Elements of Fiction Writing Beginnings, Middles and Ends

by NancyKress (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2011

  $21.79

  Get Your Readers' Attention-And Keep It-From the First World to the Final Page Translating that initial flash of inspiration into a complete story requires careful crafting. So how do you keep your story from beginning slowly, floundering midway, and trailing off at the end? Nancy Kress shows you effective solutions for potential problems at each stage of your story-essential lessons for strong start-to-finish storytelling. * Hook readers, agents, and editors in the first three paragraphs. * Make and keep your story's implicit promise to the reader. * Build drama and credibility by controlling your prose. * Consider the price a writer pays for flashbacks. * Reveal character effectively throughout your story. Get the tools you need to get your story off to an engaging start, keep the middle tight and compelling, and make your conclusion high impact. You'll also find dozens of exercises to help strengthen your short story or novel. Let this resource be your guide to successful stories-from the first word to the last.

• Used

  Paperback
  1999

  $3.60

  Get your stories off to a roaring start. Keep them tight and crisp throughout. Conclude them with a wallop. Is the story or novel you've been carrying around in your head the same one you see on the page? Or does the dialogue suddenly sound flat and predictable? Do the events seem to ramble? Translating a flash of inspiration into a compelling story requires careful crafting. The words you choose, how you describe characters, and the way you orchestrate conflict all make the difference-the difference between a story that is slow to begin, flounders midway, or trails off at the end-and one that holds the interest of readers and editors to the final page. By demonstrating effective solutions for potential problems at each stage of your story, Nancy Kress will help you...* hook the editor on the first three paragraphs * make-and keep-your story's implicit promise * build drama and credibility by controlling your prose Dozens of exercises help you strengthen your short story or novel. Plus, you'll sharpen skills and gain new insight into...* the price a writer pays for flashbacks * six ways characters should reveal themselves * techniques for writing-and rewriting Let this working resource be your guide to successful stories-from beginning to end.