Showing titles in Writing & Publishing

From one of the world’s most celebrated humor writers, this easy-to-follow, step-by-step book lays out a clear system for producing living, breathing comedy characters that audiences will fall in love with.

Over the years, I’ve written multiple novels, and I have condensed my best tips and practices to bring you How to Write Your First Novel: A Guide for Aspiring Fiction Authors. No matter your plan for publishing your novel, you first need to write the book. I’ve broken down the critical elements of success in two parts: your writing habits and your writing craft.

Hart covers what writers in this genre need to know, from understanding story theory and structure, to mastering point of view and such basic elements as scene, action, and character, to drafting, revising, and editing work for publication. Revealing the stories behind the stories, Hart brings listeners into the process of developing nonfiction narratives by sharing tips, anecdotes, and recommendations he forged during his decades-long career in journalism.

Brought to you by Penguin. The Book-Makers is a celebration of 550 years of the printed book, told through the lives of eighteen extraordinary men and women who took the book in radical new directions: printers and binders, publishers and artists, paper-makers and library founders. This is a...

‘I salute him with the most heartfelt respect and admiration’ PHILIP PULLMAN ‘Entrancing … a creative manifesto’ TELEGRAPH ‘Mesmerising … vibrating with life and curiosity’ OBSERVER In this lyrical and revelatory memoir, Alan Garner, Booker shortlisted author of Treacle Walker...

While other books give you tips on how to “write funny,” this book offers a paradigm shift in understanding the mechanics and art of comedy and the proven, practical tools that help writers translate that understanding into successful commercial scripts. The Hidden Tools of Comedy unlocks the unique secrets and techniques of writing comedy. Kaplan deconstructs sequences in popular films and TV that work and don’t work and explains what tools were used (or should have been used).

An indispensable guide in the bestselling Save the Cat! story structure series that reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any young adult novel a success, from an accomplished novelist and the author of Save the Cat! Writes a Novel. In Save the Cat! Writes a Young Adult Novel...

Including an introduction read by the author, Max Hastings. 'Much excellent gossip, some of it wildly indiscreet . . . Hastings is a brilliant reporter' – Sunday Telegraph 'The acuity of his insights make this book a wholly compelling read' – Observer In February 2002 Max Hastings retired...

A revolutionary approach to writing inspired by ancient Eastern wisdom, from the bestselling author of Wabi Sabi Join author and Japanologist Beth Kempton on a sacred journey to uncover the secrets of fearless writing which have lain buried in Eastern philosophy for two thousand years. In a...

Editing your own writing can feel like doing your own brain surgery. After you’ve completed your manuscript and you’re standing at the foot of Revision Mountain, climbing to the summit can feel impossible. It’s hard to look at your own writing with the objective eye needed to shape it into a tight, polished, publishable story - but just like writing, self-editing is a skill you can learn.

How does one pull from one's own boring, agitated self the truth-speaker who will tell the story a personal narrative needs to tell? That is the question The Situation and the Story asks—and answers. Taking us on a tour of some of the best memoirs and essays of the past hundred years, Gornick traces the changing idea of self that has dominated the century, and demonstrates the enduring truth-speaker to be found in the work of writers as diverse as Edmund Gosse, Joan Didion, Oscar Wilde, James Baldwin, or Marguerite Duras.

We see notebooks everywhere we go. But where did this simple invention come from? How did they revolutionise our lives, and why are they such powerful tools for creativity? And how can using a notebook help you change the way you think? In this wide-ranging story, Roland Allen reveals all the answers. Ranging from the bustling markets of medieval Florence to the quiet studies of our greatest thinkers, he follows a trail of dazzling ideas, revealing how the notebook became our most dependable and versatile tool for creative thinking.

William Zinsser’s Writing to Learn shows students how to write clearly about any subject—from mathematics, physics and chemistry to art and music—and how to use writing as a means of learning. In his warm and engaging style, Zinsser dispels students’ fear of writing, and he shows them that the process of writing can help them understand a subject that they always thought they had no aptitude for. Taking students into many surprising corners of knowledge, Zinsser provides proof that every field has an accessible literature.

There's a mantra real writers know but wannabe writers don’t. And the secret phrase is this: "Nobody wants to read your shit." Recognizing this painful truth is the first step in the writer's transformation from amateur to professional.

Shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards, Christopher Bland Prize and The People's Book Prize A Waterstones Best Memoir of 2024 An Independent and Stylist Best Non-Fiction Book The captivating true story of an underdog business – a feminist bookshop founded in Thatcher’s Britain – from a...

Including an introduction read by the author, Max Hastings. 'A superb account of journalists, soldiers and the experience of modern battle, written by one of the greatest war reporters of our time' – Robert Harris, author of An Officer and a Spy ‘Gripping and compulsively readable’ –...

Why do some stories work and others don't? The answer is structure. In this IPPY and NIEA Award-winning guide from the author of the bestselling Outlining Your Novel, you will discover the universal underpinnings that guarantee powerful plot and character arcs. An understanding of proper story and scene structure will help you to not only perfectly time your story's major events, but will also provide you with an unerring standard to use in evaluating your novel's pacing and progression.

For a quarter century, more than a million readers – scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities – have been inspired by Anne Lamott's hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. An essential volume for generations of writers young and old, Bird by Bird is a modern classic.

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING GUIDE TO BRILLIANT COMMUNICATION READERS LOVE SMART BREVITY: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "This book is soooo good" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Love this book, short, punchy, deep, simple and easy to implement" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "Genius wrapped in generosity: it shows you...

Tackle the challenges of memoir writing and share your story. 'Cathy is the person who first told me to write about my mental health when I was nervous to do so. She is a great writer herself and this is brilliant.' - Matt Haig, author of Reasons to Stay Alive Why do we want to write and what...