There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

Author: Louis Sachar
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN: 0307797112
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
The beloved bestseller from Newbery Medalist and National Book Award winner Louis Sachar (Holes), with a brand-new cover! “Give me a dollar or I’ll spit on you.” That’s Bradley Chalkers for you. He’s the oldest kid in the fifth grade. He tells enormous lies. He picks fights with girls, and the teachers say he has serious behavior problems. No one likes him—except Carla, the new school counselor. She thinks Bradley is sensitive and generous, and she even enjoys his far-fetched stories. Carla knows that Bradley could change, if only he weren’t afraid to try. But when you feel like the most hated kid in the whole school, believing in yourself can be the hardest thing in the world. . . .

The Seven Basic Plots

Author: Christopher Booker
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441116516
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 737

Book Description
This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of 'basic stories' in the world. Using a wealth of examples, from ancient myths and folk tales via the plays and novels of great literature to the popular movies and TV soap operas of today, it shows that there are seven archetypal themes which recur throughout every kind of storytelling. But this is only the prelude to an investigation into how and why we are 'programmed' to imagine stories in these ways, and how they relate to the inmost patterns of human psychology. Drawing on a vast array of examples, from Proust to detective stories, from the Marquis de Sade to E.T., Christopher Booker then leads us through the extraordinary changes in the nature of storytelling over the past 200 years, and why so many stories have 'lost the plot' by losing touch with their underlying archetypal purpose. Booker analyses why evolution has given us the need to tell stories and illustrates how storytelling has provided a uniquely revealing mirror to mankind's psychological development over the past 5000 years. This seminal book opens up in an entirely new way our understanding of the real purpose storytelling plays in our lives, and will be a talking point for years to come.

Stellaluna

Author: Janell Cannon
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 9780152062873
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 44

Book Description
After she falls headfirst into a bird's nest, a baby fruit bat is raised like a bird until she is reunited with her mother.

Finding the Plot

Author: Loïc Artiago
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1443865443
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 345

Book Description
“Plot”, writes Peter Brooks, “is so basic to our very experience of reading, and indeed to our articulation of experience in general, that criticism has often passed it over in silence…” (Reading for the Plot, xi). Finding the Plot both explores and helps to redress this critical neglect. The book brings together an international group of scholars to address the nature, effects and specific pleasures of consuming stories. If the central focus is on France and popular literary fiction, the book’s scope – like contemporary fiction itself – observes no national frontiers, and extends across a variety of media. The book addresses both the empirical question of which genres and types of text have been and are most “popular”, and the theoretical questions of how plots work, what pleasures they offer to readers, and why it matters that the plot should not be lost.

Finding the Plot

Author: Roger Standing
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725230976
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 272

Book Description
"Preaching at its best is 'truth on fire.' The real quality of this book is that it has been created from the author's own experience of the local pastorate and is concerned with practical insights and realities. I warmly recommend it." --David Coffey, Moderator of the Free Churches and General Secretary of the Baptist Union "For some, the phrase 'finding the plot' suggests a stroll through a graveyard, which is much like their view of preaching. But Roger Standing uses the phrase to describe narrative preaching, an approach that helps preachers accomplish their essential task: to raise the dead." --Marshall Shelley, Vice President, Christianity Today International and editor of Leadership "This book, from a seasoned practitioner and an able thinker, will provide the signposts required by many either for transforming their preaching style in mid-career, or for setting off on the right foot." --Nigel G. Wright, Principal of Spurgeon's College, London "Roger Standing breezily shares his enthusiasm for narrative preaching. He combines theory about narrative and its cultural relevance with practical advice and preaching examples. A helpful stimulus to any preacher to branch out into narrative preaching." --Michael Quicke, Charles Koller Professor of Preaching and Communications

Finding the Plot

Author: Ann Treneman
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
ISBN: 1849546614
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 249

Book Description
Ann Treneman, the award-winning Times writer best known for her incisive parliamentary sketches, has branched out - to graveyards. In this riveting book she takes you to the most interesting graves in Britain. You'll meet the real War Horse, the best 'funambulist' ever, Byron and his dog Boatswain, Florence Nightingale and her pet owl Athena, prime ministers, kings and queens, highwaymen, scientists, mistresses, the real James Bond and, of course, M. Then there are writers, painters, poets, rakes and rogues, victims, the meek and mild and the just plain mad. This unique book is made up of a hundred entries, each telling the story of one or more graves. Some are chosen for who is in them, others for the grave itself. Some of the entries are humorous, some are poignant, but all tell us something about the British way of death. At times absurd, at times astounding, in Finding the Plot Ann Treneman provides an entertaining guide to the Anglo-Saxon underworld.

Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook

Author: Donald Maass
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 158297263X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 241

Book Description
Make Your Novel Stand Out from the Crowd! Noted literary agent and author Donald Maass has done it again! His previous book, Writing the Breakout Novel, offered novelists of all skill levels and genres insider advice on how to make their books rise above the competition and succeed in a crowded marketplace. Now, building on the success of its predecessor, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook calls that advice into action! This powerful book presents the patented techniques and writing exercises from Maass's popular writing workshops to offer novelists first-class instruction and practical guidance. You'll learn to develop and strengthen aspects of your prose with sections on: • Building plot layers • Creating inner conflict • Strengthening voice and point of view • Discovering and heightening larger-than-life character qualities • Strengthening theme • And much more! Maass also carefully dissects examples from real-life breakout novels so you'll lean how to read and analyze fiction like a writer. With authoritative instruction and hands-on workbook exercises, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook is one of the most accessible novel-writing guides available. Set your work-in progress apart from the competition and write your own breakout novel today!

How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method

Author: Randy Ingermanson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781500574055
Category : Creative writing
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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

DIY MFA

Author: Gabriela Pereira
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1599639343
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
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.

The Elysian Prophecy

Author: Vivien Reis
Publisher: Copper Hound Press LLC
ISBN: 0998876402
Category : Young Adult Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 454

Book Description
An enchanted island. An evil resurrected. A society determined to gain power. When a violent attack leaves their father in the hospital, Abigail and Benjamin Cole discover there's more to their family history than mental illness. But after fifteen-year-old Abi is abducted, she learns the attack wasn't random. Thrust into an exotic and beautiful world part of a multi-millennial feud, she must decide who to trust in a society built on secrets. Questioning everything she's ever known, she enlists the help of a boy connected to her in impossible ways and uncovers a dangerous secret stretching generations. Seventeen-year-old Ben desperately searches for both his sister and his mother, but his hold on reality is fading. Something dark has latched onto him. In a race against his own failing mind, where violent hallucinations and paranoia force him to believe he's next in line for the family curse, he learns he's the only one that can save his family. When darkness is coming, who do you trust? Magic. Deceit. War. Perfect for fans of Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, and Leigh Bardugo.