Free Book (Kindle/nook) - Hooked

Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go, by Les Edgerton, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
The road to rejection is paved with bad beginnings. Agents and editors agree: Improper story beginnings are the single biggest barrier to publication. Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It's just that simple.

In Hooked, author Les Edgerton draws on his experience as a successful fiction writer and teacher to help you overcome the weak openings that lead to instant rejection by showing you how to successfully use the ten core components inherent to any great beginning. You'll find:

• Detailed instruction on how to develop your inciting incident
• Keys for creating a cohesive story-worthy problem
• Tips on how to avoid common opening gaffes like overusing backstory
• A rundown on basics such as opening scene length and transitions
• A comprehensive analysis of more than twenty great opening lines from novels and short stories

Plus, you'll discover exclusive insider advice from agents and acquiring editors on what they look for in a strong opening. With Hooked, you'll have all the information you need to craft a compelling beginning that lays the foundation for an irresistible story!

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Free Book (Kindle/nook) - Getting the Words Right

Getting the Words Right, by Theodore Cheney, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
When asked by the Paris Review what compelled him to rewrite the ending of A Farewell to Arms 39 times, Ernest Hemingway replied, "Getting the words right." His answer echoes what every successful writer knows: The secret to all good writing is revision.

For more than twenty years, Getting the Words Right has helped writers from all professions rewrite, revise, and refine their writing. In this new edition, author Theodore Cheney offers 39 targeted ways you can improve your writing, including how to:

• create smooth transitions between paragraphs
• correct the invisible faults of inconsistency, incoherence, and imbalance
• overcome problems of shifting point of view and style
• express your ideas clearly by trimming away weak or extra words

You'll strengthen existing pieces and every future work by applying the three simple principles–reduce, rearrange, and reword. Once the secrets of revision are yours, you'll be able to follow Hemingway's lead–and get the words right!

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Free Book (Kindle/nook) - The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing

The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing: Everything You Need to Know About Creating & Selling Your Work, by Editors of Writer's Digest Books, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Get advice from the best in the business on every part of the novel writing and publishing process!

In The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, 2nd Edition, you'll learn from the invaluable advice of established writers. Discover new ways to generate ideas, implement intriguing techniques, and find the inspiration you need to finish your work. This fully-revised edition includes a revamped marketing section that covers the unique challenges of today's publishing market and the boundless opportunities of online promotion.

Inside you'll find expert advice from dozens of bestselling authors and publishing professionals on how to:

• Master the elements of fiction, from plot and characters to dialogue and point of view
• Develop a unique voice and sensibility in your writing
• Manage the practical aspects of writing, from overcoming writer's block to revising your work
• Determine what elements your story needs to succeed in a particular genre - science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, inspirational, romance (mainstream and Christian), or historical fiction
• Find an agent, market your work, and get published - or self-publish - successfully

You'll also find interviews with some of the world's finest writers, including Margaret Atwood, Tom Clancy, Brock Clarke, Cory Doctorow, Dave Eggers, Elizabeth George, Jerry Jenkins, Stephen King, Megan McCafferty, Audrey Niffenegger, Joyce Carol Oates, Chuck Palahniuk, James Patterson, Richard Russo, Anne Tyler, John Updike, and Kurt Vonnegut. Their words will provide you with the guidance and encouragement of your very own writing mentor.

The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing is your one-stop resource for everything you need to know about the craft and business of creating a bestseller.

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Free Book (Kindle/nook) - Story Structure Architect

Story Structure Architect, by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Build a Timeless, Original Story Using Hundreds of Classic Story Motifs!It's been said that there are no new ideas; but there are proven ideas that have worked again and again for all writers for hundreds of years.

Story Structure Architect is your comprehensive reference to the classic recurring story structures used by every great author throughout the ages. You'll find master models for characters, plots, and complication motifs, along with guidelines for combining them to create unique short stories, novels, scripts, or plays. You'll also learn how to:

• Build compelling stories that don't get bogged down in the middle
• Select character journeys and create conflicts
• Devise subplots and plan dramatic situations
• Develop the supporting characters you need to make your story work

Especially featured are the standard dramatic situations inspire by Georges Polti's well-known 19th century work, The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. But author Victoria Schmidt puts a 21st-century spin on these timeless classics and offers fifty-five situations to inspire your creativity and allow you even more writing freedom. Story Structure Architect will give you the mold and then help you break it.

This browsable and interactive book offers everything you need to craft a complete, original, and satisfying story sure to keep readers hooked!

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Free Book (Kindle/nook) - How to Be a Writer

How to Be a Writer: Building Your Creative Skills Through Practice and Play, by Barbara Baig, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Athletes practice. Musicians practice. As a writer you need to do the same. Whether you have dreams of writing a novel or a memoir or a collection of poems, or you simply want to improve your everyday writing, this innovative book will show you how to build your skills by way of practice.

Through playful and purposeful exercises, you'll develop your natural aptitude for communication, strengthening your ability to come up with things to say, and your ability to get those things into the minds (and the hearts) of readers. You'll learn to:

• Train and develop your writer's powers?creativity, memory, observation, imagination, curiosity, and the subconscious
• Understand the true nature of the relationship between you and your readers
• Find your writer's voice
• Get required writing projects done so you have more time for the writing you want to do
• And much more

Empowering and down-to-earth, How to Be a Writer gives you the tools you need, and tells you what (and how) to practice so that you can become the writer you want to be.

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