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Telling Lies for Fun & Profit
Paperback
General ReferenceWriting Instruction
ISBN13: 9780688132286
Publisher: William Morrow & Company
Published: Feb 25 1994
Pages: 256
Weight: 0.69
Height: 0.65 Width: 6.05 Depth: 9.31
Language: English
Characters refusing to talk? Plot plodding along? Where do good ideas come from anyway? In this wonderfully practical volume, two-time Edgar Award-winning novelist Lawrence Block takes an inside look at writing as a craft and as a career.
From studying the market, to mastering self-discipline and creative procrastination, through coping with rejections, Telling Lies for Fun & Profit is an invaluable sourcebook of information. It is a must read for anyone serious about writing or understanding how the process works.
Block's candid, indispensable advice covers every part of the fiction writer's life, from process to profession:
- Plot and Story Structure: Turn a plodding plot into a page-turner by learning to distinguish ideas from structure and making things relentlessly difficult for your hero.
- Character Building: Breathe life into characters that refuse to talk by creating plausible, sympathetic, and original personalities drawn from your own unique experience.
- Dialogue and Voice: Master the art of He Said She Said with strong verbs and natural rhythms that let your characters speak for themselves.
- The Writing Life: Go from aspiring to professional by mastering self-discipline, handling rejection, and even using creative procrastination to your advantage.
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