Writing Voice

Author: Writer's Digest Books
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1440349126
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Develop a voice that captures readers' attention! All writers bring a unique set of skills to their work: One author might write outstanding characters, while another might dazzle with dialogue. You don't have to master every aspect of the craft in order to succeed, but the one quality required of every writer is a compelling, original voice. Your voice, which is often difficult to define and even more difficult to master, can transform your writing from pedestrian to powerful. In Writing Voice, you'll discover effective instruction and advice from best-selling authors and instructors like Donal Maass, Adair Lara, Paula Munier, Dinty W. Moore, James Scott Bell, and many others, plus exercises, techniques, and examples for making your prose stand out, be it fiction or memoir. You'll learn how to: • Explore the unique way you write • Study the distinctive styles of other writers to create your own voice • Understand the nuances of voice, including the importance of word choice • Develop the right voice for your genre • Craft excellent narration that will keep readers coming back • Choose the proper voice for your nonfiction Constructing the voice that fits your style and your audience is paramount to crafting memorable, original work. Writing Voice gives you the tools to not only create that voice but perfect it.

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.

Voice and Vision

Author: Stephen J. Pyne
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674054458
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 327

Book Description
It has become commonplace these days to speak of “unpacking” texts. Voice and Vision is a book about packing that prose in the first place. While history is scholarship, it is also art—that is, literature. And while it has no need to emulate fiction, slump into memoir, or become self-referential text, its composition does need to be conscious and informed. Voice and Vision is for those who wish to understand the ways in which literary considerations can enhance nonfiction writing. At issue is not whether writing is scholarly or popular, narrative or analytical, but whether it is good. Fiction has guidebooks galore; journalism has shelves stocked with manuals; certain hybrids such as creative nonfiction and the new journalism have evolved standards, esthetics, and justifications for how to transfer the dominant modes of fiction to topics in nonfiction. But history and other serious or scholarly nonfiction have nothing comparable. Now this curious omission is addressed by Stephen Pyne as he analyzes and teaches the craft that undergirds whole realms of nonfiction and book-based academic disciplines. With eminent good sense concerning the unique problems posed by research-based writing and with a wealth of examples from accomplished writers, Pyne, an experienced and skilled writer himself, explores the many ways to understand what makes good nonfiction, and explains how to achieve it. His counsel and guidance will be invaluable to experts as well as novices in the art of writing serious and scholarly nonfiction.

Writing Irresistible Kidlit

Author: Mary Kole
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1599635763
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 305

Book Description
Captivate the hearts and minds of young adult readers! Writing for young adult (YA) and middle grade (MG) audiences isn't just "kid's stuff" anymore--it's kidlit! The YA and MG book markets are healthier and more robust than ever, and that means the competition is fiercer, too. In Writing Irresistible Kidlit, literary agent Mary Kole shares her expertise on writing novels for young adult and middle grade readers and teaches you how to: • Recognize the differences between middle grade and young adult audiences and how it impacts your writing. • Tailor your manuscript's tone, length, and content to your readership. • Avoid common mistakes and cliches that are prevalent in YA and MG fiction, in respect to characters, story ideas, plot structure and more. • Develop themes and ideas in your novel that will strike emotional chords. Mary Kole's candid commentary and insightful observations, as well as a collection of book excerpts and personal insights from bestselling authors and editors who specialize in the children's book market, are invaluable tools for your kidlit career. If you want the skills, techniques, and know-how you need to craft memorable stories for teens and tweens, Writing Irresistible Kidlit can give them to you.

Creating Characters

Author: Writer's Digest Books
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1599638762
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
Create characters that leap off the page--and into readers' hearts! Populating your fiction with authentic, vivid characters is a surefire way to captivate your readers from the first sentence to the last. Whether you're writing a series, novel, short story, or flash fiction, Creating Characters is an invaluable guide to bringing your fictional cast to life. This book is a comprehensive reference to every stage of character development. You'll find timely advice and helpful instruction from best-selling authors like Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Sims, Orson Scott Card, Chuck Wendig, Hallie Ephron, Donald Maass, and James Scott Bell. They'll show you how to: • Effectively introduce your characters • Build a believable protagonist • Develop strong anti-heroes and compelling villains • Juggle multiple points of view without missing a beat • Craft authentic dialogue that propels the story forward • Motivate your characters with powerful objectives and a believable conflict • Show dynamic character development over the course of a story No matter what your genre, Creating Characters gives you the tools necessary to create realistic, fascinating characters that your readers will root for and remember long after they've finished the story.

Finding Your Writer's Voice

Author: Thaisa Frank
Publisher: Macmillan + ORM
ISBN: 1250093406
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
An illuminating guide to finding one's most powerful writing tool, Finding Your Writer's Voice helps writers learn to hear the voices that are uniquely their own. Mixing creative inspiration with practical advice about craft, the book includes chapters on: Accessing raw voice Listening to voices of childhood, public and private voices, and colloquial voices Working in first and third person: discovering a narrative persona Using voice to create characters Shaping one's voice into the form of a story Reigniting the energy of voice during revision

A Most Clever Girl: How Jane Austen Discovered Her Voice

Author: Jasmine A. Stirling
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1547601124
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 32

Book Description
For fans of I Dissent and She Persisted -- and Jane Austen fans of all ages -- a picture book biography about the beloved and enduring writer and how she found her unique voice. Witty and mischievous Jane Austen grew up in a house overflowing with words. As a young girl, she delighted in making her family laugh with tales that poked fun at the popular novels of her time, stories that featured fragile ladies and ridiculous plots. Before long, Jane was writing her own stories-uproariously funny ones, using all the details of her life in a country village as inspiration. In times of joy, Jane's words burst from her pen. But after facing sorrow and loss, she wondered if she'd ever write again. Jane realized her writing would not be truly her own until she found her unique voice. She didn't know it then, but that voice would go on to capture readers' hearts and minds for generations to come.

Find Your Voice: a Guided Journal for Writing Your Truth

Author: Angie Thomas
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781406397109
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

Book Description
Write fearlessly. Write what is true and real to you.Bestselling, award-winning author Angie Thomas brings her talents to this essential creative writing journal. From initial idea to finished draft, Angie shares her thoughts, advice and best practices on developing a true-to-you writing project.Packed full of step-by-step tips, writing prompts and exercises for:· Discovering story ideas · Creating memorable characters · Realizing your setting · Shaping your story · Getting feedback from others · And more!With 24 illustrated inspirational quotes from Angie's acclaimed novels The Hate U Give and On the Come Up, and plenty of blank pages for your own words, Find Your Voice will ignite your creativity and help you bring your own unique stories to life. A must-have for aspiring writers and Angie fans.

The Power of Writing It Down

Author: Allison Fallon
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 031035935X
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 224

Book Description
Discover the power of (finally) getting unstuck, claiming your clarity, and becoming the person whose life you want to live–all through a simple self-care practice you can build into your daily routine. For anyone who's trying to make sense of their life, who wants to get unstuck from the patterns that hold them back, hear this incredible news: everything you need for the freedom you want is entirely within reach. This practice and pathway is free, it's readily available every day of your life, it takes just minutes of your time, and anyone can do it. Author, writing coach, and speaker Allison Fallon's life transformed when she discovered the power of a daily writing practice. As it turns out, using your words is one of the most powerful means you have for unlocking your life. The Power of Writing It Down is your guide to this transformative tool available to us all. In as little as five to twenty minutes a day, scientific research shows this daily practice can help you: Identify your ruts and create new neurological grooves toward better habits Find fresh motivation and take ownership of your life Heal from past pain and trauma Relieve anxiety and depression Contextualize life's setbacks and minor frustrations Live a more confident, balanced, and healthy life …and so much more Drawing from years of coaching hundreds through the writing process–from first-timers to New York Times bestselling authors–Allison shares tried and tested practices for getting started, staying inspired, and using this simple habit to shift how you feel and show up to your life. Pen and paper is simply the method, but the reward is the real magic: new depths of self-discovery, creativity, and intentionality for living.

A Thousand Tiny Cuts

Author: Christina Kaye
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 260

Book Description
From award-winning suspense novelist, Christina Kaye, comes another dark, twisty, suspenseful read. "Fast-paced and unnerving, this book kept me up at night. I could not stop reading. Detective Mena Kastaros is complex, refreshingly relatable, and the kind of sleuth that the crime genre has been waiting for." Casey Dunn, Author of Silence on Cold River At a Christmas tree lighting in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, a barefoot, thinly clad young woman runs up to a mounted police officer, frantic and begging for help. She tells the officer her name is Caroline Hanson. But that can't be. Caroline Hanson vanished into thin air ten years ago. When Detective Mena Kastaros is informed that the victim in one of her first cases as a detective has reappeared, she battles emotions she's tried futilely to ignore for nearly a decade. Not only was this case important to Mena, but the details of Caroline's abduction bear a striking resemblance to her own daughter's kidnapping around that same time. The only difference is that Mena's daughter was found dead two weeks later, and here sits Caroline Hanson, alive and relatively unharmed. Mena must use the information she learns from Caroline to track down the man who abducted her-a man who may also be responsible for the death of her daughter. Now, the seasoned detective will face her demons as she seeks to bring this evil monster to justice. But Mena fears her demons may win, and if she finds the man she's hunting, she might not be able to allow the legal system sort it out. Mena must decide which is more important to her...justice...or revenge.