Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have 'lost the plot' by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. Booker analyses why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5000 years.This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.

    Provocative and reassuring, nurturing and wise, The Lie That Tells a Truth is essential to writers in general, fiction writers in particular, beginning writers, serious writers, and anyone facing a blank page.John Dufresne, teacher and the acclaimed author of Love Warps the Mind a Little and Deep in the Shade of Paradise, demystifies the writing process. Drawing upon the wisdom of literature's great craftsmen, Dufresne's lucid essays and diverse exercises initiate the reader into the tools, processes, and techniques of writing: inventing compelling characters, developing a voice, creating a sense of place, editing your own words. Where do great ideas come from? How do we recognize them? How can language capture them? In his signature comic voice, Dufresne answers these questions and more in chapters such as "Writing Around the Block," "Plottery," and "The Art of Abbreviation." Dufresne demystifies the writing process, showing that while the idea of writing may be overwhelming, the act of writing is simplicity itself.

    Luckily, you have access to an extraordinary writing tool that can help overcome all of these problems: your brain."Fire Up Your Writing Brain" teaches you how to develop your brain to its fullest potential. Based on proven, easy-to-understand neuroscience, this book details ways to stimulate, nurture, and hone your brain into the ultimate writing tool. Inside, you'll learn how to: Identify the type of writer you are: Do you think or feel your way through writing a book? Are you a pantser or a plotter?Develop writing models that accelerate your learning curve.Hardwire your brain for endurance and increased productivity.Brainstorm better character concepts and plot points.Learn to edit your manuscript on both a macro and micro level.Recharge a lagging brain to gain an extra burst of creativity.Filled with accessible instruction, practical techniques, and thought-provoking exercises, "Fire Up Your Writing Brain" shows you how to become a more productive, creative, and successful writer--a veritable writing genius!"An excellent resource--the way that neuroscience and the art of writing are jointly explored allows for a new, unique, and practical integration of the two." --Teresa Aubele-Futch, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neuroscience at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame and co-author of "Train Your Brain to Get Happy" and "Train Your Brain to Get Rich""Full of neuroscience facts and tips, this inspiring book will change your brain--and your writing life. I learned techniques that I'll apply to my students and my own writing." --Linda Joy Myers, President of the National Association of Memoir Writers and award-winning author of "Don't Call Me Mother: A Daughter's Journey from Abandonment to Forgiveness"

    It is a must read for anyone serious about writing or understanding how the process works.

    We all have to learn the SAME skills. But no matter where you’re starting…Even if you have NO story ideas, NO characters, and NO experience, you can finish a complete working plot outline in just SEVEN tiny lessons.If you have ever labored to come up with a GOOD way to start a story…If you have ever stumbled, lost and frustrated, through the MIDDLE of your book…If you have ever wondered,”How do I find an idea worth writing?“…Stop Struggling. Help Is Here.

    Because of this experience, I self-published my next book, What the Plus!, and learned first-hand that self-publishing is a complex, confusing, and idiosyncratic process. As Steve Jobs said, “There must be a better way.”With Shawn Welch, a tech wizard, I wrote APE to help people take control of their writing careers. APE’s thesis is powerful yet simple: filling the roles of Author, Publisher and Entrepreneur yields results that rival traditional publishing. We call this "artisanal publishing"--that is, when writers who love their craft control the publishing process and produce high-quality books.APE is 300 pages of tactical and practical inspiration. People who want a hype-filled, get-rich-quick book should look elsewhere. On the other hand, if they want a comprehensive and realistic guide to self-publishing,APE is the answer.

    It's all the information you need to solve the mystery-writing riddle!

    185 practical techniques for improving your story or novel

    And it requires an unflinching commitment to staying the course. Chapter After Chapter shows you how to build on your good writing habits, accrue and recognize tiny successes, and turn your dedication to the craft into the book you always knew you could write if you could just stay with it.Heather Sellers, author of Page After Page, draws on her first-hand experience as a novelist, poet, memoirist, and children's book author to help you prepare for whatever roadblocks you might encounter while writing the book of your dreams. You'll discover how to celebrate the momentum of slow and steady, stay in love with your book project through soggy middles and long revisions, and embrace the nakedness that is creative expression.And you'll realize you've got exactly what it takes write your book!

    Telling True Stories presents their best advice—covering everything from finding a good topic, to structuring narrative stories, to writing and selling your first book. More than fifty well-known writers offer their most powerful tips, including: • Tom Wolfe on the emotional core of the story • Gay Talese on writing about private lives • Malcolm Gladwell on the limits of profiles • Nora Ephron on narrative writing and screenwriters • Alma Guillermoprieto on telling the story and telling the truth • Dozens of Pulitzer Prize–winning journalists from the Atlantic Monthly, New Yorker, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post and more . . .The essays contain important counsel for new and career journalists, as well as for freelance writers, radio producers, and memoirists. Packed with refreshingly candid and insightful recommendations, Telling True Stories will show anyone fascinated by the art of writing nonfiction how to bring people, scenes, and ideas to life on the page.

    You'll discover comprehensive instruction such as:The art of crafting visceral violence, from Jack KetchumWhy horror classics like Dracula, The Exorcist, and Hell House are as scary as ever, from Robert WeinbergTips for avoiding one of the biggest death knells in horror writing--predicable cliches--from Ramsey CampbellHow to use character and setting to stretch the limits of credibility, from Mort CastleWith On Writing Horror, you can unlock the mystery surrounding classic horror traditions, revel in the art and craft of writing horror, and find out exactly where the genre is going next. Learn from the best, and you could be the next best-selling author keeping readers up all night long.

    In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to:Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing. Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership. Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more. Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords.Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career.If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.

    Most writers (and most screenwriting books) rush too quickly through choosing a story idea, to get to the process of outlining and writing it. And it's the biggest reason most projects don't move forward in the marketplace: producers and editors are underwhelmed by the central concept. Multiple Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning screenwriter and producer Erik Bork (HBO's Band of Brothers) explains the seven key ingredients in stories that have a chance of selling and reaching a wide audience - in any genre or medium.

    Using an array of examples from Melville and Dostoyevsky to contemporary writers Paula Fox, Edward P. Jones, and Lorrie Moore, Baxter explains how fiction writers create those visible and invisible details, how what is displayed evokes what is not displayed.The Art of Subtext is part of The Art of series, a new line of books by important authors on the craft of writing, edited by Charles Baxter. Each book examines a singular, but often assumed or neglected, issue facing the contemporary writer of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry. The Art of series means to restore the art of criticism while illuminating the art of writing.

    You just need to learn what’s going on inside your brain, and harness the power of brain science to beat resistance and develop a productive writing habit.In Around the Writer’s Block, Rosanne Bane-- a creativity coach and writing teacher for more than 20 years-- uses the most recent breakthroughs in brain science to help us understand, in simple, clear language, where writing resistance comes from: a fight-or-flight response hard-wired into our brain, which can make us desperate to flee the sources of our anxieties by any means possible.Bane’s three-part plan, which has improved the productivity of thousands of writers, helps you develop new reliable writing habits, rewire the brain’s responses to the anxiety of writing, and turn writing from a source of stress and anxiety into one of joy and personal growth.