It includes solid advice, from professionals of every publishing level, on how to improve one's writing skills. The volume edited by Michael Knost includes contributions by a dream-team of nationally known authors and storytellers, many Bram Stoker Award winners. Contributors to this work include#58; Clive Barker, Joe R. Lansdale, F. Paul Wilson, Ramsey Campbell, Thomas F. Monteleone, Deborah LeBlanc, Gary A. Braunbeck, Brian Keene, Elizabeth Massie, Tom Piccirilli, Jonathan Maberry, Tim Waggoner, Mort Castle, G. Cameron Fuller, Rick Hautala, Scott Nicholson, Michael A. Arnzen, J.F. Gonzalez, Michael Laimo, Lucy A. Snyder, Jeff Strand, Lisa Morton, Jack Haringa, Gary Frank, Jason Sizemore, Robert N. Lee, Tim Deal, Brian Yount, Brian J. Hatcher, and others. Here is what certain industry publications have already said about this exceptional project#58; "A veritable treasure trove of information for aspiring writers--straight from the mouths of today's top horror scribes!" --Rue Morgue Magazine. "Packing more knowledge and sound advice than four years' worth of college courses . . . It's focused on the root of your evil, the writing itself." --Fangoria Magazine.

    Now for the first time, Katherine Ramsland, the acclaimed author of Prism of the Night, cracks open Dean Koontz's protective shell to expose this ruthlessly honest, ambitious, and courageous artist who embodies in his own life and work the hope-filled light and frightening darkness that define America today. Based on extensive interviews with Koontz himself, this fascinating, unique portrait reveals the powerful influences--psychic, trauma, haunting secrets, troubling questions, and optimistic resourcefulness--that have shaped this gifted writer and his acclaimed fiction. Here, too, are the remarkable qualities--tenacity, vision, emotional strength, and business savvy--that have made him a success. Dean Koontz: A Writer's Biography tells a story as thrilling, poignant, and unforgettable as this acclaimed author's most powerful novels.

    ...An essential resource for any writer -- beginning, published, or just plain stuck. -- Amy TanOakley Hall cites the works and methods of such great novelists as John Steinbeck, Joyce Carol Oates, Leo Tolstoy, Agatha Christie and Milan Kundera to show readers what works in the novel, and why. This book features advice on taking a novel through each of its stages, from the beginning of an idea to The End, and guides writers through the process of writing a novel.

     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.

    Democracy Is in the Streets is the definitive history of the major people and ideas that shaped the New Left in America during that turbulent decade. Because the 1960s generation is now moving into positions of power in politics, education, the media, and business, their early history is crucial to our understanding. James Miller, in his new Preface, puts the 1960s and them into a context for our time, claiming that something of value did happen: "Most of the large questions raised by that moment of chaotic openness--political questions about the limits of freedom, and cultural questions, too, about the authority of the past and the anarchy of the new--are with us still."

    Shimmering Images teaches the aspiring memoirist how to locate key memories using Lisa's technique for finding, linking, and fleshing out those vibrant recollections of important moments and situations.Shimmering Images will address:*the difference between memoir and autobiography*how to claim your voice*the art of storytelling*honesty, truth, and compassion in writing*authentic dialogue and the need for specificityReaders will learn how to craft a short piece of narrative nonfiction grounded in their core memories and master a technique they can use over and over again for writing other narratives.A must-have book for anyone who has treasured Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott or Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg.

    This book takes readers into the fascinating world of medieval life through historic pictures, period illustrations and detailed text that describes everything from castle-storming techniques to villagers' hair styles. Three real medieval places - a castle in Chepstow on the Welsh border, the city of Troyes in the country of Champagne and the village of Elton in the English East Midlands - are the jumping - off point for this thorough exploration of 13th and 14th century life in Europe. The authors use recent archeloogical discoveries and historic and contemporary documents in conjunction with diagrams and dramatic photographs to give readers a full understanding of what it was truly like to live 700 years ago.

    Contributors include Peter Straub, Burton Hatlan (King's former English professor), Fritz Leiber, Alan Ryan, Deborah Notkin, Don Herron, and others.

    This definitive anthology enables you to learn from some of the genre's biggest names as they share their wisdom on developing horror that will shock and excite readers and editors alike.

    Teachers, students, and interested readers can use this resource to examine Victorian life in a multitude of settings, from idyllic country estates to urban slums. Organized for easy reference, the volume provides information about the physical, social, economic, and legal details of daily life in Victorian England. Over sixty illustrations plus excerpts from primary sources enliven the work, which can be used in both the classroom and library to answer questions concerning laws, money, social class, values, morality, and private life.Chapters in the work cover: traditional ways of life in town and country, social class, money, work, crime and punishment, the laws of daily life (marriage, divorce, inheritance, guardians, and bankruptcy), the development of a modern urban world (with railways, electricity, plumbing, and telephones), houses, food, clothing, shopping, the rituals of courtship and funerals, family and social life, education, health and medical care, leisure and pleasure, the importance of religion, and the impact of the Raj and the Empire. Historical contexts are explained and emphasis is placed on groups often invisible in traditional history: children, women both at work and at home, and people who led respectable, ordinary lives. A chronology, glossary, bibliography, and index complete the work. This valuable resource provides students, teachers, and librarians with all the information they need to recreate life in Victorian England.

    Heavily illustrated with rare photos, stills, and drawings, 16 in full color. With an introduction by Stephen King.

    Write Is a Verb: Sit Down, Start Writing, No Excuses

    Compelling opening scenes are the key to catching an agent or editor’s attention, and are crucial for keeping your reader engaged.As a writer, what you do in your opening pages, and how you do it, is a matter that cannot be left to chance. The First 50 Pages is here to help you craft a strong beginning right from the start. You’ll learn how to: introduce your main character establish your story world set up the plot’s conflict begin your hero’s inner journey write an amazing opening line and terrific first page and more This helpful guide walks you through the tasks your first 50 pages must accomplish in order to avoid leaving readers disoriented, frustrated, or bored. Don’t let your reader put your book down before ever seeing its beauty. Let The First 50 Pages show you how to begin your novel with the skill and intentionality that will land you a book deal, and keep readers’ eyes glued to the page.

    Sixty exercise sticks: First Sentences, Non Sequiturs, and Last Straws will get stories off the ground, 60 cards fuel creative descriptions and four spinner palettes will ignite unexpected plot twists. For any aspiring writer, this kit is the perfect first step on the path to literary greatness!Inspires writers with creative prompts and samplesGets writers in the right headspace to let creativity flowFeatures 60 writing exercises and other creative gamesMake those days and nights of struggling to create writing ideas go away without having to bury yourself in more books with Writer's Toolbox, which makes for the perfect gift for writers.

    This book is the necessary how-to for first-timers and a terrific guide for seasoned professionals as well, who are putting their racy (and lucrative) fantasies to paper. Now, for the first time, a veteran erotic romance author shows exactly what to do and how. The first book to guide writers to succeed in this mutli-million dollar genre. Explores how to set up a plot and write good, steamy sex scenes. From a best-selling experienced author. Includes resource section for research tools and further reading. Interviews with top editors in the field. Foreword by Kate Duffy, editorial director at Kensington Publishing and founding editor of the genre.