Download or read book Cultures and Beyond written by Randy Ellefson and published by . This book was released on 2018-12 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Complete Art of World Building written by Randy Ellefson and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-03 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creating a unique, immersive setting one world at a timeA guide for authors, gamers, and hobbyistsThe Complete Art of World Building brings together the first three volumes in The Art of World Building series. This how-to guide will make readers a master of inventing imaginary worlds and help your setting stand out from the multitude of fantasy and SF worlds audiences see. Creating Life (#1) teaches readers how to create gods, species/races, plants, animals, monsters, and even undead. Creating Places (#2) teaches how to create planets, moons, continents, mountains, forests, deserts, bodies of water, sovereign powers, settlements, and interesting locales. Learn the different government types, how climate impacts vegetation, and consistently calculate how long it takes to travel by horse, wagon, sailing vessels, or even dragon. Cultures and Beyond (#3) teaches how to create cultures, monetary systems, military groups, religions, the supernatural, systems of magic, magic items, names, and more. Learn what kind of files you'll need to create, how to organize them.The series draws on author Randy Ellefson's quarter century of world building experience and will quickly turn a beginner into an expert, making a time consuming project more fun, easier, and faster. Ellefson shares his experiences, lessons learned, and insights, including how much of your creations can realistically be mentioned during storytelling, how far creators should go, and what the benefits/risks to each approach might be. Elevate your work above the competition.

Download or read book 185 Tips on World Building written by Randy Ellefson and published by . This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book DIY MFA written by Gabriela Pereira and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-07-08 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get the Knowledge Without the College! You are a writer. You dream of sharing your words with the world, and you're willing to put in the hard work to achieve success. You may have even considered earning your MFA, but for whatever reason--tuition costs, the time commitment, or other responsibilities--you've never been able to do it. Or maybe you've been looking for a self-guided approach so you don't have to go back to school. This book is for you. DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA--writing, reading, and community--it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers, and publish your work. Inside you'll learn how to: • Set customized goals for writing and learning. • Generate ideas on demand. • Outline your book from beginning to end. • Breathe life into your characters. • Master point of view, voice, dialogue, and more. • Read with a "writer's eye" to emulate the techniques of others. • Network like a pro, get the most out of writing workshops, and submit your work successfully. Writing belongs to everyone--not only those who earn a degree. With DIY MFA, you can take charge of your writing, produce high-quality work, get published, and build a writing career.

Download or read book Jade City written by Fonda Lee and published by Orbit. This book was released on 2017-11-07 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this World Fantasy Award-winning novel of magic and kungfu, four siblings battle rival clans for honor and power in an Asia-inspired fantasy metropolis. *Named one of TIME's Top 100 Fantasy Books Of All Time ​* World Fantasy Award for Best Novel, winner Jade is the lifeblood of the island of Kekon. It has been mined, traded, stolen, and killed for -- and for centuries, honorable Green Bone warriors like the Kaul family have used it to enhance their magical abilities and defend the island from foreign invasion. Now, the war is over and a new generation of Kauls vies for control of Kekon's bustling capital city. They care about nothing but protecting their own, cornering the jade market, and defending the districts under their protection. Ancient tradition has little place in this rapidly changing nation. When a powerful new drug emerges that lets anyone -- even foreigners -- wield jade, the simmering tension between the Kauls and the rival Ayt family erupts into open violence. The outcome of this clan war will determine the fate of all Green Bones -- and of Kekon itself. Praise for Jade City: "An epic drama reminiscent of the best classic Hong Kong gangster films but set in a fantasy metropolis so gritty and well-imagined that you'll forget you're reading a book." --Ken Liu, Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Award-winning author "A beautifully realized setting, a great cast of characters, and dramatic action scenes. What a fun, gripping read!" --Ann Leckie, Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author "An instantly absorbing tale of blood, honor, family and magic, spiced with unexpectedly tender character beats." --NPR The Green Bone Saga Jade City Jade War Jade Legacy

Download or read book A Stranger in Olondria written by Sofia Samatar and published by Small Beer Press. This book was released on 2013-04-12 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Time Magazine: 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time · World Fantasy, British Fantasy, & Crawford Award winner Jevick, the pepper merchant's son, has been raised on stories of Olondria, a distant land where books are as common as they are rare in his home. When his father dies and Jevick takes his place on the yearly selling trip to Olondria, Jevick's life is as close to perfect as he can imagine. But just as he revels in Olondria's Rabelaisian Feast of Birds, he is pulled drastically off course and becomes haunted by the ghost of an illiterate young girl. In desperation, Jevick seeks the aid of Olondrian priests and quickly becomes a pawn in the struggle between the empire's two most powerful cults. Yet even as the country shimmers on the cusp of war, he must face his ghost and learn her story before he has any chance of becoming free by setting her free: an ordeal that challenges his understanding of art and life, home and exile, and the limits of that seductive necromancy, reading. A Stranger in Olondria is a skillful and immersive debut fantasy novel that pulls the reader in deeper and deeper with twists and turns reminiscent of George R. R. Martin and Joe Hill.

Download or read book The Culture Code written by Daniel Coyle and published by Bantam. This book was released on 2018-01-30 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of The Talent Code unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to build a cohesive, motivated culture. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG AND LIBRARY JOURNAL Where does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing? In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations—including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs—and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind. Drawing on examples that range from Internet retailer Zappos to the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade to a daring gang of jewel thieves, Coyle offers specific strategies that trigger learning, spark collaboration, build trust, and drive positive change. Coyle unearths helpful stories of failure that illustrate what not to do, troubleshoots common pitfalls, and shares advice about reforming a toxic culture. Combining leading-edge science, on-the-ground insights from world-class leaders, and practical ideas for action, The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded. Culture is not something you are—it’s something you do. The Culture Code puts the power in your hands. No matter the size of your group or your goal, this book can teach you the principles of cultural chemistry that transform individuals into teams that can accomplish amazing things together. Praise for The Culture Code “I’ve been waiting years for someone to write this book—I’ve built it up in my mind into something extraordinary. But it is even better than I imagined. Daniel Coyle has produced a truly brilliant, mesmerizing read that demystifies the magic of great groups. It blows all other books on culture right out of the water.”—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Option B, Originals, and Give and Take “If you want to understand how successful groups work—the signals they transmit, the language they speak, the cues that foster creativity—you won’t find a more essential guide than The Culture Code.”—Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better

Download or read book Creating Life written by Randy Ellefson and published by . This book was released on 2017-04-27 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creating a unique, immersive setting one life form at a time. CREATING LIFE (THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING, #1) is a detailed how-to guide on inventing the heart of every imaginary world - life. With chapters on creating gods, species/races, plants, animals, monsters, heroes, villains, and even undead, it draws on the author's quarter century of world building experience. Pointed questions, and an examination of answers and their repercussions, will help readers decide on goals, how to reach them, and whether they are even worth pursuing. Always practical, Creating Life will quickly improve the skills of beginners and experts alike, making a time consuming project more fun, easier, faster, and skillfully done. Unlike other world building guides, the series discusses how to use your inventions in stories while balancing narrative flow with the need for explaining your world. Tailored examples illustrate this. Extensive, culled research on life forms is provided to classify and understand options without overwhelming world builders with extraneous details. Storytellers, game designers, gamers, and hobbyists will benefit from seven free templates that can be downloaded and reused. CREATING LIFE will help your setting stand out from the multitude of fantasy and science fiction worlds audiences see. THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING is the only multi-volume series of its kind and is three times the length, depth, and breadth of other guides.

Download or read book Create Your Writer Platform written by Chuck Sambuchino and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-10-26 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creating a platform isn't just beneficial--it's essential! In today's world of blogging, websites, Twitter feeds, and Facebook updates, building a writer platform from the ground up can seem a daunting task. Never fear--author and editor Chuck Sambuchino provides expert, practical advice for increasing your visibility, selling more books, and launching a successful career. In Create Your Writer Platform, you'll learn: • The definition of a platform--and why you should start building one now. • How to harness the 12 Fundamental Principles of Platform. • "Old School" and "New School" approaches to platform, from article writing and conference speaking to website development, blog posts, and social media avenues. • How to develop a platform for nonfiction, fiction, and memoir. In addition to Chuck's invaluable insights, you'll also find 12 case studies from authors with effective platforms, as well as professional advice from literary agents. If you're serious about building a platform tailored to you and your writing--a platform that's going to help you succeed as a writer--look no further than Create Your Writer Platform.

Download or read book Sophie s World written by Jostein Gaarder and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2007-03-20 with total page 735 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A page-turning novel that is also an exploration of the great philosophical concepts of Western thought, Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World has fired the imagination of readers all over the world, with more than twenty million copies in print. One day fourteen-year-old Sophie Amundsen comes home from school to find in her mailbox two notes, with one question on each: "Who are you?" and "Where does the world come from?" From that irresistible beginning, Sophie becomes obsessed with questions that take her far beyond what she knows of her Norwegian village. Through those letters, she enrolls in a kind of correspondence course, covering Socrates to Sartre, with a mysterious philosopher, while receiving letters addressed to another girl. Who is Hilde? And why does her mail keep turning up? To unravel this riddle, Sophie must use the philosophy she is learning—but the truth turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined.

Download or read book Creating Places written by Randy Ellefson and published by . This book was released on 2017-11-22 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CREATING PLACES (THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING, #2) is a detailed how-to guide on inventing the heart of every imaginary world - places. It includes chapters on inventing planets, moons, continents, mountains, forests, deserts, bodies of water, sovereign powers, settlements, and interesting locales. Extensive, culled research on each is provided to inform your world building decisions and understand the impact on craft, story, and audience. You'll also learn how and when to create history and maps. Experts and beginners alike will benefit from the free templates that make building worlds easier, quicker, and more fun.Learn the difference between types of monarchies, democracies, dictatorships and more for realistic variety and believable conflict. Understand how latitude, prevailing winds, and mountains affect climate, rainfall, and what types of forests and deserts will exist in each location. Consistently calculate how long it takes to travel by horse, wagon, sailing vessels, or even dragon over different terrain types and conditions.CREATING PLACES is the second volume in THE ART OF WORLD BUILDING, the only multi-volume series of its kind. Three times the length, depth, and breadth of other guides, the series can help fantasy and science fiction creators determine how much to build and why, how to use world building in your work, and whether the effort to create places will reap rewards for you and your audience.

Download or read book Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers written by Trent Hergenrader and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-10-18 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The digital technologies of the 21st century are reshaping how we experience storytelling. More than ever before, storylines from the world's most popular narratives cross from the pages of books to the movie theatre, to our television screens and in comic books series. Plots intersect and intertwine, allowing audiences many different entry points to the narratives. In this sometimes bewildering array of stories across media, one thing binds them together: their large-scale fictional world. Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers describes how writers can co-create vast worlds for use as common settings for their own stories. Using the worlds of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, A Game of Thrones, and Dungeons & Dragons as models, this book guides readers through a step-by-step process of building sprawling fictional worlds complete with competing social forces that have complex histories and yet are always evolving. It also shows readers how to populate a catalog with hundreds of unique people, places, and things that grow organically from their world, which become a rich repository of story making potential. The companion website collaborativeworldbuilding.com features links to online resources, past worldbuilding projects, and an innovative card system designed to work with this book.

Download or read book GMC Goal Motivation and Conflict written by Debra Dixon and published by Bell Bridge Books. This book was released on 2013-07-15 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book belongs on every fiction writer's bookshelf. Anyone who has ever had a story to tell and is dying to get it down on paper will find guidance and inspiration in GMC. The presentation is clear, immediate, and relevant to all writers--from novices to seasoned professionals. Experienced author Debra Dixon has done a magnificent job of demystifying the toughest aspect of fiction writing: that of a giving a story shape, form and urgency." -- Susan Wiggs, New York Times bestselling and RITA® Award winning author of over 40 novels and novellas "One of the best in her craft." -- Toronto Star "Goal, Motivation & Conflict is one of my all time favorites." -- Jane Porter (Flirting With Forty), award winning and bestselling author with 10 million books in print, in twenty languages and 25 countries Goal, motivation, and conflict are the foundation of everything that happens in the story world. Using charts, examples, and movies, the author breaks these key elements down into understandable components and walks the reader through the process of laying this foundation in his or her own work. Learn what causes sagging middles and how to fix them, which goals are important, which aren't and why, how to get your characters to do what they need for your plot in a believable manner, and how to use conflict to create a good story. GMC can be used not only in plotting, but in character development, sharpening scenes, pitching ideas to an editor, and evaluating whether an idea will work. Be confident your ideas will work before you write 200 pages. Plan a road map to keep your story on track. Discover why your scenes aren't working and what to do about it. Create characters that editors and readers will care about.

Download or read book On Writing and Worldbuilding written by Timothy Hickson and published by . This book was released on 2023-11-23 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Art of World Building Workbook written by Randy Ellefson and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-24 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Art of World Building Workbook: Fantasy Edition covers the universe, solar systems, planets, continents, kingdoms, settlements, history, gods, species/races, plants, animals, monsters, cultures, magic systems, religions, history, and more.

Download or read book Million Dollar Speaking The Professional s Guide to Building Your Platform written by Alan Weiss and published by McGraw Hill Professional. This book was released on 2010-10-08 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Make your move into, or improve your position in, the powerful world of professional speaking If you think you have what it takes to speak professionally, or you've already been doing so with insufficient reward, now is the time to make your move. Bestselling business author and Professional Speaking Hall of Fame member Alan Weiss offers the inside advice you need to turn your talent into a high-paying career—from honing your delivery skills to building a business. In Million Dollar Speaking, you’ll learn the critical skills of Dealing with difficult crowds Creating powerful speeches Targeting high-potential markets Creating a "star" reputation Setting fees that reflect your outstanding value Perfecting platform skills—making ¬them the best in the business Expanding your business through diversification Weiss has packed the guide with tips, resources, helpful examples, and checklists that make it easy for you to keep a record of your progress. Whether you're a trainer, workshop leader, or consultant, Million Dollar Speaking has what you need to get on the paid public-speaking circuit in no time.

Download or read book The Prop Master written by Amy Mussman and published by Meriwether Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you are a professional, volunteer or student prop master for a play production, this book reviews what a demanding theatre tech position this is. There is a lot more to propping a show than many theatre people realise. The twelve chapters of this book provide clear definitions of the job in action. They tell how to build a props department, how to create props and how to work with the technical crew, designers, supervisors and performers. Until now there has been no comprehensive manual or guidebook like this to lead a prop master through the entire process. No prop master should work without this guide as a ready reference to solve many unexpected problems. The book is divided into twelve chapters: What Are Props?; The Prop Master; Interacting with Other People; A Successful Work Environment; The Prop Shop; Collections and Files; The First Steps of the Building Process; Start "Propping"; Rehearsals and Performances; Safety; Timeless Tips and Techniques; Basic Theatre Terminology. Amy Mussman has over ten years of experience working as prop master for professional theatre companies.