Learn the basics of the Spanish language with this easy-to-use guide featuring original illustrations by Andy Warhol—from one of America's most prominent language teachers. Read, write, and speak Spanish in only a few short weeks! Even the most reluctant learner will be astonished at the ease and effeciveness of Margarita Madrigal’s unique method of teaching a foreign language. Completely eliminating rote memorization and painfully boring drills, Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish is guaranteed to help you:• Learn to speak, read, and write Spanish quickly and easily• Convert English into Spanish in an instant• Start forming sentences after the very first lesson• Identify thousands of Spanish words within a few weeks of study• Travel to Spanish-speaking countries with confidence and comfort• Develop perfect pronunciation, thanks to a handy pronunciation keyWith original black and white illustration by Andy Warhol, Madrigal's Magic Key to Spanish will provide readers with a solid foundation upon with to build their language skills. Read more

A user-friendly dictionary with 800+ ASL signs Whatever your reason for learning the richly expressive language of American Sign Language (ASL), this book will guide you through the initial stages of your signing journey. It’s filled with everything you need to master more than 800 essential vocabulary words, including detailed directions that make it simple to develop your ASL skills.What sets this dictionary apart from other sign language books for beginners:No experience required—Find comprehensive, clearly written guidance that makes sense of American Sign Language for beginners, with helpful explanations of more difficult concepts, plus plenty of tips for success.Instructional photographs—See ASL in action with full-color photographs that illustrate how to sign each vocabulary word.Easy-to-find signs—Study each sign in alphabetical order or search by category with a handy index that organizes signs by activities, animals, emotions, places, events, and more.Build up your ASL vocabulary with the American Sign Language Dictionary for Beginners. Read more

An essential helpful guide, “How to Write is as useful a study of craft, or the professional conduct of a writing career, as I’ve seen (Los Angeles Times).Uniquely fusing practical advice on writing with his own insights into the craft, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Rhodes constructs beautiful prose about the issues would-be writers are most afraid to articulate: * How do I dare write? * Where do I begin? * What do I do with this story I have to tell that fills and breaks my heart? Rich with personal vignettes about Rhodes’s sources of inspiration, How to Write is also a memoir of one of the most original and celebrated writers of our day.“A remarkable work of self-revelation . . . How generous [Rhodes] is with his mind and his heart. Buy this book, buy it. It’s a handbook on how to live.” —The Washington Post“The author offers worthy encouragement for fighting psychological barriers, and useful advice on tools and research.” —Publishers Weekly Read more

The Ultimate Guide to Powerful LanguageIf you’ve ever fumbled while trying to use a big word* to impress a crowd, you know what it’s like to* be poorly spoken. The fear of mispronouncing or misusing complex words is real and leaves many of us consigned to the lower levels* of the English Language.The secret to eloquence, however, lies in simplicity—the ability to use ordinary words in extraordinary ways.The Well-Spoken Thesaurus is your guide to eloquence, replacing the ordinary with the extraordinary. While a common thesaurus provides only synonyms as mere word-for-word equivalents, The Well-Spoken Thesaurus is filled with* dynamic reinventions of standard words and phrases.*lofty word, pretentious word*know what it is to*lower reaches, lower echelons*awash in, instilled with, dense with, rich in Read more

A WALL STREET JOURNAL, USA TODAY, AND PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER. The newest official release of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition includes four different formats—spiral-bound and tabbed, paperback, hardcover, and ebook, all of which are in full color. It is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields. Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication. It guides users through the scholarly writing process—from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication. The seventh edition is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work.  The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing. All formats are in full color, with a new tabbed spiral version Improved ease of navigation, with many additional numbered sections to help users quickly locate answers to their questions Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers New chapter on journal article reporting standards (JARS) that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style Updated chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, racial and ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality More than 40 new sample tables and figures Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, legal resources, and more Guidelines that support accessibility for all users, including simplified reference, in-text citation, and heading formats as well as additional font options Read more

“Memoir writers, buy this book, put it on your personal altar, or carry it with you as you traverse the deep ruts of your old road.” —Tom Spanbauer, author of The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon Old Friend from Far Away teaches writers how to tap into their unique memories to tell their story. Twenty years ago Natalie Goldberg’s classic, Writing Down the Bones, broke new ground in its approach to writing as a practice. Now, Old Friend from Far Away—her first book since Writing Down the Bones to focus solely on writing—reaffirms Goldberg’s status as a foremost teacher of writing, and completely transforms the practice of writing memoir. To write memoir, we must first know how to remember. Through timed, associative, and meditative exercises, Old Friend from Far Away guides you to the attentive state of thought in which you discover and open forgotten doors of memory. At once a beautifully written celebration of the memoir form, an innovative course full of practical teachings, and a deeply affecting meditation on consciousness, love, life, and death, Old Friend from Far Away welcomes aspiring writers of all levels and encourages them to find their unique voice to tell their stories. Like Writing Down the Bones, it will become an old friend to which readers return again and again. Read more

On Writing Well has been praised for its sound advice, its clarity and the warmth of its style. It is a book for everybody who wants to learn how to write or who needs to do some writing to get through the day, as almost everybody does in the age of e-mail and the Internet. Whether you want to write about people or places, science and technology, business, sports, the arts or about yourself in the increasingly popular memoir genre, On Writing Well offers you fundamental priciples as well as the insights of a distinguished writer and teacher. With more than a million copies sole, this volume has stood the test of time and remains a valuable resource for writers and would-be writers. Read more

Essays from twenty-seven leading book editors: “Honest and unflinching accounts from publishing insiders . . . a valuable primer on the field.” —Publishers WeeklyEditing is an invisible art in which the very best work goes undetected. Editors strive to create books that are enlightening, seamless, and pleasurable to read, all while giving credit to the author. This makes it all the more difficult to truly understand the range of roles they inhabit while shepherding a project from concept to publication.What Editors Do gathers essays from twenty-seven leading figures in book publishing about their work. Representing both large houses and small, and encompassing trade, textbook, academic, and children’s publishing, the contributors make the case for why editing remains a vital function to writers—and readers—everywhere.Ironically for an industry built on words, there has been a scarcity of written guidance on how to approach the work of editing. Serving as a compendium of professional advice and a portrait of what goes on behind the scenes, this book sheds light on how editors acquire books, what constitutes a strong author-editor relationship, and the editor’s vital role at each stage of the publishing process—a role that extends far beyond marking up the author’s text.This collection treats editing as both art and craft, and also as a career. It explores how editors balance passion against the economic realities of publishing—and shows why, in the face of a rapidly changing publishing landscape, editors are more important than ever.“Authoritative, entertaining, and informative.” —Copyediting Read more

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An essential volume for generations of writers young and old. The twenty-fifth anniversary edition of this modern classic will continue to spark creative minds for years to come. Anne Lamott is "a warm, generous, and hilarious guide through the writer’s world and its treacherous swamps" (Los Angeles Times). “Superb writing advice…. Hilarious, helpful, and provocative.” —The New York Times Book ReviewFor a quarter century, more than a million readers—scribes and scribblers of all ages and abilities—have been inspired by Anne Lamott’s hilarious, big-hearted, homespun advice. Advice that begins with the simple words of wisdom passed down from Anne’s father—also a writer—in the iconic passage that gives the book its title:“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’” Read more

“Destined to become a staple reference book for writers and those interested in publishing careers.” —Publishers WeeklyWriters talk about their work in many ways: as an art, as a calling, as a lifestyle. Too often missing from these conversations is the fact that writing is also a business. Those who want to make a full- or part-time job out of writing are going to have a more positive and productive career if they understand the basic business principles underlying the industry.This book offers the business education writers need but so rarely receive. It is meant for early-career writers looking to develop a realistic set of expectations about making money from their work. or for working writers who want a better understanding of the industry. Writers will gain a comprehensive picture of how the publishing world works—from queries and agents to blogging and advertising—and will learn how they can best position themselves for success over the long term.Jane Friedman has more than two decades of experience in the publishing industry, with an emphasis on digital media strategy for authors and publishers. She is encouraging without sugarcoating, blending years of research with practical advice that will help writers market themselves and maximize their writing-related income—and leave them empowered, confident, and ready to turn their craft into a career.“Friedman’s 20-plus years in the industry, launching and managing the social media presence of Writer’s Digest, along with her expertise in business strategies for authors and publishers, combine to create an invaluable compendium of practical advice.” —Library Journal (starred review) Read more

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Twentieth Anniversary Edition with Contributions from Joe Hill and Owen KingONE OF TIME MAGAZINE’S TOP 100 NONFICTION BOOKS OF ALL TIME Immensely helpful and illuminating to any aspiring writer, this special edition of Stephen King’s critically lauded, million-copy bestseller shares the experiences, habits, and convictions that have shaped him and his work. “Long live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported, near-fatal accident in 1999—and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told. Read more

Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story. It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think). In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft. Read more

The bestselling Emotion Thesaurus, often hailed as “the gold standard for writers” and credited with transforming how writers craft emotion, has now been expanded to include 55 new entries!One of the biggest struggles for writers is how to convey emotion to readers in a unique and compelling way. When showing our characters’ feelings, we often use the first idea that comes to mind, and they end up smiling, nodding, and frowning too much.If you need inspiration for creating characters’ emotional responses that are personalized and evocative, this ultimate show-don’t-tell guide for emotion can help. It includes:Body language cues, thoughts, and visceral responses for 130 emotions that cover a range of intensity from mild to severe, providing innumerable options for individualizing a character’s reactionsA breakdown of the biggest emotion-related writing problems and how to overcome themAdvice on what should be done beforedrafting to make sure your characters’ emotions will be realistic and consistentInstruction for how to show hidden feelings and emotional subtext through dialogue and nonverbal cuesAnd much more!The Emotion Thesaurus, in its easy-to-navigate list format, will inspire you to create stronger, fresher character expressions and engage readers from your first page to your last. Read more

Every story starts with a character who is motivated by a need and has a goal that can resolve it. Whether their objective is to find a life partner, bring a killer to justice, overthrow a cruel regime, or something else, conflict transforms a story premise into something fresh. Physical obstacles, adversaries, moral dilemmas, deep-seated doubts and personal struggles…these not only block a character’s external progress, they become a gateway for internal growth. The right conflict will build tension and high stakes, challenge characters as they traverse their arcs, and most importantly, keep readers emotionally invested from beginning to end.Inside Volume 1 of The Conflict Thesaurus, you’ll find:A myriad of conflict options in the form of relationship friction, failures and mistakes, moral dilemmas and temptations, pressure and ticking clocks, and no-win scenariosAn analysis of each scenario that maps out possible complications and catastrophes, internal struggles, and the stressful impacts on a character’s basic human needsGuidance on using conflict to influence your protagonist's character arc through opportunities for failure and successMaster class instruction on internal conflict: what it is, why it's important, and how to incorporate it at the scene and story levelsInformation about the role conflict plays in generating high stakes that are personally significant to the character, upping the tension for readersA breakdown of the various adversaries your character might encounter along the wayDon't give your character a break. Keep the hits coming with a variety of obstacles that will force them to work harder to get what they want. With over 100 entries arranged in a user-friendly format, The Conflict Thesaurus is the guide you need to write intense and satisfying fiction readers won’t forget. Read more

The Six Transformational Character Arcs of the Human LifeReady to take your story’s character arcs and themes to the next level? This latest book from veteran writing teacher and story theorist K.M. Weiland ventures far beyond the popular and pervasive Hero’s Journey to explore six important archetypal character arcs, representing key moments of initiation in the human experience:The MaidenThe HeroThe QueenThe KingThe CroneThe MageFound in every genre from fantasy to drama to romance to adventure, these transformational stories are the secret of powerhouse fiction—as shown through a wide variety of real-story examples throughout the book.Writing Archetypal Character Arcs will teach you:The archetypal beats for each of the six journeysWhich archetypes are right for your particular storyThe best way to use archetypes in a seriesHow to choose the right archetypes for supporting charactersHow to use archetypes to identify your story’s themeYou will also learn how to deepen your stories by implementing shadow archetypes (the negative sides of each positive archetype), resting or “flat” archetypes (the fixed stage between each of the main arcs), and archetypal antagonists (the epic antagonistic forces that oppose each of the positive archetypes in their journeys). The Hero’s Journey is just the beginning.Learning about archetypal character arcs will change the way you view stories—and life—forever.Find the Tools to Write Stories Readers Will Never Forget Read more

“Mary Oliver would probably never admit to anything so grandiose as an effort to connect the conscious mind and the heart (that’s what she says poetry can do), but that is exactly what she accomplishes in this stunning little handbook.”—Los Angeles Times From the beloved and acclaimed poet, an ultimate guide to writing and understanding poetry. With passion and wit, Mary Oliver skillfully imparts expertise from her long, celebrated career as a disguised poet. She walks readers through exactly how a poem is built, from meter and rhyme, to form and diction, to sound and sense, drawing on poems by Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, and others. This handbook is an invaluable glimpse into Oliver’s prolific mind—a must-have for all poetry-lovers. Read more

A story where the character gets exactly what they want doesn’t make for good reading. But add villainous clashes, lost advantages, power struggles, and menacing threats…well, now we have the makings of a page-turner. Conflict is the golden thread that binds plot to arc, providing the complications, setbacks, and derailments that make the character’s inner and outer journeys dynamic.Inside Volume 2 of The Conflict Thesaurus, you’ll find:A myriad of conflict options in the form of power struggles, ego-related stressors, dangers and threats, advantage and control losses, and other miscellaneous challengesInformation on how each scenario should hinder the character on the path to their goal so they'll learn valuable life lessons and gain insight into what's holding them back internallyInstruction about using the multiple levels of conflict to add pressure through immediate, scene-level challenges and looming problems that take time to solveGuidance on keeping a story’s central conflict in the spotlight and utilizing subplots effectively so they work with—not against—the main plotlineAn exploration of the climax and how to make this pinnacle event highly satisfying for readersWays to use conflict to deepen your story, facilitate epic adversarial showdowns, give your characters agency, and infuse every scene with tensionMeaningful conflict can be so much more than a series of roadblocks. Challenge your characters inside and out with over 100 tension-inducing scenarios in this second volume of The Conflict Thesaurus. And for more instruction on how to use this element to enhance your story (and an additional 100+ conflict scenarios), check out The Conflict Thesaurus, Volume 1. Read more

A relentlessly entertaining, totally accessible writing guide for the novice and the professional alike.Most writing books dwell on common issues of style and grammar. Yet most writers also confront complex problems of story design. This fifty-rule guide by Francis Flaherty, a New York Times editor, offers much-needed solutions and sage advice to address these concerns.“Sometimes, say things sideways,” Flaherty writes. “The reader will be grateful.” “White is whitest on black,” he observes. “Let contrast work for you.” Through such hard-won, story-level insights, sprinkled with examples from real stories and leavened with a good dose of newsroom memoir, The Elements of Story merits a spot on every writer’s shelf. Read more

Crafting likable, interesting characters is a balancing act, and finding that perfect mix of strengths and weaknesses can be difficult. Not only does a well-drawn protagonist need positive attributes to help him succeed, he must also have flaws that humanize him and give him something to overcome. The same is true of villains and the rest of the story’s supporting cast. So how can writers figure out which flaws best fit their characters? Which negative traits will create personality clashes and conflict while making success difficult?TAKE CHARACTER CREATION TO A WHOLE NEW LEVELNothing adds complexity like character flaws. Inside the Negative Trait Thesaurus you’ll find: *A vast collection of flaws to explore when building a character’s personality. *Each entry includes possible causes, attitudes, behaviors, thoughts, and related emotions*Real examples from literature, film, or television to show how each flaw can create life challenges and relational friction*Advice on building layered and memorable characters from the ground up *An in-depth look at backstory, emotional wounds, and how pain twists a character’s view of himself and his world, influencing behavior and decision making*A flaw-centric exploration of character arc, relationships, motivation, and basic needs*Tips on how to best show a character’s flaws to readers while avoiding common pitfalls *Downloadable tools to aid writers in character creationThe Negative Trait Thesaurus sheds light on your character’s dark side. Written in list format and fully indexed, this brainstorming resource is perfect for creating deep, flawed characters readers will relate to. Read more