Book picks similar to
Slow Your Prose by James W. Lewis


writing
non-fiction
writing-guides
writing-craft

How to Write A Series: A Guide to Series Types and Structure plus Troubleshooting Tips and Marketing Tactics (Genre Fiction How To)


Sara Rosett - 2020
    Are you unsure which series structure is best for you? Or are you several books into a series, but you’re stuck? Do you want to expand your literary universe but aren’t sure how to do it? Perhaps you have a series languishing in your backlist, and you need ideas on how to market it.  Get the knowledge you need to make smart decisions about your series with How to Write a Series.  You’ll learn:  The three basic types of series The benefits and drawbacks of writing each type of series Tips for extending your series beyond your original plan Ideas for creating spinoffs and expanding your literary universe How to know when it’s time to end a series How to save time writing your series and how to keep track of details How to deal with the problems that result from being locked into a story world  How to refresh your interest in a series if you’ve grown bored Creative ways to market your series I’ve been writing for fifteen years as both a hybrid and independent author. I’ve published over twenty-five fiction books in four different series. Everything I’ve learned about writing a series has been through trial and error. I hope my lessons-learned will give you a shortcut when it comes to writing your series plus tips for troubleshooting problems and ideas for promoting your series. Unlock the power of a series in your author career with How To Write a Series.

Writing Fight Scenes


Rayne Hall - 2011
    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.

How to Write Great Characters: The Key to Your Hero's Growth and Transformation


David Wisehart - 2015
     You will learn the ancient secrets of human psychology: the nine fundamental fears that motivate human behavior the nine core character types the nine stages of character change and so much more Complete beginners and seasoned veterans will benefit greatly from this material. You don’t even have to be a writer. The only requirement is that you come open-minded and ready to learn. About story. About character. And about yourself. Scroll up and get your copy now. What readers are saying… "Highly recommended to the writer wanting an effective tool to help develop believable characters." ~ Amazon Andy "Full of useful ideas." ~ Untamed Pen "Great book—must have for creating characters and developing plot around them!" ~ Susan Mi "Great jumping off point for characters and arcs." ~ Gail Clifford "I heartily recommend this book as a great tool for all writers." ~ Harry Rankin "A wonderful book." ~ Candace Segar "Gave me that AHA! moment of epiphany. I would recommend this book." ~ Dcortez "A great piece for new and veteran writers suffering from character block." ~ Cullen "They don't get better than this. It will fix your story and possibly your life." ~Amazon Customer Scroll up and grab your copy today. Scroll up and get your copy now.

The Heroine's Journey


Gail Carriger - 2020
    Read this book to learn all about it.From Harry Potter to Twilight, from Wonder Woman to Star Wars, you’ll never look at pop culture the same way again.With over a dozen NYT and USA Today bestsellers, and over a million books in print, popular genre author and former archaeologist Gail Carriger brings her cheeky comedic tone and over a decade of making her living as a fiction author to this fascinating look at one of the most popular yet neglected narratives of our time. The presentation she does on this subject sells for hundreds of dollars.“I’m not sure how you can just rewire my brain to see the heroine’s journey like this and then expect me to make coherent, thought-out comments about the text when all I want to do is hold it in my twisted little grip while I shove it at people screaming like a madman and pointing at passages.”~ Author Beta ReaderGail Carriger uses the heroine’s journey to produce bestselling, critically-acclaimed books that genre blend science fiction, cozy mystery, young adult, urban fantasy, romance, historical fiction, and alternate history. In this non-fiction book she uses her academic background and creative writing skills to bring to life the archetypes, tropes, story beats, themes, and messages inherent in the heroine’s journey. Part treatise on authorship, part feminist literary criticism, part how to write guide, Carriger uses mythology, legend, and Gothic victorian 19th century literature to explore movies, screenwriting, books, and audience desires.This is an excellent reference guide for genre fiction authors seeking to improve their craft or for readers and pop culture enthusiasts interested in understanding their own taste. It is the perfect counterpoint to The Hero with a Thousand Faces not to mention Save the Cat, Women Who Run With The Wolves, and The Breakout Novelist.

How to Write a Page-Turner: Craft a Story Your Readers Can't Put Down


Jordan Rosenfeld - 2019
    It keeps readers guessing and characters on their toes. When you've got tension in place, stories leave readers breathless and wanting more. When it's missing, scenes feel inconsequential, plots drag, and characters meander.Learning the craft of writing can sometimes feel like a paint by numbers approach--connect compelling character A to plot event B. To avoid writing that's formulaic, predictable, and slow, How to Write a Page Turner will help you sew the threads of tension tight for an unforgettable story. You'll learn how to:- Recognize the essential tension elements of danger, conflict, uncertainty, and withholding, and add them to your fiction - Create levels of tension in your characters through flaws, dialogue, power struggles, and more - Build tension at energetic markers throughout the plot - Use intimate imagery, strong sentences, and well-chosen words to build tension in expositionWhile this book walks you through the key areas that need tension building, from character to plot, it also delves deeper, analyzing exceptional examples from contemporary fiction's most gripping page-turners. So as you dive into the inner conflicts of a character's deepest psyche, to the mechanics of how you reveal information to the reader, you'll also discover how to craft a story your readers can't put down!

A Novel in a Year


Louise Doughty - 2007
    '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

The Art of Memoir


Mary Karr - 2015
    She followed with two other smash bestsellers: Cherry and Lit, which were critical hits as well.For thirty years Karr has also taught the form, winning graduate teaching prizes for her highly selective seminar at Syracuse, where she mentored such future hit authors as Cheryl Strayed, Keith Gessen, and Koren Zailckas. In The Art of Memoir, she synthesizes her expertise as professor and therapy patient, writer and spiritual seeker, recovered alcoholic and “black belt sinner,” providing a unique window into the mechanics and art of the form that is as irreverent, insightful, and entertaining as her own work in the genre.Anchored by excerpts from her favorite memoirs and anecdotes from fellow writers’ experience, The Art of Memoir lays bare Karr’s own process. (Plus all those inside stories about how she dealt with family and friends get told— and the dark spaces in her own skull probed in depth.) As she breaks down the key elements of great literary memoir, she breaks open our concepts of memory and identity, and illuminates the cathartic power of reflecting on the past; anybody with an inner life or complicated history, whether writer or reader, will relate.Joining such classics as Stephen King’s On Writing and Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird, The Art of Memoir is an elegant and accessible exploration of one of today’s most popular literary forms—a tour de force from an accomplished master pulling back the curtain on her craft.

Negotiating with the Dead


Margaret Atwood - 2002
    A fascinating collection of six essays, written for the William Empson Lectures in Oxford, each exploring an aspect of writerly contemplation.

Is $.99 the New Free? The Truth About Launching and Pricing Your Kindle Books


Steve Scott - 2013
    <br> <br><h2>DISCOVER: Launching and Pricing Strategies That Work in 2013</h2><br>Kindle publishing offers a rare opportunity to make money with your words. Simply write a good book and you'll tap into the world's largest online store. But it's not the utopian business model that some Internet gurus claim. You have to work hard and you have to constantly adapt your marketing strategies if you want to be successful. <br><br>One tactic in particular that doesn't work like it once did is the "free day promotion" that Amazon provides through the KDP Select program. In the past, you could give away a book and see an immediate bump in sales. Moreover, many authors were able to launch their book for free and see it climb the charts once it switched to paid. Unfortunately, recent changes to Amazon's algorithm has led to diminished success with this strategy. Some people are even saying, "KDP Select is dead."<br><br>The question is, if KDP Select no longer works, what can an author do to launch or increase sales? <br><br>A possible solution is the "$.99 pricing" strategy." Rather than giving away a book, some people market it at a discounted rate (usually $.99), which ultimately leads to lots of sales at a higher price. <br><br>These two choices leave many authors confused. Do the free days still work? Or should an author use the $.99 pricing strategy? In other words, is $.99 the new free? <br><br>With the booklet, "<b>Is $.99 the New Free</b>" you'll get a detailed case study of the launching and pricing techniques that <i>actually</i> drive sales on Amazon.com. <br><br><h2>INSIDE:: Is $.99 the New Free? - The Truth About Launching and Pricing Your Kindle Books</h2><br><br>Inside "<b>Is $.99 the New Free</b>" you'll get short and actionable content that answers the following questions:<br><ul><li><b>Why is it important to track your Kindle book sales?</b></li><br><li>What authors benefit best from offering free books through KDP Select?</li><br><li><b>Is it better to launch a book for free or sell it at $.99?</b></li><br><li>How does "visibility" work on Amazon?</li><br><li><b>How can you make a book permanently free on Amazon?</b></li><br><li>When should you move a book to other platforms?</li><br><li><b>How can you build an author platform?</b></li></ul><br>Kindle publishing is constantly evolving. What you need is a strategy guide to keep up with these changes. <br><br><h2>Would You Like To Know More?</h2><br>Download now and start getting results with the projects you delegate.<br><br>Scroll to the top of the page and select the <i>buy</i> button.

Alone with All That Could Happen: Rethinking Conventional Wisdom about the Craft of Fiction


David Jauss - 2008
    In a satisfying story or novel, all of the pieces seem to fit together so effortlessly, so seamlessly, that it's easy to find yourself wondering, "How on earth did the author do this?" The answer is simple: He sat alone at his desk, considered an array of options, and made smart, careful choices.In Alone With All That Could Happen, award-winning author and respected creative writing professor David Jauss addresses overlooked or commonly misunderstood aspects of fiction writing, offering practical information and advice that will help you make smart creative and technical decisions about such topics as:writing prose whose syntax and rhythm create a "soundtrack" for the story it tellschoosing the right point of view to create the appropriate degree of "distance" between your characters and the readerwriting valid and convincing epiphaniesharnessing the power of contradiction in the creative processIn one thought-provoking essay after another, Jauss sorts through unique fiction-writing conundrums, including how to create those exquisite intersections between truth and fabrication that make all great works of fiction so much more resonant and powerful than fiction that follows the generic "write what you know" approach that's so often preached.

Robert's Rules of Writing


Robert Masello - 2005
    You know the principles, the lectures, the "expert" techniques. And you've discovered that sometimes tried-and-true just equals tired.In Robert's Rules of Writing, successful author Robert Masello stomps out status quo writing advice and delivers 101 uninhibited techniques to improve your writing that include: Burn your journal (See rule 1) Strip down to your briefs (See rule 38) Spend time gossiping (See rule 61) Buy the smoking jacket (See rule 56) Skip the Starbucks (See rule 7) De-claim! De-claim! (See rule 63) Whether you're a fiction writer, freelancer, memoirist, or screenwriter, Robert's Rules of Writing gives you the unorthodox advice to transform your writing life and get published!

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel: The Complete Guide to Mystery, Suspense, and Crime


Hallie Ephron - 2017
    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.

Fearless Writing: How to Create Boldly and Write with Confidence


William Kenower - 2017
    Whether you're a fledgling writer or a veteran with years of experience, fearlessness--that elusive blend of self-acceptance, confidence, and curiosity--is the defining quality of those who find fulfillment and success. Truly fearless authors banish writer's blocks with ease, receive critiques gracefully, and infuse their passion for the craft into every word they write. Filled with insightful wisdom and practical advice, Fearless Writing teaches you how to thrive as a writer, no matter your genre or career path. You'll learn how to: Find and enter a Flow state in which writing is a natural, deeply satisfying process. Quiet both internal and external critics and embrace the inherent value in your work. Use love, emotional engagement, and curiosity as the guiding principles for what you write and how you share it with others. Overcome rejection, procrastination, and other obstacles that stifle your creativity. From the blank page to the first draft, and from querying to marketing, the writing life is filled with challenges, roadblocks, and new experiences. With Fearless Writing, you'll find the inner strength to embark on a bold journey--and build a lifelong career in the process.

Getting the Words Right


Theodore A. Rees Cheney - 1983
    In this new edition, author Theodore Cheney offers 39 targeted ways you can improve your writing, including how to:create smooth transitions between paragraphscorrect the invisible faults of inconsistency, incoherence, and imbalanceovercome problems of shifting point of view and styleexpress your ideas clearly by trimming away weak or extra wordsYou'll strengthen existing pieces and every future work by applying the three simple principles--reduce, rearrange, and reword. Once the secrets of revision are yours, you'll be able to follow Hemingway's lead--and get the words right!

Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular


Lawrence Rust Hills - 1977
    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.