The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (and how to Avoid Them) PDF Download

Author: Jack M. Bickham
Publisher: Betterway Books
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 136

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Book Description
Provides suggestions for correcting common writing mistakes and offers advice on developing a fiction writer's attitude, refining ideas and language, and submitting manuscripts.

Author: Sol Stein
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
ISBN: 1466865008
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
Each year thousands of fiction writers, from beginners to bestselling author, benefit from Sol Stein's sold-out workshops, featured appearances at writers' conferences, software for writers, on-line columns, and his popular first book for writers, Stein on Writing. Stein practices what he teaches: He is the author of nine novels, including the million-copy bestseller The Magician, as well as editor of such major writers as James Baldwin, Jack Higgins, Elia Kazan, Budd Schulberg, W. H. Auden, and Jacques Barzun, and the teacher and editor of several current bestselling authors. What sets Stein apart is his practical approach. He provides specific techniques that speed writers to successful publication. How to Grow a Novel is not just a book, but an invaluable workshop in print. It includes details and examples from Stein's editorial work with a #1 bestselling novelist as well as talented newcomers. Stein takes the reader backstage in the development of memorable characters and fascinating plots. The chapter on dialogue overflows with solutions for short-story writers, novelists, screenwriters, and playwrights. Stein shows what readers are looking for-- and what they avoid-- in the experience of reading fiction. The book offers guidelines-- and warnings-- of special value for nonfiction writers who want to move into fiction. Stein points to the little, often overlooked things that damage the writer's authority without the writer knowing it. And this book, like no other writing book, takes the reader behind the scenes of the publishing business as it affects writers of every level of experience, revealing the hard truths that are kept behind shut doors.

Author: Elizabeth Lyon
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101143886
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 278

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Book Description
The second book in the Writer's Compass series from professional writing instructor Elizabeth Lyon offers both aspiring and established authors the fundamentals of writing and selling a great novel or short story. In addition to the basics of characterization, plot, pacing, and theme, A Writer's Guide to Fiction also features a plan for revising fiction, a guide to marketing, samples of cover and query letters, and methods of honing the writing craft.

Author: Jack M. Bickham
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780898799484
Category : Crafts & Hobbies
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
Even if you have great characters, outstanding dialogue and a gripping plot, your story isn't complete without the appropriate setting. Setting is the unifying element in most fiction, working in concert with plot, characterization and point of view. Here you'll explore how to use setting as the basis for creating dramatic, engaging stories. Focusing on detail, language and observation, Jack Bickham's invaluable instruction will not only improve your ability to create a strong setting, but also enhance your writing skills as a whole. You'll learn:- the function of setting within the fiction writing process- how setting works with plot, characterization and point of view- the effect of setting on unity- ways to generate story ideas through setting- techniques for creating setting- how to use setting as a thematic device- methods for using setting to stimulate your reader's senses- how to incorporate factual information for texture and authenticity- exercises for improving your powers of observation- tips for recording ideas, events and descriptions using notebook entriesOver the course of his esteemed career, Jack Bickham published more than 80 novels and instructional books, including Writing Novels That Sell and the 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them). A former creative writing professor, he instructed thousands of writers through his classes, seminars and Writer's Digest magazine articles.

Author: Jack Bickham
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0898799066
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
Craft your fiction with scene-by-scene flow, logic and readability. An imprisoned man receives an unexpected caller, after which "everything changed..." And the reader is hooked. But whether or not readers will stay on for the entire wild ride will depend on how well the writer structures the story, scene by scene. This book is your game plan for success. Using dozens of examples from his own work - including Dropshot,Tiebreaker and other popular novels - Jack M. Bickham will guide you in building a sturdy framework for your novel, whatever its form or length. You'll learn how to: • "worry" your readers into following your story to the end • prolong your main character's struggle while moving the story ahead • juggle cause and effect to serve your story action As you work on crafting compelling scenes that move the reader, moment by moment, toward the story's resolution, you'll see why... • believable fiction must make more sense than real life • every scene should end in disaster • some scenes should be condensed, and others built big Whatever your story, this book can help you arrive at a happy ending in the company of satisfied readers.

Author: James Mendrinos
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9781592572311
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
You've always known writing comedy was about more than just being funny. But how do you create a joke and work it into a script or a stand-up routine? Comedian, writer, and teacher Jim Mendrinos has the answers. In The Complete Idiot s Guide to Comedy Writing, Mendrinos gives readers the principles he teaches in his popular courses, from understanding what funny is and how to find it, to how to actually construct comedy. Working through the basic constructions and forms including premises, points of view, and twists, he shows the variations of written, verbal, and physical comedy. With useful exercises, Mendrinos helps writers refine their writing, appeal to their audience, and even break writer's block by learning techniques for brainstorming, free association, lists, and finding infinite points of view.

Author: Billie Williams
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1257114212
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
A Mystery Writers Primer, for beginner or expert, a primer to help get to the next level

Author: Amanda Boulter
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0230207472
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Exploring writing as a practice, Boulter draws from the work of writers and theorists to show how cultural and literary debates can help writers enhance their own fiction. Negotiating the creative-critical crossover, this is an approachable book that helps students develop practical writing skills and a critical awareness of creative possibilities.

Author: Howard Mittelmark
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061862894
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
"What do you think of my fiction book writing?" the aspiring novelist extorted. "Darn," the editor hectored, in turn. "I can not publish your novel! It is full of what we in the business call 'really awful writing.'" "But how shall I absolve this dilemma? I have already read every tome available on how to write well and get published!" The writer tossed his head about, wildly. "It might help," opined the blonde editor, helpfully, "to ponder how NOT to write a novel, so you might avoid the very thing!" Many writing books offer sound advice on how to write well. This is not one of those books. On the contrary, this is a collection of terrible, awkward, and laughably unreadable excerpts that will teach you what to avoid—at all costs—if you ever want your novel published. In How Not to Write a Novel, authors Howard Mittelmark and Sandra Newman distill their 30 years combined experience in teaching, editing, writing, and reviewing fiction to bring you real advice from the other side of the query letter. Rather than telling you how or what to write, they identify the 200 most common mistakes unconsciously made by writers and teach you to recognize, avoid, and amend them. With hilarious "mis-examples" to demonstrate each manuscript-mangling error, they'll help you troubleshoot your beginnings and endings, bad guys, love interests, style, jokes, perspective, voice, and more. As funny as it is useful, this essential how-NOT-to guide will help you get your manuscript out of the slush pile and into the bookstore.

Author: Susan M. Brackney
Publisher: Dell
ISBN: 030748890X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
The Lost Soul Companion showed you how to survive…now learn how to thrive! A gift of wit, wisdom, and understanding for writers, musicians, freethinkers, and struggling artists of every stripe! Susan M. Brackney, author of The Lost Soul Companion, keeps the encouragement coming and offers smart solutions for artists, musicians, actors, and writers ready to share their creative talents with the rest of the world. Practical and irreverent, The Not-So-Lost Soul Companion is the wise, whimsical--and indispensable--next step in launching the creative life of your dreams. *How to keep your cool despite disastrous auditions, withering reviews, and well-meaning relatives *Finding your own place on the Wheel of Creative Will *How famous flounderers Ralph Waldo Emerson, Agatha Christie,and George Orwell found their true callings *Artist-friendly alternatives to New York and L.A. *What to do when you find your art hanging in a used-furniture store *How to survive as a free spirit in Corporate Captivity *Marketing tips, publicity pitfalls, and the magic word to open new doors *Getting the big deal: a peek at the wizard behind the curtain