Best of
Writing

1988

Writing a Woman's Life


Carolyn G. Heilbrun - 1988
    A woman's journey ended at the altar. Professor Heilbrun notes that the diversity of women's lives now makes it possible for women to dare to choose their own scripts.

Characters and Viewpoint


Orson Scott Card - 1988
    Use them to pry, chip, yank and sift good characters out of the place where they live in your memory, your imagination and your soul.Award-winning author Orson Scott Card explains in depth the techniques of inventing, developing and presenting characters, plus handling viewpoint in novels and short stories. With specific examples, he spells out your narrative options–the choices you'll make in creating fictional people so "real" that readers will feel they know them like members of their own families.You'll learn how to: draw the characters from a variety of sources, including a story's basic idea, real life–even a character's social circumstances make characters show who they are by the things they do and say, and by their individual "style" develop characters readers will love–or love to hate distinguish among major characters, minor characters and walk-ons, and develop each one appropriately choose the most effective viewpoint to reveal the characters and move the storytelling decide how deeply you should explore your characters' thoughts, emotions and attitudes

Writing Screenplays That Sell: The Complete, Step-By-Step Guide for Writing and Selling to the Movies and TV, from Story Concept to Development Deal


Michael Hauge - 1988
    This is the new screenwriter′s bible.

The New Oxford Guide to Writing


Thomas S. Kane - 1988
    Many, once you have an idea, show you how to express it clearly and elegantly. And many handbooks offer reliable advice on the use of commas, semicolons, and so forth. But The New Oxford Guide to Writing does all three, so that no matter where you find yourself in the writing process--from the daunting look of a blank page, to the rough draft that needs shaping, to the small but important questions of punctuation--you will find what you need in one handy volume.Highlighted by numerous examples of successful prose--including marvelous, brief excerpts from Mark Twain, Joan Didion, H.L. Mencken, E.B. White, and Annie Dillard--this stimulating volume covers the entire subject step-by-step, clearly and authoritatively.Whether you write for business or for pleasure, whether you are a beginner or an experienced pro, The New Oxford Guide to Writing is an essential addition to your reference library, providing abundant assistance and encouragement to write with more clarity, more color, and more force.

Spider, Spin Me A Web: A Handbook for Fiction Writers


Lawrence Block - 1988
    Now, with Lawrence Block's expert advice, you can learn this art of entrapping your reader in a maze of facinating fiction.Spider, Spin Me a Web is the perfect companion volume to Block's previous book on writing, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, which Sue Grafton noted "should be a permanent part of every writer's library." As helpful and supportive as always, Block shares what he's learned over the course of writing over one hundred published books: techniques to help you to write a solid piece of fiction; strategies for getting a reader (or editor) to reaad—and buy—your book; ideas for increasing your creativity and developing an environment that will nourish you and your craft.Spider, Spin Me a Web is a complete guide to achieving your full potential as awriter.

Shakespeare's Metrical Art


George Thaddeus Wright - 1988
    George T. Wright offers a detailed survey of Shakespeare's brilliantly varied metrical keyboard and shows how it augments the expressiveness of his characters' stage language.

AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors


American Medical Association - 1988
    Since the 1998 publication of the 9th edition, however, the world of medical publishing has rapidly modernized, and the intersection of research and publishing has become ever more complex. The 10th edition of the AMA Manual of Style brings this definitive manual into the 21st century with a broadened international perspective.In doing so, the 10th edition has expanded its electronic guidelines, with the understanding that authors now routinely submit articles through online systems and often cite Web-only content. Ethical and legal issues receive increased attention, with detailed guidelines on authorship, conflicts of interest, scientific misconduct, intellectual property, and the protection of individuals' rights in scientific research and publication. The new edition examines research ethics and editorial independence and features new material on indexing and searching as well as medical nomenclature.The JAMA Network, one of the most respected groups of medical publications in the world, have lent members of their expert staff of professional journal editors to the committee that has produced this edition. Extensively peer-reviewed, the 10th edition provides a welcome and improved standard for the growing international medical community. More than a style manual, this 10th edition offers invaluable guidance on how to navigate the dilemmas that authors and researchers and their institutions, medical editors and publishers, and members of the news media who cover scientific research confront in a society that has thrust these issues center stage. Also available in an online version!

On the Teaching of Creative Writing: Responses to a Series of Questions


Wallace Stegner - 1988
    Wallace Stegner writes ." . . the language itself is an inheritance, a shared wealth. It may be played with, stretched, forced, bent; but I, as a writer or teacher, must never assume that it is mine. It is ours, the living core, as well as the instrument, of the culture I derive from, resist, challenge, and--ultimately--serve. . . . nobody can teach anyone else to have a talent. All a teacher can do is set high goals for students--or get them to set them for themselves--and, then, try to help them reach those goals." A half-century's wisdom on teaching and learning creative writing is distilled in this brief discussion by one of America's pre-eminent authors. Anyone who has taught or participated in a creative writing class will find Stegner's insights invaluable.

Mainstay: For the Well Spouse of the Chronically Ill


Maggie Strong - 1988
    Strong shows that being the spouse of a chronically ill person is more than just hard work--there are many emotional changes to be dealt with as well, from keeping anger and guilt tucked away to being constantly aware that the situation will only get worse.

Writing


Tricia Hedge - 1988
    This book offers suggestions and guidance for helping students who are having difficulty developing clear and effective writing skills.

Fiction of Relationship


Arnold Weinstein - 1988
    . . . This study will prove as useful as it is wide-ranging, and indeed, comparative in the good sense.--Mary Ann Caws, Graduate School, City University of New YorkHere is a comparatist working at the peak of his powers. . . . Weinstein moves easily from Goethe and Flaubert to Kafka or Joyce or Boris Vian. Locating fictions of relationship `at the heart of both literary criticism and human affairs' and acknowledging his own `distinctly humanistic' concerns, Weinstein writes in an urgent tone and eloquent voice, inflecting the theme of `relationship' in every way: in its surrender to the erotic, its frenzied drive for control of the Other, in its ability to confer identity or eclipse difference. . . . When he couples texts (e.g., William Burrough's Naked Lunch and C. de Laclos's Les liaisons dangereuses), he takes risks that bear brilliant fruit. Exploring famous texts and relatively unknown ones, Weinstein infuses the traditional study of fiction with new energy.--ChoiceOriginally published in 1988.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

The Path of Compassion: Writing on Socially Engaged Buddhism


Fred Eppsteiner - 1988
    collected essays

Blacks in American Films and Television: An Encyclopedia


Donald Bogle - 1988
    

Political and Social Writings: 1946-55 - From the Critique of Bureaucracy to the Positive Content of Socialism v. 1


Cornelius Castoriadis - 1988
    Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. A series of writings by the man who inspired the students of the Workers' Rebellion in May of 1968. "Given the rapid pace of change in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and the radical nature of these transformations, the work of Cornelius Castoriadis, a consistent and radical critic of Soviet Marxism, gains renewed significance. . . . these volumes are instructive because they enable us to trace his rigorous engagement with the project of socialist construction from his break with Trotskyism to his final breach with Marxism . . . and would be read with profit by all those seeking to comprehend the historical originality of events in the USSR and Eastern Europe." –Contemporary Sociology

Beyond Style: Mastering the Finer Points of Writing


Gary Provost - 1988
    Here you’ll touch the soul of fine fiction and nonfiction. You’ll explore the intangibles: the relationships between form and content, proportion and pacing, slant and theme. And you’ll gain a new perspective on how words work together.In that newfound knowledge you’ll find power—power Provost helps you transfer to the page. In candid, conversational style, he shows you:• how to balance event and dialogue to keep the pace lively• why unity is essential to a story—and how to maintain it• how to make the written word pleasing to the ear• the value of fresh, strong imagery• how startling originality will keep your readers interested• how to make your story credible—even when it’s fiction• how subtlety allows your reader to participate in the action• how to tighten up the tension at every level of your storyProvost makes no promise that the work will be easy. He promises only that your books, articles, and stories will get better. There are, after all, no magic words—except those you put on the page.

Plato, Derrida, and Writing


Jasper Neel - 1988
    Douglas Atkins, who writes: "This lively and engaging, informed and informative book constitutes an important contribution. Though its ‘field’ is most obviously composition, composition theory, and pedagogy, part of its importance derives from the way it transcends disciplinary boundaries to bear on writing in general. . . I know of no book that so fully and well discusses, and evaluates, the implications of deconstruction for composition and pedagogy. That [it] goes ‘beyond deconstruction,’ rather than merely ‘applying’ it, increases its importance and signals a clear contribution to the understanding of writing."Jasper Neel analyzes the emerging field of composition studies within the epistemological and ontological debate over writing precipitated by Plato, who would have us abandon writing entirely, and continued by Derrida, who argues that all human beings are written. This book offers a three-part exploration of that debate. In the first part, a deconstructive reading of Plato’s Phaedrus, Neel shows the elaborate sleight-of-hand that Plato must employ as he uses writing to engage in a semblance of spoken dialogue.The second part describes Derrida’s theory of writing and presents his famous argument that "the history of truth, of the truth of truth, has always been. . .the debasement of writing, and its repression outside full speech." A lexicon of nine Derridean terms, the key to his theory of writing, is also included. At the end of this section, Neel turns deconstruction against itself, demonstrating that Derridean analysis collapses of its own weight.The concluding section of the book juxtaposes the implications of Platonic and Derridean views of writing, warning that Derrida’s approach may lock writing inside philosophy. The conclusion suggests that writing may be liberated from philosophical judgment by turning to Derrida’s predecessors, the sophists, particularly Protagoras and Gorgias. Drawing on Protagoras’s idea of strong discourse, Neel shows that sophistry is the foundation of democracy: "Strong discourse is public discourse, which, though based on probability and not truth, remains persuasive over a long period of time to a great number of people. This publicly tested discourse exists only among competitors, never alone, but its ability to remain persuasive even when surrounded by other discourses enables the ideas of democracy to emerge and then keeps democracy alive."

Forming/Thinking/Writing


Ann E. Berthoff - 1988
    Writing from students responding to" invitations" is included throughout, showing them discovering the uses of chaos and exercising a variety of heuristics to work towards order.

The Theory of Oral Composition: History and Methodology


John Miles Foley - 1988
    excellent book... " --The Classical Outlook..". brief and readable... There is good tonic in these pages for the serious student of oral tradition... a remarkable book." --Asian Folklore Studies"The bibliography is a boon for students and faculty at any level who are curious about the nature, composition, and performance of oral poetry." --Choice..". concise, evolutionary account... " --Religious Studies Review"As ever, Professor Foley's conscientious scholarship and sound judgements combine to make a further substantial contribution to the field." --E. C. Hawkesworth, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London, The Slavonic Review"Foley is probably the only scholar who is in a position even to suggest the extent of what we should know to work in this area." --Speculum"Foley's survey stands as a fitting tribute to the achievements of Parry and Lord and as a sure guide to future productive work in the field." --Journal of American Folklore..". detailed and informative study... We are fortunate that John Foley chose to write this book." --Motif..". Theory of Oral Composition... detailed account written in an elegant style which could serve equally as a textbook for college and graduate students and as a reference tool for scholars already in the field." --Olifant"As an 'introductory history, ' The Theory of Oral Composition accomplishes its purpose admirably. It has the capacity to arouse interest on the part of the uninitiated." --AnthropologicaPresents the first history of the new field of oral-formulaic theory, which arose from the pioneering research of Milman Parry and Albert Lord on the Homeric poems.

Mountain Sage: The Life Story Of Carl Sharsmith, Yosemite's Famous Ranger/Naturalist


Elizabeth Stone O'Neill - 1988
    

Text Book: An Introduction to Literary Language


Gregory L. Ulmar - 1988
    

Trigger Points


Michael J. Kami - 1988
    "One of the most brilliant planners I know is Michael Kami".--Peter Drucker.

On the Art of Writing Copy


Herschell Gordon Lewis - 1988
    If you have any interest in the power of the written word or any control over what those words are supposed to accomplish…you’re about to choose the right book. Herschell Gordon Lewis, internationally recognized as the number-one copywriter in the world, has made this book his magnum opus. In these pages, you’ll find: How to write ""killer"" e-mail copy. How to avoid spam filters and still sell with power. Simple, effective rules for letter writing. When to use envelope copy and what to say. How broadcast copy differs. Why some of the old rules don’t work any more. How to write an effective guarantee. It's all here for you in simple, straightforward language. TWO HUGE BONUSES! Bonus 1: Here are hundreds of examples, some excellent and some so stupid you’ll wonder how they ever made it into print, on the air, or through the computer. Bonus 2: Here are more than 100 specific rules copy professionals use to grab and sell readers, viewers, and listeners. Far and away the most complete, most comprehensive, and, yes, the most useful handbook and guide to copywriting ever published, this will be the most thumbed-through book on your shelf because by any criterion it’s The Bible of Copywriting. Enjoy it. Use it. Profit from it.