Download or read book Elements of Fiction Writing Scene Structure written by Jack Bickham and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 1999-03-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book Hot Ice Cold Blood written by Holly Spofford and published by . This book was released on 2020-08 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hot Ice, Cold Blood is a sequel to A Letter for Hoot. This is a page turning thriller, tinged with a bit of romance.
Download or read book The Pace of Fiction written by Brian Gingrich and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-07-15 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Pace of Fiction redefines the literary history of the novel by analyzing its most elaborate feature: its pace. It moves from the rise of the novel to realism and modernism. It starts by tracing the evolution of two narrative units: scenes ("shown" slowly) and summaries ("told" swiftly). These units emerge from the conflict of epic and drama, gain shape in the commentaries of Fielding and Goethe, and become dynamically opposed in nineteenth-century realism. In Middlemarch, they rotate in regular sequence: summaries move swiftly until scenes slow them down; scenes play out dramatically until summaries sweep them forward; their movement imitates the conflict of fate and free will. Over the course of the nineteenth century, however, scenic impulses overtake summary storytelling. The reader sees the tendency already in Austen's dialogues, Hawthorne's tableaux, or Balzac's battering drama, and finds it in Jane Eyre's placement of summaries in private scenes. When Flaubert extends scenic vividness to all of his summaries, and when Henry James subordinates his summaries to scenic consciousness, the extreme pressure of scene upon summary brings the opposition of realist pacing to collapse. But other oppositions arise in the modernisms that follow. In the alternation of stasis and kinesis, of drifting thoughts and everyday actions, of stories and acts of storytelling—in Proust, Joyce, Woolf, Mann, Hemingway—pace gathers and creates meaning in new ways.
Download or read book The Wheel Spins written by Ethel Lina White and published by DigiCat. This book was released on 2022-11-13 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Wheel Spins is the novel about young and bright Iris Carr, who is on her way back to England after spending a holiday somewhere in the Balkans. After she is left alone by her friends, Iris catches the train for Trieste and finds company in Miss Froy, chatty elderly English woman. When she wakes up from a short nap, she discovers that her elderly travelling companion seems to have disappeared from the train. After her fellow passengers deny ever having seen the elderly lady, the young woman is on the verge of her nerves. She is helped by a young English traveler, and the two proceed to search the train for clues to the old woman's disappearance. Ethel Lina White (1876-1944) was a British crime writer, best known for her novel The Wheel Spins, on which the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes, was based.
Download or read book The Comic Hero s Journey written by Steve Kaplan and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book applies concepts from the Hero's Journey to the writing of comedy screenplays, using a broad range of examples from movies to demonstrate how these archetypal principles work in a comedy context"--
Download or read book Meander Spiral Explode written by Jane Alison and published by Catapult. This book was released on 2019-04-02 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "How lovely to discover a book on the craft of writing that is also fun to read . . . Alison asserts that the best stories follow patterns in nature, and by defining these new styles she offers writers the freedom to explore but with enough guidance to thrive." ―Maris Kreizman, Vulture A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019 | A Poets & Writers Best Books for Writers As Jane Alison writes in the introduction to her insightful and appealing book about the craft of writing: “For centuries there’s been one path through fiction we’re most likely to travel― one we’re actually told to follow―and that’s the dramatic arc: a situation arises, grows tense, reaches a peak, subsides . . . But something that swells and tautens until climax, then collapses? Bit masculosexual, no? So many other patterns run through nature, tracing other deep motions in life. Why not draw on them, too?" W. G. Sebald’s Emigrants was the first novel to show Alison how forward momentum can be created by way of pattern, rather than the traditional arc--or, in nature, wave. Other writers of nonlinear prose considered in her “museum of specimens” include Nicholson Baker, Anne Carson, Marguerite Duras, Gabriel García Márquez, Jamaica Kincaid, Clarice Lispector, Susan Minot, David Mitchell, Caryl Phillips, and Mary Robison. Meander, Spiral, Explode is a singular and brilliant elucidation of literary strategies that also brings high spirits and wit to its original conclusions. It is a liberating manifesto that says, Let’s leave the outdated modes behind and, in thinking of new modes, bring feeling back to experimentation. It will appeal to serious readers and writers alike.
Download or read book Fiction Pacing written by Rayne Hall and published by . This book was released on 2019-12 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book teaches professional techniques for slowing down the pace for emotion and suspense, and for speeding it up for action and excitement Please note: this is an advanced-level book, not suitable for beginner writers.
Download or read book The Bestseller Code written by Matthew Jockers and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if an algorithm could predict which manuscripts would become mega-bestsellers? Girl on the Train. Fifty Shades. The Goldfinch. Why do some books capture the whole world's attention? What secret DNA do they share? In The Bestseller Code, Archer and Jockers boldly claim that blockbuster hits are highly predictable, and they have created the algorithm to prove it. Using cutting-edge text mining techniques, they have developed a model that analyses theme, plot, style and character to explain why some books resonate more than others with readers. Provocative, entertaining, and ground-breaking, The Bestseller Code explores the hidden patterns at work in the biggest hits and, more importantly, the real reasons we love to read.
Download or read book Story Engineering written by Larry Brooks and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2011-01-27 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What makes a good story or a screenplay great? The vast majority of writers begin the storytelling process with only a partial understanding where to begin. Some labor their entire lives without ever learning that successful stories are as dependent upon good engineering as they are artistry. But the truth is, unless you are master of the form, function and criteria of successful storytelling, sitting down and pounding out a first draft without planning is an ineffective way to begin. Story Engineering starts with the criteria and the architecture of storytelling, the engineering and design of a story--and uses it as the basis for narrative. The greatest potential of any story is found in the way six specific aspects of storytelling combine and empower each other on the page. When rendered artfully, they become a sum in excess of their parts. You'll learn to wrap your head around the big pictures of storytelling at a professional level through a new approach that shows how to combine these six core competencies which include: • Four elemental competencies of concept, character, theme, and story structure (plot) • Two executional competencies of scene construction and writing voice The true magic of storytelling happens when these six core competencies work together in perfect harmony. And the best part? Anyone can do it!
Download or read book Save the Cat Writes a Novel written by Jessica Brody and published by Ten Speed Press. This book was released on 2018-10-09 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! story-structure series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success. Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story--from the opening image to the finale--this book lays out the Ten Story Genres (Monster in the House; Whydunit; Dude with a Problem) alongside quirky, original insights (Save the Cat; Shard of Glass) to help novelists craft a plot that will captivate--and a novel that will sell.
Download or read book The Plot Thickens written by Noah Lukeman and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2002-07-05 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a literary agent, Noah Lukeman hears thousands of book pitches a year. Often the stories sound great in concept, but never live up to their potential on the page. Lukeman shows beginning and advanced writers how to implement the fundamentals of successful plot development, such as character building and heightened suspense and conflict. Writers will find it impossible to walk away from this invaluable guide---a veritable fiction-writing workshop---without boundless new ideas. “One of the best-ever books about the craft of writing. It is a book that can change the world of every writer who embraces Lukeman's ideas. His classroom on paper should be on every writer's shelf to be read again and again.” --Authorlink
Download or read book Structuring Your Novel written by K. M. Weiland and published by Penforasword. This book was released on 2013 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaim for Structuring Your Novel "I have long wished for a book like this. Structuring Your Novel is so much more than a writing craft book-it's a recipe to help writers structure a deep, meaningful journey for their hero that will captivate readers from beginning to end."-Angela Ackerman, Author of The Emotion Thesaurus "There is absolute gold in this book-and I am grateful that the author has a real talent for distilling some of the somewhat clunky information found elsewhere, into really simple-to-understand and easy-to-follow techniques."-Robert Scanlon "This book shows a writer how to structure their novel from beginning to end in a no-nonsense manner. It's fast and easy reading, and MAKES SENSE "-Carrie C. Spencer About the Book Is Structure the Hidden Foundation of All Successful Stories? Why do some stories work and others don't? The answer is structure. In this IPPY and NIEA-Award winning guide from the author of the bestselling Outlining Your Novel, you will learn the universal underpinnings that guarantee powerful plot and character arcs. An understanding of proper story and scene structure will show you how to perfectly time your story's major events and will provide you with an unerring standard against which to evaluate your novel's pacing and progression. Structuring Your Novel will show you: How to determine the best techniques for empowering your unique and personal vision for your story. How to identify common structural weaknesses and flip them around into stunning strengths. How to eliminate saggy middles by discovering your "centerpiece." Why you should NEVER include conflict in every scene. How to discover the questions you don't want readers asking about your plot-and then how to get them to ask the right questions. Story structure has enabled countless bestselling and classic authors. Now it's your turn More Praise for Structuring Your Novel "K.M. Weiland delivers another exceptional resource for writers-offering practical guidance on everything from crafting a book's hook to its resolution."-Elizabeth Spann Craig, Author of the Myrtle Clover Mysteries "Structuring Your Novel will give you the blueprint for making your story more powerful. I'm taking this one with me to my desert island "-Jennifer Ibarra "After finishing the book, I reviewed my own writing and was easily able to see where the story wasn't working, understand why it wasn't, and figure out what I needed to do to fix it."-Abby Geiger More storytelling assistance from K.M. Weiland: Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success-Can outlining help you write a better story?
Download or read book 100 Days of Sunlight written by Abbie Emmons and published by . This book was released on 2019-08-07 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When 16-year-old poetry blogger Tessa Dickinson is involved in a car accident and loses her eyesight for 100 days, she feels like her whole world has been turned upside-down. Terrified that her vision might never return, Tessa feels like she has nothing left to be happy about. But when her grandparents place an ad in the local newspaper looking for a typist to help Tessa continue writing and blogging, an unlikely answer knocks at their door: Weston Ludovico, a boy her age with bright eyes, an optimistic smile...and no legs. Knowing how angry and afraid Tessa is feeling, Weston thinks he can help her. But he has one condition -- no one can tell Tessa about his disability. And because she can't see him, she treats him with contempt: screaming at him to get out of her house and never come back. But for Weston, it's the most amazing feeling: to be treated like a normal person, not just a sob story. So he comes back. Again and again and again. Tessa spurns Weston's "obnoxious optimism", convinced that he has no idea what she's going through. But Weston knows exactly how she feels and reaches into her darkness to show her that there is more than one way to experience the world. As Tessa grows closer to Weston, she finds it harder and harder to imagine life without him -- and Weston can't imagine life without her. But he still hasn't told her the truth, and when Tessa's sight returns he'll have to make the hardest decision of his life: vanish from Tessa's world...or overcome his fear of being seen. 100 Days of Sunlight is a poignant and heartfelt novel by author Abbie Emmons. If you like sweet contemporary romance and strong family themes then you'll love this touching story of hope, healing, and getting back up when life knocks you down.
Download or read book What Remains of Me written by A L Gaylin and published by Random House. This book was released on 2016-09-01 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Irish Times top twenty crime novel of 2017 People don't need to know you're a murderer. They just have to think you could be... June 1980: 17-year-old Kelly Lund is jailed for killing Hollywood film director, John McFadden Thirty years later, Kelly is a free woman. Yet speculation still swirls over what really happened that night. And when her father-in law, and close friend of McFadden is found dead - shot through the head at point-blank range - there can only be one suspect. But this time Kelly has some high-profile friends who believe she's innocent of both crimes. But is she? 'You'll stay up late to read this' Laura Lippmann 'Full of crackling energy and heartache' Megan Abbott 'An exceptional book by an exceptional writer' Alex Marwood
Download or read book Intuitive Editing written by Tiffany Yates Martin and published by . This book was released on 2021-03-05 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Editing your own writing can feel like doing your own brain surgery.?"After you've completed your manuscript and you're standing at the foot of Revision Mountain, climbing to the summit can feel impossible. It's hard to look at your own writing with the objective eye needed to shape it into a tight, polished, publishable story-but just like writing, self-editing is a skill you can learn.Developmental editor Tiffany Yates Martin has spent her career in the publishing industry honing practical, actionable techniques to help authors evaluate how well their story is working, where it might not be, and how to fix it.With a clear, accessible, user-friendly approach, she leads writers through every step of deepening and elevating their own work, as well as how to approach the edit and develop their "editor brain," and how to solicit and process feedback. Intuitive Editing doesn't offer one-size-fits-all advice or rigid writing "rules"; instead it helps authors discover what works for their story and their style-to find the best version of their vision. Whether you're writing fiction, narrative nonfiction, or memoir; whether this your first story or your fiftieth, Intuitive Editing will give you the tools you need to edit and revise your own writing with inspiration, motivation, and confidence. Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and bestselling authors as well as newer writers. She's led workshops and seminars for conferences and writers' groups across the country and is a frequent contributor to writers' sites and publications. Visit her at www.foxprinteditorial.com.
Download or read book The Art of Time in Fiction written by Joan Silber and published by Graywolf Press. This book was released on 2009-06-23 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fiction imagines for us a stopping point from which life can be seen as intelligible," asserts Joan Silber in The Art of Time in Fiction. The end point of a story determines its meaning, and one of the main tasks a writer faces is to define the duration of a plot. Silber uses wide-ranging examples from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Chinua Achebe, and Arundhati Roy, among others, to illustrate five key ways in which time unfolds in fiction. In clear-eyed prose, Silber elucidates a tricky but vital aspect of the art of fiction.
Download or read book Write Your Novel from the Middle written by James Scott Bell and published by Compendium Press. This book was released on 2014-03-15 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A powerful secret and a fresh approach to writing bestselling fiction! What's the best way to write a "next level" novel? Some writers start at the beginning and let the story unfold without a plan. They are called "pantsers," because they write by the "seat of the pants." Other writers plan and outline and know the ending before they start. These are the "plotters." The two sides never seem to agree with each other on the best approach. But what if it's not the beginning or the end that is the key to a successful book? What if, amazing as it may seem, the place to begin writing your novel is in the very middle of the story? According to #1 bestselling writing teacher James Scott Bell, that's exactly where you'll find your story's heart and heat. Bell's "Mirror Moment" is the secret, and its power is available to any writer, at any stage of the writing process. Bringing together years of craft study and personal discovery, Bell presents a truly unique approach to writing a novel, one that will stand the test of time and serve you all your writing life. "I need three things before I tackle a new novel: Diet Coke, a laptop, and my dog-eared copies of James Scott Bell's books on writing craft!"- Kami Garcia, #1 NYT Times & International Bestselling author
