So You Want to Write (2nd Edition): How to Master the Craft of Writing Fiction and Memoir

by Marge Piercy, Ira Wood

Overview

The new expanded edition of the bestseller Booklist calls, "A must-have for would-be writers!" The one book a fiction or memoir writer needs, focusing on beginnings, character, dialogue, research, work habits, plot, memory, dealing with deeply personal material, and publishing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780979641527
Publisher:	Leapfrog Press
Publication date:	08/01/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	16 Years

About the Author

Marge Piercy is the author of 16 novels, including the bestsellers Gone to Soldiers and The Longings of Women and the classic Woman On the Edge of Time, as well as the critically acclaimed memoir, Sleeping With Cats. The author of 16 books of poetry, she is the most anthologized poet of her generation. Her work has been translated into 18 languages. Ira Wood is a publisher as well as the author of two novels The Kitchen Man and Going Public and the co-author (with Marge Piercy) of the erotic thriller Storm Tide. His workshops, given nationwide, emphasize the importance of the writer's craft and overcoming the inner and outer barriers to creativity.

Table of Contents

	An Introduction to the Second Edition	13
	Sharpening Your Innate Skills	17
	Beginnings	27
	Characterization	47
	How to Avoid Writing Like a Victim	75
	The Uses of Dialog	79
	Plot In The Novel	95
	Personal Narrative Strategies	117
	Choosing And Manipulating Viewpoint	129
	Descriptions	141
	When You Have Research To Do	153
	A Few Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction	161
	Writing Short Stories	177
	Titles	191
	Writing Humor: Learning Survival Techniques	197
	A Scandal In The Family	217
	Work And Other Habits	225
	Fame, Fortune, And Other Tawdry Illusions	237
	The 10 Most Destructive Things Writers Can Do	249
	Practical Information	257
	Frequently Answered Questions	271
	Appendix I	285
	Appendix II	297
	Index	309
	Acknowledgments of Excerpts	323
	A Note About The Authors	325