A complete and concise guide to writing and selling long and short fiction, including outlining, narrative writing, details, description, pacing, and action.

Although the venerable Santa Barbara Writers' Conference, held in June, covers almost all aspects of words colliding together--from travel writing to poetry to film scripting--this volume focuses solely on the fiction aspects of the confab. Addresses given by various keynoters over the years, from Eudora Welty to Harlan Ellison, Tom McGuane to James Michener, cover all aspects of modern tale spinning. Lively reading, all pointing to the advice given by Ellison: "The trick is not becoming a writer folks, the trick is staying a writer." Perhaps this volume will make that stay a little easier.

I believe the secret of successful writing is simple - you have to write a good book. What's "good" exactly? A book about something that's important to lot to a lot of people, that tells a fulfilling story and tells it well. BESTSELLER is mainly about stories, how they work, what their essential elements are and what storytellers can learn from Joseph Campbell, from Jungian psychology and from the stories which have been told and retold through the ages all over the world.

BESTSELLER is also full of tips and tricks - page-turning writing, research, how to motivate yourself, how to get published. It's illustrated with references to and extracts from the great bestsellers of all time, from REBECCA and GONE WITH THE WIND to John Grisham and Olivia Goldsmith. But no quotes from Grisham, folks, because when I came to clear the rights he was the only author to refuse permission. But you'll get the picture.

One last thing - this book works. Since it was published I've heard from many authors who've followed it with success. I've just done a TV show where I was on a panel discussion with a first-time novelist with about $2 million in advances who thanked me for my advice; her agent told me BESTSELLER was her Bible. So good luck - and I hope you enjoy the read.~~The author, Celia Brayfield

This is one of the finest books I've ever read on the crafting of fiction. Dr. Seger's book focuses on one of the most enjoyable and also one of the most difficult jobs of a storyteller: creating strong, believable, "one of a kind" characters. She shows you how to avoid the pitfalls of stereotyping, how to make even minor characters interesting, and how to add believable complexity. I think any writer who works with original characters would benefit from this book. Dr. Seger gives clear examples and is easy to understand without talking down to the reader. It is the kind of book you find yourself using over and over.

While still retaining Dr. Peter Mark Roget's fundamental and brilliant category concept, which groups all synonyms, antonyms, and related words together for quick and easy comparisons and without all the needless repetition of alphabetical thesauri--this edition has been completely revised, now with 325,000 entries in 1,073 categories. Also includes the latest slang and commonly used foreign terms.

The 1998 10th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary marks the 100th anniversary of this distinguished and popular reference standard, and this is more than just an interesting statistic--it means that Merriam-Webster brings years of experience and reams of citation files to the creation of this latest edition. Improving on their last dictionary, they've added more than 100 pictorial illustrations and supplemented the synonym paragraphs with examples. Along with the English dictionary, which forms the heart of the reference, the editors at Merriam-Webster have included a brief introduction to the English language and a history of the English dictionary, a guide to pronunciation, and a series of appendices that include chemical element abbreviations and symbols, foreign words and phrases, extensive sections with biographical and geographical names, signs and symbols, and a handbook of style.

This books offers practical and clear guidance for those looking for answers to specific doubts. Quick reference and clear layout prevents wasted time. It deserves to be taken into account together with other important works of reference.

Everyone who works with words will welcome this magnificent aid to finding the ever-elusive "right" word.
"A splendid tool for writers."~~Irving Stone.

Next to my computer this book is my most important tool. It's the most used book in my reference library. Synonyms are arranged alphabetically (no need for an index) in categories such as proper, casual, slang, etc. Gist information is included (in parentheses) to help the user avoid inappropriate choices. Extremely easy to use, I believe it's the best reference on the market. Beware, buy the hardback copy the first time around. At 1361 pages The Synonym Finder is just too hefty for paperback.

A complete course in the art of writing and an essential reference for any working or would-be writer of any kind. Step-by-step it shows how to come up with ideas, get past writer's block, create an irresistible opening, develop an effective style, choose powerful words and master grammar, rewrite, and much, much more.

What makes writing effective is its punch, its power, it's ability to reach an invisible, long skinny finger into your soul and scratch awake a feeling. If you want to write-100 Ways To Improve Your Writing is as "quick and dirty" as you can get for sharp and clean writing.

Why read 'em? Why write 'em? Some may scoff at romance novels, yet they make up 35-40% of mass-market paperbacks. They have a language and a genre all their own that non-readers don't (or won't) understand. This series of essays by popular romance novelists explores the unique qualities and purpose of romance novels.

Romance readers and writers alike will find this collection of essays by some of the most popular romance novelists writing today unique and fascinating. For the first time, these authors explain why romance is so popular, reveal why they write in this genre, explore the unheralded benefits of reading and writing romances and much more.

Written by some of the foremost romance novelists, Dangerous Men and Adventurous Women provides an insightful guide to this popular but misunderstood genre and describes the unheralded benefits of reading and writing romances.

It's difficult to give much credibility to a book that late-night talk-show hosts read from in order to titillate their audiences, an indignity that has been endured by The Romance Writers' Phrasebook. But this slim volume, which lists more than 3,000 descriptive phrases, is actually a useful resource, and not only to romance writers. Any writer looking for a picturesque way of describing a character, demonstrating action, or revealing emotion will benefit from the advice of authors Jean Kent and Candace Shelton.

Well-organized and arranged for quick reference, The Romance Writers' Phrasebook is divided into easy to search categories such as; Physical Description, Body movements, Facial Expressions, Emotion, and Colors. Because it was originally published in 1984, many of the descriptive phrases have long since become cliché and exact usage should be avoided. The phrasebook is most useful as a source of inspiration and ideas for helping writers develop their own descriptive style.

This is a reference book you'll either love or hate. But if you write romance you'll definitely use it. If for no other reason than it spurs your imagination to create your own descriptive phrases.

For the aspiring romance writer who needs a little direction, Writing Romances: A Handbook by the Romance Writers of America is an excellent starting point. Divided into four sections, the business of romance is discussed in the first section, including thorough treatments of subjects such as agents, handling publicity, networking, and "the life and times of a manuscript." The following two sections closely examine the processes of researching and writing a novel--from writing with passion to point of view and writing with a partner--while the final section focuses on writing specific types of romances, including the regency, the short contemporary, and the historical romance. All 25 topics are handled by experts in the field: the business side of romance is presented by successful agents, publicists, and editors, while romance writing is handled by best selling authors such as Jude Deveraux, Diana Gabaldon, and Janet Dailey.

A must for anyone that wants to write romance. Ms Pianka takes you through a step by step process of writing the romance novel. This book is exactly what you need if you're not certain of where to start or how to proceed. A great tool for the new romance writer!

Romance Writer's Sourcebook is a thorough reference to a nearly billion-dollar industry that accounts for almost half of the mass-market fiction books sold--177 million books annually. Articles by writers, editors, and agents discuss genre trends (paranormal romance, time-travel romance, romantic suspense), the craft and technique of writing romance, and marketing romance novels. Successful romance writers share the stories of how their first books came to fruition and publication.

The final section divulges information on online services, conferences and workshops, Romance Writers of America chapters, and the like. You learn, from top editors in the field's many imprints, that they've been seeing "way too many replicas of The Bridges of Madison County," that one should "read many books in the line to which you plan on submitting.... twenty or more, not one or two," and that one ought to "avoid heroes or heroines who are artists (musicians, painters, actors . . . There's a built-in perception, right or wrong, that artsy people are dull and unromantic."

Romance Writer's Sourcebook combines how-to-write instruction with where-to-sell Direction. Information useful to both new romance writers and those who long ago embraced the genre.

No one looks at structure like Jesse Lee Kercheval. She builds a work of fiction just as an architect would design a house - with an eye for details and how all the parts of a story or novel interconnect. Even with the most dynamic language, images and characters, no piece of fiction will work without a strong infrastructure. Kercheval shows how to build that structure using tools such as point of view, characterization, pacing and flashbacks. The designs of Frank Lloyd Wright were always influenced by the terrain, says Kercheval. The building site helped him determine the materials and methods of construction. This book will help you envision the landscape of your fiction and build great stories there.

Don't be fooled by the title of this book. It's not really about any "three rules" at all, or how to write fiction either, but instead delves into the what, where and who of fiction. The "what" section, dealing with plot motivators and "story spicers" and comprising a third of the book, is worth the price alone. Noble offers an excellent analysis of what moves stories along. In the process he shows writers how to steal (yes, steal!) from others to make their stories work in a dramatic, cohesive fashion. The "where" and "who" sections will prove less useful to experienced writers, but the "what" section makes this book a truly invaluable and unique resource for writers of all levels. Screenwriters should also find this section helpful in streamlining their plots.

These three award-winning authors take the mystery out of creating unforgettable characters. They explore the sixteen archetypal characters and show ways to use them in fiction writing by explaining how the archetypes interact with each other.

These are the sixteen master archetypes.
Heroes: The Chief, The Bad Boy, The Best Friend, The Charmer, The Lost Soul, The Professor, The Swashbuckler, The Warrior
Heroines: The Boss, The Seductress, The Spunky Kid, The Free Spirit, The Waif, The Librarian, The Crusader, The Nurturer

We recognize them all, now with this easy to understand method we learn how to create our own memorable characters. Stuffed with examples and cleverly organized this book is a must for any serious writer.