'The art of writing, ' Kingsley Amis said, 'is the art of applying the seat of one's trousers to the seat of one's chair.' Looking at different aspects of writing, this book features set exercises to help the reader improve their confidence and technique, covering essential skills for all would-be novelists

    Along the way, it’ll help you form the foundation you need to write a novel you’re proud of. You’ll learn to:• Strengthen the ideas you have and discover new ones, even when inspiration seems far away.• Expand your original idea into a fully fledged story.• Develop a fleshed-out cast of characters, without overwhelming yourself with complex formulas and “best-practices."• Apply structure to your story in a way that honors and refines your original idea. • Bring it all together in a final Master Outline, designed to guide you through every stage of writing your novel.Each day of this outlining challenge comes with easy to follow prompts and intuitive goals, streamlining the outlining process. By the end, The Ten Day Outline will have taken the stress out of planning a novel, so you’ll be ready to set out on your own epic writing journey!

    

    But a poorly done or unbelievable fight scene can ruin a great book in an instant.In Fight Write you'll learn practical tips, terminology, and the science behind crafting realistic fight scenes for your fiction. Broken up into "Rounds," trained fighter and writer Carla Hoch guides you through the many factors you'll need to consider when developing battles and brawls.- In Round 1, you will consider how the Who, When, Where, and Why questions affect what type of fight scene you want to craft. - Round 2 delves into the human factors of biology (think fight or flight and adrenaline) and psychology (aggression and response to injuring or killing another person). - Round 3 explores different fighting styles that are appropriate for different situations: What really happens in fights on the street? What is the vocabulary used to describe these styles? - Round 4 considers weaponry and will guide you to select the best weapon for your characters, including nontraditional weapons of opportunity, while also thinking about the nitty-gritty details of using them. - In Round 5, you'll learn how to accurately describe realistic injuries sustained from the fights and certain weapons, and what kind of injuries will kill a character or render them unable to fight further.By taking into account where your character is in the world, when in history the fight is happening, what the character's motivation for fighting is, and much more, you'll be able write fight scenes unique to your plot and characters, all while satisfying your reader's discerning eye.

    From ideas to tips to absolute musts, THE EXTROVERTED WRITER builds on Amanda's successful "Thursdays with Amanda" blog posts on ChipMacGregor.com. This easy-to-read guide breaks down the most popular social media sites and online options to give YOU the tools you need to be effective when engaging with your readers. Whether you're new to social media or a longtime pro...whether you have dozens of books under your belt or are still waiting for your first deal, this book is for you. I started reading Amanda's posts on chipmagregor.com about the time my novel was launching. Amanda's understanding of branding and her insight as an agent were extremely helpful to me as I thought about an overall platform strategy. I had no idea what to do about Facebook, and her thoughts helped me refine what I was doing and better connect with my fiction readers. Charity Hawkins, author of The Homeschool Experiment: a novel My twitter following tripled with Amanda's training and after putting her Google search rules into practice, my blog posts are drawing increased traffic and new shares. Reading The Extroverted Writer is like getting down-to-earth advice from your best friend. Your extroverted best friend that knows all the social media answers you need. Finally! Laura Anderson Kurk (laurakurk.com), author of Glass Girl and Perfect Glass Amanda Luedeke, agent at the number one literary agency in the country, MacGregor Literary, Inc., takes you through easy, step by step approaches to growing your online presence and as a result, your audience. Her lessons are straightforward, simple and applicable, no smoke and mirrors or degrees in physics required. From growing your readership on your blog, to pumping up your number of Twitter followers, to utilizing the eye candy of Pinterest to promote your books, she has it all. I recommend this book for all authors; newbies, established and everyone in between. Laura L. Smith, author"

    An incredibly helpful guide to getting your book published, from an experienced literary agent.

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

    McCann asks his readers to constantly push the boundaries of experience, to see empathy and wonder in the stories we craft and hear.A paean to the power of language, both by argument and by example, Letters to a Young Writer is fierce and honest in its testament to the bruises delivered by writing as both a profession and a calling. It charges aspiring writers to learn the rules and even break them.These fifty-two essays are ultimately a profound challenge to a new generation to bring truth and light to a dark world through their art.

    His comprehensive approach includes lessons on how to:Find and use historical archives and conduct physical field researchRe-construct the world of your novel, including people and voices, physical environments, and cultural contextAchieve verisimilitude in speech, action, setting, and descriptionSeamlessly weave historical fact with your own compelling plot ideasWith wit and candor, Thom's detailed instruction, illuminating personal experience, and invaluable insights culled from discussions with other trusted historical writers will guide you to craft a novel that is true to what was then, when "then" was "now."

    A distinctive collection of more than 90 effective poetry-writing exercises combined with corresponding essays to inspire writers of all levels.

    Packed with 30 exercises, abundant examples, and practical strategies, this guidebook will help you write unforgettable characters who "come alive" on the page, create compelling dialogue, and chart more breathtaking emotional journeys for your characters. Stant Litore is the author of The Ansible Stories, The Zombie Bible, The Running of the Tyrannosaurs, and Dante's Heart. Best known for his weird fiction, alternate history, and scifi, he has taught frequent courses for writers across the genres and has served as a developmental editor for Westmarch Publishing. His own fiction has been acclaimed by NPR, has served as the subject of scholarly work in Relegere and Weird Fiction Review, and he has been hailed as "SF's premier poet of loneliness." He lives in Colorado with his wife and two daughters, and is working on his next book.

    She has taught all kinds--the award winning, the struggling, and those who have been silenced by poverty and hardship. Her innovative methods have worked in classrooms from elementary tograduate level, in jail cells and public housing projects, in convents and seminaries, in youth at-risk programs, and with groups of the terminally ill.Now, in Writing Alone and with Others, Schneider's acclaimed methods are available in a single, well-organized, and highly readable volume. The first part of the book guides the reader through the perils of the solitary writing life: fear, writer's block, and the bad habits of the internal critic.In the second section, Schneider describes the Amherst Writers and Artists workshop method, widely used across the U.S. and abroad. Chapters on fiction and poetry address matters of technique and point to further resources, while more than a hundred writing exercises offer specific ways to jumpstartthe blocked and stretch the rut-stuck. Schneider's innovative teaching method will refresh the experienced writer and encourage the beginner. Her book is the essential owner's manual for the writer's voice.

    And while patience and resilience must come from you, the essentials of craft and the plan to execute them are right at your fingertips with Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel. This completely revised and updated edition features solid strategies for drafting, revising, and selling an intriguing novel that grips your readers and refuses to let them go.New York Times best-selling author Hallie Ephron shows you how to:- Create a compelling sleuth and a worthy villain - Construct a plot rich in twists, red herrings, and misdirection - Bring the story to a satisfying conclusion - Sharpen characters and optimize pace during revision - Seek publication through both traditional and indie pathsFilled with helpful worksheets and exercises for every step of the process, Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel Revised and Expanded reveals the keys to writing a memorable story that will have fans of mystery, suspense, and crime clamoring for more.

    Self-doubt. Mind games. They end the moment you pick up this book. With an inspiring mix of humor, wisdom, and creativity, Page After Page shows you how to find the courage and commitment to start writing and keep writing.Author Heather Sellers draws on twenty years of teaching and personal writing experience to provide lively anecdotes and exercises to help you develop a mindset and lifestyle conducive to daily creation. As each chapter takes you deeper into the eccentric, exclusive world known only to writers, you'll learn how to build a productive creative life that keeps you writing page after page, day after day.

    Long considered a classic in the field, WRITING IN GENERAL is the product of a lifetime of reflection by one of our best literary minds.