The Essential Writer's Companion is a complete guide to effective communication. It contains basic information on spelling, punctuation, word formation, style, grammar, and proofreading - all organized clearly and accessibly. Learn how to construct persuasive sentences and paragraphs to ensure that your written work is to the point and forceful throughout. Special sections on writing papers and reports and on doing research in the library round out this indispensable volume for school, home, or office.
Beloved author Cecil (Cec) Murphey says, “The best kind of writing occurs when it comes from the heart. It’s called being authentic or transparent. Too many writers have an insatiable need to be accepted, liked, or admired, and those needs become more important than being true to their convictions. Be you when you write.” But having the courage to tap into your innermost self and write purely from your spirit doesn’t always come naturally, which is why he wrote Unleash the Writer Within to guide you along the way. In this book, Cec helps you: * Answer why you write; * Find the real you; * Understand your inner critic; * Determine your strengths and weaknesses; * Honor, embrace, and grow your voice; * Discover your rhythm; * Overcome your barriers to honest writing. Unleash the Writer Within is sure to become your most-used and marked-up writing companion. It also serves as an excellent resource for writers’ events, group discussions, and conferences. Note: UNLEASH THE WRITER WITHIN is a previously published work, and is not substantially different from the original edition.
Provides the tools needed to hone a writer's abilities, and it's written in a style that keeps the brain from crying out in frustration or dying of boredom. Instead of slipping into a coma, writers will master the structure [of] coherent plotting; fiction elements such as point of view, atmosphere, narrative, and characterization; and learn to revise grammar and syntax without imploding under the weight of dull rules. Once those skills are mastered, the Companion details simple but effective ways to rewrite, edit, format, and prepare manuscripts for publication ... And that's just the beginning! -- From back cover.
Webster’s New Essential Writer’s Companion is a helpful guide to the mechanics of good writing and effective research including the latest electronic resources. With sections on grammar, punctuation, style, usage, and proofreading, this easy-to-use reference offers invaluable guidance to writers looking to give every piece of writing that polished finish. Additional advice on constructing logical sentences and paragraphs shows how to build a convincing overall argument. Key sections on research explain how to take full advantage of the powerful search tools available over computer networks, both inside and outside a traditional library setting. Compact and to the point, this nifty handbook is an ideal resource for the home, office, or classroom.
Excel at editing! The editor's job encompasses much more than correcting commas and catching typos. Your chief mission is to help writers communicate effectively--which is no small feat. Whether you edit books, magazines, newspapers, or online publications, your ability to develop clear, concise, and focused writing is the key to your success. The Editor's Companion is an invaluable guide to honing your editing skills. You'll learn about editing for: • CONTENT: Analyze and develop writing that is appealing and appropriate for the intended audience. • FOCUS: Ensure strong beginnings and satisfying endings, and stick with one subject at a time. • PRECISE LANGUAGE: Choose the right words, the right voice, and the right tense for every piece. • GRAMMAR: Recognize common mistakes in punctuation, parts of speech, and sentence structure--and learn how to avoid them. You'll also find valuable editing resources and checklists, advice on editorial relationships and workflow, and real-life samples of editing with explanations of what was changed and why. The Editor's Companion provides the tools you need to pursue high quality in editing, writing, and publishing--every piece, every time.
Spark your creativity, hone your writing, and improve your scripts with the self-contained character, scene, and story exercises found in this classic guide. Having spent decades working with dramatists to refine and expand their existing plays and screenplays, Dunne effortlessly blends condensed dramatic theory with specific action steps—over sixty workshop-tested exercises that can be adapted to virtually any individual writing process and dramatic script. Dunne’s in-depth method is both instinctual and intellectual, allowing writers to discover new actions for their characters and new directions for their stories. The exercises can be used by those just starting the writing process and by those who have scripts already in development. With each exercise rooted in real-life issues from Dunne’s workshops, readers of this companion will find the combined experiences of more than fifteen hundred workshops in a single guide. This second edition is fully aligned with a brand-new companion book, Character, Scene, and Story, which offers forty-two additional activities to help writers more fully develop their scripts. The two books include cross-references between related exercises, though each volume can also stand alone. No ordinary guide to plotting, this handbook centers on the principle that character is key. “The character is not something added to the scene or to the story,” writes Dunne. “Rather, the character is the scene. The character is the story.” With this new edition, Dunne’s remarkable creative method will continue to be the go-to source for anyone hoping to take their story to the stage. “Dunne mixes an artist’s imagination and intuition with a teacher’s knowledge of the craft of dramatic writing.” —May-Brit Akerholt, award-winning dramaturg
Full of both inspirational and practical advice, Writing Children's Fiction: A Writers' and Artists' Companion is an essential guide to writing for some of the most difficult and demanding readers of all: children and young people. Part 1 explores the nature, history and challenges of children's literature, and the amazing variety of genres available for children from those learning to read to young adults. Part 2 includes tips by such bestselling authors as David Almond, Malorie Blackman, Meg Rosoff and Michael Morpurgo. Part 3 contains practical advice - from shaping plots and creating characters to knowing your readers, handling difficult subjects and how to find an agent and publisher when your book or story is complete.
Writing Historical Fiction: A Writers' & Artists' Companion is an invaluable companion for a writer working in this challenging and popular literary genre, whether your period is Ancient Rome or World War II. PART 1 includes reflections on the genre and provides a short history of historical fiction. PART 2 contains guest contributions from Margaret Atwood, Ian Beck, Madison Smartt Bell, Ronan Bennett, Vanora Bennett, Tracy Chevalier, Lindsay Clarke, Elizabeth Cook, Anne Doughty, Sarah Dunant, Michel Faber, Margaret George, Philippa Gregory, Katharine McMahon, Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Hilary Mantel, Alan Massie, Ian Mortimer, Kate Mosse, Charles Palliser, Orhan Pamuk, Edward Rutherfurd, Manda Scott, Adam Thorpe, Stella Tillyard, Rose Tremain, Alison Weir and Louisa Young. PART 3 offers practical exercises and advice on such topics as research, plots and characters, mastering authentic but accessible dialogue and navigating the world of agents and publishers.
"This is the best idea for a writing book that I've ever seen. It's like sitting in a room full of professional writers, and after each one delivers a riff on one aspect of writing, the others weigh in to buttress, amplify, refine, or add to what was said. It's an extended conversation with writers who know what they're talking about--and what matters in writing fiction that really communicates with readers." --Orson Scott Card . . . . . . "How To Write Magical Words: A Writer's Companion" is a compilation of essays originally published on MagicalWords.net, a popular writing blog with thousands of regular followers. Distilling three years worth of helpful advice into a single, portable volume, it contains nearly 100 essays covering such wide-ranging topics as: - Getting Started . . . Again - Creating Characters in Small Spaces - Storytelling Tropes: Belief - Binding Character and Narrative: Point of View - Word Choice and Pacing - Metaphors, Similes, and Analogies, Oh My . . . - Writing Action Scenes - The Beginning of the End - Developing Your Internal Editor - Artistic Choices and the Market - Business Realities for the Writer Many of these essays are accompanied by comments and questions from the blog's readers, along with the author's response, making this volume unique among how-to books on any subject. The core members of Magical Words--David B. Coe, A.J. Hartley, Faith Hunter, Stuart Jaffe, Misty Massey, C.E. Murphy, and Edmund R. Schubert--have experience writing and editing fantasy, mysteries, thrillers, romance, science fiction, non-fiction, and more. This group is uniquely qualified to cover the full spectrum of writing-related issues. "How To Write Magical Words: A Writer's Companion" is a book that belongs in the library of anyone interested in the craft of writing, the business of writing, and the writing life.
