#paperback #writingworkshop #fictionwriting #nonfiction 

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Washington

The Practical Guide from New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School

Gotham Writers' Workshop has mastered the art of teaching the craft of writing in a way that is practical, accessible, and entertaining. Now the techniques of this renowned school are available in this book. Here you'll find: - The fundamental elements of fiction craft-character, plot, point of view, etc.-explained clearly and completely - Key concepts illustrated with passages from great works of fiction - The complete text of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver-a masterpiece of contemporary short fiction that is analyzed throughout the book - Exercises that let you immediately apply what you learn to your own writing Written by Gotham Writers' Workshop expert instructors and edited by Dean of Faculty Alexander Steele, Writing Fiction offers the same methods and exercises that have earned the school international acclaim. Once you've read-and written-your way through this book, you'll have a command of craft that will enable you to turn your ideas into effective short stories and novels. You will be a writer. Gotham Writers' Workshop is America's leading private creative writing school, offering classes in New York City and on the web at WritingClasses.com. The school's interactive online classes, selected "Best of the Web" by Forbes, have attracted thousands of aspiring writers from across the United States and more than sixty countries.

Gotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction

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#hardcover #nonfiction #jamesfrey #howtowriteadamngoodmystery #mysterywriting #writingmanual #author #writing #reference #fictionwriting #manuscript #howtowrite 


Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

New York

A Practical Step-By-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished Manuscript

Edgar award nominee James N. Frey, author of the internationally best-selling books on the craft of writing, How to Write a Damn Good Novel, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, and The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, has now written what is certain to become the standard "how to" book for mystery writing, How to Write a Damn Good Mystery.

Frey urges writers to aim high-not to try to write a good-enough-to-get-published mystery, but a damn good mystery. A damn good mystery is first a dramatic novel, Frey insists-a dramatic novel with living, breathing characters-and he shows his readers how to create a living, breathing, believable character who will be clever and resourceful, willful and resolute, and will be what Frey calls "the author of the plot behind the plot."

Frey then shows, in his well-known, entertaining, and accessible (and often humorous) style , how the characters-the entire ensemble, including the murderer, the detective, the authorities, the victims, the suspects, the witnesses and the bystanders-create a complete and coherent world.

Exploring both the on-stage action and the behind-the-scenes intrigue, Frey shows prospective writers how to build a fleshed-out, believable, and logical world. He shows them exactly which parts of that world show up in the pages of a damn good mystery-and which parts are held back just long enough to keep the reader guessing.

This is an indispensable step-by-step guide for anyone who's ever dreamed of writing a damn good mystery.

How to Write a Damn Good Mystery

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Some yellowing around edges of pages. Published in 1974. #writing #creativewriting #writer #writeabook #fictionwriting #writingtools #author #writingtextbook #paperback 

Georgia

English

A classic practical guide and manual which tells the aspiring writer everything about writing a publishable first novel.

Writing a Novel

b8f29365-287b-49fb-8c5d-42ebf53b4405-1

#writing #onwriting #fictionwriting #writingreference #johngardner #classic #paperback 

Notes on Craft for Young Writers

This classic guide, from the renowned novelist and professor, has helped transform generations of aspiring writers into masterful writers--and will continue to do so for many years to come.  
 
John Gardner was almost as famous as a teacher of creative writing as he was for his own works. In this practical, instructive handbook, based on the courses and seminars that he gave, he explains, simply and cogently, the principles and techniques of good writing. Gardner's lessons, exemplified with detailed excerpts from classic works of literature, sweep across a complete range of topics--from the nature of aesthetics to the shape of a refined sentence. Written with passion, precision, and a deep respect for the art of writing, Gardner's book serves by turns as a critic, mentor, and friend. Anyone who has ever thought of taking the step from reader to writer should begin here.

The Art of Fiction

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#paperback #nanowrimo #reference #writing #authorship #fictionwriting

This book is in like new condition with no wear to the spine. Pages are clean and unmarked. Covers show no sign of wear or scuffing. Printed in 2004, 234 pp.

Minnesota

Craft an Engaging Plot

How does plot influence story structure? What's the difference between plotting for commercial and literary fiction? How do you revise a plot or structure that's gone off course?

With Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure, you'll discover the answers to these questions and more. Award-winning author James Scott Bell offers clear, concise information that will help you create a believable and memorable plot, including:

   * Techniques for crafting strong beginnings, middles, and ends
   * Easy-to-understand plotting diagrams and charts
   * Brainstorming techniques for original plot ideas
   * Thought-provoking exercises at the end of each chapter
   * Story structure models and methods for all genres
   * Tips and tools for correcting common plot problems


Filled with plot examples from popular novels, comprehensive checklists, and practical hands-on guidance, Write Great Fiction: Plot & Structure gives you the skills you need to approach plot and structure like an experienced pro.

Write Great Fiction - Plot and Structure

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Cover was bent in original shipping package but book is in excellent condition. Please see photos for more details. #paperback #writing #reference #writingguide #author #language #arts #nonfiction #fictionwriting #writingmanual #lawrenceblock 

Characters refusing to talk? Plot plodding along? Where do good ideas come from anyway? In this wonderfully practical volume, two-time Edgar Award-winning novelist Lawrence Block takes an inside look at writing as a craft and as a career. From studying the market, to mastering self-discipline and "creative procrastination," through coping with rejections, Telling Lies for Fun & Profit is an invaluable sourcebook of information. It is a must read for anyone serious about writing or understanding how the process works.

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit

413524df-0953-4864-903e-0a9be2aad536

Iowa

"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.

Lie That Tells a Truth

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#fiction #creativewriting #writing #craft #notesoncraft #JohnGardner #reference #fictionwriting

Paperback (1 to 2 lbs)

New Jersey

Writing advice tends to be full of 'rules' and 'tips' which are either too broad to be helpful or outright wrong. Aimed at specific, applicable, and practical discussions, from writing fight scenes to first-person narration to hard and soft worldbuilding, Volume IIis a 'must have'.

On Writing

    Fight Scenes
    Handling Pacing
    Mentor Characters
    Positive Arcs and Redemption Arcs
    Power Escalation in a Magic System
    Flashbacks and Backstory
    Civil Wars
    First-person Narration
    Dark Lords


On Worldbuilding

    Fantasy and Alien Races
    World Histories
    Monarchies
    Place Names
    Class, Wealth, and Power
    How Class Systems are Maintained
    How Class Systems Collapse
    Cities and Towns
    Hard versus Soft Worldbuilding #paperback #fictionwriting #writers #writingtips #writingtools #adjectives #write #writing

Illinois

Volume 2

On Writing and Worldbuilding 

Tennessee

Fiction Writing Exercises from Today's Best Writers and Teachers

Today's A collection of personal writing exercises and commentary from some of today's best novelists, short story writers, and writing teachers, including Jill McCorkle, Amy Bloom, Robert Olen Butler, Steve Almond, Jayne Anne Phillips, Virgil Suarez, Margot Livesay, and more.
Complemented by brief commentary from the authors themselves, the exercises in Now Write! are practical and hands-on. By encouraging writers to shamelessly steal proven techniques that have yielded books which have won National Book Awards, Pulitzers, and Guggenheim grants, Now Write! inspires the aspiring writer to write now.


Now Write!

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#paperback #onwriting #writing #guide #fictionwriting #specfic #storycraft

Heavy Paperback (2 to 4 lbs)

North Carolina

The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction

This all-new definitive guide to writing imaginative fiction takes a completely novel approach and fully exploits the visual nature of fantasy through original drawings, maps, renderings, and exercises to create a spectacularly beautiful and inspiring object. Employing an accessible, example-rich approach, Wonderbook energizes and motivates while also providing practical, nuts-and-bolts information needed to improve as a writer. Aimed at aspiring and intermediate-level writers, Wonderbook includes helpful sidebars and essays from some of the biggest names in fantasy today, such as George R. R. Martin, Lev Grossman, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, Catherynne M. Valente, and Karen Joy Fowler, to name a few.

Praise for Wonderbook:

"Jammed with storytelling wisdom." --Fast Company's Co.Create blog

"This is the kind of book you leave sitting out for all to see . . . and the kind of book you will find yourself picking up again and again." --Kirkus Reviews online

"If you're looking for a handy guide to not just crafting imaginative fiction like sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, but to writing in general, be sure to pick up a copy of Steampunk Bible author Jeff Vandermeer's lovingly compiled Wonderbook."nbsp; --Flavorwire

"Jeff Vandermeer and Jeremy Zerfoss have created a kaleidoscopically rich and beautiful book about fiction writing."nbsp; --Star Tribune

"Because it is so layered and filled with text, tips, and links to online extras, this book can be read again and again by both those who want to learn the craft of writing and those interested in the process of others." --Library Journal

Gotham Writers' Workshop; Nikki Moustaki (Editor)

Gotham Writers' Workshop: Writing Fiction

James N. Frey

How to Write a Damn Good Mystery

J. Braine

Writing a Novel

John Gardner; John Gardner

The Art of Fiction

James Scott Bell

Write Great Fiction - Plot and Structure

Lawrence Block

Telling Lies for Fun and Profit

John Dufresne

Lie That Tells a Truth

John Gardner; John Gardner

The Art of Fiction

Timothy Hickson

On Writing and Worldbuilding

Sherry Ellis

Now Write!

Jeff VanderMeer; John Coulthart (Illustrator)

Wonderbook