These tales gain their power through plots that connect with the audience on both an emotional and intellectual level.Inside, Ronald B. Tobias details these 20 time-tested plots. Each is discussed and analyzed, illustrating how a successful plot integrates all the elements of a story. Tobias then shows you how to use these plots effectively in your own work.Tobias then goes to the next level, showing you how to choose and develop plot in fiction. He shows you how to craft plot for any subject matter, so that you develop your work evenly and effectively. As a result, your fiction will be more cohesive and convincing, making your story unforgettable for readers everywhere.

    The romance arc is made up of its own story beats, and the external plot and theme need to be braided to the romance arc—not the other way around. Told in conversational (and often irreverent) prose, Romancing the Beat can be read like you are sitting down to coffee with romance editor and author Gwen Hayes while she explains story structure. The way she does with her clients. Some of whom are regular inhabitants of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Romancing the Beat is a recipe, not a rigid system. The beats don’t care if you plot or outline before you write, or if you pants your way through the drafts and do a “beat check” when you’re revising. Pantsers and plotters are both welcome. So sit down, grab a cuppa, and let’s talk about kissing books.

    Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It's just that simple. Hooked provides readers with a detailed understanding of what a beginning must include (setup, backstory, the inciting incident, etc.); instruction on how to successfully develop the story problem; tips on how to correct common beginning mistakes; exclusive insider advice from agents, acquiring book editors, and literary journal editors; and much more.

     Are you finally committed to writing that novel or screenplay, but have no idea how to get started? Or are you a published author, but know you need some plotting help to move your books and career up to that next level? You CAN write better books and scripts—by learning from the movies. Screenwriting is based on a simple (and powerful) structure that you already know from watching so many movies and television shows in your lifetime. And it's a structure that your reader or audience unconsciously expects, and that is crucial for you to deliver. In this workbook, award-winning author/screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff shows you how to jump-start your plot and bring your characters and scenes vibrantly alive on the page by watching your favorite movies and learning from the storytelling structure and tricks of great filmmakers: • The High Concept Premise • The Three-Act, Eight-Sequence Structure • The Storyboard Grid • The Index Card Method of Plotting • The Setpiece Scene • Techniques of film pacing and suspense, character arc and drive, visual storytelling, and building image systems. Based on the internationally acclaimed Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workshops and blog, this new e book edition uses an enhanced format and layout, incorporates all the basic information from the first Screenwriting Tricks for Authors workbook and doubles the material, including ten full story breakdowns. Also available in PRINT --- the textbook-quality edition is 8 x 10 inches and lies open flat for easy highlighting and note-taking.

    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!

    Brande believed passionately that although people have varying amounts of talent, anyone can write. It's just a question of finding the "writer's magic"--a degree of which is in us all. She also insists that writing can be both taught and learned. So she is enraged by the pessimistic authors of so many writing books who rejoice in trying to put off the aspiring writer by constantly stressing how difficult it all is.With close reference to the great writers of her day--Wolfe, Forster, Wharton and so on--Brande gives practical but inspirational advice about finding the right time of day to write and being very self disciplined about it--"You have decided to write at four o'clock, and at four o'clock you must write." She's strong on confidence building and there's a lot about cheating your unconscious which will constantly try to stop you writing by coming up with excuses. Then there are exercises to help you get into the right frame of mind and to build up writing stamina. She also shows how to harness the unconscious, how to fall into the "artistic coma," then how to re-emerge and be your own critic.This is Dorothea Brande's legacy to all those who have ever wanted to express their ideas in written form. A sound, practical, inspirational and charming approach to writing, it fulfills on finding "the writer's magic."

    Most people dream of writing a book, but those manuscripts end up shoved away in dusty drawers, half-finished and abandoned to be eaten by moths.Many of them are great writers, many of them have great ideas. Yet so many people come to the conclusion that they'll never finish their books. Why? Because they aren't following a proven system. Maybe this is you right now.Maybe you believe that you're not good enough, that you'll never have enough time, or that it's a terrible book idea.You wonder how on earth other people manage to find time to write alongside their jobs, family and other commitments. But the assumption that writing is a slow process and books take six months or years to write is outdated. You can easily increase your efficiency three to four times MORE by using this system. As much value as there is in quality, quantity also plays a significant factor.The days where you need to have access to expensive or special equipment are gone.And one of the fastest ways to become profitable as an author nowadays is to write faster. Let me show you how you can hit the finish line at record speed. Every. Single. Time. This is the same system that allows me to spend more time with my family, earn more money and accomplish four times the amount of work in the same eight hours a day.It’s allowed me to release books on an exponential scale, to set goals of writing fifty books per year.This book was written using the same strategy.  It can be done. And now you can do the same. This ISN’T a book you read for inspiration and walk away feeling good. This is a book about taking ACTION. I want you to be generating MORE CONTENT THAN YOU EVEN NEED. What you will walk away with... Learn The Conveyor Belt Method: The step-by-step process which will give you an unshakeable FOUNDATION for your writing career Become One With Your Creative Mind: How to become so efficient with your methodology that you can AVOID writer's block entirely Master Your Location Independence: The secret writing anytime and ANYWHERE you want! Harness Your Long Term Sales: Get the exact ingredients you need to capture your readers for good and turn them into lifelong fans! Imagine if... Writing books was no longer a struggle and you could churn out bestsellers on a whim You could write a book in your spare time and don't need to fight against your other commitments You could come up with an idea in the morning, plan out your content and have your first draft FINISHED by the afternoon! Don't let your book rot in a drawer like all the rest. Your time is NOW. You could have the book you've always dreamed of writing in your hands TODAY. Begin your journey by clicking the button above.

    Sometimes a writer needs something with a little more expressive power; a word or phrase that helps the reader visualize the tonal quality or mood of the character doing the talking.For many years, writers have been eagerly awaiting the publication of a resource to help them with this dilemma. Thankfully, that wait is finally over. Now there's a way for any writer, regardless of their experience, to craft dialogue tags that add emotion and vibrancy to their storytelling; all while avoiding tired and worn out cliches.Dahlia Evans has compiled a dialogue thesaurus unlike anything ever published. This unique sourcebook is filled to the brim with words and phrases gathered from hundreds of bestselling novels. Finally, you will be able to open up vistas of endless inspiration and bring your dialogue to life.Inside You'll Discover:# Over 500 dialogue and action tags you can use instead of 'said'.# More than 2900 adverbs that can be used to describe speech.# Thousands of emotion and feeling words in adjective and noun form.# A thousand phrases to describe body language and movement.# Tons of example sentences to help solidify your understanding.# And best of all, words are sorted in alphabetical order, as well as by category.'The Dialogue Thesaurus' is the first book of its kind; a thesaurus geared towards writers who want to frame their dialogue with compelling and expressive words and phrases.

    Using charts, examples, and movies, the author breaks these key elements down into understandable components and walks the reader through the process of laying this foundation in his or her own work.Learn what causes sagging middles and how to fix them, which goals are important, which aren’t and why, how to get your characters to do what they need for your plot in a believable manner, and how to use conflict to create a good story. GMC can be used not only in plotting, but in character development, sharpening scenes, pitching ideas to an editor, and evaluating whether an idea will work.Be confident your ideas will work before you write 200 pages.Plan a road map to keep your story on track.Discovery why your scenes aren’t working and what to do about it.Create characters that editors and readers will care about.

    Trouble is, plot is where most writers fall down--but you don't have to be one of them. With this book, you'll learn how to create stories that build suspense, reveal character, and engage readers--one scene at a time.Celebrated writing teacher and author Martha Alderson has devised a plotting system that's as innovative as it is easy to implement. With her foolproof blueprint, you'll learn to devise a successful storyline for any genre. She shows how to:Use the power of the Universal StoryCreate plot lines and subplots that work togetherEffectively use a scene tracker for maximum impactInsert energetic markers at the right points in your storyShow character transformation at the book's climaxThis is the ultimate guide for you to write page-turners that sell!

     Every great novel and movie follows a common narrative pattern known as the Hero’s Journey. In this book, for the first time at such level of detail, independent writers can have a look into the Hollywood’s manual on how to create a classic. Make no mistake about it: This is not just another popular take on the subject. This is it. All the 195 plot milestones found in the greatest stories of all times are outlined here—clearly, exactly, concisely. If you are writing a novel or a script, don’t run with disadvantage: Step into this mythical landscape and follow your favorite heroes along The Ultimate Hero’s Journey, as you discover the master structure of timeless storytelling.

    Written by a successful author of more than ten science fiction and fantasy novels, Writing Science and Fantasy takes an in-depth look at these two best-selling genres. Kilian delves into the origins and conventions of science fiction and fantasy and goes over the many subgenres, including nanotechnology, space opera, and sword and sorcery. He forces you to ask yourself crucial questions about your own novel, and also offers practical advice on how to prepare and market your manuscript to publishers, editors, and agents. With this book as a guide, both novice and experienced writers can learn how to make their work both a literary and financial success. Learn about:Constructing a sceneShowing versus tellingAvoiding clichésDeveloping good writing and research habitsCreating plausible fantasy worldsUsing symbolism and imagery effectivelyHighlights of the CD:Ten steps for pre-editingExercises on character and dialogueScores of links to relevant websites

    Baxter's experience from decades as a career martial artist make this book a valuable resource for writers who want to understand what fighting is all about - what it really feels like and what does and doesn't work - and how to factor those things into their writing to make their fight scenes visceral, realistic page turners. Baxter won't tell you how to write, but he will tell you what makes a great fight scene.

    This volume explores the most common male and female archetypes, provides instructions for using them to create original characters and gives examples of how other authors have brought such archetypes to life in novels, films and television.

    This step-by-step guide helps you get past that hurdle, start writing, and cross the finish line to first draft in only twenty-six weeks! This guide covers the entire novel-writing process--from polishing an idea to finding an agent and submitting to publishers.This practical guide takes you through the ins and outs of writing and publishing your first book, including how to:Create authentic characters, engaging plotlines, and believable settingsEdit for tone, structure, and pacingFind the right agentMarket and sell your work to publishersBuild a career as a novelistComplete with writing exercises, inspiring examples, and expert advice from bestselling novelists, this book is an excellent starting place for anyone interested in the art, craft, and business of writing fiction.