Walking you through characterisation, setting, dialogue and plot, as well as giving expert insights into both fiction and non-fiction, it's the ideal launching pad to the world of creative writing. Creative Writing For Dummies covers:Part I: Getting startedChapter 1: Can Everyone Write? Chapter 2: Getting into the Write Mind Chapter 3: Finding the Material to work with Part II: The Elements of Creative WritingChapter 4: Creating Characters Chapter 5: Discovering Dialogue Chapter 6: Who is telling the story? Chapter 7: Creating your own world Chapter 8: Plotting your way Chapter 9: Creating a Structure Chapter 10: Rewriting and editing Part III: Different Kinds of Fiction WritingChapter 11: Short stories Chapter 12: Novels Chapter 13: Writing for children Chapter 14: Plays Chapter 15: Screenplays Chapter 16: Poetry Part IV: Different kinds of Non-fiction writingChapter 17: Breaking into journalism - Writing articles/ magazine writing Chapter 18: Writing from life and autobiography Chapter 19: Embroidering the facts: Narrative non-fiction Chapter 20: Exploring the world from your armchair - Travel writing Chapter 21: Blogging - the new big thing Part V: Finding an audienceChapter 22: Finding editors/ publishers/ agents Chapter 23: Becoming a professional Part VI: Part of TensChapter 24: Ten top tips for writers Chapter 25: Ten ways to get noticed

    Its second edition, published in 1986, has confirmed that vocabulary is best taught by root, not rote. The importance of learning classical word roots is already acknowledged by vocabulary texts that devote chapters to them. Why a whole book based on this approach? Ayers' text exposes students to a wider range of roots, introduces new English words in context sentences, and reinforces vocabulary through exercises. It promotes more practice with roots so that students learn to use them as tools in their everyday encounters with new words. English Words is written from the standpoint of English; it neither attempts to teach students Latin or Greek nor expects a knowledge of classical languages on the part of instructors. Its success has been demonstrated at both the secondary and college levels, and it can be used effectively with students in remedial or accelerated programs. An Instructor's Manual (gratis with adoption) and a Workbook are also available.

    In her previous book, The Well-Trained Mind, the author provided a road map of classical education for parents wishing to home-school their children, and that book is now the premier resource for home-schoolers. In this new book, Bauer takes the same elements and techniques and adapts them to the use of adult readers who want both enjoyment and self-improvement from the time they spend reading.The Well-Educated Mind offers brief, entertaining histories of five literary genres—fiction, autobiography, history, drama, and poetry—accompanied by detailed instructions on how to read each type. The annotated lists at the end of each chapter—ranging from Cervantes to A. S. Byatt, Herodotus to Laurel Thatcher Ulrich—preview recommended reading and encourage readers to make vital connections between ancient traditions and contemporary writing.The Well-Educated Mind reassures those readers who worry that they read too slowly or with below-average comprehension. If you can understand a daily newspaper, there's no reason you can't read and enjoy Shakespeare's Sonnets or Jane Eyre. But no one should attempt to read the "Great Books" without a guide and a plan. Susan Wise Bauer will show you how to allocate time to your reading on a regular basis; how to master a difficult argument; how to make personal and literary judgments about what you read; how to appreciate the resonant links among texts within a genre—what does Anna Karenina owe to Madame Bovary?—and also between genres. Followed carefully, the advice in The Well-Educated Mind will restore and expand the pleasure of the written word.

    Deborah Tannen, the internationally-acclaimed expert on communication and author of the bestselling YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND, will help you recognize your own conversational style and how it meshes or clashes with the styles of others. Entertaining and informative, everyone who speaks will want to read this gem.

    Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies covers the hardware, the software, and the techniques you need to take top-notch digital photos with your dSLR. This guide will get you clicking with information on:The advantages of a dSLR camera: more control over what portions of your images are in sharp focus; a more accurate viewfinder; lower levels of the annoying grain effect called noise; ability to capture the most fleeting action; more control over depth-of-field; ability to review your image immediately, upload the photo to your computer, make adjustments, and print a full-color print in minutes Choosing the accessories that will take your dSLR to the next level, depending on the type of photography you do and your current and future needs Megapixels, and matching pixels to print sizes and printers The components of a dSLR: lens; viewing system, aperture, shutter, light-sensitive component; medium for storing the captured image Accessorizing your dSLR with memory cards, filter add-ons (infrared, polarizers, neutral density, and special effects), electronic flash, tripods, and more Once you get your hands on a dSLR camera (literally), this reference helps you use its features and controls to take great pictures. Complete with more than 300 color photos, lots of tables, and clear, step-by-step instructions for various situations, subjects, and calculations, Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies helps you refine your techniques with info on:Getting the exposure right with the histogram, the metering system, or Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual Exposure modes Achieving the right focus with manual focus or autofocus The scoop on lenses--prime, zoom, and special--and using them appropriately and creativelyHow to use interchangeable lenses, set up speedy continuous-shooting burst modes, apply selective focus, and shoot under the lowest light levels Special features of dSLR to reduce noise, cancel camera shake, do time-lapse photography, and shoot infrared photos Working with the RAW format, JPEG, or both Taking action, flash, or sequence photos or freezing the action Composition basics, including the Rule of Thirds, tips for shooting portraits or group photos, and more Using image editors to fix-up your photos (with cropping, tonal adjustments, color correction, spot removal, sharpening/blurring, and more), with step-by-step instructions for using Photoshop Compositing images Choosing your printer and evaluating your output options With Digital SLR Cameras & Photography For Dummies, you won't only get the how-to for various types of shots, you'll see the results with great color photos. In no time, you'll be taking great photos of your own.

    The first sentence of a job application letter can consign it to the bin. A speech intended to rouse can put a room to sleep. A mistimed tweet can cost you your job. And a letter to a beloved may aim to convey feelings of tenderness but end up making the recipient laugh rather than melt.In this complete guide to persuasive writing, Sam Leith shows how to express yourself fully across any medium, and how to maximise your chances of getting your way in every situation. From work reports to Valentine cards, and from emails of condolence to tweets of complaint, Leith lays bare the secrets to successful communication, eloquence and off- and online etiquette. How do you write a job application, a thank-you card, or an email to your bank manager, to your children's headteacher, to your clients or your boss? How do you prepare a speech to win the argument, get the vote of confidence, or embarrass the bridegroom? Getting these things right - or wrong - can be life-changing.Succinct treatments of the most general principles of style and composition, as well as examinations of specific modes of address (What is a subtweet? How do I write a moving elegy?) are accompanied by concrete and well-illustrated dos and don'ts and examples of wins and fails. Astute, sprightly and illuminating, Write to the Point will give you the skills and confidence you need to get your message across on every occasion.

    Learn You a Haskell for Great Good! introduces programmers familiar with imperative languages (such as C++, Java, or Python) to the unique aspects of functional programming. Packed with jokes, pop culture references, and the author's own hilarious artwork, Learn You a Haskell for Great Good! eases the learning curve of this complex language, and is a perfect starting point for any programmer looking to expand his or her horizons. The well-known web tutorial on which this book is based is widely regarded as the best way for beginners to learn Haskell, and receives over 30,000 unique visitors monthly.

    The devices presented allow the speaker of a foreign language to demonstrate the level of his/her language more impressively. These techniques were developed and tested by the author with adult professionals in such varied fields as journalism, diplomacy, government, and international business.

    Features clear explanations of the distinctions between synonyms, includes example phrases and antonyms for most entries. 448 pages. 4 3/16quot; x 6 3/4quot;.

    Editors strive to create books that are enlightening, seamless, and pleasurable to read, all while giving credit to the author. This makes it all the more difficult to truly understand the range of roles they inhabit while shepherding a project from concept to publication. In What Editors Do, Peter Ginna gathers essays from twenty-seven leading figures in book publishing about their work. Representing both large houses and small, and encompassing trade, textbook, academic, and children’s publishing, the contributors make the case for why editing remains a vital function to writers—and readers—everywhere. Ironically for an industry built on words, there has been a scarcity of written guidance on how to actually approach the work of editing. This book will serve as a compendium of professional advice and will be a resource both for those entering the profession (or already in it) and for those outside publishing who seek an understanding of it. It sheds light on how editors acquire books, what constitutes a strong author-editor relationship, and the editor’s vital role at each stage of the publishing process—a role that extends far beyond marking up the author’s text. This collection treats editing as both art and craft, and also as a career. It explores how editors balance passion against the economic realities of publishing. What Editors Do shows why, in the face of a rapidly changing publishing landscape, editors are more important than ever.

    All chapters in this best-seller have been substantially revised to reflect recent discoveries and new understanding of linguistics and languages.

    More frolicsome than Fowler's Modern Usage, lighter than the Oxford English Dictionary, and brimming with the strong opinions and razor-sharp wit that made Amis so popular--and so controversial--The King's English is a must for fans and language purists.

    Now fully up to date, including many terms connected with the Internet and electronic communication. 4,500 words and meanings are new to this edition. Excellent coverage of both British and American English, and colloquial as well as formal English. All information is authenticated by the British National Corpus and the Corpus of American English. There are explanations of common symbols (e.g. @), which are not included in any major competitor, and notes on interesting word origins. Easy to use, with a rapid-access page design, shortcuts to the right meaning in long entries, and easy definitions using a carefully chosen defining vocabulary of 3,000 words. Numerous illustrations, including 8 pages in full colour, show vocabulary items in related groups, 10 illustrated topic pages provide essential vocabulary, and show how to use it, and vocabulary notes show students how to improve and enrich their writing.

    A Glossary of Literary Terms covers the terminology of literature - from literary history to theory to criticism - making it a valuable addition to any literary theory or literature course.

     Great writing begins with the sentence. Whether it’s two words (“Jesus wept.”) or William Faulkner’s 1,287-word sentence in Absalom! Absalom!, sentences have the power to captivate, entertain, motivate, educate, and, most importantly, delight. Yet, the sentence-oriented approach to writing is too often overlooked in favor of bland economy. Building Great Sentences teaches you to write better sentences by luxuriating in the pleasures of language. Award-winning Professor Brooks Landon draws on examples from masters of long, elegant sentences—including Don DeLillo, Virginia Woolf, Joan Didion, and Samuel Johnson—to reveal the mechanics of how language works on thoughts and emotions, providing the tools to write powerful, more effective sentences.