By Cunning & Craft: Sound Advice and Practical Wisdom for Fiction Writers

by Peter Selgin

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 all the essential fiction-writing elements.
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.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Crafts

261 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Peter Selgin is the author of Drowning Lessons, winner of the 2007 Flannery O’Connor Award for Fiction, Life Goes to the Movies, a novel, two books on the craft of fiction, and two children’s books. His stories and essays have appeared in dozens of magazines and anthologies, including Glimmer Train Stories, Poets & Writers, The Sun, Slate, Colorado Review, Writers and Their Notebooks, Writing Fiction, and Best American Essays 2009. Confessions of a Left-Handed Man: An Artist’s Memoir, was recently published by the University of Iowa Press and was short-listed for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. His latest novel, The Water Master, won this years’ Pirate’s Alley / Faulkner Society Prize, and his essay, The Kuhreihen Melody, won the Missouri Review Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize. Selgin’s visual art has graced the pages of the The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Outside, Gourmet, and other publications. Selgin has had several plays published and produced, including Night Blooming Serious, which won the Mill Mountain Theater Competition. His full-length play, A God in the House, based on Dr. Kevorkian and his suicide device, was a National Playwright’s Conference Winner and later optioned for Off-Broadway. He teaches at Antioch University’s MFA writing program and is Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Georgia College.

Reviews

[Mackenzie Clevenger · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - this was honestly quite a refreshing and fun writing reference book that held some good advice both for amateurs and for more seasoned writers. There was some advice that I found valuable, but also some advice that I personally thought was awful. I did appreciate how in each chapter Selgin would provide examples of exactly what he was referring to, that way you could see for yourself first hand what he meant when he was talking about the ideal way something should be done, and how he also acknowledged that sometimes the rules should be broken, but perhaps only in particular ways. Overall, a good and helpful read, but not one I feel the need to keep on hand.

[Lyndsey Silveira]

Some genuinely good advice in here, though it's mostly geared toward people who aspire to be literary writers. The author does spin off on little rants about the state of publishing, MFA programs, etc. and it's all stuff I've heard before, so skim if you so desire.

Almost forgot: I hate that part where he talks about how genre fiction readers just want the same thing from all of the books they read. This attitude is one of my pet peeves, and it's very obvious that he hasn't read much (or any) contemporary fantasy or science fiction.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book on craft. One of the best out, in fact.

[Anne Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

The focus is strongly on craft (I must have missed the cunning bit) and most of it is advice that's not especially new or revelatory. It's written in a persuasive style and is a reminder for both new and experienced writers that the key to success, if there is such a thing, is persistence. The most helpful content from my point of view was his use of examples, in particular illustrations of how to improve a not too bad piece of writing into something far better.

[Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapters on theme and revision were the highlights of this book for me. I've read other craft books that discuss things like character, plot, and pacing, and I find that the information here is very similar to what those other craft books say.

I don't think this book is revolutionary, but it is a solid beginner text. It covers the basics, and, as mentioned above, it does a great job discussing revisions and themes.

[Matt Sinclair · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good resource, though the author comes across as pompous at times. As someone who writes literary as well as genre fiction, I don't think Selgin appreciates genre writing at all, which means he's missing out on a lot of excellent literature.

That said, I dogeared several pages that I think will be useful as I put together some ideas for a course.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Books on writing are as ubiquitous and busy as ants, but each contain their own priceless nuggets of wisdom. Selgin’s book is no exception. While it’s front-loaded with plenty of basic and overly-familiar tidbits, its latter half shines with inspirational advice about finding your work’s purpose, revising it sensibly, and preserving toward publication. Certainly worth keep on the shelf.

[Jahzerah Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good. I didn't expect it to be so good! Down-to-earth, funny and helpful as all get-out. And it's decorated beautifully with all of my highlights 😉

[Jessica Minyard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid craft book. Easy to read and digest, but is still heavily skewed toward literary fiction. The craft lessons are still applicable to genre fiction writers, though!

[Glenn Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very insightful book, despite WAY too many typos.

[Sheila Bitts]

Helpful

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

For me, this is one of those "gem" books, where I finish the thing, love it, and immediately want to talk to someone else about it - only to find that no one else has ever heard of it.

Which is a surprise, really. From cover to cover, this book is full of quality writing advice, for use by beginners and experts alike. Selgin covers everything - scene and summary, dialogue and description, plot, pacing, character, tension, and all the rest. Better yet, he explains why he feels the way he does about these subjects, and provides a long list of famous examples that back him up. Perhaps better still, he admits that his advice is fallible, and routinely gives examples of writers who break the rules to great effect (with the caveat that such writers are exceptions, rather than the rule).

There's a chapter on revision near the end of the book, and another on the hows and whys of professional publication, both of which are extremely well placed. They give the (correct) impression that while revision and publication are extremely important, they're a step best saved for the end, once you've written everything down at least once. The book ends with a note that writing is a thing worth doing, and worth doing well, which is a notion as encouraging as it is realistic.

As a writer, this book is one that I keep on the bookshelf, right between Stephen King's wonderfully autobiographical On Writing and the inevitable Elements of Style. I read King's book like I read a favorite novel, Strunk and White's like a fiery sermon. But for the practical, everyday problems of writing, Selgin's book is the one I reach for most.

[Anthony · Rating 1 out of 5]

A lousy little book. The author Peter Selgin, as far as I can see, has nothing new to say and for the most part trots out all the old truisms about the "craft" of writing without any surprises. The only redeeming feature is that it is chockfull of excellent and witty quotes from great writers like Hemingway, Ezra Pound, Voltaire etc. which make enduring the brief instructional catechism almost worthwhile.

Some of my favorites -

All first drafts are excrement.

- Hemingway

The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of childhood into maturity.

- Thomas Hardy

The writer's task is not to solve the problem but to state the problem correctly.

-Chekov

[R.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining book on the craft of writing. It had enough good points that I felt it worth the read and worth keeping, and the author's voice was colloquial enough to be fun. It does, as the writer admits, steer you towards the AUTHOR'S particular style in some places, which can be unhelpful if that is not YOUR style. In particular, I felt the author's taste in descriptions to be a bit overwrought and trying too hard, but maybe I'm just plebeian. Overall, though, it was worth the few dollars I paid for it at a book fair.

[Anne Witkavitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

For writers, this is a helpful book to read and then return to if you are working in fiction. Peter Selgin focuses on craft for the serious writer, and hits upon all that is necessary to churn out a solid, quality story. I've read it through a few years ago, and now pull it out and read specific chapters as I'm working through something in my own work. For example, I always struggle with point of view, but reading through the chapter guides me in thinking through key questions to help me decide the best way to tell my story. For me, the book is a valued tool in my library.

[Lisa Aldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading By Cunning & Craft: Sound Advice and Practical Wisdom for Fiction Writers, and found useful information and examples in every chapter. This is a resource that will be around for a very long time because it has both basic information about the craft of writing, as well as a more in-depth analysis of the craft. Selgin realistically warns the reader that writing fiction is not easy, but if one has the desire and work ethic, it can be done.

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Selgin presents a solid comprehensive book on the craft of writing. I especially liked the chapters on dialogue and scene. Selgin helped me better see how to use dramatic action and summary to achieve the desired narrative pacing. There's a lot of good stuff here. This is one of the better books on writing I've encountered, though nothing is as good as close reading.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

well written and clear advice on improving your creative writing muscles and making your story compelling and noteworthy. Highly recommend it.

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, and full of useful advice for beginning writers and veterans. Made me rethink my approach to flashbacks, among other things.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect bite of a book -- cute packaging, rich and clean writing. Very helpful for general fiction advice.

[Joan Arbogast · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pint-sized book full of gems of wisdom. I recommend it for all writers of fiction.

[Tom Hooker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book on the writing craft for writers seeking to improve their skill.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must read for any new writer.

[Rosanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great advice that I can't wait to try out!