Writing Without Formulas

Writing Without Formulas
Author: William H. Thelin
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2007-07
Genre: English language
ISBN: 9780618382187

Writing Without Formulas shows students how to write instead of telling them. A non-traditional rhetoric and reader intended for freshman-level composition courses, this book presents writing as an activity rather than a formula dictated by rules and learned by rote. This approach encourages students to make decisions about writing within a context of audience awareness and critical analysis. The pedagogy featured in the text lends itself to collaborative-based classrooms and demonstrates writing to be a process of discovery. The text contains diverse contemporary readings--both student and professional--that do not rigidly conform to rhetorical modes. A focus in many of the selections on popular culture and contemporary social and political issues helps maintain student interest and offers a refreshing change of pace from more traditional readers. Examples include a portrait of "crack babies" who have grown up to create their own literary magazine (challenging both political and social assumptions about the crack epidemic); educator Mike Rose on the class implications of standardized "intelligence" testing; former New York City police officer-turned-journalist Marcus Laffey on the strategy of drug busts; humorist David Sedaris on his tormented early relationship to music lessons; Joyce Carol Oates on the science of laughter; and Stephen L. Carter on ethics and honesty in American political discourse.

Three Story Method

Three Story Method
Author: J. Thorn
Publisher: Thorn Publishing
Total Pages: 270
Release: 2020-03-01
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN:

Storytelling isn’t complicated. We’ll prove it to you. Do you have an amazing idea for a novel but you struggle to get words on the page? Maybe the problem isn’t writer’s block. Maybe you need a writing process. Publishing veterans and bestselling authors Zach Bohannon and J. Thorn share their proven system for developing a plan that will bridge the gap between a collection of random notes and a cohesive first draft. This comprehensive book will teach you the foundations of fiction: Plot, Structure, Genre, Theme, Character, and World. Discover: Why you need a system to finish a first draft whether you plot or pants What Aristotle said about storytelling thousands of years ago that still applies today How studying Star Wars can make you a better writer What some of the most prolific authors believe about the craft How all stories can be reduced to three components Which archetypes create a more engaging reader experience How the Hero’s Journey is alike and different than the Virgin’s Promise Why you should cast your characters like a movie producer Developed over 10 years and applied on millions of words of fiction, Thorn and Bohannon will show you how to layer your approach and build a fantastic story from the ground up. No more staring at a blinking cursor when you sit down to write! Become a master storyteller today. Three Story Method will transform you from a struggling writer into a career author. Downloadable worksheet and full list of resources included! Get it now!

Understanding God's Will

Understanding God's Will
Author: Kyle Lake
Publisher: Relevant Media Group
Total Pages: 212
Release: 2004-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780974694269

Everyone struggles with questions like, "How can I know if I'm pursuing God's will or my own?" In this book, pastor Kyle Lake suggests that God's will for a person's life isn't as formulaic as it's often made out to be. This book alleviates ambiguities about God's desires for our lives. Through the use of scriptural metaphors such as discipleship, kingdom and fatherhood, this message empowers people to make wise decisions with the guidance of a God who is not a genie, an insurance policy nor a dominator.

Mathematical Writing

Mathematical Writing
Author: Donald E. Knuth
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 132
Release: 1989
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9780883850633

This book will help those wishing to teach a course in technical writing, or who wish to write themselves.

The Comedy Bible

The Comedy Bible
Author: Judy Carter
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 336
Release: 2010-05-04
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0743219023

Judy Carter, guru to aspiring comedy writers and stand-up comics, tells all about the biz of being funny and writing funny in this bright, entertaining, and totally practical guide on how to draw humor from your life and turn it into a career. Do you think you’re funny? Do you want to turn your sense of humor into a career? If the answer is yes, then Judy Carter’s The Comedy Bible is for you. The guru to aspiring stand-up comics provides the complete scoop on being—and writing—funny for money. If you’ve got a sense of humor, you can learn to make a career out of comedy, says Judy Carter. Whether it’s creating a killer stand-up act, writing a spec sitcom, or providing jokes for radio or one-liners for greeting cards, Carter provides step-by-step instructions in The Comedy Bible. She helps readers first determine which genre of comedy writing or performing suits them best and then directs them in developing, refining, and selling their work. Using the hands-on workbook format that was so effective in her bestselling first book, Stand-Up Comedy: The Book, Carter offers a series of day-by-day exercises that draw on her many years as a successful stand-up comic and the head of a nationally known comedy school. Also included are practical tips and advice from today’s top comedy professionals—from Bernie Brillstein to Christopher Titus to Richard Lewis. She presents the pros and cons of the various comedy fields—stand-up, script, speech and joke writing, one-person shows, humor essays—and shows how to tailor your material for each. She teaches how to find your “authentic” voice—the true source of comedy. And, perhaps most important, Carter explains how to take a finished product to the next level—making money—by pitching it to a buyer and negotiating a contract. Written in Carter’s unique, take-no-prisoners voice, The Comedy Bible is practical, inspirational, and funny.

The Formulas of Popular Fiction

The Formulas of Popular Fiction
Author: Anna Faktorovich
Publisher: McFarland
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2014-09-17
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1476615853

This book creates a taxonomy for the major bestselling fictional genres: romance (e.g., authors Heyer, Cartland, Woodiwiss and Roberts), religious and inspirational (Corelli and Douglas), mystery and detective (Conan Doyle, Christie and Mankell), and science fiction, horror and fantasy (Wells, Tolkien, Orwell, Niven, King and Rowling). Chapters look at a genre from its roots to its most recent works. The structural patterns in the plot, characters and setting of these genres are then explained. The book also provides a critique of currently popular hyper-formulaic, hack, unliterary writings that have multiplied in recent decades. Special topics such as the publishing oligopoly and the resulting homogeneity among bestselling works and the steady movement from literary to unliterary fiction are also examined.

Every Dead Thing

Every Dead Thing
Author: John Connolly
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 512
Release: 2015-06-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1501122622

PI Charlie Parker, a former New York policeman, searches for the killer of his wife and daughter. Two women help him, a pretty criminal psychologist and an old Creole woman with psychic vision.

Wired for Story

Wired for Story
Author: Lisa Cron
Publisher: Ten Speed Press
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2012-07-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1607742462

This guide reveals how writers can utilize cognitive storytelling strategies to craft stories that ignite readers’ brains and captivate them through each plot element. Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets—and it’s a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper. The vast majority of writing advice focuses on “writing well” as if it were the same as telling a great story. This is exactly where many aspiring writers fail—they strive for beautiful metaphors, authentic dialogue, and interesting characters, losing sight of the one thing that every engaging story must do: ignite the brain’s hardwired desire to learn what happens next. When writers tap into the evolutionary purpose of story and electrify our curiosity, it triggers a delicious dopamine rush that tells us to pay attention. Without it, even the most perfect prose won’t hold anyone’s interest. Backed by recent breakthroughs in neuroscience as well as examples from novels, screenplays, and short stories, Wired for Story offers a revolutionary look at story as the brain experiences it. Each chapter zeroes in on an aspect of the brain, its corresponding revelation about story, and the way to apply it to your storytelling right now.