Research Writing

Born in 1909 in Jackson, Mississippi, Eudora Welty shares details of her upbringing that show us how her family and her surroundings contributed to the shaping not only of her personality but of her writing as well. Everyday sights, sounds, and objects resonate with the emotions of recollection.

What does it take to have a long writing life? Drawing on her years of writing, teaching, and practicing Zen, Natalie Goldberg shares the experiences that have opened her to new ways of being alive - experiences that point the way forward in our lives and our writing. The "great spring" of this book title refers to the great rush of energy that arrives when you think no life will ever come again - the early yellow flowering forsythia, for example.

In order to master the craft of writing and the art of storytelling you must internalize the rhythms of the human experience and the ways we share that experience. There are deep and consistent patterns in the ways we tell stories, weave narrative illusions, and develop fascinating characters.

All successful writers use resonance to enhance their stories by drawing power from stories that came before, by resonating with their audiences' experiences, and by resonating within their own works. In this book, you'll learn exactly what resonance is and how to use it to make your stories more powerful. You'll see how it is used in literature and other art forms, and how one writer, J. R. R. Tolkien, mastered it in his work.

An award-winning novelist, philosopher, essayist, screenwriter, professor, and cartoonist, Charles Johnson has devoted his life to creative pursuit. His 1990 National Book Award-winning novel Middle Passage is a modern classic, revered as much for its daring plot as its philosophical underpinnings. For 33 years, Johnson taught and mentored students in the art and craft of creative writing. The Way of the Writer is his record of those years and the coda to a kaleidoscopic, boundary-shattering career.

Fake News: Falsehood, Fabrication and Fantasy in journalism examines the causes and consequences of the "fake news" phenomenon now sweeping the world’s media and political debates. Drawing on three decades of research and writing on journalism and news media, the author engages with the fake news phenomenon in accessible, insightful language designed to bring clarity and context to a complex and fast-moving debate.

Thanks to comedy writing guru John Vorhaus (author of The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not), writing situation comedy is easier than ever. In The Little Book of Sitcom, you'll find a whole trove of tools, tricks, and problem-solving techniques that you can use - now, today - to be the sitcom writer of your wildest dreams. Ready to write? Ready to have fun? The Little Book of Sitcom is the big little book for you.

Your most potent writer's tool is your own mind, Natalie Goldberg says. From there springs the detail and truth that give your written words power and authenticity. Now this best-selling author introduces you to the pleasure of creating vivid memoirs of your own with Old Friend from Far Away.

When you think of unforgettable characters from books you’ve read, who comes to mind? James Bond, Harry Potter, Scarlett O’Hara, Elizabeth Bennett, Atticus Finch, Sherlock Holmes? These are just some of the most iconic characters in fiction. They are so memorable that even decades or centuries later, they still captivate our imagination. But what exactly is it about them that keeps generations so invested in them? Writers apply certain rules and tricks with their characters to make their stories shine. With this guide, you’ll find out exactly what they are.

In Plotting a Fantasy Novel, you’ll discover how to create a novel outline in five easy steps. Fantasies are our secret escape to utopia. And with the right tools and techniques, you can create many more escape gateways by writing compelling fantasy novels…novels your readers will be itching to get their hands on. If you dream of seeing your name among the masters of storytelling, it’s time to learn the secrets.

What seven traits do the most successful authors have in common? Which strategic approaches can have the most positive effect on your author career? Where should you focus your energy and effort for maximum results? How do these components work together to help you forge a powerful path through publishing? Join Mark Leslie Lefebvre, who draws upon more than three decades of experience in writing, publishing and book selling as well as his affinity for alliteration to highlight the importance of and provide examples of how these seven P's.

Mixing parody, literary criticism, profiles, satire, light verse, anagrams, AND social observation, Haywire gathers together the finest examples of Craig Brown's writing across the past fifteen years. From Mary Berry’s Household Tips to Robert Macfarlane’s poetic prose, from profiles of such diverse figures as Sigmund Freud and Katie Price to parodies of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Mary Beard, and from appreciations of the Marx Brothers and Les Dawson to essays on Brian Epstein and the slippery art of biography, Haywire contains a bumper selection of work.

Expanding on the author's highly successful process for doubling daily word counts, this audiobook - a combination of reworked blog posts and new material - offers practical writing advice for anyone who's ever longed to increase their daily writing output.

A practical and inspiring guide to transformational personal storytelling, The Story You Need to Tell is the product of Sandra Marinella’s pioneering work with veterans and cancer patients, her years of teaching writing, and her research into its profound healing properties. Riveting true stories illustrate Marinella’s methods for understanding, telling, and editing personal stories in ways that foster resilience and renewal. She also shares her own experience of using journaling and expressive writing to navigate challenges including breast cancer and postpartum depression.

This booklet from Carolyn Howard-Johnson, a UCLA Extension Writers' Program instructor for nearly a decade, helps authors love the project they most love to hate - writing a book proposal. She has taken the guessing out of the book proposal process. Now, there is no need to take expensive, time-consuming classes or spend hours reading a tome to find the voice and format that will propel an author's idea from a dream to reality.

La romance est un genre majeur de la fiction romanesque et probablement le genre préféré des lecteurs et des lectrices. Savoir comment écrire un livre en romance est donc un atout majeur pour votre carrière d'auteur. Écrire une romance est à la fois similaire et différent des autres genres.

C'est une vérité communément admise qu'un auteur en possession d'un peu de temps et d'une idée n'a besoin de rien de plus urgent que la motivation. Maintenant, si vous me pardonnez d'adapter cette citation de Jane Austen aux circonstances, je vais vous exposer ma pensée : Vous pouvez avoir à la fois une idée révolutionnaire et tout le temps du monde, mais cela ne sert pas à grand-chose si la motivation fait défaut. Si celle-ci est également présente, des questions peuvent surgir, qui dépassent quelque peu les nouveaux auteurs.

Have you written a book that just isn't selling? Would you like to write a book that readers eagerly devour? Many authors write then market. Successful authors write to market. They start by figuring out how to give readers what they want, and that process begins before writing word one of your novel. This book will teach you to analyze your favorite genre to discover what readers are buying, to mine reviews for reader expectations, and to nail the tropes your readers subconsciously crave.

International Emmy nominated writer Mark Boutros offers a guide to creating characters who are engaging, emotionally driven, and memorable. With experience writing comedy, drama, and novels, Mark shares a mixture of theory, exercises, and pitfalls, getting you thinking about the questions you should always have in your mind during character creation. This is an invaluable tool for beginner and experienced writers.

While on a research trip in Peru, science journalist Alice Robb became hooked on lucid dreaming - the uncanny phenomenon in which a sleeping person can realize that they're dreaming and even control the dreamed experience. Finding these forays both puzzling and exhilarating, Robb dug deeper into the science of dreams at an extremely opportune moment: just as researchers began to understand why dreams exist. They aren't just random events; they have clear purposes. They help us learn and even overcome psychic trauma.