National Novel Writing Month SO Overview: Library Books for Writers

Chris Baty, founder of the wildly successful literary marathon known as National Novel Writing Month, has completely revised and expanded his definitive handbook for extreme noveling. Chris pulls from over 15 years of results-oriented writing experience to pack this compendium with new tips and tricks, ranging from week-by-week quick reference guides to encouraging advice from authors, and much more. His motivating mix of fearless optimism and practical solutions to common excuses gives both first-time novelists and results-oriented writers the kick-start they need to embark on an exhilarating creative adventure.

Want to find your voice? Learn from the best!In your development as a writer, you've likely been told to develop your own unique writing style, as if it were as simple as pulling it out of thin air. But finding your voice isn't easy--it requires time, practice, and a thorough understanding of how great fiction is written.Fiction Writing Master Class analyzes the writing styles of twenty-one superior novelists including Charles Dickens, Edith Wharton, Franz Kafka, Flannery O'Connor, Ray Bradbury, and many others. This fascinating and insightful guide mines the writing secrets of these exceptional authors and shows you how to use them to develop a writing style that stands out in a crowd.You'll discover how to:Create characters as memorable as Herman Melville's Captain AhabMaster point of view with techniques from Fyodor DostoevskyPick up the pace by keeping your sentences lean like Ernest HemingwayIncorporate sensual details like James Bond creator Ian FlemingAdd suspense to your story by following the lead of horror master Stephen KingAnd that's not all, Fiction Writing Master Class is your key to understanding and implementing the proven techniques of history's greatest authors, taking your writing to a whole new level of excellence in the process.

You are a writer and you have a killer book idea. How do you turn your inspiration into a finished novel? Writing a User's Manual offers practical insight into the processes from planning to story development, research to revision.

"Damn good" fiction is dramatic fiction, Frey insists, whether it is by Hemingway or Grisham, Le Carre or Ludlum, Austen or Dickens. Despite their differences, these authors' works share common elements: strong narrative lines, fascinating characters, steadily building conflicts, and satisfying conclusions. Frey'sHow to Write a Damn Good Novel is one of the most widely used guides ever published for aspiring authors. Here, inHow to Write a Damn Good Novel, II, Frey offers powerful advanced techniques to build suspense, create fresher, more interesting characters, and achieve greater reader sympathy, empathy, and identification. How to Write a Damn Good Novel, II also warns against the pseudo-rules often inflicted upon writers, rules such as "The author must always be invisible" and "You must stick to a single viewpoint in a scene," which cramp the imagination and deaden the narrative. Frey focuses instead on promises that the author makes to the reader--promises about character, narrative voice, story type, and so on, which must be kept if the reader is to be satisfied. This book is rich, instructive, honest, and often tellingly funny about the waywriters sometimes fail their readers and themselves.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Optimist's Daughter shares her thoughts on the art of fiction writing in seven concise chapters that discuss such key elements of the narrative craft as language, memory, place, and voice, as well the techniques and tools every writer needs to know.

Beginnings -- Notebooks, journals, and memory -- Characterization -- Perspective, distance, and point of view -- Dialogue -- Plot -- The elements of style -- A writer's tools -- Invention and transformation -- Story elements and forms as a given -- Revision: rewriting is writing -- Games -- Learning from the greats -- A collection of short-short stories -- A collection of short stories.

Josip Novakovich teaches fiction with the authority of a successful writer, the flair of a favorite professor and the excitement of a life-long student.This interactive workshop helps students write fiction, not just read about it. Explore each aspect of the art of fiction through: -- sources of fiction-- setting character and plot-- point of view and voice-- scene and dialogue-- beginnings and endings-- description and word choiceAll chapters close with a series of writing exercises to help readers put the elements into action. This learn-by-doing guide will help students write, improve and expand their fiction.

Every novelist's work contains an implicit vision of the history of the novel, an idea of what the novel is. I have tried to express here the idea of the novel that is inherent in my own novels. -- Milan Kundera Kundera brilliantly examines the work of such important and diverse figures as Rabelais, Cervantes, Sterne, Diderot, Flaubert, Tolstoy, and Musil. He is especially penetrating on Hermann Broch, and his exploration of the world of Kafka's novels vividly reveals the comic terror of Kafka's bureaucratized universe. Kundera's discussion of his own work includes his views on the role of historical events in fiction, the meaning of action, and the creation of character in the post-psychological novel.

Online sensation Grammar Girl makes grammar fun and easy in thisNew York Times bestseller Are you stumped by split infinitives? Terrified of using "who" when a "whom" is called for? Do you avoid the words "affect" and "effect" altogether? Grammar Girl is here to help! Mignon Fogarty, a.k.a. Grammar Girl, is determined to wipe out bad grammar--but she's also determined to make the process as painless as possible. A couple of years ago, she created a weekly podcast to tackle some of the most common mistakes people make while communicating. The podcasts have now been downloaded more than twenty million times, and Mignon has dispensed grammar tips onOprah and appeared on the pages ofThe New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, andUSA Today. Written with the wit, warmth, and accessibility that the podcasts are known for,Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing covers the grammar rules and word-choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers. From "between vs. among" and "although vs. while" to comma splices and misplaced modifiers, Mignon offers memory tricks and clear explanations that will help readers recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Chock-full of tips on style, business writing, and effective e-mailing, Grammar Girl's print debut deserves a spot on every communicator's desk.

The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need is the ideal resource for everyone who wants to produce writing that is clear, concise, and grammatically excellent. Whether you're creating perfect professional documents, spectacular school papers, or effective personal letters, you'll find this handbook indispensable. From word choice to punctuation to organization, English teacher Susan Thurman guides you through getting your thoughts on paper with polish. Using dozens of examples, The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need provides guidelines for: Understanding the parts of speech and elements of a sentence Avoiding the most common grammar and punctuation mistakes Using correct punctuating in every sentence Writing clearly and directly Approaching writing projects, whether big or small Easy to follow and authoritative, The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need provides all the necessary tools to make you successful with every type of written expression.

Identifies ten common errors in English grammar, including troublesome verbs, commas between adjectives, and misusing I and Me.

Early in the history of English, the words "grammar" and "glamour" meant the same thing: the power to charm. Roy Peter Clark, author of Writing Tools, aims to put the glamour back in grammar with this fun, engaging alternative to stuffy instructionals. In this practical guide, readers will learn everything from the different parts of speech to why effective writers prefer concrete nouns and active verbs. THE GLAMOUR OF GRAMMAR gives readers all the tools they need to"live inside the language"--to take advantage of grammar to perfect their use of English, to instill meaning, and to charm through their writing. With this indispensable book, readers will come to see just how glamorous grammar can be.

The words you use say a lot about you. Grammar makes a lasting impression on friends, co-workers, and teachers, but learning the rules has always been boring. That's why the folks at The Princeton Review created Grammar Smart. Grammar Smart uses a witty, irreverent approach to help individuals write and speak with greater clarity and confidence. Instead of boring readers with countless rules and confusing grammatical terms, The Princeton Review shows them the logic behind each correct sentence. Everything in Grammar Smart is nuts-and-bolts English designed to help readers express themselves more clearly. They'll learn how to choose between "that" and "which" and when to use "as" instead of "like," and they'll know for sure if this is between "you and me" or "you and I."