In this entertaining and enlightening collection David Lodge considers the art of fiction under a wide range of headings, drawing on writers as diverse as Henry James, Martin Amis, Jane Austen and James Joyce. Looking at ideas such as the Intrusive Author, Suspense, the Epistolary Novel, Magic Realism and Symbolism, and illustrating each topic with a passage taken from a classic or modern novel, David Lodge makes the richness and variety of British and American fiction accessible to the general reader. He provides essential reading for students, aspiring writers and anyone who wants to understand how fiction works.
There is a reason why Stephen King is one of the bestselling writers in the world, ever. Described in the Guardian as 'the most remarkable storyteller in modern American literature', Stephen King writes books that draw you in and are impossible to put down . Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time , this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in the vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999 - and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery.
In 1978, Haruki Murakami was 29 and running a jazz bar in downtown Tokyo. One April day, the impulse to write a novel came to him suddenly while watching a baseball game. That first novel, Hear the Wind Sing, won a new writers'' award and was published the following year. More followed, including A Wild Sheep Chase and Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, but it was Norwegian Wood, published in 1987, which turned Murakami from a writer into a phenomenon. His books became bestsellers, were translated into many languages, including English, and the door was thrown wide open to Murakami''s unique and addictive fictional universe. Murakami writes with admirable discipline, producing ten pages a day, after which he runs ten kilometres (he began long-distance running in 1982 and has participated in numerous marathons and races), works on translations, and then reads, listens to records and cooks. His passions colour his non-fiction output, from What I Talk About When I Talk About Running to Absolutely On Music, and they also seep into his novels and short stories, providing quotidian moments in his otherwise freewheeling flights of imaginative inquiry. In works such as The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, 1Q84 and Men Without Women, his distinctive blend of the mysterious and the everyday, of melancholy and humour, continues to enchant readers, ensuring Murakami''s place as one of the world''s most acclaimed and well-loved writers.
Steven Pinker, the bestselling author of The Language Instinct , deploys his gift for explaining big ideas in The Sense of Style - an entertaining writing guide for the 21st century What is the secret of good prose? Does writing well even matter in an age of instant communication? Should we care? In this funny, thoughtful book about the modern art of writing, Steven Pinker shows us why we all need a sense of style. More than ever before, the currency of our social and cultural lives is the written word, from Twitter and texting to blogs, e-readers and old-fashioned books. But most style guides fail to prepare people for the challenges of writing in the 21st century, portraying it as a minefield of grievous errors rather than a form of pleasurable mastery. They fail to deal with an inescapable fact about language: it changes over time, adapted by millions of writers and speakers to their needs. Confusing changes in the world with moral decline, every generation believes the kids today are degrading society and taking language with it. A guide for the new millennium, writes Steven Pinker, has to be different. Drawing on the latest research in linguistics and cognitive science, Steven Pinker replaces the recycled dogma of previous style guides with reason and evidence. This thinking person's guide to good writing shows why style still matters: in communicating effectively, in enhancing the spread of ideas, in earning a reader's trust and, not least, in adding beauty to the world. Eye-opening, mind-expanding and cheerful, The Sense of Style shows that good style is part of what it means to be human.
Why does a director choose a particular script? What must they do in order to keep actors fresh and truthful through take after take of a single scene? How do you stage a shootout--involving more than one hundred extras and three colliding taxis--in the heart of New Yorks diamond district? What does it take to keep the studio honchos happy? From the first rehearsal to the final screening, Making Movies is a masters take, delivered with clarity, candor, and a wealth of anecdote. For in this book, Sidney Lumet, one of our most consistently acclaimed directors, gives us both a professional memoir and a definitive guide to the art, craft, and business of the motion picture. Drawing on forty years of experience on movies that range from Long Days Journey into Night to Network and The Verdict --and with such stars as Katharine Hepburn, Paul Newman, Marlon Brando, and Al Pacino--Lumet explains how painstaking labor and inspired split-second decisions can result in two hours of screen magic.
Named one of '30 of the planet's most exciting young people' by the Financial Times, Elaine Castillo was born and raised in the Bay Area. Her debut novel America Is Not the Heart was named one of the best books of 2018 by N
____________________________ We can all be more creative. John Cleese shows us how. Creativity is usually regarded as a mysterious, rare gift that only a few possess. John Cleese begs to differ, and in this short, immensely practical and often very amusing guide he shows it''s a skill that anyone can acquire. Drawing on his lifelong experience as a writer, he shares his insights into the nature of the creative process, and offers advice on how to get your own inventive juices flowing. ____________________________ ''Humorous and practical ... Whether you''re hoping to write a novel or paint a masterpiece, you''re sure to feel inspired'' OK Magazine '' His candor is endearing ... An upbeat guide to the creative process'' Kirkus ''A jovial romp ... Cleese fans will enjoy, and writers and other artists will breeze through, picking up a few nuggets of wisdom along the way'' The Festival Review ''A sincere and thoughtful guide to creativity, and a very useful book'' Graham Norton ''Wise words on the serious business of being silly'' Sunday Business Post
Over a million copies sold Clear writing is the key to clear thinking. So think what you want to say, then say it as simply as possible. That's the thinking that underpins this much-loved guide, and the mantra for anyone wanting to communicate with the clarity, style and precision for which The Economist is renowned. The Economist Style Guide guides the reader through the pleasures and pitfalls of English usage. It offers advice on the consistent use of punctuation, abbreviations and capital letters, identifies common errors and cliches and contains an exhaustive range of reference material - covering everything from business ratios to mathematical symbols and common Latin phrases. It also tackles the key differences between British and American English. But this is no ordinary guide to English usage. It has a wit, verve and flair which make it much more than a simple work of reference. Here are just some examples: - anticipate does not mean expect. Jack and Jill expected to marry; if they anticipated marriage, only Jill might find herself expectant. - Take care with between. To fall between two stools, however painful, is grammatically acceptable. To fall between the cracks is to challenge the laws of physics. - critique is a noun. If you want a verb, try criticise. - use words with care. If This door is alarmed, does its hair stand on end? The Economist Style Guide is required reading for anyone who wants to communicate with style.
In this exuberant book, the incomparable Ray Bradbury shares the wisdom, experience, and excitement of a lifetime of writing.
The first thing a writer should be is - excited Author of the iconic FAHRENHEIT 451, THE ILLUSTRATED MAN and THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, Ray Bradbury is one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century.
Part memoir, part masterclass, ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING offers a vivid and exuberant insight into the craft of writing. Bradbury reveals how writers can each find their own unique path to developing their voice and style.
ZEN IN THE ART OF WRITING offers a celebration of the act of writing that will delight, impassion, and inspire.
Lucy Gannon is the daughter of a British soldier. Her mother died when she was 7 and, by the age of 11, she had attended nine schools. Classed as educationally subnormal she left school as soon as she could. When she was nearly 40 twice mar
Peter Turchi has written and coedited several books on writing fiction, including Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, A Muse and a Maze: Writing as Puzzle, Mystery, and Magic, A Kite in the Wind: Fiction Wr
Need a rhyme but can't spare the time? Want to make your jingles tingle or crack the code to the ode? This is a useful companion for those who write verse. Easy to use, it offers a range of rhymes for words, from the common to the obscure.
Susie Dent is the resident word expert in Dictionary Corner on C4's Countdown and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown , has been on every programme about words: 15 x 15 , Word of Mouth , More or Less ; and is a regular panellist on R4's Wordaholics. Susie also writes a weekly column for the Radio Times , reviews for the Spectator and has over 86,000 followers on Twitter. This is the book she has always wanted to write.>
A practical guide for writers by a master editor who has worked with such figures as Dylan Thomas, James Baldwin, and Jack Higgins covers character development, speeding up the pace, applying the Actors Studio Method, and creating suspense and tension.
B>In this spiritual sequel to his influential Reading for the Plot, Peter Brooks examines the dangerously alluring power of storytelling./b>br>br>Theres nothing in the world more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. Nothing can defeat it. Thus spake Tyrion in the final episode of Game of Thrones, claiming the throne for Bran the Broken. Many viewers liked neither the choice of king nor its rationale. But the claim that story brings you to world dominance seems by now so banal that its common wisdom. Narrative seems to have become accepted as the one and only form of knowledge and speech that regulates human affairs."br>;br>So begins the scholar and literary critic Peter Brooks''s reckoning with today''s flourishing cult of story. Forty years after Brooks published his seminal work Reading for the Plot, his own important contribution to what came to be known as the narrative turn in contemporary criticism and philosophy, he returns to question the unquestioning fashion in which story is now embraced as excuse or explanation and the fact that every brand or politician comes equipped with one. In a discussion that ranges from Gone Girl to legal argument, to the power storytellers exercise over their audiences, to what it means for readers and listeners to project themselves imaginatively into fictional characters, Brooks reminds us that among the powers of narrative is the power to deceive. Precisely because story does command our attention so, we must be skeptical of it and cultivate ways of thinking about our world and ourselves that run counter to our penchant for a good story.
Legendary author of The Artist''s Way Julia Cameron has pioneered the field of creative recovery, inspiring millions of people around the world to discover their true creative selves. Now in Write for Life , the ''Queen of Creativity'' speaks directly to writers - it is an openhearted invitation to begin, stick with, and finish a project. Write for Life delivers a wonderful balance of firm and inspiring advice, shaped into a 6-week program for writers of all levels. From setting daily writing quotas to changing genres, fighting perfectionism to polishing a first draft, Julia Cameron provides holistic guidance and support every step of the way. Write for Life is written for every writer, and every writer should read it. It is Julia Cameron at her best, distilling decades of wisdom and experience in practical lessons on the craft and spiritual practice of writing. Itis an unmissable addition to Julia Cameron''s creative canon, destined to sit in the pantheon of classic books on writing.
