In her entertaining and edifying New York Times bestseller, acclaimed author Francine Prose invites you to sit by her side and take a guided tour of the tools and tricks of the masters to discover why their work has endured. Written with passion, humour and wisdom, Reading Like a Writer will inspire readers to return to literature with a fresh eye and an eager heart – to take pleasure in the long and magnificent sentences of Philip Roth and the breathtaking paragraphs of Isaac Babel; to look to John le Carré for a lesson in how to advance plot through dialogue and to Flannery O’ Connor for the cunning use of the telling detail; to be inspired by Emily Brontë ’ s structural nuance and Charles Dickens’ s deceptively simple narrative techniques. Most importantly, Prose cautions readers to slow down and pay attention to words, the raw material out of which all literature is crafted, and reminds us that good writing comes out of good reading.

Author and former literary agent Nathan Bransford shares his secrets for creating killer plots, fleshing out your first ideas, crafting compelling characters, and staying sane in the process. Read the guide that New York Times bestselling author Ransom Riggs called "The best how-to-write-a-novel book I've read."

From bestselling author Ally Carter, the definitive guide to writing a novel for the NaNoRiMo generation, including helpful tips from other YA stars. Have you always wanted to write a book, but don't know where to start? Or maybe you're really great at writing the first few chapters . . . but you never quite make it to the end? Or do you finally have a finished manuscript, but you're not sure what to do next? Fear not -- if you have writing-related questions, this book has answers! Whether you're writing for fun or to build a career, bestselling author Ally Carter is ready to help you make your work shine. With honesty, encouragement, and humor, Ally's ready here to answer the questions that writers struggle with the most.Filled with practical tips and helpful advice, Dear Ally is a treasure for aspiring writers at any stage of their careers. It offers a behind-the-scenes look at how books get made, from idea to publication, and gives you insight into the writing processes of some of the biggest and most talented YA authors writing today.

The Story Behind THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE If you've read his books THE WAR OF ART and TURNING PRO, you know that for thirty years Steven Pressfield (GATES OF FIRE, THE AFGHAN CAMPAIGN etc.) wrote spec novel after spec novel before any publisher took him seriously. How did he finally break through? Ignoring just about every rule of commercial book publishing, Pressfield's "first" novel not only became a major bestseller (over 250,000 copies sold), it was adapted into a feature film directed by Robert Redford and starring Matt Damon, Will Smith, and Charlize Theron. Where did he get the idea? What magical something did THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE have that his previous manuscripts lacked? Why did Pressfield decide to write a novel when he already had a well established screenwriting career? How does writing a publishable novel really work? Taking a page from John Steinbeck's classic JOURNAL OF A NOVEL, Steven Pressfield offers answers for these and scores of other practical writing questions in THE AUTHENTIC SWING.

A surprise on every page! Brimming from cover to cover with projects and other paper surprises, The Kids’ Book of Paper Love, from the bestselling editors of Flow magazine and books, is a bounty of a book that begs to be folded, cut up, collaged, doodled on, and shared. Loop paper strips into a paper chain. Snip out bookmarks. Fold a paper house. Make photo booth props—a silly mustache, a crown—to pose with friends. Bind up a DIY storybook and use it to sketch out adventures and dreams. Construct a paper flower bouquet, a paper terrarium, a fortune-teller with prompts like Lend someone a book and tell them why you recommend it. Plus there are Flow’s signature paper goodies, including a foldout paper banner, postcards, glitter stickers, a paper doll, a two-sided poster, and so much more. It’s a pure hands-on treat. Every page is an activity! Includes: Decorative cutouts Cards for friends A DIY storybook Stamp stickers Photo booth props …and more!

The I Love to Write Stories Book is a practical guide that gives young writers ages 6 to 14 the tools they need to create their own fiction. It's an instructional and inspirational handbook that seeks to launch them on a journey to become successful, confident, and self-motivated writers. Topics include story structure, characterization, plot. beginnings, endings, and ways to enrich their stories by using the five senses, adding color and music, and other techniques. It also covers time-proven methods to revise and proofread to make stories sing. The instruction and activities in the book were developed by the author for the Kansas City Writers Group's I Love to Write summer camps for children in grades K-8. Featuring many practical tips, techniques, and activities, the book is ideal for use by individuals and in the home school or public or private school classroom.

The blue-eyed boy of Indian publishing, Abhimanyu Razdan is known for his bestselling romances, which move his readers to tears. PaperInk, an up-and-coming publishing house, is looking for an A-list author who will take them to the next level. So, when Abhimanyu's contract with his current publishers comes to an end, PaperInk decides to swoop in. But Abhimanyu isn't quite like the emotional and sensitive characters in the novels he writes. Callous, egoistic and drunk on success, he gets into a hot argument with Asmita, PaperInk's literary fiction editor, even before his first meeting with them. Already put off, despite her apology, he is even more incensed when he discovers that Asmita looks down on popular fiction, especially the kind he writes. He vows to teach her a lesson that could jeopardize her job. At each other's throats, Abhimanyu and Asmita are as different as can be, but fate has something else in store and they soon find that there is no running away from love.