Lansdale (Hap & Leonard series), Clive Barker (Books of Blood), John Connolly (Charlie Parker series), Ramsey Campbell, Stephen King (IT), Christopher Golden (Ararat), Charlaine Harris (Midnight, Texas), Jonathan Maberry (Joe Ledger series), Kevin J. Anderson (Tales of Dune), Craig Engler (Z Nation), and many more.The full non-fiction anthology lineup includes:• Introduction by William F. Nolan• IT’S THE STORY TELLER by Joe R. Lansdale• A-Z OF HORROR of Clive Barker• WHY HORROR? by Mark Alan Miller• PIXELATED SHADOWS by Michael Paul Gonzalez• LIKE CURSES by Ray Garton• HOW TO GET YOUR SCARE ON by S.G. Browne• STORYTELLING TECHNIQUES by Richard Thomas• HORROR IS A STATE OF MIND by Tim Waggoner• BRINGING AN IDEA TO LIFE by Mercedes M. Yardley• THE PROCESS OF A TALE by Ramsey Campbell• GREAT HORROR IS SOMETHING ALIEN by Michael Bailey• A HORRIFICALLY HAPPY MEDIUM by Taylor Grant• INTERVIEW WITH JOHN CONNOLLY by Marie O’Regan• THE STORY OF A STORY by Mort Castle• WRITING ROUNDTABLE INTERVIEW with Christopher Golden, Kevin J. Anderson, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia• HOW I SPENT MY CHILDHOOD LOOKING FOR MONSTERS AND FOUND POETRY INSTEAD by Stephanie M. Wytovich• BITS AND PIECES INTERVIEW WITH JONATHAN MABERRY by Eugene Johnson• THE REEL CREEPS by Lisa Morton• THE MONSTER SQUAD by Jess Landry• WHAT SCARES YOU by Marv Wolfman• PLAYING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S HAUNTED HOUSE by Elizabeth Massie• CREATING MAGIC FROM A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER: Del Howison interviews Tom Holland, Amber Benson, Fred Dekker, and Kevin Tenney• Z NATION: HOW SYFY’S HIT SHOW CAME TO LIFE by Craig Engler• LIFE IMITATING ART IMITATING LIFE: FILM AND ITS INFLUENCE ON REALITY by Jason V Brock• WHERE NIGHTMARES COME FROM by Paul Moore• STEPHEN KING AND RICHARD CHIZMAR DISCUSS COLLABORATING by Bev Vincent• CHARLAINE HARRIS DISCUSSES STORYTELLING by Eugene Johnson• WHAT NOW? by John PalisanoThis collection is perfect for…• writers of all genres• authors looking for motivation and/or inspiration• authors seeking guidance• struggling authors searching for career advice• authors interested in improving their craft• writers interested in comics• authors looking into screenwriting and films• horror fans in general• those looking to better understand the different story formats• authors planning on infiltrating a different field in horror writing• artists trying to establish a name brand• authors looking to get publishedCome listen to the legends…Cover design by Luke Spooner. Edited by Joe Mynhardt & Eugene Johnson.Brought to you by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

    Butterflies in the stomach. Pacing back and forth. There is no doubt this character is nervous. But isn't there a more original, more vivid way to express this emotion? Absolutely. In this unique book, Ann Hood will help you find fresh, creative images, words and gestures to evoke feelings in your fiction. In 36 "mini-lessons, " Hood sheds new light on love, hate, fear, grief, guilt, hope, jealousy and other major emotions. Each lesson offers instruction on rendering that particular sentiment; "good" and "bad" examples illustrating how writers have succeeded and where others have gone wrong; and imaginative exercises for putting the feeling into words.

    And with this book, she's here to help you do the best writing of your life--and live your best life while doing it.Using a fresh new approach to Joseph Campbell's archetypal Hero's Journey, Levin reveals how to be a hero in the narrative of your own process. She weaves together wisdom drawn from her years as a life coach for writers and an editor at the world's biggest publishing house with behind-the-scenes stories from a panoply of best-selling authors and career entertainers. With over thirty exercises designed to help you reinvent your creative process from the inside out, this book will show you how to:Identify your biggest challenges and render them powerlessStart a project that you love--and stick with itDesign a structure for writing regularlyWhether you're a first-time writer with a brand-new project or a seasoned pro, you'll reach the end of this book feeling fulfilled, inspired, and ready to mentor the next writer on their creative journey.

    The most innovative and creative screenwriting book yet, from an author who knows first-hand what it takes to get a movie made.Based on an award-winning website hailed as "smart enough for professional screenwriters and accessible enough for aspiring screenwriters", Crafty Screenwriting is the first book not only to offer a successful screenwriter's tricks of the trade, but to explain what development executives really mean when they complain that the "dialogue is flat," or "the hero isn't likeable." Fresh, provocative, and funny, Alex Epstein diagnoses problem that other screenwriting books barely address, and answers questions they rarely ask, like "Why is it sometimes dangerous to know your characters too well before you start writing," or "Why does your script have to be so much better than the awful pictures that get made every day?" As a development executive who has accepted and rejected countless screenplays, and a produced screenwriter himself, Epstein can take you into the heart of the most important question of all: "Is this a movie?" A crucial book for anyone who has ever wondered what it takes to get their movie made.

    And for years, writers have turns to Block's "Writing the Novel" for candid, conversational, practical advice on how to put a publishable novel on paper.

    Created by poets for poets, this calendar of exercises offers inspiration and a place to begin. Whether you are a novice or well-established author, The Daily Poet is an essential resource for poets, teachers, professors, or anyone who wants to jumpstart their writing practice. The Daily Poet is portable, coffeeshop tested, and offers quick warm-ups for any writing group or classroom. An excellent guide for students, The Daily Poet is also a handy reference for poets looking for fresh ideas to share in their writing workshops.

    Based on survey answers from over 700 bloggers, this book contains down to earth, basic information that will help every author understand the book blogger world. Although there are many sources of book reviews, this book will focus specifically on the benefits the online reader world can bring to you and your book.In this book you’ll learn about who book bloggers are and where to find them as well as learn all about these essential promotional tools: The Query The Review The Giveaway The Guest Post The Book Blurb/Cover Graphic Feature The Cover Reveal…and so much more!Discover how to move comfortably in the blogging world, putting your best foot forward. Learn to introduce yourself to coveted reviewers to obtain valuable reviews and promotion of your book.Whether you are a new author or have many titles under your belt, let the award-winning The Author’s Guide to Working with Book Bloggers demystify the promotion of your book.Pick up a copy today!

    Ray and co-author Bret Norris can help readers do just that, with this practical and accessible step-by-step guide to completing a novel in just a year's worth of weekends.THE WEEKEND NOVELIST shows writers at all levels how to divide their writing time into weekend work sessions, and how to handle character, scene, and plot. This new, revised version is far more skills-based than its predecessor, and includes both classic and contemporary literature models, contains a sample Novel in Progress, and at the end offers readers the choice to rewrite their novel, draft a memoir, or turn their rough draft into a screenplay.Readers for a decade have been instructed and inspired by THE WEEKEND NOVELIST.This new edition will help many more strive to realize their writing potential.

    Now with The Writing Life, Cameron and Goldberg join forces for the first time in this revealing dialogue that speaks to our common search for an everyday spirituality.Join these two creative giants as they explode cherished misconceptions about who should write, and why they should do it, opening the door to the writer's world for everybody, not just a chosen few. Goldberg and Cameron take us inside their personal lives as committed writers and spiritual seekers, and explore the following questions: How can writing best be practiced? What is the difference between therapeutic writing and writing for publication? How do we conquer the twin dragons of mood and time? Is it dangerous or inspirational to dabble in different arts such as music, painting, and writing? How is addiction related to the writer's life?Edgy, surprising, and useful for its hard-won advice, The Writing Life is an invitation to a life-transforming act that requires no more than a pen, some paper, and the will to get started.

    Realistic, credible bad guys create essential story complications, personalize conflict, add immediacy to a story line, and force the protagonist to evolve. From mischief-makers to villains to arch nemeses, "Bullies, Bastards & Bitches" shows you how to create nuanced bad guys who are indispensable to the stories in which they appear. Through detailed instruction and examples from contemporary bestsellers and classic page-turners, author Jessica Page Morrell also shows you how to: Understand the subtle but key differences between unlikeable protagonists, anti-heroes, dark heroes, and bad boys Supply even your darkest sociopath with a sympathetic attribute that will engage readers Set the stage for an unforgettable standoff between your hero and your villain Choose the right type of female villain–femme fatale, mommy dearest, avenger, etc.–for your story "Bullies, Bastards & Bitches" is your all-encompassing bad-guy compendium to tapping into any character's dark side.

    Then he focuses on crafting whole paragraphs—with attention to cadence, consistency of tone, sentence transitions, and paragraph length.In a fun, comprehensive guide, Yagoda lays out the simple steps we can all take to make our writing more effective, more interesting—and just plain better.

    Now, in his first book of nonfiction, Percy challenges the notion that literary and genre fiction are somehow mutually exclusive. The title essay is an ode to the kinds of books that make many readers fall in love with fiction: science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, horror, from J.R.R. Tolkien to Anne Rice, Ursula K. Le Guin to Stephen King. Percy's own academic experience banished many of these writers in the name of what is "literary" and what is "genre." Then he discovered Michael Chabon, Aimee Bender, Cormac McCarthy, Margaret Atwood, and others who employ techniques of genre fiction while remaining literary writers. In fifteen essays on the craft of fiction, Percy looks to disparate sources such as Jaws, Blood Meridian, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to discover how contemporary writers engage issues of plot, suspense, momentum, and the speculative, as well as character, setting, and dialogue. An urgent and entertaining missive on craft, Thrill Me brims with Percy's distinctive blend of anecdotes, advice, and close reading, all in the service of one dictum: Thrill the reader.

    Some are arcane, some simply hilarious—and one editor, Carol Fisher Saller, reads every single one of them. All too often she notes a classic author-editor standoff, wherein both parties refuse to compromise on the "rights" and "wrongs" of prose styling: "This author is giving me a fit." "I wish that I could just DEMAND the use of the serial comma at all times." "My author wants his preface to come at the end of the book. This just seems ridiculous to me. I mean, it’s not a post-face."In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller casts aside this adversarial view and suggests new strategies for keeping the peace. Emphasizing habits of carefulness, transparency, and flexibility, she shows copy editors how to build an environment of trust and cooperation. One chapter takes on the difficult author; another speaks to writers themselves. Throughout, the focus is on serving the reader, even if it means breaking "rules" along the way. Saller’s own foibles and misadventures provide ample material: "I mess up all the time," she confesses. "It’s how I know things."Writers, Saller acknowledges, are only half the challenge, as copy editors can also make trouble for themselves. (Does any other book have an index entry that says "terrorists. See copy editors"?) The book includes helpful sections on e-mail etiquette, work-flow management, prioritizing, and organizing computer files. One chapter even addresses the special concerns of freelance editors.Saller’s emphasis on negotiation and flexibility will surprise many copy editors who have absorbed, along with the dos and don’ts of their stylebooks, an attitude that their way is the right way. In encouraging copy editors to banish their ignorance and disorganization, insecurities and compulsions, the Chicago Q&A presents itself as a kind of alter ego to the comparatively staid Manual of Style. In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller continues her mission with audacity and good humor.

    Just look up the weak verb you'd like to replace, and choose a stronger verb from the alphabetized lists. For example: Weak: Sally walked across the room. Stronger: Sally scurried across the room. Weak: Harry lightly touched the edge of the book. Stronger: Harry trailed his fingers along the edge of the book. Weak: Karen ran as quickly as she could to her closet. Stronger: Karen charged her closet in a panic. Weak: Lucy hit her palm on the desk. Stronger: Lucy smacked her palm on the desk. Ready to weed out the weak verbs and not-so-helpful adverbs in your writing and replace them with strong verbs? Let's get started! Indie Author Resources Book 2

    There's more to it than just a detective, a dead body, and Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with the candlestick. Fortunately, Larry Beinhart--Edgar Award-winning author of You Get What You Pay For, Foreign Exchange, and American Hero--has taken a break from writing smart, suspenseful thrillers to act as your guide through all the twists and turns of creating the twists and turns of a good mystery. Drawing on advice and examples from a host of the best names in mystery writing--from Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane to Scott Turow and Thomas Harris--plus some of his own prime plots, Larry Beinhart introduces you to your most indispensable partners in crime: *Character, plot, and procedure * The secrets to creating heroes, heroines, and villains ("All writers draw upon themselves and their experience. While the whole of yourself might not be capable of being either a serial killer or an FBI agent, there are parts in each of us that are capable of almost anything.") * The fine art of scripting the sex scene *The low-down on violence ("A crime novel without violence is like smoking pot without inhaling, sex without orgasm, or a hug without a squeeze." ) *And much more!From the opening hook to the final denouement, Larry Beinhart takes the mystery out of being a mystery writer.