The second volume of the four-book series that guides students into the creation of sophisticated short fiction and mature poetry. Complements Peace Hill Press’s expository series Writing With Skill by providing the imaginative element that many students want. Unlike most “how to write” books, these are designed to be used in a mentor/student relationship, with teaching, guidance, and evaluation tips provided for the mentor or teacher. All exercises build towards the production of finished creative pieces. Sequential, logical, step-by-step instruction. The second level builds on the introductory volume, The Creative Writer: Five Finger Exercises, but can be started directly by older students. Instruction in the five essentials of fiction: plot, characters, dialogue, point of view, and setting. Offers guidance in the essential art of poetry: sound, rhythm, word choice, and poem construction.

A gentle, imaginative introduction to the skills all creative writers need. Breaking down the elements that go into successful imaginative works, The Creative Writer leads aspiring writers through the skills needed to construct each. The assignments, designed to make students more aware of language and more confident in their own ingenuity, build on each other until beginning creative writers have successfully created their own stories, poems, and essays. • Simple but innovative exercises encourage young writers to strengthen their vocabulary and become aware of the patterns of sentences • Legends and folklore are used to teach point of view, characterization, plotting, and other vital skills • Classic poetry serves as a model for the student’s own original poems • Unlike most “how to write” books, The Creative Writer is designed to be used in a mentor/student relationship, with teaching, guidance, and evaluation tips provided for the mentor or teacher • Can be used as a complement to Writing With Skill or on its own

A new series on teaching writing, from the author of The Well-Trained Mind. In Writing with Ease, Susan Wise Bauer lays out an alternative plan for teaching writing, one that combines the best elements of old-fashioned writing instruction with innovative new educational methods. The workbooks provide lessons, student worksheets, and teacher instructions for every day of writing instruction. Each covers one year of study. Used along with Writing with Ease, Level Two (second in a planned four-volume set) complete the elementary-grade writing curriculum.

You already have the tools to become a gifted writer; what you need is the spark. Harvard creative writing professor and acclaimed author Bret Anthony Johnston brings you an irresistible interactive guide to the craft of narrative writing. From developing characters to building conflict, from mastering dialogue to setting the scene, Naming the World jump-starts your creativity with inspiring exercises that will have you scrambling for pen and paper. Every chapter is a master class with the country’s most eminent authors, renowned editors, and dedicated teachers. • Infuse emotion into your fiction with three key strategies from Margot Livesey. • Christopher Castellani dumps the “write what you know” maxim and challenges you to really delve into the imagination. • A point-of-view drill from Susan Straight can be just the breakthrough you need to flesh out your story. • Jewell Parker Rhodes shares how good dialogue is not just about what is being said but about what is being left unsaid. Brimming with imaginative springboards and hands-on exercises, Naming the World has everything you need to become a stronger, more inventive writer. “A delicious book. Imagine yourself at a cocktail party crammed with literary lions. You have the chance to spend a few moments with each of them. Wit and wisdom abound.” –Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way “A highly useful and perceptive book. With charm and intelligence it touches on nearly every teachable aspect of the devilishly difficult art of writing.” –Ethan Canin, professor of creative writing at the Iowa Writers Workshop, and author of Carry Me Across the Water “These entertaining and useful exercises, intelligently organized, are a boon for both beginning and experienced writers.” –Andrea Barrett, National Book Award—winning author of The Air We Breathe “Forget about getting an MFA! For any writer struggling with his craft, here is the equivalent of a master class in writing by some of the best writer/teachers around.” –Betsy Lerner, author of The Forest for the Trees: An Editor’s Advice to Writers

Time-tested classical techniques--the imitation and analysis of great writers--combined with original composition exercises in history, science, biography, and literature The Student Workbook encourages independent composition, while the Instructor Text contains easy-to-use supporting information for the teacher, rubrics for grading, sample compositions, and dialogue to use while teaching. Together, the Student Workbook and Instructor Text provide a full year of middle-grade writing instruction, preparing students to enter high-level rhetoric. Skills Taught: One- and two-level outlining Writing chronological narratives, biographical sketches, descriptions, and sequences across the curriculum Constructing basic literary essays on fiction and poetry Researching and documenting source material First volume of four that will prepare students for high-level rhetoric and composition Features of the program: Writing assignments are modeled on examples from great literature and classic nonfiction All source material for assignments is provided—no other books are needed This Student Workbook encourages independence by directing all assignments to the student Instructor Text (sold separately) provides scripted dialogue to use when the student has difficulty, plus detailed guidance on how to evaluate the student’s work Second volume of four that will prepare students for high-level rhetoric and composition

This simple-to-use scripted guide to grammar and composition makes successful teaching easy for both parents and teachers. It uses the classical techniques of memorization, copywork, dictation, and narration to develop a childs language ability in the first years of study.

You are invited to the rest of your life. Three women, from coast to coast and in between, open their mailboxes to the same intriguing invitation. Although leading entirely different lives, each has found herself at a similar, jarring crossroads. Right when these women thought they’d be comfortably settling into middle age, their carefully curated futures have turned out to be dead ends. The sender of the invitation is Willa Silvester, who is reeling from the untimely death of her beloved husband and the reality that she must say goodbye to the small mountain town they founded together. Yet as Willa mourns her losses, an impossible question keeps staring her in the face: So now what? Struggling to find the answer alone, fiercely independent Willa eventually calls a childhood friend who happens to be in her own world of hurt—and that’s where the idea sparks. They decide to host a weeklong interlude from life, and invite two other friends facing their own quandaries. Soon the four women converge at Willa’s Montana homestead, a place where they can learn from nature and one another as they contemplate their second acts together in the rugged wilderness of big sky country.