She invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft. And she offers priceless advice to aspiring authors. As she works her way through one hundred novels–from classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to recent fiction by Zadie Smith and Alice Munro–she infects us anew with the passion for reading that is the governing spirit of this gift to book lovers everywhere.

    Over the past seven years, I have created 19 award-winning romance novels for two international publishers and over 1.2 million copies have been sold in 28 countries around the world in 23 languages. The good news is that romance fiction is as popular as it has ever been. Just look at the Amazon Bestsellers top 100 paid list. It is dominated by romance titles. Writing short romance Kindle books is an ideal home-based business, with minimal start-up costs. You work where and when you choose, writing the kind of romance stories that you love to read –and then publish them for free! What’s more, short fiction is fast to both read and to write. No more procrastination! You can create passive income from day one with short romance stories that only took you a few hours to write. This eBook guides you through an intense Masterclass on the key techniques that you need to start writing short romance fiction, which you can then publish on the Amazon Kindle platform. As a professional romance author, I have broken down the process of writing romance fiction into: A complete nine-step plan packed with the essential information you need to write your own short romance fiction, from understanding the different types of romance categories through to advanced story structure. A proven six-layer character development technique to help you to create compelling three-dimensional characters readers will love! As a bonus, I have included a section with practical advice on how to transform your manuscript into an eBook. This detailed Fast-Track guide has been designed to be around 40 minutes long, which means that there is no filler, just quality information from the start. Your complete starter plan is written in straightforward language and each step has been tried and tested. I know that it works because this is the system that I use to create my own award-winning romance fiction! Take a risk and learn How to Write Short Romance Kindle Books today – it could be the key to a new career and a brilliant entrepreneurial small business. It is much easier than you think. Just take that first step! NEW SPECIAL OFFER! This eBook is part of the ROMANCE SELF-PUBLISHING BOOK BUNDLE (Books One to Three): All the Information you need to Write, Publish and Promote your Romance Kindle Book. Available now at a great sale price. http://amzn.to/1NpEGx2

    I write poetry... I believe poetry is a primal impulse within all of us. I believe we are all capable of it and furthermore that a small, often ignored corner of us positively yearns to try it. —Stephen Fry, The Ode Less Travelled Stephen Fry believes that if one can speak and read English, one can write poetry. Many of us have never been taught to read or write poetry and think of it as a mysterious and intimidating form. Or, if we have been taught, we remember uncomfortable silence when an English teacher invited the class to "respond" to a poem. In The Ode Less Travelled, Fry sets out to correct this problem by giving aspiring poets the tools and confidence they need to write poetry for pleasure. Fry is a wonderfully engaging teacher and writer of poetry himself, and he explains the various elements of poetry in simple terms, without condescension. His enjoyable exercises and witty insights introduce the concepts of Metre, Rhyme, Form, Diction, and Poetics. Aspiring poets will learn to write a sonnet, on ode, a villanelle, a ballad, and a haiku, among others. Along the way, he introduces us to poets we've heard of, but never read. The Ode Less Travelled is a lively celebration of poetry that makes even the most reluctant reader want to pick up a pencil and give it a try. BACKCOVER: Advanced Praise: “Delightfully erudite, charming and soundly pedagogical guide to poetic form… Fry has created an invaluable and highly enjoyable reference book.” —Publishers Weekly “A smart, sane and entertaining return to the basics… If you like Fry’s comic manner… this book has a lot of charm… People entirely fresh to the subject could do worse than stick with his cheerful leadership.” —The Telegraph (UK) “…intelligent and informative, a worthy enterprise well executed.” —Observer (UK) "If you learn how to write a sonnet, and Fry shows you how, you may or may not make a poem. But you will unlock the stored wisdom of the form itself." —Grey Gowrie, The Spectator (UK) “…intelligent and informative, a worthy enterprise well executed.” —Observer (UK)

    Inside you'll find:25,000+ first names and surnames, and their meanings, listed by originNames and surnames from more than 45 countriesA reverse lookup of names by meaningAn alphabetical index of namesAn explanation of naming practices and historical context for each originA list of the top ten most popular names in the United States every year from 1880-2003Instruction on how to create believable names that fit your characters and your storyThis exciting new edition also includes advice from a number of best-selling authors, including Elizabeth George, Alexander McCall Smith, Homer Hickam, Marian Keyes, Big Fish author Daniel Wallace, and others. You'll get the inside scoop on their naming methods, plus the stories behind the names of their most famous characters.So throw out your old telephone books and baby-naming guides - The Writer's Digest Character Naming Sourcebook meets all your naming needs!

    It offers practical and inspiring advice on such subjects as structuring a plot and handling rejection. And it combines one of today's most successful fiction writers with a published non-fiction writer who teaches creative fiction. HOW I WRITE is the perfect reference for anyone looking to improve their writing, and for those fans who are hungry to find out more about just how Janet Evanovich ticks.

    He has worked with authors across all fiction and non-fiction genres. Along with his client work, he has studied many other successful authors to learn what works and what doesn't.The result is Your First 1000 Copies where he walks you through the Connection System, a plan that every author can immediately start using. The plan looks like this: Permission - How to open up communication with your readers where you can reliably engage them and invite them to be involved. Content - How to use content to engage with current readers and connect with new ones. Outreach - How to ethically and politely introduce yourself to new readers. Sell - How all of these steps can naturally lead to book sales without being pushy or annoying Track - How to use modern online tools to see what's working and what's not working, and how to make decisions based on data.This is a system that any author can immediately put in place to start building their platform. Whether you're a seasoned author looking to step into the new publishing landscape, or you're a brand new author, Your First 1000 Copies will give you the tools to connect with readers and sell more books.

    

    From adjectives and exclamation points to dialect and hoopetedoodle, Elmore Leonard explains what to avoid, what to aspire to, and what to do when it sounds like "writing" (rewrite).Beautifully designed, filled with free-flowing, elegant illustrations and specially priced, Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing is the perfect writer's—and reader's—gift.

    She received a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007, as well as two Mythopoeic Awards and the Guardian Fiction Award for Charmed Life. But she was also a witty, entertaining speaker, a popular guest at science fiction and fantasy conventions and an engaged, scholarly critic of writing that interested her.This collection of more than twenty-five papers, chosen by Diana herself, includes fascinating literary criticism (such as a study of narrative structure in The Lord of the Rings and a ringing endorsement of the value of learning Anglo Saxon) alongside autobiographical anecdotes about reading tours (including an account of her famous travel jinx), revelations about the origins of her books, and thoughts in general about the life of an author and the value of writing. The longest autobiographical piece, 'Something About the Author', details Diana's extraordinary childhood and is illustrated with family photographs. Reflections is essential reading for anyone interested in Diana's works, fantasy or creative writing.The collection features a foreword by Neil Gaiman and an introduction and interview by Charlie Butler, a respected expert on fantasy writing.

    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.

    Sometimes a writer needs something with a little more expressive power; a word or phrase that helps the reader visualize the tonal quality or mood of the character doing the talking.For many years, writers have been eagerly awaiting the publication of a resource to help them with this dilemma. Thankfully, that wait is finally over. Now there's a way for any writer, regardless of their experience, to craft dialogue tags that add emotion and vibrancy to their storytelling; all while avoiding tired and worn out cliches.Dahlia Evans has compiled a dialogue thesaurus unlike anything ever published. This unique sourcebook is filled to the brim with words and phrases gathered from hundreds of bestselling novels. Finally, you will be able to open up vistas of endless inspiration and bring your dialogue to life.Inside You'll Discover:# Over 500 dialogue and action tags you can use instead of 'said'.# More than 2900 adverbs that can be used to describe speech.# Thousands of emotion and feeling words in adjective and noun form.# A thousand phrases to describe body language and movement.# Tons of example sentences to help solidify your understanding.# And best of all, words are sorted in alphabetical order, as well as by category.'The Dialogue Thesaurus' is the first book of its kind; a thesaurus geared towards writers who want to frame their dialogue with compelling and expressive words and phrases.

    You will see how a work takes form and shape once you grasp the principles of momentum, tension, and immediacy. "Tension," Stern says, "is the mother of fiction. When tension and immediacy combine, the story begins." Dialogue and action, beginnings and endings, the true meaning of "write what you know," and a memorable listing of don'ts for fiction writers are all covered. A special section features an Alphabet for Writers: entries range from Accuracy to Zigzag, with enlightening comments about such matters as Cliffhangers, Point of View, Irony, and Transitions.

    You'll decide how much violence your scene needs, what's the best location, how your heroine can get out of trouble with self-defence and how to adapt your writing style to the fast pace of the action.There are sections on female fighters, male fighters, animals and weres, psychological obstacles, battles, duels, brawls, riots and final showdowns. For the requirements of your genre, there is even advice on how to build erotic tension in a fight scene, how magicians fight, how pirates capture ships and much more. You will learn about different types of weapons, how to use them in fiction, and how to avoid embarrassing blunders. The book uses British spellings.

    This Live Wire Writer Guide presents a simple, effective technique to sharpen your hook, charge your scenes, and amplify your voice whether you're a beginner or an expert.Most writing manuals skirt craft questions with gimmicks and quick fixes rather than plugging directly into your story's power source. Energize your fiction and boost your career with a new characterization method that jumpstarts drafting, crafting, revision, and pitching.  skill-builders to intensify language, stakes, and emotion for your readers.  battle-tested solutions for common traps, crutches, and habits.  a dynamic story-planning strategy effective for plotters and pantsers.  ample examples and exercises to help you upgrade fiction in any genre.  Blast past overused tics and types with storycraft that busts your ruts and awes your audience. Whether you like to wing it or bring it, Verbalize offers a fresh set of user-friendly, language-based tools to populate your pages and lay the foundations of unforgettable genre fiction.

    Nancy Lamb can help you achieve that dream. She mixes insightful advice for mastering storytelling with dozens of examples that illustrate a variety of plot-building techniques.Nancy's instruction covers everything from format and content to setting and characterization. She also draws from a range of children's classics, including "Where the Wild Things Are," "Charlotte's Web" and "Bridge to Tarabithia" to explore and illuminate the unique nature of children's literature.Nancy also shares writing tips and tricks accumulated through years of successful storytelling–invaluable advice for crafting fiction that resonates with children of all ages, from 4 to 14 and beyond.