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Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer: The Storytelling Techniques of Erle Stanley Gardner
All the hard-earned storytelling skills of Erle Stanley Gardner, creator of Perry Mason and one of the best-selling writers of all time, are revealed in this informative, entertaining, and instructive book. The authors clearly present and analyze all the elements of narrative character, plot, conflict, and resolution as Gardner used them. Numerous extraordinary charts, diagrams, and outlines makes his hard-earned technical skills available to the reader in practical and useful forms. This book is ideal for Gardner collectors and fans, and equally for students of writing at all levels would-be writers, neophytes, and even published authors for it offers one of the most practical and professional courses ever in storytelling technique.
- GenresWritingNonfiction
286 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 1980
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90 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 29, 2020
What a wonderfully strange book on the craft of writing and the life of Erle Stanley Gardner. Part biography of his career, part examination of the pulp era, and part exploration of his ongoing effort to turn writing into a set of practical techniques, this book manages to give tremendous insight into today's world of commercial fiction and what it takes to survive.
For those who don't know Erle Stanley Gardner, he really was the bestselling fiction writer of the 20th Century. He accomplished this as much through his almost unparalleled productivity (churning how well over a million published words every year) as through the quality of his writing. But what I admire most about the Gardner we see in this book is the way that he struggled—right up until the very end of his life—to keep getting better at his craft. Gardner had this odd mix of confidence and insecurity that he managed to transform into a constant obsession with understanding not only the craft of fiction but also what caused readers to enjoy a story.
The world of the pulps during his early years also gives a fascinating look into the same dynamics that operate in today's indy-publishing world. Writers felt a powerful compunction to figure out what readers wanted and to pump out as much of it as they could while there was money to be made. Many of the same concerns we see today about gluts in the market or the same plots being rehashed over and over were well understood in that time, as exemplified by some of the letters between Gardner and his editors shown in the book.
In terms of technique, I was surprised to find Gardner challenging some of today's conventional wisdom. For example, he argued that crime novels made a huge mistake by sticking the murder at the beginning of the book before the reader had a chance to come to feel a connection with the victim. Only after reading this did I come to understand why so often crime novels and mysteries—especially police procedurals—tend to leave me bored fifty pages in. However Gardner himself then struggled with the problem that without a murder on page one, hooking the reader became difficult. It's exploring that tension along with Gardner that makes Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer so compelling.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the bizarre and massive appendix of the book, in which huge amounts of Gardner's own lists and techniques that he wrote for himself are provided to the reader. It's almost like a choose-your-own-adventure kit for writers looking to create a mystery novel.
Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer is a very different read from today's craft books that tend to either be "love yourself" self-help treatises or "Follow My Technique and Get Rich!" manuals. Instead, it's mostly built on allowing Gardner's own experiences and machinations give prospective writers insight into what it's like to be in the trenches, trying to turn out something that's both worth reading and has a chance to get published. Whatever else one might say about Gardner and his books, just take one look at his bibliography and recall that he was still writing up until his death and one can only dream of achieving that level of raw, writerly tenacity.
For those who don't know Erle Stanley Gardner, he really was the bestselling fiction writer of the 20th Century. He accomplished this as much through his almost unparalleled productivity (churning how well over a million published words every year) as through the quality of his writing. But what I admire most about the Gardner we see in this book is the way that he struggled—right up until the very end of his life—to keep getting better at his craft. Gardner had this odd mix of confidence and insecurity that he managed to transform into a constant obsession with understanding not only the craft of fiction but also what caused readers to enjoy a story.
The world of the pulps during his early years also gives a fascinating look into the same dynamics that operate in today's indy-publishing world. Writers felt a powerful compunction to figure out what readers wanted and to pump out as much of it as they could while there was money to be made. Many of the same concerns we see today about gluts in the market or the same plots being rehashed over and over were well understood in that time, as exemplified by some of the letters between Gardner and his editors shown in the book.
In terms of technique, I was surprised to find Gardner challenging some of today's conventional wisdom. For example, he argued that crime novels made a huge mistake by sticking the murder at the beginning of the book before the reader had a chance to come to feel a connection with the victim. Only after reading this did I come to understand why so often crime novels and mysteries—especially police procedurals—tend to leave me bored fifty pages in. However Gardner himself then struggled with the problem that without a murder on page one, hooking the reader became difficult. It's exploring that tension along with Gardner that makes Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer so compelling.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the bizarre and massive appendix of the book, in which huge amounts of Gardner's own lists and techniques that he wrote for himself are provided to the reader. It's almost like a choose-your-own-adventure kit for writers looking to create a mystery novel.
Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer is a very different read from today's craft books that tend to either be "love yourself" self-help treatises or "Follow My Technique and Get Rich!" manuals. Instead, it's mostly built on allowing Gardner's own experiences and machinations give prospective writers insight into what it's like to be in the trenches, trying to turn out something that's both worth reading and has a chance to get published. Whatever else one might say about Gardner and his books, just take one look at his bibliography and recall that he was still writing up until his death and one can only dream of achieving that level of raw, writerly tenacity.
April 29, 2021
Strangely constructed professional biography. If one needs inspiration for the benefits of just writing, this is the book.
Oh, and I learned a bestseller means your book sold copies to equal 1% of the US population.
Oh, and I learned a bestseller means your book sold copies to equal 1% of the US population.
October 23, 2015
If anyone thinks that they will be able to writ another Perry Mason (or any of Erle Stanley Gardner's characters) by reading this book, he or she is probably mistaken. What one will find, however, is a lot of the very interesting story of Garnder, many of his notes and ideas, and even excerpts here and there of his published writings. The man in my opinion was a genius, not to mention a very hard worker and a determined individual. The two authors have provided much additional information about him which I had not learned from a number of other books I had read about him and his works.
Fascinating.
I got the book from the library and can only hope that the library does not discard or withdraw it as they have other 'older' books!
Fascinating.
I got the book from the library and can only hope that the library does not discard or withdraw it as they have other 'older' books!
May 22, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. Many authors are like artists and only think they have to focus on the art and not the business. Erle Stanley Gardner understood the business element of his craft. He understood his readers and what future readers would want. I recommend this book to anyone looking to be a successful author.
June 6, 2023
In addition to being the best-selling writer of his day, he was likely the hardest-working writer of his day. He knew he was grinding out entertainment, not high art, and he approached that job with rare professionalism and humility. He researched readers, tried various plotting tools and gimmicks, and over time, he evolved a method that enabled him to create some of the best-loved characters of the 20th Century. Well worth a read if you want to create fiction readers want to read.
May 30, 2023
Nuts and Bolts
The reason why garter was so prolific was that he had a system. His system empowered him to live his dream. He's able to write so much because he thought through the process.
For me, it's time to get a notebook, and to noodle over the pages.
The reason why garter was so prolific was that he had a system. His system empowered him to live his dream. He's able to write so much because he thought through the process.
For me, it's time to get a notebook, and to noodle over the pages.
September 27, 2024
Interesting read about the man and his writing, with an appendix that breaks down his whole formula. One thing I did note: whenever you read a biography about a really prolific writer, as a rule they are all a) single, or b) getting divorced at some point. Same holds true here.
April 22, 2018
An excellent book for writers, fans of ESG, or fans of pulp fiction in general. Highly recommended if you're one (or all) of those.
September 1, 2021
A classic masterclass on writing
July 11, 2022
Extremely satisfying, packed with entertaining anecdotes and useful advice. Didn't make much use of the appendices, but the book's a winner and I'll probably read it again one of these days.
July 22, 2012
While this was interesting and enjoyable, especially to see how a major mystery writer meticulously researched his markets and planned his books, I'm not sure if the information in it will help me as a writer. I've never attempted to write a mystery, and I'm not very good at writing fiction, partly because I just don't have the kind of imagination that allows me to make up events that never happened, and my poor attention span and short-term memory prevent me from being able to keep track of plots. But the book's a lot of fun if, like me, you're a Gardner fan.
June 9, 2016
Really got stuck into this look at the notebooks and letters of one of the genuine storytellers. This guy's work rate was awesome! A more in depth bibliography might have been nice but I don't want to grumble about a book that was so much better than I expected.
November 27, 2020
Great read
Simple and coherent, with only the problem that it takes too omg to the plottting theory. He had a plotting wheel.
Simple and coherent, with only the problem that it takes too omg to the plottting theory. He had a plotting wheel.
May 1, 2017
More professional biography than a technical manual on creative writing. Now very dated but of marginal value for new authors.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars.
Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews