By Cunning and Craft: Sound Advice and Practical Wisdom for Fiction Writers
There is craft and there is cunning. There is the struggle to  get published at all. But there is also the chance that you will do  something extraordinary. Peter Selgin illustrates the tricks, both basic  and sophisticated. But greatness is what he's really interested in. He  thrusts the readers into the company of those who wrote magnificently.  Salinger is quoted, Hemingway, Thomas Mann, E.M. Forster, John Gardner.  "This book is for serious writers of all levels," he writes in the  beginning, and he's talking about intentions. If you mean to shoot for the  stars, then this book is for you.--Benjamin Cheever, author of The Plagiarist, The Partisan (both New York  Times Best Books), Famous After Death, and The Good NannyPeter Selgin has written an excellent guide--witty, lucid,  well-written--for beginning writers of fiction. In fact, any writer can  learn from it.--Vivian Gornick, author of The Situation and the Story: The Art of  Personal Narrative and Approaching Eye LevelCunning and craft, indeed: Within these pages Peter Selgin quotes Chekov to  the effect that, "The writer's task is not to solve the problem but to  state the problem correctly." What I admire most about By Cunning & Craft  is its rare and inspired modesty--an ultimately stylish resistance to  pledging more than Selgin (really anyone) can deliver. May many learn from  this book.--Robert Polito, author of Savage Art: A Biography Of Jim Thompson, and  Director of the New School Graduate Writing ProgramWriting fiction is a matter of choices, decisions that shape the  imagination. No one clarifies those choices more effectively than Peter  Selgin in By Cunning & Craft. He demystifies the alternatives through  straightforward explanations and illustrations. By showing the options, by  suggesting which are most effective for specific situations, and by  demonstrating through examples, Selgin gives writers the resources to  structure their creativity.--Walter Cummins, Editor, The Literary ReviewAlong with the great advice, Selgin is pure pleasure to read.--Alexander Steele, Dean of Faculty, Gotham Writers' WorkshopBy Cunning & Craft is a masterpiece of writing about writing. If, like  Scheherazade, you had to spin out a story under threat of death, this is  the how-to book to read. It's filled with thoughtful, nuanced advice from a  teacher/writer who actually writes--and writes beautifully and with great  humor. The list of rejected stories is worth the price of the whole book.--Nora Gallagher, author of Things Seen and Unseen, Practicing  Resurrection, and the forthcoming Changing LightA wonderfully helpful, thorough, and honest book on writing, By Cunning &  Craft is filled with good sense, good advice, and many excellent examples  of good writing. A book to read and read again with profit by the  beginning, the middle, and the writer of many years.--Sheila Kohler, author of Cracks, Crossways, and The Children of  Pithiviers