Marni Freedman invites you to fall in love with the magic that is writing with writer-tested-and-approved tools on story structure, scene creation, plot, voice and character. You need this kind of kick in the pants. The master coach whose credits include writing a play that was turned into a Disney movie offers fresh and practical ideas on writing, including: The 15 Essential Plot Spots-a plotting tool for everything from novels to memoirs to screenplays The big list of 55 Character Archetypes Insights into figuring out how you (yes, you) work as a writer The 5 elements that will ensure you have a compelling story idea A clear explanation of anti-heroes, anti-villains and everything in between The 9 elements of crafting a dynamic character 3 steps to finding and boldly using your unique writer's voice "Can a book be practical and inspirational at the same time? Offer both structure and soul? Oh, yes it can. Master writing coach and teacher, Marni Freedman, does it all with good humor, a little bit of sass, and a great deal of heart, in her book, 7 Essential Writing Tools. Get it and get to work!" - Judy Reeves, author of Wild Women, Wild Voices and A Writer's Book of Days

A special 10th anniversary edition of Roy Peter Clark's bestselling guide to writing, featuring five bonus tools. Ten years ago, Roy Peter Clark, America's most influential writing teacher, whittled down almost thirty years of experience in journalism, writing, and teaching into a series of fifty short essays on different aspects of writing. In the past decade, Writing Tools has become a classic guidebook for novices and experts alike and remains one of the best loved books on writing available. Organized into four sections, "Nuts and Bolts," "Special Effects," "Blueprints for Stories," and "Useful Habits," Writing Tools is infused with more than 200 examples from journalism and literature. This new edition includes five brand new, never-before-shared tools. Accessible, entertaining, inspiring, and above all, useful for every type of writer, from high school student to novelist, Writing Tools is essential reading.

One of America 's most influential writing teachers offers a toolbox from which writers of all kinds can draw practical inspiration. "Writing is a craft you can learn," says Roy Peter Clark. "You need tools, not rules." His book distills decades of experience into 50 tools that will help any writer become more fluent and effective. WRITING TOOLS covers everything from the most basic ("Tool 5: Watch those adverbs") to the more complex ("Tool 34: Turn your notebook into a camera") and provides more than 200 examples from literature and journalism to illustrate the concepts. For students, aspiring novelists, and writers of memos, e-mails, PowerPoint presentations, and love letters, here are 50 indispensable, memorable, and usable tools. "Pull out a favorite novel or short story, and read it with the guidance of Clark 's ideas. . . . Readers will find new worlds in familiar places. And writers will be inspired to pick up their pens." - Boston Globe "For all the aspiring writers out there-whether you're writing a novel or a technical report-a respected scholar pulls back the curtain on the art." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution "This is a useful tool for writers at all levels of experience, and it's entertainingly written, with plenty of helpful examples." -Booklist.

Humanity and warmth. They are the cornerstones of quality nonfiction writing - even in genres more informational than intimate. With "Finding the Heart of Nonfiction," Georgia Heard demonstrates how with mentor texts you can help students create inviting nonfiction.

The craft of writing offers countless potential problems: The story is too long; the story's too short; revising presents a huge hurdle; writer's block is rearing its ugly head. In Help! For Writers, Roy Peter Clark presents an "owner's manual" for writers, outlining the seven steps of the writing process, and addressing the 21 most urgent problems that writers face. In his trademark engaging and entertaining style, Clark offers ten short solutions to each problem. Out of ideas? Read posters, billboards, and graffiti. Can't bear to edit yourself? Watch the deleted scenes feature of a DVD, and ask yourself why those scenes were left on the cutting-room floor. Help! For Writers offers 210 strategies to guide writers to success.

Now updated for 2015! The best, most comprehensive guide for writers is now revised and updated, with new sections on ebooks, self-publishing, crowd-funding through Kickstarter, blogging, increasing visibility via online marketing, micropublishing, the power of social media and author websites, and more—making The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published more vital than ever for anyone who wants to mine that great idea and turn it into a successfully published book. Written by experts with twenty-five books between them as well as many years’ experience as a literary agent (Eckstut) and a book doctor (Sterry), this nuts-and-bolts guide demystifies every step of the publishing process: how to come up with a blockbuster title, create a selling proposal, find the right agent, understand a book contract, and develop marketing and publicity savvy. Includes interviews with hundreds of publishing insiders and authors, including Seth Godin, Neil Gaiman, Amy Bloom, Margaret Atwood, Leonard Lopate, plus agents, editors, and booksellers; sidebars featuring real-life publishing success stories; sample proposals, query letters, and an entirely updated resources and publishers directory.

This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of 'basic stories' in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have 'lost the plot' by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. Booker analyses why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.

Finally, a book that shows how to vastly improve your writing using modern technology! This book lays out 7 steps that will enhance your writing. These proven methods yield superior results. As you apply them, you'll communicate better and achieve more influence. You'll learn how to better identify your readers' needs and write to capture their interest. You'll sense how to control the tone of your writing so it rings true with your readers. You'll understand how to collect and organize the information you need to be persuasive. This book shows you how to exploit the power of the internet, how to quickly find information, and how to use it to full advantage. You'll learn how to make interviews productive. You'll find tools to help you capture information so it's easy to recall and reuse. You'll discover how to brainstorm more effectively, whether you work alone or are part of a team. You'll come to know how to use mind-mapping software to spur your creativity. You'll see how to use Ishikawa Diagrams to structure your ideas. And, you'll grasp how to check your thinking for completeness. You'll be provided with dozens of techniques for organizing your thoughts and material. You'll learn approaches for analyzing problems, proposing changes, persuading others, explaining complex topics, telling stories, and generating powerful sales copy. You'll know how to capture attention, hold the reader's interest, and drive home your point. You'll acquire the ability to draft faster with better results. You'll see how to focus on what works. You'll pick up tips on how to better use voice recognition software to go for speed, control your tone, always have more relevant things to say, and write compelling summaries and conclusions. You'll learn how to edit with power and confidence. You'll realize how to spot and eliminate unclear themes, incorrect assumptions, lapses in logic, irrelevant information, and inappropriate amount of evidence--both too little and too much. You'll find simple explanations of grammar. And in doing so, you'll get the tools you need to craft sentences that really work to communicate your ideas. You'll gain the ability to keep your writing simple and clear. In addition, you'll learn how to check the sound of what you have written using text readers so it resonates with your readers. In short, you'll become a master of crafting powerful and persuasive language. In addition, you'll improve your ability to proof your work, so you are not embarrassed by making stupid errors. You'll be introduced to a sequenced approach to proofreading that minimizes your effort and provides the best results. And finally, you'll learn how to apply these many insights and tips to write better emails, letters, memos, reports, presentations, articles, blogs, websites, and business proposals. THE RESULT. You'll find the words to express your thoughts and feelings. And, your proposals, reports, and emails will get the attention they deserve. This is a book for people in business, government, non-profit organizations, and education. It's a book for those writing serious material for their jobs and their callings. This book contains everything necessary to improve your writing, and there's no fluff. In the time it takes to read this book--less than 4 hours--you can start becoming a stronger writer. After investing only 8 hours--one normal workday--in doing some of the recommended exercises, you'll see improvements in your writing. Is it magic? No. It's just good advice backed up by extensive research and decades of experience. You too can write better, even exceptionally well. 7 Steps to Better Writing will help you do it.

In clear language, Fletcher and Portalupi explain the simple principles that underlie the writing workshop and explore the major components that make it work.

The Lawyer's Essential Guide to Writing is a readable, concrete guide to contemporary legal writing. Based on Marie Buckley's years of experience coaching lawyers, this book provides a systematic approach to all forms of written communication, from memoranda and briefs to e-mail and blogs. The book sets forth three principles for powerful writing and shows how to apply those principles to develop a clean and confident style.