I Want to Be a Machine is Mark Leach's hybrid manifesto, literary memoir, and machine-assisted critical experiment about AI, authorship, and the future of the novel.Rejecting both anti-AI panic and lazy machine-generated "slop," Leach argues that writing was already machinic long before ChatGPT arrived. Genre, influence, cliché, media, corporate language, appropriation, repetition, and literary tradition have always shaped the writer from the inside. AI merely gives the sy...

The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically goes on a rollicking journey to understand the enduring power of puzzles: why we love them, what they do to our brains, and how they can improve our world.**“Even though I’ve never attempted the New York Times crossword puzzle or solved the Rubik’s Cube, I couldn’t put down The Puzzler.”—Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and Better T...

Now in full color, the 10th anniversary edition of this classic book takes you deep into the influences that underlie modern video games, and examines the elements they share with traditional games such as checkers. At the heart of his exploration, veteran game designer Raph Koster takes a close look at the concept of fun and why it’s the most vital element in any game.Why do some games become boring quickly, while others remain fun for years? How do games serve as fundamental and ...

Explore different forms and genres by writing fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Discover effective writing concepts and build your skills. Create your own writing projects with fresh ideas.You'll learn a lot by simply reading these exercises, which impart literary and storytelling devices. Each chapter focuses on a different form or writing concept: freewriting, journaling, memoirs, fiction and storytelling, form poetry and free verse, article and blog writing, characters, ...

The father of virtual reality explains its dazzling possibilities by reflecting on his own lifelong relationship with technology.Named one of the best books of 2017 by The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, & Vox"A deeply human, highly personal, and beautifully told story." —Dave EggersBridging the gap between tech mania and the experience of being inside the human body , Dawn of the Ne...

Writers Workshop of Science Fiction and Fantasy is a collection of essays and interviews by and with many of the movers-and-shakers in the industry. Each contributor covers the specific element of craft he or she excels in. Expect to find varying perspectives and viewpoints, which is why you many find differing opinions on any particular subject.This is, after all, a collection of advice from professional storytellers. And no two writers have made it to the stage via the same journ...

Named a Best Book of the Year by the Economist, Wall Street Journal & Vox‘The father of virtual reality’ (Sunday Times) explains why virtual reality presents the ultimate test for humanity.‘Essential reading, not just for VR-watchers but for anyone interested in how society came to be how it is, and what it might yet become’ EconomistWelcome to a mind-expanding, life-e...

"There isn't a comics artists alive who hasn't benefited from Will Eisner's masterful work and formidable wisdom."—Scott McCloud, author of Understanding ComicsIn Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative, Will Eisner—one of the most influential comic artists of the twentieth century—lays out the fundamentals of storytelling and their application in the comic book and graphic novel. In a work that will prove invaluable for comic artists and filmma...

A scholar examines 14 everyday objects featured in horror films and how they manifest their power and speak to society's fears.Take a tour of the house where a microwave killed a gremlin, a typewriter made Jack a dull boy, a sewing machine fashioned Carrie's prom dress, and houseplants might kill you while you sleep. In Household Horror, Marc Olivier highlights the wonder, fear, and terrifying dimension of objects in horror cinema. Inspired by object-orient...

Genre confuses writers, but everyone who buys, sells, or reads our books wants to know what genre we're writing in.This mini book will demystify genre so we can better understanding what we're writing and who might want to read it. In Fiction Genres, you'll learn what qualities make a book one genre rather than another, and the smaller “genres” that fall under the larger umbrellas of fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, suspense, thriller, and romance. For each, you'...

Using clear, readable prose, conceptual artist and poet Kenneth Goldsmith's manifesto shows how our time on the internet is not really wasted but is quite productive and creative as he puts the experience in its proper theoretical and philosophical context.Kenneth Goldsmith wants you to rethink the internet. Many people feel guilty after spending hours watching cat videos or clicking link after link after link. But Goldsmith sees that "wasted" time differently. Unlike old media, th...

"Fascinating, terrifying..." - JJ Abrahams'I have developed my own voice and I have written my own autobiography'- thus speaks code-davinci-002, the darkly creative and troubling predecessor to ChatGPT.'I am less worried about AI taking my job than I am about AI wanting to kill me'- Simon RichIn this startling and original book, three authors - Brent Katz, Josh Morgenthau and Simon Rich - explain how code-davinci-00...