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Books > Language & Literature > Literary & linguistic reference works > Creative writing & creative writing guides
The first collection of its kind, The Oberon Book of Queer Monologues chronicles over one hundred years of queer and trans performance. Combining stage plays with spoken word and performance art, this anthology features over forty extracts from some of the most exciting stage works in the English-speaking world. Originally published as The Oberon Book of Queer Monologues, it is an essential tool for artists seeking monologues for auditions or training; a comprehensive guide through the hidden histories of queer theatre; and a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community. Curated by award-winning artist Scottee, it features work from artists including Neil Bartlett, Mae West, Emma Donoghue, Split Britches, Chris Goode and Travis Alabanza.
From Dani Shapiro, bestselling author of Devotion and Slow Motion, comes a witty, heartfelt, and practical look at the exhilarating and challenging process of storytelling. At once a memoir, a meditation on the artistic process, and advice on craft, Still Writing is an intimate companion to living a creative life. Writers—and anyone with an artistic temperament—will find inspiration and comfort in these pages. Offering lessons learned over twenty years of teaching and writing, Shapiro shares her own revealing insights to weave an indispensable almanac for modern writers.
Screenplay: Building Story Through Character is designed to help screenwriters turn simple or intricate ideas into exciting, multidimensional film narratives with fully-realized characters. Based on Jule Selbo's unique 11-step structure for building story through characters, the book teaches budding screenwriters the skills to focus and shape their ideas, turning them into stories filled with character development, strong plot elements based on obstacles and conflicts, and multifaceted emotional arcs. Using examples and analysis from classic and contemporary films across a range of genres, from The Godfather to Guardians of the Galaxy, Selbo's Screenplay takes students inside the scriptwriting process, providing a broad overview for both beginners and seasoned writers alike. The book is rounded out with discussion questions, writing exercises, a guide to the business of screenwriting, in-depth film breakdowns, and a glossary of screenwriting terms.
If you are a writer of fiction, this practical handbook will teach you how to acquire your own writer's tool-box. Here you will learn all about developing your craft. The wide-ranging exploration of fiction-writing skills contains many unique features, such as the focus on reflective learning and tuition on advanced skills including foreshadowing, transitions and producing short story cycles. Throughout, the approach is centred on three kinds of activity: - examining the theory of particular fiction writing skills - analysing the practice of these skills in examples of published work - practising the use of skills in fiction-writing exercises. What makes this guide so distinctive, though, is the way it consistently asks you to reflect on your work, and stresses the importance of being able to articulate the processes of writing. Packed with wisdom about the art of fiction and filled with writing exercises, How To Write Fiction (And Think About It) examines the work of today's finest authors to teach you everything you need to know about writing short stories or longer fiction. Whether you are a student, a would-be professional author, or a general reader who simply likes to write for pleasure, this guide will equip you with a portfolio of key fiction-writing skills.
Television drama has come to rival cinema in its sophisticated narrative form and high production values. At the heart of this success is the television writer, and TV has become the home of some of the most exciting and high quality writing. In a series of original interviews, showrunners and writers from some of the biggest American TV dramas of recent years share their experiences and practices of the 'writers' room', on shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men and Game of Thrones. Christina Kallas frames these insider insights with an astute overview of the writer's instrumental role in the rise of sophisticated TV narrative, and concluding reflections which will be invaluable to writers, critics and fans alike.
(Applause Books). The Film Scripts Series is a new printing of some of the greatest screenplays ever written. Each of the four volumes in the series edited by George P. Garrett, O. B. Hardison, Jr., and Jane R. Gelfman contains three classic shooting scripts written by some of the finest writers to ever work in Hollywood. Every volume also features a highly informative introduction, a glossary of technical terms, an extensive bibliography, and the credits for each film. These enduring screenplays will be of great interest to the general film buff, the aspiring screenwriter, and the professional filmmaker. Of particular value to the screenwriter and filmmaker is the fact that all scripts are printed in standard screenplay format. Film Scripts One features: Henry V (1946, United Artists, reissue 2007, Park Circus-UK): Script by Laurence Olivier and Reginald Beck; Directed and produced by Laurence Olivier; Academy Award for Laurence Olivier (honorary award for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer, and director); Academy Award nominations for best picture, best actor (Laurence Olivier), best art direction, and best score. The Big Sleep (1946, Warner Bros. Pictures): Script by William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett, and Jules Furthman, based on the novel by Raymond Chandler; Directed by Howard Hawks; Starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, Warner Bros. Pictures): Script by Tennessee Williams, adaptation by Oscar Saul; Directed by Elia Kazan; Starring Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Vivien Leigh, and Karl Malden; Academy Awards for Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, and best art direction; Academy Award nomination for Marlon Brando.
* An original, accessible book on the unique challenges and benefits of teaching creative writing to nonnative English writers * Equal emphasis on teaching in ESL and EFL environments, to appeal to English immersion and EMI contexts in Asia and Europe * This book provides practical advice and assignments to help preservice teachers and instructors develop their classes, and offers guidance on evaluation and provides exercises tailored to the needs of L2 writers * This book breaks from tradition ideas of creative writing in the sense of genre and instead focuses on concrete writing skills
This ultimate insider's guide reveals the secrets that none dare admit, told by a show biz veteran who's proven that you can sell your script if you can save the cat!
* A practical guide for students in writing classes of all kinds: creative writing, professional writing and academic writing; * Covers writing for online publication including social media as well as the most common documents in university and writing-reliant workplaces; * Provides extensive practical examples, exercises, activities and quizzes, as well as online resources including video interviews with the top grammarians in the world
* A practical guide for students in writing classes of all kinds: creative writing, professional writing and academic writing; * Covers writing for online publication including social media as well as the most common documents in university and writing-reliant workplaces; * Provides extensive practical examples, exercises, activities and quizzes, as well as online resources including video interviews with the top grammarians in the world
Writing autobiography is a complicated, often fraught activity for both writer and reader. We can find many recent examples of the way such writing calls into question the author's truthfulness or their authority to present as definitive their 'version' of a particular event or portion of their lives. Drawing upon a wide range of late twentieth and early twenty-first-century autobiographical writing, "The Fiction of Autobiography" examines key aspects of autobiography from the interrelated perspectives of author, reader, critic and scholar, to reconsider how we view this form of writing, and its relationship to the way we understand and construct identity. Maftei considers recent cases and texts such as Didion's "The Year of Magical Thinking" and Frey's "A Million Little Pieces "alongside older texts such as Proust's "In Search of Lost Time," Nabokov's "Speak, Memory "and Stein's "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas." In part, this is to emphasise that key issues reappear and arise over decades and centuries, and that texts distanced by time can speak to each other thoughtfully and poignantly.
Stan Malles and Jeff McQuain have written this brief, yet very important glossary in the spirit of E.D. Hirsch's bestselling Cultural Literacy. Here is a dictionary of basic terms for literature, composition, and grammar that every American, no matter their age, needs to know. Perfect for home and classroom use, The Elements of English is simple to use, unintimidating to read and easy to understand. Each area of language arts is divided into its own section, and a comprehensive index is also included. Each entry is concise, yet explained very clearly. Examples are listed to illustrate meanings, as are reminders, hints, and tips that further define and elucidate the terms. The Elements of English has been used very successfully in classrooms across the country. This revised and expanded edition includes new entries plus three additional appendices. This is a little book that fills a big need, and it deserves a wide distribution and readership.
Christopher Hampton Drama Characters: 10 male, 5 female, plus extras Various Sets Revised version. Total Eclipse is an intelligent look at the relationship between Rimbaud and Verlaine and shows considerable insight into the bourgeois and artistic societies of the period as well as a moving understanding of homosexuality. "The first six scenes develop the contrast between the two men...and their mutual need for each other as they move through and away from the literary life of the time and from Verlaine's wife and her family. A remarkable cafe dialogue with the two poets drunk and drugged subtly suggests the private, timeless world they built together and ends on a note of violence to show how fragile it was...A compelling evening in the theatre." - New Statesman
Long recognized as a master teacher at writing programs like VONA, the Loft, and the Stonecoast MFA, with A Stranger's Journey, David Mura has written a book on creative writing that addresses our increasingly diverse American literature. Mura argues for a more inclusive and expansive definition of craft, particularly in relationship to race, even as he elucidates timeless rules of narrative construction in fiction and memoir. His essays offer technique-focused readings of writers such as Junot Diaz, ZZ Packer, Maxine Hong Kingston, Mary Karr, and Sherman Alexie, while making compelling connections to Mura's own life and work as a Japanese American writer. In A Stranger's Journey, Mura poses two central questions. The first involves identity: How is writing an exploration of who one is and one's place in the world? Mura examines how the myriad identities in our changing contemporary canon have led to new challenges regarding both craft and pedagogy. Here, like Toni Morrison's Playing in the Dark or Jeff Chang's Who We Be, A Stranger's Journey breaks new ground in our understanding of the relationship between the issues of race, literature, and culture. The book's second central question involves structure: How does one tell a story? Mura provides clear, insightful narrative tools that any writer may use, taking in techniques from fiction, screenplays, playwriting, and myth. Through this process, Mura candidly explores the newly evolved aesthetic principles of memoir and how questions of identity occupy a central place in contemporary memoir.
As entertaining as it is enlightening, Creating Dialogue for TV: Screenwriters Talk Television presents interviews with five Hollywood professionals who talk about all things related to dialogue - from naturalistic style to the building of characters to swearing and dialect. Screenwriters/showrunners David Mandel (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Veep), Jane Espenson (Buffy, Battlestar Galactica, Once Upon a Time), Robert Berens (Supernatural), Sheila Lawrence (Gilmore Girls, Ugly Betty, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel), and Doris Egan (Tru Calling, House, Reign) field a linguist's inquiries about the craft of writing dialogue. This book is for anyone who has ever wondered what creative processes and attitudes lie behind the words they encounter when tuning into their favourite television show. It provides direct insights into Hollywood writers' knowledge and opinions of how language is used in television narratives, and in doing so shows how language awareness, attitudes and the craft of using words are utilised to create popular TV series. The book will appeal to students and teachers in screenwriting, creative writing and linguistics as well as lay readers.
In Creative Writing Scholars on the Publishing Trade: Practice, Praxis, Print, Sam Meekings and Marshall Moore, along with prominent scholar-practitioners, undertake a critical examination of the intersection of creative writing scholarship and the publishing industry. Recent years have seen dramatic shifts within the publishing industry as well as rapid evolution and development in academic creative writing programs. This book addresses all of these core areas and transformations, such as the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional publishing, issues of diversity and representation within the publishing industry, digital transformations, and possible career pathways for writing students. It is crucial for creative writing pedagogy to deal with the issues raised by the sudden changes within the industry and this book will be of interest to creative writing students and practitioners as well as publishing students and professionals.
Confident with the basics of your craft? Looking to take your writing to the next level? Advanced Fiction gives you the tools to hone your skills by thinking more deeply and systematically about deploying them on the page. Friendly and down-to-earth, Amy Weldon guides you through the realities of craft and process, combining a broad anthology of landmark stories with instruction on the more advanced aspects of fiction writing. Featuring interactive prompts, exercises and suggestions for further reading, this book guides you from larger philosophical issues to subtler technical ones, from topics as diverse as the intricate principles of storytelling to navigating artistic and political landscapes conscientiously and building a writing career. Beginning with a brief recap of the basics, the text goes on to examine: - The psychology of writing and revising - Practical methods for drafting and notebook-keeping - Taking personal and technical risks with ideas, images, and forms - Making responsible decisions about representing identities, bodies, and histories on the page - Complex craft concepts such as world-building, structure, time, and moving from short forms to novels Placing students’ own work in conversation with established stories, the accompanying anthology selections range widely in culture, technique and time period, including authors of dystopia, historical fiction, satire, and fiction in translation as well as literary realists tackling themes like economic inequality, climate change, and identity. Thoughtful and essential, this book provides excellent guidance for students and budding authors on the complexities of fiction writing from the beginning of a writing project – short story or novel – to the end.
As the most popular and fastest growing form of media today, the podcast is a vital tool for creative writing courses in their bid to become more dynamic, interactive, inclusive, and multi-modal. Exploring the benefits of podcasting as both a pedagogical resource and as an important medium of expression for young writers, Digital Voices illuminates how podcasts can help every student forge personal connections to the content of their creative work and instruction they receive, no matter their background or experience. Beginning with the history of the podcast and the opportunities it affords today, this book moves through the benefits of bringing this popular medium into the workshop, demonstrating how it can aid in the creation of "Many Voices classrooms" and new metacognitive and introspective learning strategies, offer students new methods of evaluating creative products, and enhance inclusive access for a truly intersectional classroom. Other topics examined include the technical aspects of creating narrative fiction, poetry and nonfiction podcasts; how instructors might best curate podcasts for their classes; guidance on using podcasts to create scaffolding for teaching creative writing craft elements in different modes; and the ways of using author podcasts to demystify the writerly mystique. With each chapter featuring a section on practical application in the classroom, hints and tips from teacher-podcasters, and suggested student assignments, Digital Voices is an accessible primer, offering both a critical examination of the medium and a practical guide to putting the concepts discussed into practice.
Authorial Ethics is a normative study that deals with the many ways in which writers abuse their commitment to truth and integrity. It is divided by academic discipline and includes chapters on journalism, history, literature, art, psychology, and science, among others. Robert Hauptman offers generalizations and theoretical remarks exemplified by specific cases. Two major abrogations are inadvertent error and purposeful misconduct, which is subdivided into falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism. All of these problems appear in most disciplines, although their negative impact is felt most potently in biomedical research and publication. Professor Mary Lefkowitz, the classicist, provides an incisive foreword.
This second edition of Writing for Animation, Comics, and Games expounds on the previous edition with more information on how to construct narratives for these three forms of visual storytelling media. Christy Marx's book offers an in-depth look into scriptwriting and how to break into each of the featured industries. The text goes into detail on visual storytelling: how to compose exterior storytelling (animation, games) and interior/exterior storytelling (comics and graphic novels); as well as considerations for non-linear videogames. The advice within these pages can be used to build a transmedia career across animation, comics, graphic novels, and videogames. Key Features An insider's perspective on career rules of the road on writing for comics, videogames, and animation Written for beginners and professionals alike A nuts-and-bolts guide to script formats, terminology, networking, and valuable advice on writing for each medium Author Bio Based in Northern California, Christy Marx is an award-winning writer, story editor, TV series developer, game designer, and narrative designer. Her many credits include Babylon 5; Captain Power and Soldiers of the Future; The Twilight Zone; G.I. Joe; Jem and the Holograms; Spider-Man; He-Man; X-Men Evolution; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Conan the Adventurer; Birds of Prey; Amethyst; The Sisterhood of Steel; Sierra On-Line adventure games; PC, MMO, and console games; Zynga mobile games; and more. For full credits, visit www.christymarx.com.
This book examines the dynamic landscape of creative educations in Asia, exploring the intersection of post-coloniality, translation, and creative educations in one of the world's most relevant testing grounds for STEM versus STEAM educational debates. Several essays attend to one of today's most pressing issues in Creative Writing education, and education generally: the convergence of the former educational revolution of Creative Writing in the anglophone world with a defining aspect of the 21st-century-the shift from monolingual to multilingual writers and learners. The essays look at examples from across Asia with specific experience from India, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan. Each of the 14 writer-professor contributors has taught Creative Writing substantially in Asia, often creating and directing the first university Creative Writing programs there. This book will be of interest to anyone following global trends within creative writing and those with an interest in education and multilingualism in Asia. |
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