No one looks at structure like Jesse Lee Kercheval. She builds a work of fiction just as an architect would design a house--with an eye for details and how all parts of a story or novel interconnect. Even with the most dynamic language, images, and characters, no piece of fiction will work without a strong infrastructure. Kercheval shows how to build that structure using such tools as point of view, characterization, pacing, and flashbacks. Building Fiction will help you envision the landscape of your fiction and build great stories there.

Getting a book published is hard enough, but what about building a loyal reader base? It’s been said that nothing sells a book – to an editor or a reader – faster than a great story. Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser (write by the seat of your pants), Break Into Fiction® is the book that will help you find the weak spots (sagging middles, unlikeable characters, slow pacing and more) in your fiction stories. Editing is key to any story, but it starts with the author. Writing fast means nothing if the final story isn’t sound. But the sooner you grasp the power points for a story, the faster you’ll be able to build a strong backlist. Now you have a way to improve your writing one easy step at a time. Written by a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelists, Break Into Fiction® is a workshop-in-a-book and the one resource all writers need to master the art of fiction. This book is based on the popular workshops Mary Buckham and Dianna Love taught in the US and internationally to beginning writers, multi-published authors and even a Pulitzer Prize winner. Their innovative method shows writers how to create stories of depth, excitement, and emotion with: • Easy-to-understand templates that guide the new writer through building a novel and show more experienced writers how to deepen a plot and take a first draft to the next level much more quickly • Reference examples from strongly-plotted popular genre films of suspense, classics, children, and romance • Simple worksheets to build a strong story through Character-Driven™ plotting for any genre • Troubleshooting tips that reveal how to find and fix holes that weaken the plot • Insights from best-selling novelists representing a variety of fiction genres • A bonus dialogue guide that reveals how to make a character come alive through conversation. Break Into Fiction® is here to help aspiring-to-bestselling authors with a step-by-step guide!

An instant New York Times bestseller!Alan Gratz, bestselling author of Refugee, weaves a stunning array of voices and stories into an epic tale of teamwork in the face of tyranny -- and how just one day can change the world. June 6, 1944: The Nazis are terrorizing Europe, on their evil quest to conquer the world. The only way to stop them? The biggest, most top-secret operation ever, with the Allied nations coming together to storm German-occupied France.Welcome to D-Day.Dee, a young U.S. soldier, is on a boat racing toward the French coast. And Dee -- along with his brothers-in-arms -- is terrified. He feels the weight of World War II on his shoulders.But Dee is not alone. Behind enemy lines in France, a girl named Samira works as a spy, trying to sabotage the German army. Meanwhile, paratrooper James leaps from his plane to join a daring midnight raid. And in the thick of battle, Henry, a medic, searches for lives to save.In a breathtaking race against time, they all must fight to complete their high-stakes missions. But with betrayals and deadly risks at every turn, can the Allies do what it takes to win?

From wondrous fairy-lands to nightmarish hellscapes, the elements that make fantasy worlds come alive also invite their exploration. This first book-length study of critically acclaimed novelist Patricia A. McKillip's lyrical other-worlds analyzes her characters, environments and legends and their interplay with genre expectations. The author gives long overdue critical attention to McKillip's work and demonstrates how a broader understanding of world-building enables a deeper appreciation of her fantasies.

Diversity has always been central to Alaska identity, as the state’s population consists of people with many different backgrounds, viewpoints, and life experiences. This book opens a window into these diverse lives, gathering stories and poems about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer life into a brilliant, path-breaking anthology. In these pages we see the panoply of LGBTQ life in Alaska today, from the quotidian urban adventures of a family—shopping, going out, working—to intimate encounters with Alaska’s breathtaking natural beauty. At a time of great change and major strides in LGBTQ civil rights, Building Fires in the Snow shows us an Alaska that shatters stereotypes and reveals a side of Alaska that’s been little seen until now.

An engaging introduction to buildings, with a deft mix of nonfiction and fiction elements.

Learn to write science fiction and fantasy from a master You've always dreamed of writing science fiction and fantasy tales that pull readers into extraordinary new worlds and fantastic conflicts. Best-selling author Orson Scott Card shows you how it's done, distilling years of writing experience and publishing success into concise, no-nonsense advice. You'll learn how to: • utilize story elements that define the science fiction and fantasy genres • build, populate, and dramatize a credible, inviting world your readers will want to explore • develop the "rules" of time, space and magic that affect your world and its inhabitants • construct a compelling story by developing ideas, characters, and events that keep readers turning pages • find the markets for speculative fiction, reach them, and get published • submit queries, write cover letters, find an agent, and live the life of a writer The boundaries of your imagination are infinite. Explore them with Orson Scott Card and create fiction that casts a spell over agents, publishers, and readers from every world.