Brian McDonald, an award winning screenwriter who has taught his craft at several major studios, supplies writers with tools to make their work more effective and provides readers and audiences a deeper understanding of the storyteller's art. When people think of a screenplay, they usually think about dialogue-the "visible ink" that is readily accessible to the listener, reader, or viewer. But a successful screenplay needs Invisible Ink as well, the craft below the surface of words. Invisible Ink lays out the essential elements of screenplay structure, using vivid examples from famous moments in popular movies as well as from one of his own popular scripts. You will learn techniques for building a compelling story around a theme, making your writing engage audiences, creating appealing characters, and much more. Praise for Invisible Ink: ..".If I manage to reach the summit of my next story it will be in no small part due to having read Invisible Ink." -Andrew Stanton (cowriter Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., and cowriter/director Finding Nemo and WALL-E) ..".Brian McDonald uses his deep understanding of story and character to pass on essential truths about dramatic writing. Ignore him at your peril." -Jim Taylor (Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Sideways and Election) ..". I recommend this fine handbook on craft to any writer, apprentice or professional, working in any genre or form." -Dr. Charles Johnson (National Book Award-winning author of Middle Passage) "If you want to write scripts, listen to Brian. The guy knows what he's talking about." -Paul Feig (creator of NBC's Freaks and Geeks, co-executive producer The Office) "With Invisible Ink Brian McDonald has written us a book to keep and heed forever because through the simple, graceful, graspable, original wisdom of it, we might just save our screenwriting lives." -Stewart Stern (Screenwriter of Rebel Without a Cause)

    The authors mix inspirational anecdotes with practical guidance on how to find a voice, develop characters and plot,make revisions, and overcome writer's block. Fun writing prompts will help young writers jump-start their own projects, and encouragement throughout will keep them at work.

    This is what I've always thought it meant to be a writer. Writing, knowing in part that no matter how trivial your words may seem, someday, somewhere, someone may risk his or her life to read them." — Create DangerouslyIn this deeply personal book, the celebrated Haitian-American writer Edwidge Danticat reflects on art and exile, examining what it means to be an immigrant artist from a country in crisis. Inspired by Albert Camus' lecture, "Create Dangerously," and combining memoir and essay, Danticat tells the stories of artists, including herself, who create despite, or because of, the horrors that drove them from their homelands and that continue to haunt them. Danticat eulogizes an aunt who guarded her family's homestead in the Haitian countryside, a cousin who died of AIDS while living in Miami as an undocumented alien, and a renowned Haitian radio journalist whose political assassination shocked the world. Danticat writes about the Haitian novelists she first read as a girl at the Brooklyn Public Library, a woman mutilated in a machete attack who became a public witness against torture, and the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and other artists of Haitian descent. Danticat also suggests that the aftermaths of natural disasters in Haiti and the United States reveal that the countries are not as different as many Americans might like to believe.Create Dangerously is an eloquent and moving expression of Danticat's belief that immigrant artists are obliged to bear witness when their countries of origin are suffering from violence, oppression, poverty, and tragedy.

    The Writer's Portable Mentor helps writers understand and incorporate the regular practices of virtuoso creators; provides a guide to structuring literary, journalistic, or fictional pieces or entire books; opens the door to the sentence strategies of the masters; provides tools for developing a poet's ear for use in prose; trains writers in the observation skills of visual artists; and guides them toward more effective approaches to getting their work into the world. Says Maya Sonenberg, Director of the Creative Writing Program at University of Washington, "I have never seen anything quite like Priscilla Long's book. It presents a true alternative for the advanced writer."

    36 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more – everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. This detailed literature summary also contains Topics for Discussion and a Free Quiz on On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.

    But too many writers--and writing guides--overlook this most important unit. The result? Manuscripts that will never be published and writing careers that will never begin. In this wickedly humorous manual, language columnist June Casagrande uses grammar and syntax to show exactly what makes some sentences great--and other sentences suck. With chapters on "Conjunctions That Kill" and "Words Gone Wild," this lighthearted guide is perfect for anyone who's dead serious about writing, from aspiring novelists to nonfiction writers, conscientious students to cheeky literati. So roll up your sleeves and prepare to craft one bold, effective sentence after another. Your readers will thank you. "From the Trade Paperback edition."

    The Breakout Novelist gives you the craft and business know-how you need to make your book stand out.Inside, veteran agent Donald Maass brings together the most innovative and practical information from his workshops and previous books to lead you through every aspect of setting your novel apart from the rest. Maass shares examples from contemporary writers across all genres to equip you with the strategies great writers use to craft great fiction - from core fiction-writing elements like character, setting, description, and plot, to more advanced techniques including point of view, voice, and suspense. Plus, you'll find over 70 practical exercises to help you move your writing from blah to breakout.You'll also learn from Maass' experiences over more than three decades in the publishing industry. Get straight talk from an insider about agents, contracts, how the industry is changing, and how to be the kind of author who builds a successful career book after book.Get the best of Maass' expertise and instruction in one easy-to-use reference.

    It is an introduction to the world of violence. To the parts that people don’t understand. The parts that books and movies get wrong. Not just the mechanics, but how people who live in a violent world think and feel about what they do and what they see done.

    Tapping into the powerful archetypes within language, he shows how to enrich your writing by following “golden threads” of inspiration while understanding the crucial invisibles essential to the art of both fiction and nonfiction: how to craft language with feeling and vision, employ altered states of mind to access the writing trance, clear your work by recognizing the powerful sway of clichéd thinking and hidden baggage, and intentionally generate duende--that physical/emotional response to art that gives you chills, opens up unrecognized aspects of reality, or simply resonates in your soul. Covering some very practical aspects of writing such as layering and word symmetry, the author also explores the inner world of publishing--what you really will encounter when you become a writer. He then shows how to develop a powerful and engaging book proposal based on understanding the proposal as a work of fiction--the map is never the territory, nor is the proposal the book that it will become. This book, written using all the techniques discussed within it, offers a powerful, experiential journey into the heart of writing. It does for nonfiction what John Gardner’s books on writing did for fiction. It is one of the most significant works on writing published in our time.

    or just learn about how languages work from an unusual, light-hearted perspective. The Language Construction Kit on zompist.com has helped a generation of conlangers to understand and create languages. It's expanded here with coverage of semantics and pragmatics, language families, writing systems, and sample wordlists, as well as an annotated sample grammar.

    McDonald's previous book, Invisible Ink, has been acclaimed by award winning authors and screenwriters. In The Golden Theme he turns to the question of what makes writing and storytelling essential to us. Readers and writers will benefit from his deep insight. "Brian McDonald is one of the world's wisest teachers of the elements that create great storytelling....If you a writer in any genre, read The Golden Theme. If you are a non-writing reader who just loves stories, read it. If you are a teacher, share it with your students. And give it to friends, who will thank you for the clarity Brian McDonald so generously brings to our lives." - from the Foreword by National Book Award winner Charles Johnson.

    A leading Hollywood screenwriting instructor shows anyone who's ever wanted to write a screenplay how to do it 10 minutes at a time.

    How can recklessness guide the poet, the artist, and the reader into art, and how can it excite in us a sort of wild receptivity, beyond craft? "Poetry is not a discipline," Young writes. "It is a hunger, a revolt, a drive, a mash note, a fright, a tantrum, a grief, a hoax, a debacle, an application, an affect . . ."

    This book is the answer to that wish." Social Media is more popular than ever. As society becomes more and more technologically advanced, people are seeking new ways to interact. Humans are social creatures. Relationships and community are vital to our survival and our mental and emotional health. Writers, published and unpublished, fiction and non-fiction are hearing words like platform and brand with increasing frequency as the publishing paradigm shifts into the 21st century. The world around us is changing faster than ever, and publishing is certainly not immune. There are more opportunities for a new author today than there has been in the entirety of human history. Yet, the flip side of that reality is, with thousands and thousands of authors with books and blogs, how can a writer ever hope to stand apart let alone succeed? This book will show you how. There are countless social media experts, but Kristen's system is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of a writer. Take charge of your future today. You have great books to write, and don't have time for rookie mistakes that can cost you years of rebuilding your name, brand, and platform. Kristen's method is simple, effective, and helps you harness that same creativity you apply to your writing and harness it to build you social media platform. Best part is you don't even have to be a computer expert or know anything about sales. This system is designed to change the writer's approach, not the writer's personality. And the best part is you have help. Remember, We Are Not Alone.

    Enter Plot Versus Character. This hands-on guide to creating a well-rounded novel embraces both of these crucial story components. You'll learn to: • Create layered characters by considering personality traits, natural attributes, and backgrounds • Develop your character's emotional journey and tie it to your plot's inciting incident • Construct a three-act story structure that can complement and sustain your character arc • Expose character backstory in a manner that accentuates plot points Seamlessly intertwine plot and character to create a compelling page-turner filled with characters to whom readers can't help but relate • And much more Filled with helpful examples and friendly instruction, Plot Versus Character takes the guesswork out of creating great fiction by giving you the tools you need to inject life into your characters and momentum into your plots.

    An accurate and accessible survey of modern psychological theory and practice, this reference offers professional writers practical advice for incorporating psychological elements into their work.

    You can jump-start your plot and bring your characters and scenes vibrantly alive on the page - by watching your favorite movies and learning from the storytelling tricks of great filmmakers.With this workbook, based on award-winning author/ screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff’s internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks For Authors blog and workshops, you'll learn how to use techniques of film writing such as:- the High Concept Premise- the Three-Act, Eight-Sequence Structure- the Storyboard Grid- the Index Card Method of Plotting- as well as tricks of film pacing and suspense, character arc and drive, visual storytelling, and building image systems - to structure and color your novel for maximum emotional impact, unbearable suspense and riveting pacing, no matter what genre you're writing in.You'll create your own personalized workbook of genre tricks based on your favorite books and movies and tailored to your own brand of storytelling, and a collage book to build visual image systems. And the emphasis on premise is invaluable for crafting that all-important query and pitch.In this rapidly changing world of publishing, more and more agents and editors are looking for novels that have the pacing, emotional excitement, and big, unique, "high concept" premises of Hollywood movies (and the potential for that movie or TV sale!). And if you're indie publishing, it's even more important to craft and polish your book to stand out from the crowd.Whether you're just starting to develop a book or script, or rewriting for maximum impact, this workbook will guide you through an easy, effective and fun process to help you make your book or script the best it can be.Includes detailed film breakdowns and analysis as well as chapters and resources on how to get a literary agent, writing a query letter, professional networking, and screenwriting contests.For sample chapters please visit http://screenwritingtricks.comTABLE OF CONTENTSIntroductionPART ONE: STORY STRUCTURE1. The Master List2. What's Your Premise?3. What is "High Concept"?4. The Three-Act, Eight-Sequence Structure5. The Index Card Method and Story Elements Checklist6. Elements of Act I7. Hero/ine, Protagonist, Main Character8. Protagonist Case Study: Jake Gittes9. What Makes a Great Villain?10. Villains, Part 2: The Forces of Antagonism11. Elements of Act Two12. Elements of Act Two, Part 213. Elements of Act Three14. What Makes a Great Climax?15. Visual Storytelling16. Creating Suspense17. Plants and Payoffs18. The Big Twist19. Character Introductions20. Fairy Tale Structure21. Meta Structure22. Your First Draft is Always Going to Suck23. Top Ten Things I Know About Editing24. Life is a Pitch MeetingPART TWO: STORY BREAKDOWNS25. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone26. Romancing the Stone27. Chinatown28. The Mist29. Act Climaxes and Turning PointsPART THREE: THE BUSINESS30. How Do I Get a Literary Agent?31. Internet Resources for Writers32. So You Want to Know About Screenwriting33. Recommended ReadingFigure 1: Story Grid

    Audiences need to see more than brave, self-sacrificing heroes. They need to see virgins who bring their talents and self-fulfilling joys to life. The Virgin s Promise describes this journey with beats that feel incredibly familiar but that have not been illustrated in any other screenwriting book. It explores the yin and yang of the virgin and hero journeys to take up their power as individuals, and includes a practical guide to putting this new theory into action.

     -Lucy Calkins, Author of Units of Study for Teaching WritingHidden Gems will transform the way we read student work. -Thomas Newkirk, Author of Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad OnesYou don't get true, fire-in-the-belly energy for writing because you fear getting a bad grade, but because you have something to say and your own way of saying it. -Katherine BomerIf you're like Katherine Bomer, you've grown weary of searching for what's wrong in student writing, and you want better ways to the respond to pieces whose beauty and intelligence doesn't shine on the first read. Now she shares how she learned instead to search-sometimes near the surface, sometimes deep beneath-to find, celebrate, and teach from writers' Hidden Gems.My hope is that as teachers we can respond to all students' writing with astonished, appreciative, awe-struck eyes, writes Katherine. Through protocols, sample assessments, and demonstrations with actual student work, she shows how to bring the brilliant facets of your writers to the surface as you:spot hidden stylistic gems in writing that is unconventional or vernacular uncover content and organizational gems even when you don't find the subject matter engaging or significant respond by naming and celebrating writers' gems instead of hunting for mistakes give lasting compliments using the inspiring language of published writers that motivate students to keep writing, revising, and polishing their gems. Accept Katherine Bomer's invitation to read work by young, unseasoned writers the way we would inquire our way into a poem by Nikki Giovanni, Jimmy Santiago Baca, or Naomi Shihab Nye and to notice the quirky brilliance and humor, the heartbreaking honesty, and surreal beauty in even the slightest bits of writing. You'll soon discover that student writers often perform remarkable feats in the craft of writing, and that you can achieve remarkable results with them when you uncover theirHidden Gems.

    There are very few recent books that tackle the subject, and in this new effort, written with the scholar and orator in mind, Farnsworth collects and discusses the great masters of English prose Lincoln and Churchill, Dickens and Melville, Burke and Paine and, using their own words, proceeds to organize, illustrate, and analyze the most frequently used rhetorical devices with clarity and detail.The way we use our language to convince and cajole is based on timeless principles on repetition and variety, suspense and relief, expectation and satisfaction that have been employed by writers and speakers since the Golden Age of Greece. They can be applied with effect to the construction of simple sentences and paragraphs, or entire compositions. Here, distilled from the best examples in our language, we see those principles in actual use: for the general reader it is an indispensable guide, a highly useful reference, and a rewarding (and even entertaining) source of instruction.

    In An Editor's Guide you'll learn the basics of reading manuscripts and taking organized notes. You'll learn to query authors and how to make suggestions and when. Seasoned professionals and those just entering the field will find this handbook invaluable.

    Katie Wood RayKatie (beloved author of About the Authors and Already Ready) begins with a strong, classroom-based research foundation for this powerful, intuitive idea. She then suggests 50 ways you might use illustrations to help students internalize key aspects of craft through their love of picture books.In Pictures and in Words is filled with sample student work that documents how children's thinking deepens as they explore illustrations. Katie even includes full-color pages of published illustrations with examples of sticky-notes that show the kinds of links students can make between pictures and words.Give children an engaging way to make the qualities of good writing part of everything they write, for life. Find out how Katie Ray can help you do it when you read In Pictures and In Words.

    Contents out-of-date. Removed from the market.

    An eagerly anticipated successor to the author's internationally acclaimed book Scriptwriting Updated, it covers classic to avant-garde scripts, from The African Queen and Tootsie to 21 Grams, Pulp Fiction, Memento, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Whether you want to write features, shorts, adaptations, genre films, ensemble films, blockbusters, or art house movies, this book is your road map, it takes you all the way from choosing a brilliant idea to plotting, writing, and rewriting a successful script. Featuring a range of insider survival tips on creativity under pressure, time-effective writing, and rising to the challenge of international competitions, The 21st-Century Screenplay is essential reading for newcomers and veterans alike.

    An essential whether you're writing science fiction or fantasy, designing RPGs, creating movies or video games, or remodeling a spare asteroid.

    She has published more than a dozen romances and urban fantasies, with publishers like Ellora’s Cave, Pocket, Del Rey, and HarperVoyager. Now she opens her bag of tricks to show you how you too can write the scenes that readers crave. From setting the scene to consummating the union, Stacia takes you all the way. She reveals the tricks of the professional author, step by step (with examples taken from her own and others’ writing), giving practical advice you can use in your own books. Be a Sex-Writing Strumpet is like a master class in erotic fiction. (Jim Macdonald)

    A collection of ninety pieces of poetry by Shawna Howson, Insomniatic Dreams is the first anthology by this talented author.

    The Pocket Oxford American Dictionary & Thesaurus is the ideal, all-in-one portable reference, with a dictionary and a thesaurus combined in one handy, integrated volume. A word's meanings, synonyms, and antonyms are given in the same entry, allowing the user access to all this information at a glance. The text is fully updated with the latest lexical content, informed by Oxford's extensive language research program including the Oxford English Corpus, a unique electronic database of more thantwo billion words that allows us to offer the fullest, most accurate picture of the English language today. Hundreds of new words cover computing, ecology, technology, and many other subjects. The Dictionary & Thesaurus includes helpful extra features such as a center Reference section, whichincludes thoroughly updated appendices. Within the text, usage tip boxes help users write more effective English. A completely r

    They learn in the school of hard knocks. Kristine Kathryn Rusch has taken the school of hard knocks and made it into one of the most useful business books written in years. Included are these indispensable topics:•How To Negotiate Anything: Freelancers must negotiate everything from the rent they pay to the contracts they sign. Here’s how to negotiate on your own—and when to hire someone to negotiate for you.•Online Networking: In addition to tricks and strategies for online networking from Rusch herself, this Guide also includes advice from such online networking experts as Neil Gaiman, Michael A. Stackpole, and Mitch Wagner.•The Importance of—and the Difference between—Goals And Dreams: Freelancers often confuse their goals with their dreams. Rusch offers practical advice on how to meet your goals, and the importance of dreaming big•How To Survive Failure—and Success: Success, more than failure, derails many freelancers. Rusch explains how to turn your failures into successes—and how to optimize the success when it finally happens....and so much more...“For anyone who has been cast adrift by the recent financial crisis, this book is your life raft. Rusch takes you step-by-step through the process of owning and running your own business. A great guide for new and long-time freelancers alike.”—Pati Nagle, owner of Mandala Graphic Design“The Freelancer’s Survival Guide is packed with all the practical info they don’t teach in business school. I’m recommending this guide to all my small business clients.”—Tonya Price, Internet consultant, Cornell MBA"I wish this guide had been around when I started freelancing 13 years ago! Kris has a way of boiling down complicated issues and serving them up like simple treats."—Cindie Geddes, owner, Flying Hand Writing Services"Rusch does an excellent job of breaking down and summing up all of the pitfalls and pleasures of freelancing. If you’re thinking about freelancing, invest in this book and save yourself a bundle."—Matt Forbeck, freelance author and game designer"People often ask me for tips on how to make it as a freelancer. Now there’s a book I believe in that I can recommend."—Kelly Cairo, owner, Cairo Communications"The bible for the self-employed."—John Ottinger III, teacher and editor of Grasping for the Wind"A soup-to-nuts guide for business. Don’t be without it."—Virginia Baker, President, Indigo Ink Communications

    His students have written more than ten projects for Steven Spielberg alone, plus hundreds of other Hollywood blockbusters and prestigious indie productions, including two Oscar winners for best original screenplay--Milk (2008) and Sideways (2006).In this updated edition, Walter integrates his highly coveted lessons and principles from Screenwriting with material from his companion text, The Whole Picture, and includes new advice on how to turn a raw idea into a great movie or TV script-and sell it. There is never a shortage of aspiring screenwriters, and this book is their bible.

    With its pioneering introduction, this collection provides a comprehensive history of the development of the prose poem up to its current widespread appeal. Half critical study and half anthology, The Field Guide to Prose Poetry is a not-to-be-missed companion for readers and writers of poetry, as well as students and teachers of creative writing.

    With invaluable new thinking on subtext plus insights on story success from: Bob Gale: Legendary Hollywood scriptwriter and producer of the Back to the Future trilogy. Lee Child: 16 million Jack Reacher novels sold in 43 countries and 29 languages. Willy Russell: celebrated playwright and film maker of classics such as Shirley Valentine, Educating Rita, Blood Brothers... John Sullivan: television comedy writing legend - Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith, Just Good Friends... Simply a must-read for anyone wanting to understand how to turn ideas into stories that sell."David holds your hand on every step of the magical journey to discover and perfect your story." Janette Innes - Writer/Producer - The Ghost Walker; Rain...

    It wastes no words, and it has a rhythm that only confident stylists achieve." The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel is a practical, step-by-step manual on how to craft your novel. The Essential Guide presents a set of tools for large issues such a story development and scene construction (Kirkus Reviews said Thayer's novels are "superbly crafted,") and it also examines techniques that will make your sentence-by-sentence writing shine "Thayer's prose is clear and clean," said the Seattle Times. How do the masters do it? The Essential Guide shows you the techniques of writers such as John Grisham, Maeve Binchy, Jeffery Deaver, and Charles Dickens. What makes their novels hard to put down? How do Mario Puzo, Sinclair Lewis, Patricia Cornwell and Tom Wolfe make their stories so riveting and their prose so good? The Essential Guide sets out their techniques in concise detail. Just beginning your novel? Or in the middle of the novel and needing some guidance? The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel will show you the way. Among the many topics: The six traits necessary for a successful protagonist and three more traits that will make him or her stand out. Twenty-two techniques that will make your character's dialogue compelling. Creating dynamic settings that advance the story. Point of view-a critical skill--made easy. Five pace-killers and how to avoid them. Plotting the novel using the advantage shift. Constructing scenes to propel the reader to the next scene. "Thayer writes a vivid tale," the Cleveland Plain Dealer said. In The Essential Guide to Writing a Novel, he'll help you write your own vivid tale.

    It’s simply the most effective way to capture a publisher’s interest. This is the perfect opportunity for you to learn how to craft a high concept pitch to sell your book. This book will cover the following topics1. A step-by-step method for creating a high concept.2. First aid for low concept books3. Ways to make a high concept even better4. Where to find high concept ideas5. How to think like a high concept writer6. Creativity and brainstorming exercises7. Hints and tips from top industry insiders

    M. Mayo, Elizabeth Singer Hunt, Moira Egan, Gary Soto, Lucille Clifton, Avi, Betsy Franco, Carol Edgarian, Karen Cushman, Patricia Polacco, Prartho Sereno, Lewis Buzbee, and C. B. Follett. This is your journal for inward-bound adventures—use it to write, brainstorm, explore, imagine—and even rip!

    You'll learn to create religions, philosophies, governments and lifestyles different from your own to add compelling conflict and an "I want to go there" feel to your stories.Holly Lisle's Create A Culture Clinic is a funny, relaxed, and comprehensive start-to-finish course with a step-by-step process that includes worksheets, examples, and how-to advice for writers of every genre, and for every experience level---from absolute beginner with no idea how cultures work, to published pro wanting to add depth and beauty to a book.

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again, Consider the Lobster, Everything and More. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: A Supposedly Fun Thing Ill Never Do Again is the title of a 1997 collection of non-fiction writing by David Foster Wallace. In the title essay, originally published as "Shipping Out" in Harper's, Wallace describes what he sees as the middlebrow excesses exhibited during his one week trip aboard a cruise ship (MV Zenith, which he rechristens the Nadir) in the Caribbean. His ironic displeasure with the professional hospitality industry and the "fun" he should be having unveils how the indulgences of the cruise turn him into a spoiled brat, leading to overwhelming internal despair. Wallace uses footnotes extensively throughout the piece for various asides. Like much of Wallace's work, the essay is written in post-modern style. Another essay in the same volume takes on the vulgarities and excesses of the Illinois State Fair. This collection also includes Wallace's influential essay "E Unibus Pluram" regarding television's impact on contemporary literature and the use of irony within American culture. Essays collected in the book: The following excerpt from the title essay illustrates Wallace's style and use of footnotes: ..". advertisement that pretends to be art is, at absolute best, like somebody who smiles warmly at you only because he wants something from you. This is dishonest, but what's sinister is the cumulative effect that such dishonesty has on us: since it offers a perfect facsimile or simulacrum of goodwill without goodwill's real spirit, it messes with our heads and eventually starts upping our defenses even in cases of genuine smiles and real art and true goodwill. It makes us feel confus...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=133657

    Lamb locates Hemingway's art in literary historical contexts and explains what he learned from earlier artists, including Edgar Allan Poe, Paul C�zanne, Henry James, Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov, Stephen Crane, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, and Ezra Pound. Examining how Hemingway developed this inheritance, Lamb insightfully charts the evolution of the unique style and innovative techniques that would forever change the nature of short fiction.Art Matters opens with an analysis of the authorial effacement Hemingway learned from Maupassant and Chekhov, followed by fresh perspectives on the author's famous use of concision and omission. Redefining literary impressionism and expressionism as alternative modes for depicting modern consciousness, Lamb demonstrates how Hemingway and Willa Cather learned these techniques from Crane and made them the foundation of their respective aesthetics. After examining the development of Hemingway's art of focalization, he clarifies what Hemingway really learned from Stein and delineates their different uses of repetition. Turning from techniques to formal elements, Art Matters anatomizes Hemingway's story openings and endings, analyzes how he created an entirely unprecedented role for fictional dialogue, explores his methods of characterization, and categorizes his settings in the fifty-three stories that comprise his most important work in the genre.A major contribution to Hemingway scholarship and to the study of modernist fiction, Art Matters shows exactly how Hemingway's craft functions and argues persuasively for the importance of studies of articulated technique to any meaningful understanding of fiction and literary history. The book also develops vital new ways of understanding the short story genre as Lamb constructs a critical apparatus for analyzing the short story, introduces to a larger audience ideas taken from practicing storywriters, theorists, and critics, and coins new terms and concepts that enrich our understanding of the field.

    I can't think of a neater, nor more useful, tool on your shortlist of references.--K. Patrick McDonald, author, consultant, speaker, and paramedic.

    Gary Braunbeck uses film, fiction, and life experience to elucidate the finer points of storytelling, both in and out of genre. This part-autobiographical, always analytical book looks at how stories develop and what makes them work--or not work--when they're told.Be warned: reality is as brutal as fiction. Rob Zombie, police shootings, William Goldman, and human misery are all teachers to the horror neophyte, and Braunbeck uses their lessons to make To Each Their Darkness a whirlwind of horror and hope for the aspiring writer.

    This book provides a wealth of resources for teachers, including information on the roots and developmental importance of language play, a how-to on using the writer’s notebook as a playground for students to explore and experiment with verbal pyrotechnics, an in-depth look at the kind of language play commonly used by writers, twenty-four brand new craft lessons to bring pyrotechnics into the classroom, and an extensive bibliography of relevant mentor texts. Pyrotechnics on the Page is vintage Fletcher: personal, anecdotal, and practical.

    . . More than friends and less than lovers, Salter and Phelps were literary soul mates." --Publishers WeeklyIt was James Salter's third novel, A Sport and a Pastime--together with his film Three and a script he had written for Downhill Racer--that in 1969 prompted Robert Phelps to write a letter of admiration. Though the two writers didn't know each other, their correspondence went on to span decades.The letters themselves are exceptionally alive, uninhibited, gossipy, touching, and brilliant. The successes of Salter and the struggles of Phelps are fully explored by the writers themselves in the kind of honest exchange only letters can divulge. With an insightful foreword by Michael Dirda, this book gives voice to a nearly forgotten figure and his friendship with a man he admired.

    Create names that fit your story in 15 minutes, develop just as much language as you need, uncover story conflicts you can uncover in no other way, and much more. Holly Lisle's Create A Language Clinic is a funny, relaxed, and comprehensive start-to-finish course with a step-by-step process that includes worksheets, examples, and how-to advice for writers of every genre and every experience level---from absolute beginner needing better character and place names, to published pro looking for a faster, easier way add depth through language.

    42 pages of summaries and analysis on On Writing Well by William Zinsser. This study guide includes the following sections: Plot Summary, Chapter Summaries & Analysis, Characters, Objects/Places, Themes, Style, Quotes, and Topics for Discussion.

    This step-by-step guide helps you get past that hurdle, start writing, and cross the finish line to first draft in only twenty-six weeks! This guide covers the entire novel-writing process--from polishing an idea to finding an agent and submitting to publishers.This practical guide takes you through the ins and outs of writing and publishing your first book, including how to:Create authentic characters, engaging plotlines, and believable settingsEdit for tone, structure, and pacingFind the right agentMarket and sell your work to publishersBuild a career as a novelistComplete with writing exercises, inspiring examples, and expert advice from bestselling novelists, this book is an excellent starting place for anyone interested in the art, craft, and business of writing fiction.

    ****Table of Contents Added*****Write It Forward is a one-of-a-kind book focusing on you, the author. In Write It Forward Bob Mayer applies the time- tested strategies of the Green Berets to the world of being a successful author. He has taught thousands of writers over the years, but this new and innovative program probes deeper than words on the page. It is designed to teach writers how to think, plan and become the future best-sellers of the new age of publishing. The benefits you'll gain from this book will extend far beyond your writing and reach into all areas of your life making dreams a reality.

    The 2011 CWIM offers more than 650 listings for book publishers, magazines, agents, art reps and more. It's completely updated and is the most trusted source for children's publishing information. CWIM also contains exclusive interviews with and articles by well-respected and award-winning authors, illustrators, and publishing professionals as well as nuts-and-bolts how-to information. Readers will learn what to do, how to do it, and get loads of information and inspiration.

    Beyond mere diary writing, these creative journaling methods help readers chart a path for a better future. The book begins by providing tips for the logistics of journal keeping, and includes suggestions for getting started. It then explores the entire writing process and explains the distinctions between private writing and public writing. The book also explains the biology behind the powerful experience of journaling by laying out recent discoveries about the human brain, showing how journaling can heal psychological and spiritual wounds. Finally, the author shows how to make journaling both a voyage of self-discovery and a means of sharing one's journey and inspiring others in a caring community of expanding love, support, and positive energy.

    Called flash fiction, micro-fiction, sudden fiction, and postcard fiction, these quick writes have become quite popular today. They succeed in accommodating readers on the go who lack the luxury of sitting down for long periods of reading. Like patrons at a smorgasbord, they can taste a little of this fine dish and a little of that. They can leave the table without fear of being still hungry. "With dry humor and a deep sense of irony, Salvatore Buttaci has delivered a book of sparkling gems. These quick stories make us laugh, think, and at times cry. They take us to the core of reality and at other times to the wonders of fantasy." -Kenneth Weene author of Widow's Walk

    Together with interviews from authors, agents and publishers (including the CEO of Harper Studio, and the Editorial Director of Macmillan New Writing) as well as buyers from Waterstones and Asda, it offers advice on:* finding an agent or publisher * successful approaches for covering letters and synopses* understanding contractual terms * working with publishers and the editorial process * your role in helping to publicise your workThe Writers' and Artists' Yearbook Guide to Getting Published will enable you to market your work more professionally, understand the relationship you will have with both agent and publisher and offers a contemporary inside view of the publishing industry. Along with the essential contacts in the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, this is a professional tool you will not want to be without.

    With checklists of award-winning novels and recommended reading for every genre (spy novels, romance, sci-fi, humor), this classic reading journal also includes plenty of pages for keeping track of all the books you've read and want to consume next.

    Crafting Truth introduces the reader to the craft of creative nonfiction by showing them models from the best nonfiction writers and offering plentiful exercises to help them more artfully tell true stories.

    House and Susan Emolyn Harman in 1931. In addition to hundreds of model diagrams and many pages of explanatory material, Drawing Sentences contains scores of exercises, diagramming solutions for all sentences of all exercises, unit tests (and answers) in Parts One and Two, a detailed table of contents, a preface on the history of diagramming, an impressive section of grammatical terms and diagramming symbols, and an index. The goal is nothing less than a thorough knowledge of English grammar.Part One contains 115 model diagrams and 250 sentences for students to diagram. Part One has eight units, each consisting of three lessons and one review page. Thirteen pages of answers (i.e., diagrams of all 250 sentences) are found at the end of Part One. Part Two begins where Part One ends and has the same basic structure. Part Two provides 82 model diagrams and 201 sentences for students to diagram. Twenty-one pages of answers (i.e., diagrams of all 201 sentences) are found at the end of Part Two. Parts One and Two have eight unit tests each as well as solutions for all tests.Part Three contains 115 diagramming examples ranging in difficulty from very easy to very difficult, 30 exercises containing 274 sentences to be diagrammed, a separate answer section with a diagram and a verbal analysis of each sentence, and a concluding section of 30 sentences of medium length (with solutions), intended as a review of most of the diagramming concepts presented in the book.Drawing Sentences is the perfect choice for elementary-, middle-, and high-school teachers and for homeschool moms and dads. They can acquire a thorough knowledge of sentence diagramming by working through Part Three, thereby preparing themselves to guide their students through Parts One and Two. Part Three can also be used by industrious students to complement and supplement Parts One and Two.Eugene Moutoux, educator and author, taught at four universities and three high schools prior to his retirement in 2004. He has written books on sentence diagramming, Latin derivatives, and the German language, and maintains a large website that includes, among other things, a German course, Latin derivatives, and sentence diagrams.Around the turn of the century, Gene's penchant for grammar led him to a thorough study of sentence diagramming, the rudiments of which he, like Kitty Burns Florey, author of Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog, learned as a child from an elementary-school teacher.Gene lives in Goshen, Kentucky, just northeast of Louisville. He is the father of three children and the grandfather of seven. He has a Ph.D. in German from the University of California at Santa Barbara.http://www.german-latin-english.com/d...

    In this book, acclaimed biblical translator and literary critic Robert Alter traces some of the fascinating ways that American novelists-from Melville, Hemingway, and Faulkner to Bellow, Marilynne Robinson, and Cormac McCarthy-have drawn on the rich stylistic resources of the canonical English Bible to fashion their own strongly resonant styles and distinctive visions of reality. Showing the radically different manners in which the words, idioms, syntax, and cadences of this Bible are woven into Moby-Dick, Absalom, Absalom!, The Sun Also Rises, Seize the Day, Gilead, and The Road, Alter reveals the wide variety of stylistic and imaginative possibilities that American novelists have found in Scripture. At the same time, Alter demonstrates the importance of looking closely at the style of literary works, making the case that style is not merely an aesthetic phenomenon but is the very medium through which writers conceive their worlds.

    The Newbie's Guide to Publishing contains all of the information you need to understand the writing business and maximize your sales and success.There's over 370,000 words of writing advice, tips, tricks, and observations. That's more than 1100 pages. It's the biggest book on writing and publishing ever put together, featuring hundreds of essays on the following topics:WRITING - More than forty essays, covering everything you need to know to craft fiction.BREAKING IN - Over forty essays on how to find an agent and sell your writing. PUBLISHING - More than twenty essays about the publishing business, and how it works.PROMOTION - Over fifty essays on marketing, advertising, and self-promotion.TOURING - Extensive, in-depth details on how to do book tours and signings.INTERNET - Dozens of essays on how writers can effectively use the world wide web.EBOOKS - Speculation and real-life examples of digital publishing, the Kindle, print on demand, and self-publishing.MOTIVATION - Over fifty essays guaranteed to enlighten and inspire your writing efforts.Plus many, many more.It also includes a foreword and several bonus essays by bestselling author Barry Eisler.About the AuthorJ.A. Konrath has written dozens of novels and hundreds of short stories. His work has been published in over a dozen countries, and there are millions of copies of his fiction in print.His blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing, has been named one of Writer's Digest Magazine's Best Web Sites. In a 12 month period, he sold over 35,000 self-published ebooks on Amazon Kindle.He's been featured in Writer's Digest, Forbes, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, Publisher's Weekly, Book Page, Entertainment Weekly, and The Huffington Post. Konrath is known as the hardest working author in the business, having toured more than 1200 bookstores. He's done successful blog tours, sent over 7000 letters to libraries, and has been flown all across the country to speak on the topics of publishing, marketing, ebooks, and self-promotion. Under the pen name Jack Kilborn, he wrote the horror novels Afraid, Trapped, Endurance, and Draculas. The Jack Daniels thriller series has houndreds of thousands of books in print around the world. The latest is Shaken, published by AmazonEncore.

    Broken down into ten-day sections, each section includes a detailed discussion, a challenge that teachers can apply immediately, and questions to help teachers assess the process to see what went right, what went wrong, and, most importantly, why. The authors also provide daily encouragement, support, practical strategies, tips, advice, and everything you need to run an effective writing workshop that meets the needs of all the different writers in your classroom.

    This collection is comprised of two sets of twelve essays each. Materials reflects on the history and animate nature of the objects we use in the act of writing, from computers, to pens and pencils, right down to paper. Warland subverts our assumptions about these tools by making the case that our materials are also our collaborators. Concepts investigates, names, and addresses the powerful forces at work beneath the language of craft. Warland shows that what ultimately determines whether a piece of writing succeeds or flounders is a writers ability to be humbled, overcome, or guided by these forces.

    First published 2008-2009 in weekly installments in the Nigerian newspaper NEXTon Sunday

    It was designed to help sort out feelings through writing about your relationship and your loss. The prompts are meant to help you deal with some of the emotions that need to be addressed so that you can release them. The format enables you to understand your grief with guided, leading sentences, invoking the healing power of writing, and taking an active part in your own recovery and healing at your own pace.

    From the most lucrative markets to target, to tips for making more money and everything in between, Goodbye Byline is the comprehensive guide to becoming a ghostwriter. What I love most, however, are the many detailed templates she provides. You'll save plenty of time and money by using her sample letters of introduction, book proposal, and collaboration agreements-just to name a few. Marcia Layton Turner, ghostwriter and executive director, Association of Ghostwriters If you write for a living, or to make extra money, have you considered adding ghostwriter/coauthor to your freelancing repertoire? Eighty percent of "big name" books (think Hillary Rodham Clinton, Donald Trump, David Beckham, Clay Aiken) are ghostwritten, and publishers, agents, and corporations hire ghostwriter every day. Professionals like physicians, financial experts, and business owners pay ghostwriters to author books to heighten their visibility, as do everyday people who just dream of getting their books into print. Best of all, ghostwriters can make good money, even today. Book proposals pay between $5,000 and $10,000 and typical book projects start at about $15,000, with many paying in the mid five-figures. A ghostwriter with eight years' experience averages $60,000 a year, well above the average fulltime freelancer's income. If you're a freelancer who wants expand into a lucrative niche, or if you're a book author who wants to make more money, considering saying goodbye to your byline-and hello to big bucks. How do you get started in this lucrative field? What sets successful ghostwriters apart from the "wanna-bes"? How do you find clients, negotiate fees, work efficiently, and take advantage of the increasing demand for ghosts? Goodbye Byline, Hello Big Bucks: The Writer's Guide to Making Money Ghostwriting and Coauthoring Books will show you how to break into and succeed in this exciting field.

    Legendary agent and author Donald Maass shows you the elements that successful novels share and how you can translate these aspects into your own work with Writing the Breakout Novel. Put these techniques into action with Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. Whether you're a beginning writer itching to get published or a published author stuck in midlist hell, these two practical guides will help your work stand out above the rest!

    Whether you need guidance for a letter, job application, essay, proposal, interview, or presentation, this book can help you choose the words you need to create the right effect. 1001 Words You Need to Know and Use is organized alphabetically, to help readers quickly find the word they need, and features a clear, easy-to-read design with an attractive two-color text. Each word is defined according to Oxford Dictionaries' latest research and includes sample sentences of real usage drawn from the Oxford English Corpus (the world's largest language databank, with more than two billion words). In addition, many entries include usage notes and word families, showing how related words can be used, with examples of pitfalls to avoid or hints on similar words. For instance, the entry for the verb "mediate" also highlights the different meanings of the related nouns "mediator" and "intermediary". In addition, there is a subject index for quick help on key areas such as application letters, catching attention, writing reports and essays, and advice on how to express yourself persuasively. Learn the words that will help you to describe an event, discuss a topic, speak in an interview, evaluate a point of view, and write more clearly. A gold mine of practical guidance, this valuable language tool contains essential information for anyone wanting to achieve greater success in any written or spoken task.

    This box contains twenty-eight cards that suggest all kinds of characters, places, and objects that you can use to make up your own stories. Pick a handful of cards and use their pictures, descriptions, and questions as inspiration. Discover more ways to use the cards and read sample stories in The Storytelling Book that accompanies this set.

    As well as drawing on her experience as a fiction writer and creative writing tutor, in this "must have" book Sue has included questions from aspiring writers – with illuminating responses from published writers and industry experts.Romantic fiction encompasses everything from chart-topping chick lit and romantic comedies, through gritty sagas, sweeping historicals and smouldering erotica to liver-twisting affairs with vampires. Bright, emotional, involving, intelligent storytelling about love and desire is what readers want and will pay for.

    Barkat's year of daily outdoor solitude comes an irresistible voice calling you to spiritual practice. This 12-week course tells a unique story, but it will also invite you to personal growth. You'll find various options for discovery and participation: free writing, writing response, physical and mental play, and blogging (or alternatives).

    (Also good for people curious about the lifestyle.)Learn the basics about relationship dynamics, toys, tools, terminology, and more. Includes style guide tips for writers and a handy list of references to start you on your research.Content Warning: Non-fiction, contains subject matter and language of a sexual nature. May offend some readers.

    Twelve chapters answer common questions and provide practical guidance on writing, design, copyrighting, printing, promotion, publicity, sales, and distribution, with one chapter devoted to technology. An appendix lists useful resources.

    Every skill in this book has been tested in college and high school classrooms, business and nonprofit seminars, and coaching sessions with authors. People in all fields -- high school, higher education, journalism and publishing, business and government -- have discovered the power of this unique system. Whether you're in business, school, government or nonprofit agencies, or journalism/blogging or publishing, The Big Book offers a powerful to improve your writing right away.Developed by author and teacher Charles Euchner, The Big Book of Writing draws lessons from the masters to show the skills and "tricks of the trade" you need to write with clarity and power. The Big Book also uses the latest research on learning and the brain to help you manage the creative process.Euchner is the author or editor of ten books, most recently the acclaimed "Nobody Turn Me Around:" A People's History of the 1963 March on Washington" (Beacon Press, 2010). Euchner has also written a trilogy of the world of modern sports ("Playing the Field," "The Last Nine Innings," and "Little League, Big Dreams"), studies of grassroots politics ("Urban Policy Reconsidered," with Steve McGovern, and "Extraordinary Politics"), and works on regional policy and planning (the two-part "Governing Greater Boston" series). Euchner has taught or directed research institutes at Harvard. Yale, Holy Cross, and St. Mary's. He also directed Boston's comprehensive planning process and served as a staff writer for Education Week. He earned his B.A. at Vanderbilt and his M.A. and Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins. For more information about writing seminars, consulting, and coaching, call (203) 645-6112 or email charlie@thewritingcodesystem.com.

    In this invaluable guide, Laraine Herring offers advice to writers who want to become more comfortable with their writing, face their inhibitions, and gain the confidence to release their true voice. Utilizing the breath, a vigorous movement practice designed to break up stagnation with the body and the mind, and writing exercises aimed both at self-exploration and developing works-in-progress, Herring offers a clear path to writing through illusion. Learn how to remove obstacles in your writing and develop techniques to help you relax into your own voice; discover ways to enter into a compassionate, non-judgmental relationship with yourself so that you can write safely and authentically from a place of absolute vulnerability; and discover the interconnectedness of your personal writing process and the community as a whole. The Writing Warrior will not only help you find ways to develop your writing, but also ways to develop yourself.

    Just like automobile accidents, accidents of style occur all over the English-speaking world, in print and on the Internet, thousands of times every day. They range from minor fender benders, such as confusing their and there, to serious smashups, such as misusing sensual for sensuous or writing loathe when you mean loath.Charles Harrington Elster shows you how to navigate the hairpin turns of grammar, diction, spelling, and punctuation with an entertaining driver's manual covering 350 common word hazards and infractions, arranged in order of complexity for writers of all levels. Elster illustrates these surprisingly common accidents with quotations from numerous print and online publications, many of them highly regarded---which perhaps should make us feel better: If the horrendous redundancy close proximity and the odious construction what it is, is have appeared in The New York Times, maybe our own accidents will be forgiven. But that shouldn't keep us from aspiring to accident-free writing and speaking.If you want to get on the road to writing well, The Accidents of Style will help you drive home what you want to say.

    From wolves to functional magnetic resonance imaging, the essay draws the reader through the text and ultimately beyond it. Because “the experience of reading a story does not end with the last page.”That’s the point at which the real development begins.

    It explores the seven distinct principles that have evolved for sitcom and takes the reader through each stage and how to apply it to their own writing.

    In Facing the Center, Harry Denny unpacks the identity matrices that enrich teachable moments, and he explores the pedagogical dynamics and implications of identity within the writing center.  The face of the writing center, be it mainstream or marginal, majority or miority, orthodox or subversive, always has implications for teaching and learning. Facing the Center will extend current research in writing center theory to bring it in touch with theories now common in cultural studies curricula. Denny takes up issues of power, agency, language, and meaning, and pushes his readers to ask how they themselves, or the centers in which they work, might be perpetuating cultures that undermine inclusive, progressive education.

    Writer's Digest University is the perfect resource for you, no matter your experience level.This one-stop resource contains:Quick and comprehensive answers to common questions including: "How do I write a successful novel?" and "How do I know if self-publishing is right for me?"Instruction and examples for formatting and submitting fiction, nonfiction, articles, children's writing, scripts, and verse.Advanced instruction on business-related issues like marketing and publicity, using social media, freelancing for corporations, keeping finances in order, and setting the right price for your work.A detailed look at what agents want and how to get one that best fits your needs.Market listings for publishers and agents open to unsolicited work and new writers, contests and awards, and conferences and workshops.A CD with recordings of 4 popular WD webinars: How Do I Get My Book Published?, How to Land a Literary Agent, How Writers Can Succeed in the Future of Digital Publishing, and Freelance Basics.*A scratch-off code that gives you a one-year subscription to WritersMarket.com and a 20% discount on the WritersDigestUniversity.com course of your choice.*Get started now with everything you need to build a thriving writing career. Whether you're starting from scratch or have a bit of experience, you'll find the tools you need for success.*PLEASE NOTE CDs and one-year subscription are NOT included with the ebook version of this title.

    The Peevish Penman Press presents the handbook for the most notable secret society for writers. Discover trade secrets, rituals, and the previously guarded information now available to the public for the first time.

    The only How-to-Write book that has nothing to do with writing. It's all about rewriting. Whittle away what buries the art of your words beneath pulp, no matter the topic, no matter the genre.

    Now Write! Screenwriting-the latest addition to the Now Write! writing guide series-brings together the acclaimed screenwriters of films like the Oscar-winning Raging Bull, Oscar- nominated Ali, era-defining blockbuster Terminator 2, musical classic Fame, hit series "Lost" "True Blood" and "The Shield," Groundhog Day, Cape Fear, Chicken Run, Reversal of Fortune, Before Sunrise, Mystic Pizza, Indecent Proposal, and many more, to teach the art of the story.*Learn about why it is sometimes best to write what you don't know from Christina Kim ('Lost')*Find out how Stephen Rivele (Ali, Nixon) reduces his screenplay ideas down to their most basic elements, and uses that as a writing guide*Learn why you should focus on your character, not your plot, when digging yourself out of a plot home from Danny Rubin (Groundhog Day)*Take tips from Karey Kirkpatrick (Chicken Run, The Spiderwick Chronicles) on how to give an inanimate object intense emotional significance*Let Kim Krizan (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset) teach you how to stop your internal critic dead in his tracksThis lively and easy-to-read guide will motivate both aspiring and experienced screenwriters. No other screenwriting book offers advice and exercises from this many writers of successful, iconic films.

    In Exhibition Park, Roberto Tejada delivers a command performance in mixed genres that compel an array of literary styles. His poetry undertakes a wide range of subjects motivated by artworks from Latin America and the United States covering the colonial period to the present day.In serial poems, short sketches, guidebook parodies, painterly triptychs, translations, and other word-based dioramas, Tejada coins wonder with historical styles--baroque, classic, and experimental. As likened to a world's fair, the resulting voices intone global stories, the dream life of art, and first-person atmospheres both premodern and postindustrial."Tejada's work is with dismantling borders and upsetting classifications... The result is a layered poetry that finds its form in dense stanzas composed of lines that frequently veer toward a kind of fractured prose..."--Alan Gilbert in Another Future: Poetry and Modern Art in a Postmodern Twilight"You walk through his world as a voyeur, a traveler of mirrors, witnessing your own reflection in the masses of flesh, simultaneously aroused and disturbed at the same time. Tejada's work is an invitation, a window into another world, unabashedly erotic, and succinct."--Christine Lark Fox, Poetry Project Newsletter, about Mirrors for Gold

    This is an essay about our story-telling minds. It is about the psychological power of stories, and about what the ability to enjoy stories tells us about the fundamental nature of mind.An essay by Tom Stafford«I discuss psychological research into how we understand, how we make choices and moral reasoning. This research, I argue, is incomplete or misleading if we don’t recognise that moral choices require an extra step, not just of making the correct choices based on a description of the world, but of also realising that there are many possible ways to describe the world».

    Based on the author's experience of running one of the most successful copywriting agencies in Europe, this book provides straight-talking, savvy advice on how to be a successful freelance copywriter.

    Focusing on every aspect of screenwriting, from how to set about the writing process to how to develop one's characters, plot and structure, this book will give budding screenwriters all the guidance they need to break into this highly competitive industry and make careers for themselves as screenwriters.One, five and ten-minute introductions to key principles to get you started.Lots of instant help with common problems and quick tips for success, based on the author's many years of experience.Tests in the book and online to keep track of your progress.Extra online articles at teachyourself.com to give you a richer understanding of screenwriting.Includes a foreword by Andrew Davies, screenwriter of "Pride and Prejudice," "Little Dorrit," and "Bridget Jones's Diary."Fully updated to include discussion of the most recent films and developments in this fast-moving industry.Topics include: Acknowledgements; introduction; screenplay layout: your visual language; originating your ideas; developing your ideas: from idea to framework; creating your characters; character growth, motivation and conflict; structure; structural variations; 'deep structure'; enhancing emotion; the next step; the actual writing; the craft of the rewrite; the 'finished' item; assembling your portfolio; copyright; agents: what they do, how to get and keep one; adaptations, shorts, soaps, series, sitcoms and collaborations; the industry: how it works and your place in it; your career as a writer; final comments; appendices

    In addition to providing a wealth of ideas and tips for publishing in the Christian industry, the "CWMG" also includes up-to-date information on more than 400 book publishers, more than 600 periodicals, and hundreds of agents, contests, conferences, editorial services, niche markets, self-publishing services, and more. This is the ultimate reference tool for Christian writers.

    Peter Clothier is a long-time student of the dharma and a meditation practitioner. In this context he examines the qualities of compassion, perseverance, and discernment in his reflections on the artist s predicament in a world that judges success in terms of celebrity and material reward. Persist explores ways today's artists in any medium can find fulfillment, a sense of purpose, and joy in alternative and more lasting values.

    This box contains twenty-eight cards that suggest all kinds of characters, places, and objects that you can use to make up your own stories. Pick a handful of cards and use their pictures, descriptions, and questions as inspiration. Discover more ways to use the cards and read sample stories in The Storytelling Book that accompanies this set.

     In essence, it is a complete course on writing directed to anybody interested in this craft, and in doing so with excellency. It is a back to basics in writing, and even though it is 100 years old, it is still amazingly current.

    With these books you'll learn how to draw on various sources to create authentic characters and which viewpoint tells their story best with Characters & Viewpoint (Orson Scott Card); start your story strong and carry your readers through to the compelling end with Beginnings, Middles & Ends (Nancy Kress); keep readers turning the page to find out more with Conflict, Action & Suspense (William Noble); create atmosphere and move your story forward with Description (Monica Wood); build a sturdy framework for your novel and craft scenes that move the reader moment by moment toward the resolution in Scene & Structure (Jack M. Bickham); weave plots and subplots, handle radical shifts in the storyline and keep your readers interested with Plot (Ansen Dibell). With the Elements of Fiction Collection, your work will be strengthened across the board!

    You don't have to watch the whole thing at once, just watch a disc and start teaching. The Seminar Workbook is included and provides added information on teaching writing to multiple grades as well as suggested lesson plans.To help you with that first lesson, there are three student workshops provided (at three different grade levels) to show you how to teach your students to write. There is also an extra DVD with added "Tips and Tricks" to make you a better writing teacher.

    Inspired by female psychology and gender issues, this how-to book casts a refreshingly honest and empowering women-centric light on every stage of the screenwriting process.

    Alphabetical and part-of speech indexes are provided for ease of use. The dictionary also contains 31 thematically organised and frequency-ranked lists of words on a variety of topics, such as family, sports, and food. New words in the language, differences between American and British English, and grammar topics like the most frequent phrasal verbs are also covered.A Frequency Dictionary of Contemporary American English is an engaging and efficient resource enabling students of all levels to get the most out of their study of vocabulary. It is also a rich resource for language teaching, research, curriculum design, and materials development.A CD version is available to purchase separately. Designed for use by corpus and computational linguists it provides the full text in a format that researchers can process and turn into suitable lists for their own research work.

    "A 2010 Main Street Rag short fiction anthology"--Cover

    Written from experience by an author who started her career from scratch.

    Lulu.com uses it. So do AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris, and almost every other self publishing company in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.What is it? Lightning Source, the printer and distributor at the heart of the "print on demand" industry. For the work those companies can't handle themselves, it's Lightning they most often depend on.So, why pay a middleman? In this follow-up to his groundbreaking book "Aiming at Amazon," Aaron Shepard explores how to double your profit by working directly with Lightning. If you're serious about making money with POD publishing, this book can show you the way./////////////////////////////////////////////////Aaron Shepard is a foremost proponent of the new business of profitable self publishing through print on demand, which he has practiced and helped develop since 1998. Unlike most authorities on self publishing, he makes the bulk of his living from his self-published books -- not from consulting, speaking, freelance writing, or selling publishing services. In a parallel life, Aaron is an award-winning children's author with numerous books from publishers large and small./////////////////////////////////////////////////"Aaron Shepard is the undisputed expert at earning profit from POD. Here are the step-by-step instructions for setting up your own publishing operation and optimizing the financial benefits. Following his steps, you will earn two or three times as much per book." -- Bruce Batchelor, author, "Book Marketing DeMystified," and founder and former CEO, Trafford Publishing"A graduate course and definitive guide for advanced POD publishing." -- Morris Rosenthal, author, "Print-on-Demand Book Publishing""A tremendous amount of information that will benefit an author who self publishes not only through Lightning Source but by any other method." -- Kevin Sivils, author, "Self-Publishing with Amazon's CreateSpace""Remarkably thorough and readable." -- Jonathan LeBlanc Roberts, Breton Bay Publishing"Invaluable advice for any small press or independent publishing firm." -- Max Scratchmann, Poison Pixie Publishing"Could not be more timely or helpful. What a wealth of information . . . and not just what to do, but HOW." -- Malcolm Dell, Elbow Grease Publishing"Aaron Shepard is exceptional in his ability to keep up with the ever-changing minutiae of the world of self publishing via POD. I wouldn't want to publish without this book within reach." -- John Culleton, Wexford Press"Don't go into publishing without it." -- Grace Bridges, Splashdown Books"Another gold mine of information from Aaron Shepard. Absolutely required reading for any self publisher." -- Christy Pinheiro, author, "The Step-By-Step Guide to Self-Publishing for Profit!""Lots of valuable, easy-to-understand information. I will recommend this highly to my self-publishing clients as a reference for their many questions. Even after more than a decade in the business, I learned a few things from this book." -- Jamie Saloff, Saloff Enterprises"Indispensable if you are considering printing your book POD. Covers every aspect of the process in depth." -- Norma Lehmeier Hartie, Lingham Press

    But how do you get that first piece published in a national publication? This book shows you the techniques that real freelancers use to sell their ideas and get into print.Professional freelancer Catherine Quinn, who built a successful freelance career from scratch, guides you through a step-by-step process to get your first article in print, from how to format your pitch, to identifying the undersold freelance hotspots.Her tried and tested step-by-step approach:- Shows you how to scope the market and pick the most likely potential customers- Gives the inside track on how to convince editors who've never heard of you to commission your work- Tells you what to expect at every step along the pitching process- Includes a four week plan with a day-by-day process to kick start your freelance career

    And the new frontier is the internet. But much like the brick and mortar model, online sales has its own lingo and requires a new approach to sales language. Ray Edwards’ new book, "Writing Riches", opens the door to the new online business owner and marketer, giving insiders tips and secrets based on his own very successful career. For instance: * You want to tap the profit-pulling power of compelling copy--and watch your products or services FLY off the shelf at blinding speeds! * You want to know how changing just a few words on your website can double or even quadruple your sales--overnight! * You already know the magic profit power of killer copy--but don't want to shell out $30,000  (or more) every time you need sales copy written. * You're an entrepreneur or solo professional and want to write your own copy to get your web profit stream started. * You want to train your on-staff copywriter in the secrets of proven direct-response copywriting that gets results. Whether new to the world of online sales writing, or a veteran with a desire to take it to the next level, "Writing Riches" is the perfect source for success.

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: The Hero With a Thousand Faces, the Power of Myth, Historical Atlas of World Mythology, a Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake, the Flight of the Wild Gander, the Inner Reaches of Outer Space, Thou Art That, Myths to Live By. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: The Hero with a Thousand Faces (first published in 1949) is a non-fiction book, and seminal work of comparative mythology by Joseph Campbell. In this publication, Campbell discusses his theory of the journey of the archetypal hero found in world mythologies. Since publication of The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell's theory has been consciously applied by a wide variety of modern writers and artists. The best known is perhaps George Lucas, who has acknowledged a debt to Campbell regarding the stories of the Star Wars films. The Joseph Campbell Foundation and New World Library issued a new edition of The Hero with a Thousand Faces in July, 2008 as part of the Collected Works of Joseph Campbell series of books, audio and video recordings. Campbell explores the theory that important myths from around the world which have survived for thousands of years all share a fundamental structure, which Campbell called the monomyth. In a well-known quote from the introduction to The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell summarized the monomyth: In laying out the monomyth, Campbell describes a number of stages or steps along this journey. The hero starts in the ordinary world, and receives a call to enter an unusual world of strange powers and events (a call to adventure). If the hero accepts the call to enter this strange world, the hero must face tasks and trials (a road of trials), and may have to face these trials alone, or may have assistance. At its most intense, the hero mu...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=62499

    Don't wait for others to give you permission to give you the title of a writer. Believe that you are a writer. Then start writing.This manifesto teaches you compelling reasons to write well. The author shows you 15 smart habits that you can quickly learn and put to practice on your own for writing well. She explains each with specific examples. Be sure not to skip over the 22 serious errors to avoid in your use of the English language; this one is a list of very common errors that can taint your credibility as a writer, content producer and publisher in the online world or in the traditional publishing world.The next section gives you 9 tips for empowering your writing skills and finally, and she wraps up the manifesto by asking you 28 honest questions that helps you discover your unique writing voice.The use of graphic presentations in the manifesto help the visual learner in you and make the information easy to retain for future reference!The manifesto is practical, actionable, and shows you how to make considerable progress in your overall writing while giving you encouragement to continue the craft, no matter who you are. You can be a writer, if you decide you want to be one!

    With STEP BY STEP, you set the pace-building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Topics include using styles and themes; sharing, printing, and publishing documents; editing images from within Word; using SmartArt diagrams and charts; creating references, footnotes, indexes, and tables of contents; collaborating with multiple people at the same time on the same document; and turning your ideas into blogs, Web pages, and more.

    It decodes, defines, and provides helpful examples of the editorial jargon used in writing workshops, critiques, and online forums. Written by an experienced editor and writing teacher, this dictionary-style reference book is a fundamental guide for writers across the spectrum of experience--from new writers learning the craft, to seasoned nonfiction writers working on a first novel, to intermediate-level authors wishing to sharpen their technical skills.

    Topics covered include writing an eye-catching query letter, pitching effectively to an agent or editor, developing a broad platform and writing winning proposals and marketing plans.Terry Burns is an agent with Hartline Literary and has over 30 books in print including 10 novels. He has a new 4-book series from Port Yonder Press entitled "The Sagebrush Collection" and the first, On the Road Home, released March 2010. A Young Adult, Beyond the Smoke, won the Will Rogers Medallion. Terry's a popular speaker at workshops around the country.

    Use a simple blueprint method to lay the foundation, then complete the story.Beginning writers in the genre can learn to identify potential pitfalls. More complex concepts are included for intermediate to advance level authors.Use the extensive worksheet and get started world building today!