Published in 1965, Dwight V. Swain’s “Techniques of the Selling Writer,” some feel, is a bit outdated. Written before the ubiquitous word processor, Google, and AI gives the book some age; however, after reading the book once and studying through it a second time, I think the book has good information. It is still in print, which speaks about the book’s endurance. The book has information for a freshman writer, like myself, or a senior writer. I’ll be studying through the book again and presenting some of my observations.
Dwight Swain (1915-1992) began his writing career in the 1930s. From publishing short stories, his writing evolved to include mysteries, westerns, and action-adventure stories. He was also a screenwriter.
Swain taught in the Professional Writing Program at the University of Oklahoma, where he oversaw the development of student writers. Students in the program submitted writing assignments. From these submissions, Swain drew many illustrations used to support his points in his nonfiction books about writing, such as Techniques of the Selling Writer, the focus of this discussion.
Writer’s Trap Six – Fear of Being Wrong
A sixth trap for the writer is that he doesn’t want to be wrong. One starts with the urge to write, which Swain says is all one really needs, as long as he doesn’t let other things get in the way. “What other things? They go by so many names. But they all boil down to one issue: the fear of being wrong.” (p. 12) The writer has to ignore the naysayers. The Union Civil War General George McClellan had a large, well-trained army, but he lost battle after battle because he was afraid to lose. Yeah, and Swain says a writer who is afraid to be wrong is about as useless as a general who is afraid to lose. He goes on to argue that there may not be a formula for success, but there is a sure formula for failure: Try to please everybody. (p. 13)
“What qualities and/or conditions are most valuable to a writer?” the author asks. “Spontaneity. Freedom. The opportunity for unstudied, impulsive roving through the backlands of his mind. Which are most detrimental? Inhibition. Self-censorship. Restraint.” (p. 13)
There is, of course, the desire to be right, to be accepted. The desire to be right, however, can lead to putting on blinders, shutting out feelings, thoughts, and interpretations which don’t conform to those one wishes to please. Returning again to rules, he says they can be their own set of blinders designed to help one never to be wrong. While there’s nothing bad about wanting acceptance, but when it becomes a blinder for a writer or hobbles his imagination and thought, it becomes a hindrance. “To be a writer, a creative person, you must retain your ability to react uniquely. Your feelings must remain your own. The day you mute yourself, or moderate yourself, or repress your proneness to get excited or angry or emotionally involved . . . that day, you die as a writer.” (p. 14)
Directory