With increased compression, every word, every sentence matters more. A writer must learn how to form narratives around caesuras and crevices instead of strings of connections, to move a story through the symbolic weight of images, to master the power of suggestion. With elegant prose, deep readings of other writers, and scaffolded writing exercises, The Art of Brevity takes the listener on a lyrical exploration of compact storytelling, guiding listeners...

The book extension of the growing writer's movement and challenge to write 1,000 words a day helps readers and writers discover how to uncover their creative desires and stay motivated and offers advice from over 50 well-known writers.

"In an elegant but contemporary voice, award-winning author Susan Griffin breaks down the creative process step-by-step, guiding the reader through a practical course in how to begin and end a work of literature, whether fiction or nonfiction, poetry, or prose"--

"The life of a book isn't easy, especially when people judge you by your cover (not every book can be adorned with sparkly unicorns!). And this narrator should know--it's the book itself, and it has a lot of opinions. It gets irritated when readers bend its pages back, and it finds authors quite annoying. But it does have a story to tell. Through witty direct address and charming illustrations, readers meet a book that has never been read, with a...

"We were all taught the fundamentals of writing well in school. But how do we write effectively in today's hyper-interactive world? When The Elements of Style and On Writing Well were published in 1959 and 1976, the internet hadn't been invented. Since then, there has been a radical transformation in how we communicate. The average American adult receives over 120 emails and over 100 text messages each day. With all this correspondence, gaining a...

"Essays that show how Smiley draws inspiration from across literary history to invigorate her own writing. Among the authors she examines are Marguerite de Navarre, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Franz Kafka, Halldor Laxness, and Jessica Mitford"--

Why am I Fat is an insightful look in to why more and more people are finding themselves overweight. It is not a "criticism" but rather a help guide in to getting free from the power of food over our lives, our lack of self control and our inability to be able to say "No". You will find in reading this book that often, there are larger issues and mindsets that also need to be addressed/dealt with.

The 12 Key Pillars of Novel Construction takes the mystery out of building a solid story and shows you how to go from idea to complete novel in practical, easy-to-understand steps.Build smart!Over and over, struggling writers make the same fatal mistakes in their manuscripts. Even writers who have studied all the best writing craft books and taken workshops and followed writers' blogs still don't get the structure. Truth is, a lot of writers believe...

By avoiding these common pitfalls and mistakes, you can make sure your manuscript rises to the top of the slushpile Turn those rejections into acceptances-and contracts. "Dear Author, Your story does not meet our needs at this time..." You know your story is good, but still it was rejected. Over and over again. What are you doing wrong? Are the odds against you? How can an author climb to the top of a pile of competing manuscripts and actually catch...

Robert Holt, himself the successful author of four self-published books, now shares his knowledge and savvy with other would-be author-publishers in this step-by-step guide to every aspect of self-publishing. If you yearn join the ranks of such self-published authors as Henry Thoreau, Upton Sinclair, Anais Nin, and George Bernard Shaw, if you've ever thought of doing it yourself, then this is the book for you. How to Publish Promote and Sell Your...