How to write a page-turner is no mystery with this thorough and authoritative guide. Covers every aspect of mystery writing. Also includes an insider's guide to getting your work into an agent's or publisher's hands.

"We either think our lives are so special that everyone should be interested in what's happened to us, or so ordinary that we can't imagine anyone would care. The truth lies somewhere in between: yes, we are all special, and no, people will not care--unless we write with them in mind. Joanne Fedler, a beloved writing teacher and mentor, has written Your Story to help all people, even those who don't necessarily identify as "writers," value their life stories and write them in such a way that they transcend the personal and speak into a universal story. This book shows how to write from your life, but for the benefit of others. Each human life is unique, and the meaning we each make from our joys and suffering can, if written with a reader in mind, be an act of generosity and sharing. Filled with practical wisdom and tools, the book tackles: mind-set issues that prevent us from writing ways to develop trust (in yourself, the process, the mystery) triggers or prompts to elicit our own stories Joanne's original techniques for "lifewriting," developed over a decade of teaching and mentoring and much more"Joanne understands the writer's loneliness," says one such writer whose life she's touched, the award-winning Israeli author Nava Semel. "In this book she has created a menu of encouraging possibilities on how to overcome our fears and dig deep into our souls, so that our true voice can emerge.""--

How can you tell your Faulkner from your Franzen if you haven't actually read either? Schwartz expounds on the most important (aka white male) writers of western literature. From Shakespeare's greatest mystery to the true meaning of Kafkaesque, she tests your knowledge of which Jonathan-- Franzen, Lethem, or Safran Foer-- hates Twitter and lives in Brooklyn. So instead of politely nodding along next time you make an acquaintance at a housewarming party in Brooklyn, you can roll up your sleeves and get to work schooling them in character arcs and the experimental form of your next great American novel. -- adapted from back cover

For a writer, voice is the problem that never lets you go. For a reader, voice is a profound mystery. What is it? How does it develop and why should it even matter? How does the reader hear and respond to an authentic voice, and what happens when the cult of personality threatens to subvert it? These are some of the slippery questions The Writer's Voice addresses with confidence and clarity. Aspiring young writers often confuse voice with stylishness, but the voice that matters has the whole weight of a life, however young, behind it. In this compelling book, renowned poet, author, and critic A. Alvarez defines "voice" as the vehicle by which a writer expresses his aliveness, hooks his readers, and keeps them listening. These powerful reflections from a lifetime's experience belong alongside John Gardner's The Art of Fiction, E. M. Forster's Aspects of the Novel, and William Zinsser's On Writing Well.