Many of us love to tell them, and even dream of making a living from it too. But what is a story? Hundreds of books about screenwriting and storytelling have been written, but none of them ask 'Why?' Why do we tell stories? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke has been telling stories almost his entire adult life, and the more he has done it, the more he has asked himself why? Every great thinker or writer has their theories: Aristotle, David Hare, Lajos Egri, Robert McKee, Gustav Freytag, David Mamet, Christopher Booker, Charlie Kaufman, William Goldman and Aaron Sorkin - all have offered insightful and illuminating answers. Here, John Yorke draws on these figures and more as he takes us on a historical, philosophical, scientific and psychological journey to the heart of all storytelling.What he reveals is that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative - one that echoes the great fairytale journey into the woods, and one, like any great art, that comes from deep within. Much more than a 'how to write' book, Into the Woods is an exploration of this fundamental structure underneath all narrative forms, from film and television to theatre and novel-writing. With astonishing detail and wisdom, John Yorke explains to us a phenomenon that, whether it is as a simple fable, or a big-budget 3D blockbuster, most of us experience almost every day of our lives.

    This opinion, commonplace among published as well as aspiring writers, struck Nisi as taking the easy way out and spurred her to write an essay addressing the problem of how to write about characters marked by racial and ethnic differences. In the course of writing the essay, however, she realized that similar problems arise when writers try to create characters whose gender, sexual preference, and age differ significantly from their own. Nisi and Cynthia collaborated to develop a workshop that addresses these problems with the aim of both increasing writers' skill and sensitivity in portraying difference in their fiction as well as allaying their anxieties about ''getting it wrong.'' Writing the Other: A Practical Approach is the manual that grew out of their workshop. It discusses basic aspects of characterization and offers elementary techniques, practical exercises, and examples for helping writers create richer and more accurate characters with ''differences.''

    What he found so moved and astonished him that he began to teach there regularly. In voices of indelible emotional presence, the boys write about what led them to crime and about the lives that stretch ahead of them behind bars. We see them coming to terms with their crime-ridden pasts and searching for a reason to believe in their future selves. Insightful, comic, honest and tragic, True Notebooks is an object lesson in the redemptive power of writing.

    Lily King remembers the year her family lived in Italy, and a knitted hat that helped her daughter adjust to her new home. Laura Lippman explores how converting to Judaism changed not only Christmas but also her mother’s gift of a knitted stocking. Jodi Picoult remembers her grandmother and how through knitting she felt that everlasting love. And Bill Roorbach remembers his freshman year in college when knitting soothed his broken heart and helped him fall in love again. Other contributors include Steve Almond, Ann Leary, Christina Baker Kline, Lee Woodruff, and knitting rock stars Jared Flood of Brooklyn Tweed and the Yarn Whisperer, Clara Parks. With knitting patterns from renowned stores such as Purl Soho, Hill Country Weavers, and Churchmouse Yarns, Knitting Pearls is by turns delightful and heartbreaking, joyous and wise. These personal stories by award-winning writers celebrate the moments of loss and love intertwined in the rhythm, ritual, and pleasure of knitting.

    Six years later, in order to win his freedom and return home, Ahiram enters the elite Games of the Mines. Pursued relentlessly by his enemies and driven to the limit of his endurance, Ahiram unwittingly awakens a dormant fury within him, and its resonance is caught by a hidden malice that turns the Games into a living nightmare. Refusing to submit to a cruel tyranny, Ahiram must face a harrowing death in the bowels of the earth. Still, a glimmer of hope remains. For deep within the mines, between stone and gold, a power–unlike anything the world has seen–quietly calls his name.

    But with New York Times bestselling author Philip Athans and fantasy giant R. A. Salvatore at your side, you’ll create worlds that draw your readers in--and keep them reading! Just as important, you’ll learn how to prepare your work for today’s market. Drawing on his years of experience as one of the most acclaimed professionals in publishing, Wizards of the Coast editor Athans explains how to set your novel apart--and break into this lucrative field. From devising clever plots and building complex characters to inventing original technologies and crafting alien civilizations, Athans gives you the techniques you need to write strong, saleable narratives.Plus! Athans applies all of these critical lessons together in an unprecedented deconstruction of a never-before-published tale by the one and only R. A. Salvatore!There are books on writing science fiction and fantasy, and then there’s this book--the only one you need to create strange, wonderful worlds for your own universe of readers!

    In this sparkling collection of essays, he brings this vast experience and a keen critical eye to bear on craft issues facing literary writers. Examples from masters such as Leo Tolstoy, Flannery O'Connor, and Alice Munro illustrate this engaging discussion of what makes great writing.At the same time, Boswell moves readers beyond the classroom, candidly sharing the experiences that have shaped his own writing life. A chance encounter in a hotel bar leads to a fascinating glimpse into his imaginative process. And through the story of a boyhood adventure, Boswell details how important it is for writers to give themselves over to what he calls the "half-known world" of fiction, where surprise and meaning converge.

    Back in school, indifferent classmates and teachers leave her with no support; her confidence starts to sharply plummet. Does anyone care that she had been gone?Overwhelmed by feelings of failure, Anna begins to contemplate the worst.Progress is quickly slipping away as her life descends back into chaos. Can Anna rise above her tragic past and sway her family’s destiny before it’s too late? Get your copy now and witness the journey unfold in a sequel to the award winning novel, "The Fifth Floor". “It is a story about acceptance and love, and is a compelling read.” - Mamtha Madhaven – Reader’s Favorite

    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"

    Smith, Jr. offers effective guidance in short, easily checklists, Q&As, and practical tools.This book gives you everything you need to:Create great characters Maintain a compelling pace Craft believable dialogue Expand your creativity Revise your work to perfection Attract agent's and editor's attention And much, much moreThe unique format of the book allows you to read from start to finish or to focus just on areas where your fiction needs work. With valuable and surprising tips on every page, "The Writer's Little Helper" is sure to become your biggest fiction writing aid.

    The definitive guide to becoming a successful freelance writer, now in an updated and expanded third editionSecrets of a Freelance Writer has long been the authoritative guide to making big money as a commercial freelance writer.  In this new edition, you-ll find out how to make $100,000 a year-or much more-writing ads, annual reports, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, direct mail, Web pages, CD-ROMs, press releases, and other projects for corporations, small businesses, associations, nonprofit organizations, the government, and other commercial clients.You'll also learn how to start out as a freelancer, market yourself to clients, create a successful personal Web site to cull more sales leads, follow up on potential customers to build your practice, and run your business on a day-to-day basis.  Secrets of a Freelance Writer is the definitive guide to building a successful and lucrative freelance writing practice.

    Now the techniques of this renowned school are available in this book.Here you'll find: The fundamental elements of fiction craft—character, plot, point of view, etc.—explained clearly and completely - Key concepts illustrated with passages from great works of fiction - The complete text of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver—a masterpiece of contemporary short fiction that is analyzed throughout the book - Exercises that let you immediately apply what you learn to your own writing.Written by Gotham Writers' Workshop expert instructors and edited by Dean of Faculty Alexander Steele, Writing Fiction offers the same methods and exercises that have earned the school international acclaim.Once you've read—and written—your way through this book, you'll have a command of craft that will enable you to turn your ideas into effective short stories and novels. You will be a writer.Gotham Writers' Workshop is America's leading private creative writing school, offering classes in New York City and on the web at WritingClasses.com. The school's interactive online classes, selected "Best of the Web" by Forbes, have attracted thousands of aspiring writers from across the United States and more than sixty countries.

    Wrede has been a stalwart of the sci-fi/fantasy world for decades, publishing dozens of books across multiple series, storming bestseller lists and corralling accolades from critics and fans alike. Now, with brilliant insight and a sparkling wit, Wrede shows beginning writers the ropes in WREDE ON WRITING. How do I find the time to write? How do I decide when a book is finished? How do I get my book published?Wrede tackles all issues for writers, from the basic how-to’s to the more advanced topics on character development and worldbuilding. In her conversational tone, she gives writers the tips and tricks her experience has brought. After WREDE ON WRITING, authors will have the knowledge to put their tools to better use. Thinking of starting a book? Trying to finish one? WREDE ON WRITING will guide you towards that superior draft to send to agents, to publishers, and to readers.How do I calculate royalties? How do I plan my finances as an author? How do I write as a career?Before she became a successful full-time writer, Patricia C. Wrede worked in finance, and she also provides for authors an extensive look at how to manage the money—from royalties to determining the financial potential of your next project, Wrede provides authors with deep insight into the business of writing. A brilliant guide from a literary stalwart, WREDE ON WRITING is the book everyone with a novel under their beds or inside their heads should read.

    It's a chunky book of 400 questions that range from the heinous to the nauseating to the downright disturbing, each a field-tested conversation starter—because no matter how strange or far-fetched, Would You Rather...? knows that choice provokes thinking, and thinking is fun. Some questions, like a Rorschach test, reveal values: Would you rather . . . Age only from the neck up -OR- age only from the neck down? Be stupid and rich -OR- smart and poor? Some delight in their own grossness: Eat three earthworms -OR- wear a necklace made of them on your wedding day? Be trapped in an elevator with wet dogs -OR- three fat men with bad breath? Some churn up prejudices: Lose your mate to the same sex as yourself -OR- the opposite sex? Some create that squirming sensation: Get a bad case of poison ivy way up inside your nose -OR- inside your inner ear? Or ethical dilemmas: Be president of a firm that poaches endangered species -OR- work for a corrupt politician? And some are just deliciously absurd: Catch a porcupine thrown from a second-story window -OR- a skunk thrown from the same window? Each question is followed up with related, often off-the-wall information, from odd trivia to dumb jokes to the occasional practical advice (go for the skunk—the porcupine's got 30,000 quills, while tomato juice will take away the skunk smell).

    On this particular day the whole valley seemed to rejoice in the fullness of the season—but suddenly Barbara and Regina’s peaceful frontier life is changed forever. General Braddock and his army had been defeated and soon the Pennsylvania settlers would suffer the bloody effects of the French and Indian War. On October 16, 1755, a band of Indians, led by Allegheny warriors, stormed through Buffalo Valley, burned the Leiningers’ log cabin, and captured the sisters. Few survived the Penn’s Creek Massacre and even fewer lived to tell the story. Regina makes a promise to her older sister just before they are unwillingly separated—each to endure different fates. Barbara is taken deep into the wilderness, but holds on to the hope that she will find her little sister. Though she is adopted into the Indian tribe, there is a longing deep inside that cannot be denied. She must escape—but the penalty if caught is certain death. No one expresses Barbara’s apprehensions better than her own words, written in 1759: “If one could not believe that there is a God, who helps and saves from death, one had better let running away alone...The extreme probability that the Indians would pursue and recapture us, was two to one compared with the dim hope that, perhaps, we would get through...even if we did escape the Indians, how would we ever succeed in passing through the wilderness, unacquainted with a single path or trail…"