"Offers inspiration and practical advice from today's greatest writers ... secrets to approaching work with renewed creativity --Container.

A guide to writing and publishing a novel that offers tips for improving writing skills, creating believable characters, choosing a point of view, developing a plot, and other related topics.

Do you have an idea for a book but don't know how to get started? Have you started books, but get stuck in the middle and can't quite finish? Have you finished books, but received poor reviews or rejections from publishers who thought something was lacking? Don't be a slave to the Muse. Don't sit around and wait for the right inspiration to carry you away. Let me take you by the hand and walk you through a step-by-step process of plotting a novel, from the first spark of an idea. The Story Toolkit is like having a developmental editor in your pocket--someone who can ask the right questions at the right stage. It can straighten out that story you've got tangled up in your head, and smooth it out into a clear plan you can use to write a successful novel. It does this through a series of worksheets to help you build your novel into something of ever greater complexity. It provides a framework to combat the chaos of disordered thinking and too much possibility. It teaches the dramatic structure that is the basic underpinning of most successful commercial fiction. Yet, because this is a self-guided journey, it's entirely flexible. You're still the one in charge of your plot. You decide how complex your story will be. You decide how much planning to do before you sit down to write. But any time you get stuck, you can always go back to it for help. This is a method that works for writing any kind of fiction. Whether your genre of choice is romance, science fiction, thriller, adventure, or any of dozens of others, popular commercial fiction of all types shares a common structure. I want to show you how to use that to build your own stories, so you never get lost in the middle again. Along the way, I'm going to teach you some of the best things I've learned from years of studying fiction, studying the best books on writing, writing my own books, and editing unpublished fiction. I've thrown out the filler so I can give you just the information you really need to get started right now. Maybe you're a complete beginner. Maybe you're a hobbyist looking for a way to win NaNoWriMo this year. Maybe you're a published author looking for a way to become more efficient, because you're tired to throwing out half of your first draft and writing it all over again. Whatever your level in the novel writing game, The Story Toolkit will give you a method for creating compelling stories readers and publishers long to buy.

Don’t let simple mistakes ruin your book’s chances! If you’re not getting published, you may suffer from foggy writing—writing that’s full of unnecessary, misused, and overused words. Foggy writing drives editors crazy, and it’s the number one reason most manuscripts are rejected on first glance. Let veteran editor Don McNair show you how to clear up your foggy writing and produce sparkling copy that will attract agents, editors, readers, and sales. Editor-Proof Your Writing will show you how to avoid fatal writing mistakes by eliminating unnecessary words—and in the process you’ll strengthen your book’s action, invigorate your dialogue, and make your writing crackle with life. Containing 21 simple, straightforward principles, Editor-Proof Your Writing teaches how to edit weak verb forms, strip away author intrusions, ban redundancies, eliminate foggy phrases, correct passive-voice sentences, slash misused and overused words, and fix other writing mistakes. A must-have addition to every writer’s toolkit, Editor-Proof Your Writing won’t just make your writing clearer; it will make you a better writer — more expressive, more entertaining, and more likely to sell.

Strategies and Tactics for the Master Novelist Successfully starting and finishing a publishable novel is often like fighting a series of battles. You not only have to work hard to shape memorable characters, develop gripping plots, and craft dazzling dialogue, but you also have to fight against self-doubts and fears. And then there's the challenge of learning to navigate the ever-changing publishing industry. That's why best-selling novelist James Scott Bell, author of the Write Great Fiction staples Plot & Structure and Revision & Self-Editing, came up with the ultimate novel-writing battle plan: The Art of War for Writers. You'll find tactics and strategies for idea generation and development, character building, plotting, drafting, querying and submitting, dealing with rejection, coping with unrealistic expectations, and much more. With timeless, innovative, and concise writing reflections and techniques, The Art of War for Writers is your roadmap to victory.

Write the story you've always wanted to write. Stant Litore's third toolkit for writers will empower you to sharpen your story's thematic intensity. Theme is your answer to the question, Why does this story matter? Why does this story matter to each of your characters, and why does it matter to you? Why this story? What hold does it have on your heart? If you find the most compelling answer to that question - and then write that answer into every scene in your book - you'll have a story that will matter to readers, too. This toolkit provides a sequence of 30 story-building exercises plus guidelines on how to craft a thematic outline for your story and use it as a potent tool for revision. In these pages, explore how character, theme, and plot interact; how what matters most in your story gets expressed through each character's unique voice and gets performed dramatically through your plot; and discover how a mastery of theme can help you establish a powerful threshold text to begin your story, solve "the saggy middle," and deliver a denouement that your readers will never forget. Advance Review "Learning to write fiction that moves readers is a lifelong pursuit, but successful writers often struggle with showing others how they do it. For that, you need a good teacher. Stant Litore is an extraordinary teacher, and in Write Stories Your Readers Won't Forget he shares what he knows in clear, practical and profound chapters. Packed with insight, examples, and exercises, Stant's book will cut years off your learning curve." - James Van Pelt, author of Pandora's Gun Reviews for Stant Litore's Other Toolkits for Emerging Writers "Not only is the advice great, but there's a warmth to the chapters that makes writing inviting rather than intimidating." - Todd Mitchell, author of The Traitor King and The Last Panther "There are other worldbuilding books out there; this is the one you want." - Travis Heerman, author of the Ronin trilogy "A master class: Litore has created an accessible, comprehensive approach." - S.G. Redling, author of Flowertown and Damocles "This is a clear, comprehensive, and beautifully written guide that will not only help emerging writers to find their voices and build imaginative worlds and characters, but one that will also prove invaluable to experienced writers seeking to spark their creative impulses or deepen the worlds they create." - Angela Mitchell, author of Falada and Dancing Days