books Copy Share Image
“We are all writers from an early age. Most of what we write is nonfiction—essays for school, letters to friends, memoranda to… — Sol Stein Love Copy Share Image
The expert magician seeks to deceive the mind, rather than the eye. — Sol Stein Deceiving Copy Share Image
Readers, transformed by film and TV, are used to seeing stories. The reading experience . . . is increasingly visual. — Sol Stein Books Copy Share Image
A lawyer's job is to manipulate the skeletons in other people's closets. — Sol Stein Closets Copy Share Image
