Research Writing

Longtime teacher and novelist Alice LaPlante shares 100 original exercises that will simultaneously push you into a corner and give you the tools to write yourself out of it. LaPlante explains the purpose of each exercise—to sharpen your ear for dialogue, generate surprising images, or access intense emotions—and breaks down student examples to reveal how to achieve these goals.

The first set of an extraordinary collection of 10 sets of personal letters written by Lord Chesterfield to his illegitimate son, young Philip Stanhope, then living abroad with his tutor to further his education. His Lordship, later secretary of state, hoped that his son would follow in his footsetps and took endless pains to instruct him on the essential and finer beharioral traits of a the aristocracy, which might lead him to such dizzying heights.

Afghan-American journalist Fariba Nawa delivers a revealing and deeply personal exploration of Afghanistan and the drug trade which rules the country, from corrupt officials to warlords and child brides and beyond.

If you want to write a children's book, then download How to Write a Children's Book by a person with real life experience and knowledge of this topic. If you have ever wanted to write a true children's classic, then you must dive into a child's mind to see what makes them tick. Within this guide, all your questions will be expertly answered in a way that is simple and easy to understand.

Most of us dream of writing the great American novel - not a book that only our friends and family will read. Far too often, brilliant books die a silent death because authors are not marketers. We are creative spirits who yearn to unleash our creative visions on the world - not spend our days mastering spreadsheets! Far too many independent authors have given up far too soon. They struggle to find an audience, get attention, and turn their books into a business. Why? Because, they aren't following a proven system.

So, you’re writing a book, or you want to write a book, or you have already written a book. Yay! Celebration! But how are you planning to promote your book and get it out to the public? The best time to start building hype for your book was a year ago. The next best time is TODAY. The point is—you don’t want to wait until the book is published to start promoting or you will be late to the game.

Write Your Book - Tell Your Life Story is a profound exploration into the psyche of aspiring authors, offering a compass to navigate the often-tumultuous journey of penning one's life narrative. Through its evocative three-part structure, this book shines light on the emotional battleground of the mind before writing, equips listeners with the know-how of the writing process, and establishes the path to a successfully published book. More than a mere guide, Write Your Book - Tell Your Life Story is a heartwarming testament to the transformative power of storytelling.

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.

Like the authors' classic book The Elements of Journalism, Blur is a unique and understandable discourse on how information culture is changing. Yes, old authorities are being dismantled and new ones created, and the way we obtain knowledge has changed. But seeking true and reliable information remains the most important purpose of journalism - and the object for those who consume it.

One of the world’s foremost writing teachers invites listeners on a joyful journey into the reading and origins of haiku.

Every day at work, people do three things: talk, listen, and pretend to listen. That's not surprising when you consider that the average attention span has dropped to 8 seconds. To break through, says high-stakes communications expert Paul Hellman, you need to focus on your audience, be slightly different, and deliver with finesse.

A passionate and inspiring guide to creating a life built around the creative process. This groundbreaking new work from the best-selling author of The Artist's Way, guides listeners in creating a vision for their lives in which art and life are inextricably linked. According to Julia Cameron, when we allow our creative spirit to serve as our compass, we discover that the art we have always longed to create is suddenly within our grasp. In The Creative Life, Cameron shows listeners how to use their creative hearts and minds to cultivate lives that nourish and sustain their art.

Feeling stifled by "shoulds" and yearning to find your authentic voice? Uncork your creativity with Brenda Ueland's timeless classic, "If You Want to Write." Originally published in 1938, this inspiring guide is more than just craft tips; it's a passionate manifesto for artistic independence. Ueland, a mentor to writers like Anaïs Nin and Flannery O'Connor, believes everyone has a unique story to tell and urges you to silence self-doubt and embrace the inherent joy of writing.

A great recurring character in a series you love becomes an old friend. You learn about their strange quirks and their haunted pasts and root for them every time they face danger. But where do some of the most fascinating sleuths in the mystery and thriller world really come from? What was the real-life location that inspired Michael Connelly to make Harry Bosch a Vietnam vet tunnel rat? Why is Lee Child's Jack Reacher a drifter?

In the 1970s, Frank Lucas was the king of the Harlem drug trade, bringing in over a million dollars a day. He lived a glamorous life, hobnobbing with athletes, musicians, and politicians, but Lucas was a ruthless gangster. He was notorious for using the coffins of dead GIs to smuggle heroin into the United States, and, before being sentenced to 70 years in prison, he played a major role in the near death of New York City.

The most important document for any business is the business plan. It is the strategy for bringing your product or service to the market. So, your business plan outlines what you see as an opportunity and how you plan to take advantage of that opportunity. The best business plans are concise, clear, and easy to understand. If a business plan is too complicated, it will not be taken seriously. If it is too simple, it will not be helpful. This is a step-by-step guide on how to write a simple and successful business plan.

Creative flow has blessed me with 39 novels that have collectively sold over 5 million copies, in sixteen languages, in under eight years, earning me over $10 million and over fifty spots on The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and foreign bestselling lists. All of my dreams came true because I learned to write amazing fiction. I wrote this book for the old me—the girl who had big dreams, but no real idea how to write the books she’d need to make those big dreams come true. I wanted to make it easier for her to get to where I am now by sharing what I learned along the way.

Although there's no shortage of books on writing and publishing, there's none quite like Robert's Rules of Writing. Drawing on his many years of experience as an award-winning journalist, TV writer, and the author of over 20 books, Robert Masello addresses all the issues that confront, and all the problems that beset, writers of all stripes.

Dissertation writers need strong, practical advice, as well as someone to assure them that their struggles aren't unique. Joan Bolker, midwife to more than one hundred dissertations and cofounder of the Harvard Writing Center, offers invaluable suggestions for the graduate-student writer.

When a young student at a military academy mails some of his poetry to the great poet Rainer Maria Rilke, seeking advice, he initiates years of correspondence, during which Rilke expresses his most personal insights into the artist's relationship with life, the interior needs of the individual growing towards maturity, and how the impulse to artistic creation can and should be a source of abiding and developing happiness even for those who cannot become artists.