Discusses how to design, draft, write, and revise a thriller novel or screenplay, with examples from books and movies, covering topics such as characters, opening scenes, how to maintain tension and create conflicts and obstacles, incorporate plot twists, and other related topics.

"In Everything and Less, acclaimed critic Mark McGurl discovers a dynamic scene of literary experimentation in an unlikely location: in the realms of self-publishing created by Amazon. Reclaiming several works of self-published fiction from the abyss of critical disregard, McGurl offers a Copernican revolution in the world of letters: rather than giving central importance to the critically lionized highbrows-Colson Whitehead, Don DeLillo, Elena Ferrante,...

In this semi-autobiographical picture book, author Patricia MacLachlan relates what it might take to grow up to become a writer.

Using sticky notes, an author tries to convince her publisher that her book is about figs, not pigs, but the wording, illustrations, and even recipes present pigs as growing on trees, and tasty with orange and ginger sauce.

"Essays that show how Smiley draws inspiration from across literary history to invigorate her own writing. Among the authors she examines are Marguerite de Navarre, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Franz Kafka, Halldor Laxness, and Jessica Mitford"--

"The first novel-writing guide from the best-selling Save the Cat! story-structure series, which reveals the 15 essential plot points needed to make any novel a success. Novelist Jessica Brody presents a comprehensive story-structure guide for novelists that applies the famed Save the Cat! screenwriting methodology to the world of novel writing. Revealing the 15 "beats" (plot points) that comprise a successful story--from the opening image to the...