In The Magic Words, editor Cheryl B. Klein guides writers on an enjoyable and practical-minded voyage of their own, from developing a saleable premise for a novel to finding a dream agent. She delves deep into the major elements of fiction—intention, character, plot, and voice—while addressing important topics like diversity, world-building, and the differences between middle-grade and YA novels. In addition, the book’s exercises, questions, and straightforward rules of thumb help writers apply these insights to their own creative works. With its generous tone and useful tools for story analysis and revision, The Magic Words is an essential handbook for writers of children’s and young adult fiction.

    Consider it a classic in the making.

    A bestseller through six editions, Writing Fiction by novelists Janet Burroway and Elizabeth Stuckey-French explores the elements of fiction, providing practical writing techniques and concrete examples. Written in a tone that is personal and non-prescriptive, the text encourages students to develop proficiency through each step of the writing process, offering an abundance of exercises designed to spur writing and creativity. The text also integrates diverse, contemporary short stories in every chapter in the belief that the reading of inspiring fiction goes hand-in-hand with the writing of fresh and exciting stories.

    In a story or a novel the "I" who tells this tale can be, and often is, an unreliable narrator but in nonfiction the reader must always be persuaded that the narrator is speaking truth.How does one pull from one's own boring, agitated self the truth-speaker who will tell the story a personal narrative needs to tell? That is the question The Situation and the Story asks--and answers. Taking us on a reading tour of some of the best memoirs and essays of the past hundred years, Gornick traces the changing idea of self that has dominated the century, and demonstrates the enduring truth-speaker to be found in the work of writers as diverse as Edmund Gosse, Joan Didion, Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, or Marguerite Duras.This book, which grew out of fifteen years teaching in MFA programs, is itself a model of the lucid intelligence that has made Gornick one of our most admired writers of nonfiction. In it, she teaches us to write by teaching us how to read: how to recognize truth when we hear it in the writing of others and in our own.

    She shows how you, too, can get terrific ideas for stories, invent great beginnings and endings, write sparkling dialogue, develop memorable characters—and much, much more. She advises you about what to do when you feel stuck—and how to use helpful criticism. Best of all, she offers writing exercises that will set your imagination on fire.With humor, honesty, and wisdom, Gail Carson Levine shows you that you, too, can make magic with your writing.

    You make your reader burn to know what's going to happen next. You create tension…and build it…to the breaking point.William Noble shows you how to intensify that pressure throughout your story. You'll learn exactly what constitutes conflict, action and suspense, how they relate to other important ingredients in your story, and—perhaps most important—how to manipulate them.Through thorough, step-by-step instruction, you'll learn how to…• set the stage with techniques and devices that enhance drama.• introduce suspense from the very beginning of your story.• build suspense through cliff hangers, dialogue, mood, character    development, point of view, subtlety and indirection, and time and    place.• bring all that conflict, action and suspense to a gripping    conclusion.There are all sorts of ways to create tension in your prose—from using adjectives and nouns that drip with imagery to making quick scene cuts and transitions to accelerating the pace. Learn them here. Then use them, and your story will plunge your readers into a river of worry…and the current will carry them to The End.About the AuthorWilliam Noble is the author of several writing books, short fiction and nonfiction pieces. He has taught and lectured about writing at the Breadloaf Writer's Conference and others.

    Copy veteran Constance Hale is on a mission to make creative communication, both the lyrical and the unlawful, an option for everyone.With its crisp, witty tone, Sin and Syntax covers grammar’s ground rules while revealing countless unconventional syntax secrets (such as how to use—Gasp!—interjections or when to pepper your prose with slang) that make for sinfully good writing. Discover how to:*Distinguish between words that are “pearls” and words that are “potatoes”* Avoid “couch potato thinking” and “commitment phobia” when choosing verbs* Use literary devices such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, and metaphor (and understand what you're doing)Everyone needs to know how to write stylish prose—students, professionals, and seasoned writers alike. Whether you’re writing to sell, shock, or just sing, Sin and Syntax is the guide you need to improve your command of the English language.

    Craft Compelling DialogueWhen should your character talk, what should (or shouldn't) he say, and when should he say it? How do you know when dialogue—or the lack thereof—is dragging down your scene? How do you fix character who speaks with the laconic wit of the Terminator?Write Great Fiction: Dialogue by successful author and instructor Gloria Kempton has the answers to all of these questions and more! It's packed with innovative exercises and instructions designed to teach you how to:•Create dialogue that drives the story•Weave dialogue with narrative and action•Use dialogue to pace your story•Write dialogue that fits specific genres•Avoid the common pitfalls of writing dialogue•Make dialogue unique for each characterAlong with dozens of dialogue excerpts form today's most popular writers, Write Great Fiction: Dialogue gives you the edge you need to make your story stand out from the rest.

    Lajos Egri's classic, The Art of Dramatic Writing, does just that, with instruction that can be applied equally well to a short story, novel, or screenplay. Examining a play from the inside out, Egri starts with the heart of any drama: its characters. All good dramatic writing hinges on people and their relationships, which serve to move the story forward and give it life, as well as an understanding of human motives - why people act the way that they do. Using examples from everything from William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House, Egri shows how it is essential for the author to have a basic premise - a thesis, demonstrated in terms of human behavior - and to develop the dramatic conflict on the basis of that behavior.Using Egri's ABCs of premise, character, and conflict, The Art of Dramatic Writing is a direct, jargon-free approach to the problem of achieving truth in writing.

    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.

    But there are common threads that link all stories--from "Beowulf" and "Hamlet" to "Gone With the Wind" and "The Godfather" to the story you're drafting right now in your head. These threads form the foundation that supports story--a foundation Nancy Lamb shows you how to access and master.Whether you're writing a novel, a memoir, or a screenplay, "The Art and Craft of Storytelling" offers time-tested ways to translate a concrete idea into a polished work. In this book, you will find strategies for:- Creating a successful a beginning, middle, and end while moving smoothly from one stage to the next- Crafting memorable characters, choosing the best point of view for your story, and constructing authentic, compelling dialogue- Integrating and navigating the more subtle elements of story, such as voice, tone, premise, and theme- Understanding genres and subgenres and how they apply to your story- Structuring plots that transform a ho-hum story into a page-turning read"The Art and Craft of Storytelling" gives you all the tools you need to contribute your own story to our great tradition, to open new worlds to your readers, and to introduce new ways of thinking. This is the power and purpose of story. And by your writing, this is the tradition you honor.

    The book became a national bestseller, won a slew of awards, and is soon to be a major motion picture. Get the first draft down quickly! The 90-Day Novel is a day-by-day guide through the process of getting the first draft of your novel onto the page. The 90-Day Novel has been used at the L.A. Writers' Lab over ten years and has helped hundreds of writers complete their work. Some of Watt's students have gone on to become bestselling authors and win major literary awards.The 90-Day Novel is structured into three parts. Part One describes the process of getting your story from imagination to the page and prepares you, through a few simple, powerful writing exercises to access the story within. Part Two is a series of 90 daily letters that will guide you through the hero's journey. Writers often tend to get stuck halfway through, mired somewhere in their "idea" of the story. The 90-Day Novel will show you how and why you got stuck, and how to get to the end of your first draft. Part Three is a compendium of stream-of-consciousness writing exercises designed to access the primal forces in your story, as well as the Structure Questions that will invite up images at key stages in your hero's journey. The 90-Day Novel teaches you how to distill your plot to its nature, and clarifies the mysterious process of assembling vague disparate images into a coherent narrative. Working in this way, story structure (which is often taught as a formula) becomes a springboard, setting you free to explore the far reaches of your imagination. "There are no rules," Watt tells us. "Stay out of your left brain, and let your unconscious do the heavy lifting." The 90-Day Novel clearly articulates the process of marrying the rigor of story structure to the wildness of the imagination, and in the process reminds us of something we so often forget . . . that writing is actually fun. For more information, go to www.lawriterslab.com."For years I have been fascinated by the industry legend of how Alan Watt wrote his masterful novel, Diamond Dogs, in 90 days. Now, at last, he shares his secrets. The 90-Day Novel is smart, insightful, thorough and wise. It's also one of the best books on novel-writing I have ever seen. I feel confident that anyone who takes this program seriously will have a solid manuscript to show for the effort."- David Liss (national bestselling author and Edgar winner of A Conspiracy of Paper)"Let Al Watt take your heart by its hand and get your 90-Day Novel onto the page. It will be the experience of a lifetime."- Viki King (author of How to Write a Movie in 21 Days: The Inner Movie Method)"The 90-Day Novel is the real deal. Alan Watt gets down to it by brilliantly articulating the fusion of the muse to the rigor of story structure. If you've been struggling with your story, or really want to get dangerous on the page, read this book. Follow it, and you will have a first draft in 90 days."- Eric Miles Williamson (Pen finalist for his novel East Bay Grease, and author of Say It Hot) "The 90-Day Novel provides the inspiration, focus, and structure that every novelist needs to finally put down on paper what has been alive inside him, perhaps for years, struggling to get out."- Allison Burnett (author of Christopher, finalist for Pen Center USA's Literary Award in Fiction)"The 90 daily letters are absolutely worth the price of admission. A friendly nudge, a gentle reminder of our commitment, a powerful blast of insight: all serve to boost our flagging morale, or comb out our confusion, or intercede with the bitter fight against our creative impulses."- Mary Shannon (Professor of Creative Writing, Cal State Northridge/90-Day NovelistAbout the AuthorBestselling author Alan Watt has received many awards for his writing, including France's 2004 Prix Printemps (best foreign novel). He founded LA Writers' Lab in 2002. He lectures on the creative process and teaches The 90-Day Novel workshops to writers throughout the world.

    This little book is brief and easy to understand. It won’t bore you with mundane grammar rules or the crap you learn in English class, but offers concrete suggestions on how to improve your writing.From lighthearted pointers for beginners to hard-core truths about the craft, Put the Cat In the Oven is a must-have desk reference for anyone who refuses to put down the pen.

    Newly revised and expanded for this Third Edition, Creating Short Fiction is a popular and widely trusted guide to writing short stories of originality, durability, and quality. Celebrated short-story author and writing instructor Knight also includes many examples and exercises that have been effective in classrooms and workshops everywhere.

    Learn the five types of conflict that keep readers hooked, the two elements EVERY scene must have, know when scenes are going to be good (or bad) BEFORE you write them, discover how to misdirect most of your readers most of the time, and much more. Holly Lisle's How To Write Page-Turning Scenes 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 needing basics, to the published pro looking to notch up suspense and bring in new readers while thrilling existing ones.