In the past century, more and more Americans have been migrating from rural areas and urban centers to suburban communities. As a result, the majority of American youth are educated in the suburbs, and the ways in which they learn to be citizens are shaped by their suburban surroundings. Because many of these communities are designed to support a "placeless" lifestyle of a transient yet demographically similar population, they are often disconnected from a regional history and culture. For...

For more than thirty years Natalie Goldberg has been challenging and cheering on writers with her books and workshops. In her groundbreaking first book, she brings together Zen meditation and writing in a new way. Writing practice, as she calls it, is no different from other forms of Zen practice—"it is backed by two thousand years of studying the mind."This thirtieth-anniversary edition includes new forewords by Julia Cameron and Bill Addison. It also includes a new preface in whi...

In Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes, Robert M. Emerson, Rachel I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw present a series of guidelines, suggestions, and practical advice for creating useful fieldnotes in a variety of settings, demystifying a process that is often assumed to be intuitive and impossible to teach. Using actual unfinished notes as examples, the authors illustrate options for composing, reviewing, and working fieldnotes into finished texts. They discuss different organizational and ...

The craft of writing is a lot like spinning a web: You take threads and weave them skillfully together, and only you know where this intricate network of twists and turns begin and how it will end. Now, with Lawrence Block's expert advice, you can learn this art of entrapping your reader in a maze of fascinating fiction.Spider, Spin Me a Web is the perfect companion volume to Block's previous book on writing, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit, which...

From a longtime script consultant, "a vital aid to all writers, novelists, and screenwriters . . . invaluable" (Gale Anne Hurd, producer, The Walking Dead and Aliens).In this book, Linda Seger, author of Making a Good Script Great, shows how to create strong, multidimensional characters in fiction, covering everything from research to character block. She introduces concepts designed to stimulate the creative process, combining them with p...

This is your roadmap for completing the memoir you've dreamed about writing."Rachael Herron resonates with our audience, and not just because she knows her stuff—she does—or because she's hilarious—she is—but because her honesty and earnestness come through in all her messaging." Samantha Sanders, Writer’s DigestWriting memoir is daunting! You’re the expert on your life, naturally, but narrating and organizing your own experiences in the best way c...

“A necessary manual for those interested in the perpetuation, and the possibilities, of good English prose.”—Harper’s Magazine“[Lanham’s] style is notable for its audacity, liveliness, and grace.”—The Times Literary Supplement“The most applicably provocative book on the subject of prose style available. Imperative reading for all teachers and students of writing.”—ChoiceThis humorous and accessible classic on style calls for the return of wordplay and delight to wri...

The story of writing in the digital age is every bit as messy as the ink-stained rags that littered the floor of Gutenberg’s print shop or the hot molten lead of the Linotype machine. During the period of the pivotal growth and widespread adoption of word processing as a writing technology, some authors embraced it as a marvel while others decried it as the death of literature. The product of years of archival research and numerous interviews conducted by the author, Track Changes...

Unique writers’ voices are in high demand, but what exactly is a voice, and how do you get one? Writing Show host Paula B. analyzes 13 writers' voices and offers tips for developing yours.

Naming What We Know, Classroom Edition examines the core principles of knowledge in the discipline of writing studies, using the lens of “threshold concepts”—concepts that are critical for epistemological participation in a discipline. This edition focuses on the working definitions of thirty-seven threshold concepts that run throughout the research, teaching, assessment, and public work in writing studies. Developed from the highly regarded original edition in response to grassro...

This practical guide to successful creative writing uses cognitive behavioural therapy and spiritual strategies to help people liberate themselves to achieve optimal productivity and enjoyment.

Writing Well in the 21st Century: The Five Essentials provides students, career-builders, and professional writers with the basic elements needed for writing in the 21st century. The book fully explains—and links—the five essentials of good writing:punctuation, grammar, fact-checking, style, and voice.Throughout history technology has changed both language and writing. Today in the digital age, language and writing are changing at a phenomenal pace. Students, career-builders,...