Book picks similar to
Writing Alone and with Others by Pat Schneider
writing
non-fiction
on-writing
nonfiction
The Nighttime Novelist: Finish Your Novel in Your Spare Time
Joseph Bates - 2010
William Faulkner was a postmaster. Stephen King taught high school English, John Grisham was an attorney, and Toni Morrison worked in publishing. Though romantic fantasies of the writing life don't often include a day job, the fact is that most writers have one.If you find yourself among them, stealing moments late at night, early in the morning, or on your lunch break to write, "The Nighttime Novelist" is your guide--on call any hour to help. Divided into quick mini lessons to make the most of your precious writing time, this book offers: Technique instruction that breaks down the elements of the novel--from crafting your protagonist to successful plotting and pacingHurdle lessons that help you anticipate and overcome roadblocks, so you can keep your productivity and your story on trackGoing Deeper explorations that provide guidance on the more nuanced aspects of storytelling, so you can take your work to the next level Try It Out assignments and more than 25 interactive worksheets that help you apply the lessons to your own project Whether you're just beginning your novel, wondering how to navigate its middle, or bringing it to a close, you'll find the instruction, exercises, and support you need to keep your story moving forward every time you sit down to write.
Writing Great Books for Young Adults: Everything You Need to Know, from Crafting the Idea to Landing a Publishing Deal
Regina Brooks - 2008
Despite this, little has been written to help authors hone their craft to truly connect with this audience. Writing Great Books for Young Adults gives writers the advice they need to tap this incredible market. Topics covered include: Listening to the voices of youthMeeting your young protagonist Developing a writing styleConstructing plotsTrying on points of view
Agent Regina Brooks has developed award-winning authors across the YA genre, including a Coretta Scott King winner. She attends more than 20 conferences each year, meeting with authors and teaching.
Rock Your Plot: A Simple System for Plotting Your Novel
Cathy Yardley - 2012
It includes: how to test your premise, some easy steps to develop your character and define your story question from that character, how to hit your major plot points, and how to write a scene outline. Concise, clear, and action-oriented, this book is all about plotting, simplified.
Scrivener Essentials: A Quick Start Visual Guide For Windows Users
Karen Prince - 2014
Imagine if you could use Scrivener for Windows like a seasoned professional, knowing the keyboard shortcuts, what the tools on the toolbar do; flying through the application and creating an amazing story without being distracted by having to look up how to use a feature every time you want to use it. In the back of your mind you know that the Scrivener software you bought is going to simplify your writing process and help you become more productive. You have heard about the cool split screen views, virtual cork boards and the collections feature where you can process all instances of a document at once even though you have it in several different collections. But best of all you’ve heard that you can export your content to multiple platforms without having to change the original draft document! Imagine the time you are going to save. Not to mention that if you can format your own work for export you will no longer be held hostage to the whims and schedules of anyone else. The problem is, before you can do all that, you have to learn how to use the Scrivener software. This can be time consuming if you try to learn from the Scrivener users manual which is highly technical and includes every conceivable function and feature of the software. Don’t get me wrong. The Scrivener users manual has every bit of information you will ever need regarding Scrivener because it is supposed to be like that, but it sure is difficult to weed out the bits that pertain to the project you want to write. I know because that is the way I had to learn it. What I would have liked was a Scrivener essentials guide with:
Plenty of pictures, so that you can instantly recognize the regions of the user interface.
Arrows pointing right at the buttons mentioned in the instructions, making them easy to find.
Instructions embedded into the images they refer to so that they don’t drift onto the next page because of the personal settings on your Kindle.
No distracting instructions for Macintosh users that send you on a wild goose chase after functions that are not supported by Scrivener for Windows.
So I wrote a guide just like that. In it you will learn to:
Open a project and customize your workspaces.
Toggle between normal Text Editing Mode, Cork Board Mode and Outlining Mode and how to use each of them as well as how to use the distraction free Full Screen Mode.
Split your screen to have two documents or two versions of the same document open at once.
Manage your files and folders, whether you are starting from scratch in Scrivener or want to import your content from another writing application pre-sorted into chapters or sections.
Make use of Scrivener’s editing tools like collections and snapshots (which takes a snap shot of the current state of a document so that you can revert to it if you don’t like your subsequent edits.)
Compile your work for export to your agent, as a paperback or as an eBook.
How to download some tools so that you can preview your content before you send it out.
If you are ready to improve your writing process, scroll up, click the buy button and start making the most of your Scrivener Software today!
Author in Progress: A No-Holds-Barred Guide to What It Really Takes to Get Published
Therese WalshDavid Corbett - 2016