Many beginning writers and editors benefited from a crusty old editor’s brisk maxims about the craft. If you want to be reminded of those days, look inside. If you want to learn those brisk maxims, many of them are collected here. And if you aspire to become a crusty old editor, this is the handbook.

The definitive guide to polishing your prose from veteran editor Jan Venolia.Everyone knows that writing can be improved by the simple process of reviewing, editing, and rewriting, but many struggle with how to go about critiquing their own work—be it a letter to a friend, an important business document, or an academic essay. Fortunately, help is at hand in Rewrite Right! The skills needed to revise your work are surprisingly easy to learn and a cinch to i...

Professional editor and author Elizabeth Lyon offers aspiring novelists the guidance and instruction they need to write and edit well-crafted and compelling stories that will stand out from the competition and attract the attention of agents and publishers, including:- Stand-out style techniques, from accessing an authentic voice to applying techniques of "wordsmithing" that transform prose- How to rewrite characterization for dimensionality, a universal need, and theme

Every writer knows the benefits strong dialogue can bring to a story—a faster pace, greater believability, increased tension, and even humor.But not every writer knows how to achieve it.And, unfortunately, weak dialogue can destroy a story even faster than strong dialogue can improve it. Weak dialogue can drag the pace to a halt, make your characters feel stilted, and confuse your readers.In other words, to write great fiction, you need to know how to write dialogue...

Today's writer needs more than just a solid knowledge of usage and composition to write successfully. Bestselling author Arthur Plotnik reveals the secrets to attention-grabbing, unforgettable writing, in this trade paperback edition.Updated with all-new writing exercises, Spunk & Bite will help writers take books, articles, business reports, memos, and even e-mail messages to the next level.

These days fact-checking can seem like a lost art. The Fact Checker's Bible arrives not a moment too soon: it is the first—and essential—guide to the important but increasingly neglected task of checking facts, whatever their source.We are all overwhelmed with information that claims to be factual, but even the most punctilious researcher, writer, and journalist can sometimes get it wrong, so checking facts has become a more pressing task. Now Sarah Harrison Smith, former ...

Do you struggle with creating conflict in your novel? You don't have to.Award-winning author Janice Hardy (and founder of the popular writing site, Fiction University) takes you deep inside one of the most important aspects of storytelling--conflict. She'll help you understand what conflict really is, discuss the various aspects of conflict, and reveal why common advice on creating conflict doesn't always work.With in-depth analysis and easy-to-understand e...

“Emily creates a warm, funny, personable read in this guide book version of our mentorship. I love it. Even if I do come off as a stern and slightly frightening Mage…” ~ Isobelle CarmodySo you’ve finished your genre novel and it is Frankenstein’s monster.Don’t Panic!Whether you write fantasy, science-fiction, crime, thriller, YA or chick-lit, this humorous and helpful guide will hone your skills and lead you through the quagmire of writing ...

The definitive handbook for the novelist who is ready to reviseThis wise and friendly guide shows writers how to turn first-draft manuscripts into the novels of their dreams. A critic, longtime teacher, and award-winning novelist, Sandra Scofield illustrates how to reread a work of fiction with a view of its subject and vision, and how to take it apart and put it back together again, stronger and deeper. Scofield builds her explanations around helpful concepts like...

Three bestselling writing resources in one set!Experienced fiction editor Marcy Kennedy’s has put three of her popular Busy Writer’s Guides together. Dialogue, point of view, and description are foundational skills you need to master to create vivid fiction that balances your character’s internal life with the external story world in a way that keeps readers turning pages.The books in this set put writing craft techniques into plain language alongside examples so y...

Arthur Herzog teaches a practical approach to writing based on his belief that at least 75% of the writing process is proper preparation. "Discipline is half the battle," The concise painless method Herzog has patterned leads the neophyte or the pro through five steps to better writing. The ability to write is imperative to a life fulfilled. A person who can not write is going to be ever more deprived in a world based on communication.

Many students find literature reviews fiendishly difficult to write. That is because the literature review -- a paper summarizing a body of published works on a given topic -- requires the writer to abandon almost everything they've learned about writing and to use a brand new tone and approach.This booklet explains everything the writer needs to generate a successful literature review in step-by-step fashion. By focusing on tone and organization and showing the writer how to use a...