The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction

The Lie That Tells a Truth: A Guide to Writing Fiction

Author: John Dufresne

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2004-08-17

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 0393078353

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"This is the most practical, hard-nosed, generous, direct, and useful guide to writing fiction." —Brad Watson Finally, a truly creative—and hilarious—guide to creative writing, full of encouragement and sound advice. Provocative and reassuring, nurturing and wise, The Lie That Tells a Truth is essential to writers in general, fiction writers in particular, beginning writers, serious writers, and anyone facing a blank page. John Dufresne, teacher and the acclaimed author of Love Warps the Mind a Little and Deep in the Shade of Paradise, demystifies the writing process. Drawing upon the wisdom of literature's great craftsmen, Dufresne's lucid essays and diverse exercises initiate the reader into the tools, processes, and techniques of writing: inventing compelling characters, developing a voice, creating a sense of place, editing your own words. Where do great ideas come from? How do we recognize them? How can language capture them? In his signature comic voice, Dufresne answers these questions and more in chapters such as "Writing Around the Block," "Plottery," and "The Art of Abbreviation." Dufresne demystifies the writing process, showing that while the idea of writing may be overwhelming, the act of writing is simplicity itself.


Is Life Like This?

Is Life Like This?

Author: John Dufresne

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2011-02-08

Total Pages: 383

ISBN-13: 0393338835

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The author presents a six-month program, arranged by week, to complete a first draft of a novel.


The Lie that Tells a Truth

The Lie that Tells a Truth

Author: John Dufresne

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 324

ISBN-13: 9780393057515

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Finally, a truly creative--and hilarious--guide to creative writing, full of encouragement and sound advice. This book is essential to writers in general, fiction writers in particular, beginning writers, serious writers, and anyone facing a blank page.


The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults

The Magic Words: Writing Great Books for Children and Young Adults

Author: Cheryl Klein

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2016-09-06

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 0393292258

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This master class in writing children’s and young adult novels will teach you everything you need to know to write and publish a great book. The best children’s and young adult novels take readers on wonderful outward adventures and stirring inward journeys. In The Magic Words, editor Cheryl B. Klein guides writers on an enjoyable and practical-minded voyage of their own, from developing a saleable premise for a novel to finding a dream agent. She delves deep into the major elements of fiction—intention, character, plot, and voice—while addressing important topics like diversity, world-building, and the differences between middle-grade and YA novels. In addition, the book’s exercises, questions, and straightforward rules of thumb help writers apply these insights to their own creative works. With its generous tone and useful tools for story analysis and revision, The Magic Words is an essential handbook for writers of children’s and young adult fiction.


Storyville!: An Illustrated Guide to Writing Fiction

Storyville!: An Illustrated Guide to Writing Fiction

Author: John Dufresne

Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company

Published: 2020-04-07

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 0393608417

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A smart and funny guide to writing fiction, with engaging infographics that bring storytelling techniques to life. Whether you are daunted by a blinking cursor or frustrated trying to get the people in your head onto the page, writing stories can be intimidating. It takes passion, tenacity, patience, and a knowledge of?and faith in?the often-digressive writing process. A do-it-yourself manual for the apprentice fiction writer, Storyville! demystifies that process; its bold graphics take you inside the writer’s comfortingly chaotic mind and show you how stories are made. In Storyville!, seasoned guide John Dufresne?whose approach “will anchor the newbie and entertain the veteran” (San Francisco Chronicle)?provides practical insight into the building blocks of fiction, including how to make the reader see your characters, create a suspenseful plot, and revise, revise, revise. Storyville! is a combination handbook and notebook, with original prompts and exercises crafted with Dufresne’s singular dry wit and Evan Wondolowski’s playful and illuminating graphics on every page.


The African American Guide to Writing & Publishing Non Fiction

The African American Guide to Writing & Publishing Non Fiction

Author: Jewell Parker Rhodes

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2002-02-05

Total Pages: 203

ISBN-13: 0767910850

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In college and graduate school, Jewell Parker Rhodes never encountered a single reading assignment or exercise that featured a person of color. Now she has made it her mission to rectify the situation, gathering advice and inspiring tips tailored for African Americans seeking to express their life experiences. Comprehensive and totally energizing, the African American Guide to Writing and Publishing Nonfiction bursts with supportive topics such as: ·Finding your voice ·Getting to know your literary ancestors ·Overcoming a bruised ego and finding the determination to pursue your dreams ·Gathering material and conducting research ·Tapping sweet, bittersweet, and joyful memories ·Knowing when to keep revising, and when to let go The guide also features unforgettable excerpts from luminaries such as Maya Angelou, Brent Staples, Houston Baker, and pointers from bestselling African American authors Patrice Gaines, E. Lynn Harris, James McBride, John Hope Franklin, Pearl Cleage, Edwidge Danticat, and many others. It is a uniquely nurturing and informative touchstone for affirming, bearing witness, leaving a legacy, and celebrating the remarkable journey of the self.


A Thousand Darknesses

A Thousand Darknesses

Author: Ruth Franklin

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-11-19

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 0199779775

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What is the difference between writing a novel about the Holocaust and fabricating a memoir? Do narratives about the Holocaust have a special obligation to be 'truthful'--that is, faithful to the facts of history? Or is it okay to lie in such works? In her provocative study A Thousand Darknesses, Ruth Franklin investigates these questions as they arise in the most significant works of Holocaust fiction, from Tadeusz Borowski's Auschwitz stories to Jonathan Safran Foer's postmodernist family history. Franklin argues that the memory-obsessed culture of the last few decades has led us to mistakenly focus on testimony as the only valid form of Holocaust writing. As even the most canonical texts have come under scrutiny for their fidelity to the facts, we have lost sight of the essential role that imagination plays in the creation of any literary work, including the memoir. Taking a fresh look at memoirs by Elie Wiesel and Primo Levi, and examining novels by writers such as Piotr Rawicz, Jerzy Kosinski, W.G. Sebald, and Wolfgang Koeppen, Franklin makes a persuasive case for literature as an equally vital vehicle for understanding the Holocaust (and for memoir as an equally ambiguous form). The result is a study of immense depth and range that offers a lucid view of an often cloudy field.


How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method

Author: Randy Ingermanson

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Published: 2014-07-18

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781500574055

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The Snowflake Method-ten battle-tested steps that jump-start your creativity and help you quickly map out your story.


Handling the Truth

Handling the Truth

Author: Beth Kephart

Publisher: Avery

Published: 2013-08-06

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 159240815X

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A memoir-writing guide offers writing lessons and examples for those interested in putting their memories down on paper, explains the difference between remembering and imagining, and describes the language of truth.


Verity

Verity

Author: Colleen Hoover

Publisher: Grand Central Publishing

Published: 2021-10-05

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 153872474X

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Whose truth is the lie? Stay up all night reading the sensational psychological thriller that has readers obsessed, from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Too Late and It Ends With Us. #1 New York Times Bestseller · USA Today Bestseller · Globe and Mail Bestseller · Publishers Weekly Bestseller Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity’s notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn’t expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read. Page after page of bone-chilling admissions, including Verity's recollection of the night her family was forever altered. Lowen decides to keep the manuscript hidden from Jeremy, knowing its contents could devastate the already grieving father. But as Lowen’s feelings for Jeremy begin to intensify, she recognizes all the ways she could benefit if he were to read his wife’s words. After all, no matter how devoted Jeremy is to his injured wife, a truth this horrifying would make it impossible for him to continue loving her.