A List of Books | 623 of the Best Books Ever Written These Amazing Classic Books Are So Short You Have No Excuse Not To Read Them As Books Editors, we set aside more designated reading time than most people do. Still, even we are daunted by copies of The Goldfinch looming on our desks. Once we embark on a bulky book, will we have time for anything else (including, but not limited to, reading other books)? Sometimes, especially when in the midst of a reading slump, shorter books seem more approachable. Enter: the novella. Since we know all of you are extremely busy (it is the holiday season, after all), we've compiled a list of short, classic works, some novels and some novellas, that are all under 200 pages (We bet you didn't know The Great Gatsby was only 180 pages). Have even LESS time to read? The Stranger by Albert Camus (123 pages): Camus's classic novel about a man who, somewhat aloofly, kills someone and must face the consequences is often cited as a major exemplar of existentialist thought (though Camus preferred not to be lumped into the existentialist category). The Great Gatsby by F. O Pioneers!
Free ebooks - Project Gutenberg Synonyms for words commonly used in student's writing Amazing- incredible, unbelievable, improbable, fabulous, wonderful, fantastic, astonishing, astounding, extraordinary Anger- enrage, infuriate, arouse, nettle, exasperate, inflame, madden Angry- mad, furious, enraged, excited, wrathful, indignant, exasperated, aroused, inflamed Answer- reply, respond, retort, acknowledge Ask- question, inquire of, seek information from, put a question to, demand, request, expect, inquire, query, interrogate, examine, quiz Awful- dreadful, terrible, abominable, bad, poor, unpleasant Beautiful - pretty, lovely, handsome, attractive, gorgeous, dazzling, splendid, magnificent, comely, fair, ravishing, graceful, elegant, fine, exquisite, aesthetic, pleasing, shapely, delicate, stunning, glorious, heavenly, resplendent, radiant, glowing, blooming, sparkling Begin - start, open, launch, initiate, commence, inaugurate, originate Brave - courageous, fearless, dauntless, intrepid, plucky, daring, heroic, valorous, audacious, bold, gallant, valiant, doughty, mettlesome
How Well Do You Know Your Characters? Happy Monday! I've been thinking about characters a lot. Let me ask you something. If your book could only have one thing, Great Characters or Great Plot, which would you pick? Now think of some of your favorite books. Done? In my opinion, characters are far more important. As a MG/YA high fantasy writer, I've always hated character sheets. So worksheets have never helped me. 1) For what would this character die for? This question looks at what is, ultimately, important to the character. Generally, the good guy will die for almost anyone. Your villain, on the other hand, might not die for anyone. 2)Who would this character kill and under what circumstances? Find these lines in your characters. Would your character kill at all? There are two TV shows where this is explored really well, in my opinion. *SPOILERS from SEASON 2, Once Upon a Time* In this show, the main couple, Mary Margret (Snow White) and David, (Prince Charming) vow to never kill. *SPOILERS from SEASON 2, Robin Hood*
Hans Christian Andersen: Fairy Tales and Stories The 50 Scariest Books of All Time The air is getting crisper, the nights are getting longer, and All Hallow’s Eve draws near. You know what that means: it’s time to curl up with a book guaranteed to give you the shivers — or at least make you check the locks twice. Here, for your horrifying pleasure, are 50 of the scariest books ever written in the English language, whether horror, nonfiction, or speculative futures you never want to see. One caveat: the list is limited to one book per author, so Stephen King fans will have to expand their horizons a little bit. Check out 50 books that will keep you up all night after the jump, and add any other scary favorites to the list in the comments. IT, Stephen King All right, let’s get this out of the way up front: Stephen King is the you-know-what of horror, and if there wasn’t this pesky rule about keeping it to one book per author, this list could almost be wholly populated by his terrifying reads.
HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL IN 100 DAYS OR LESS by John Coyne How many times have you finished reading a novel and said, "I could have written that book." You know what? You're right. All of us, I believe, carry at least one novel around in our heads or our hearts. Novelist Toni Morrison put it this way: "If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." Writing a book is no easy task. In 1996, according to Books in Print, 1.3 million book titles were in print. I believe that if you can write a simple English sentence (after all, that's what Ernest Hemingway wrote), are alert to the world around you, and want to write a salable novel - really want to, not just kind of want to - then you can do it. It works. I know what it means to squeeze in an hour or two a day (or night) of writing. Yes, you have a job. What makes a writer? Take the case of José Saramago, the first Portuguese-language writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature. Begin with that pure emotion.
Free books: 100 legal sites to download literature | Just English The Classics Browse works by Mark Twain, Joseph Conrad and other famous authors here. Classic Bookshelf: This site has put classic novels online, from Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte.The Online Books Page: The University of Pennsylvania hosts this book search and database.Project Gutenberg: This famous site has over 27,000 free books online.Page by Page Books: Find books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Textbooks If you don’t absolutely need to pay for your textbooks, save yourself a few hundred dollars by reviewing these sites. Math and Science Turn to this list to find books about math, science, engineering and technology. Children’s Books Even children’s books are now available online. Philosophy and Religion For books about philosophy and religion, check out these websites. Plays From Shakespeare to George Bernard Shaw to more contemporary playwrights, visit these sites. Modern Fiction, Fantasy and Romance Foreign Language History and Culture Rare Books Look for rare books online here.
45 ways to avoid using the word 'very' Three Telling Quotes About ‘Very’ Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very;’ your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be. ~Mark Twain‘Very’ is the most useless word in the English language and can always come out. More than useless, it is treacherous because it invariably weakens what it is intended to strengthen. ~Florence KingSo avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. If you enjoyed this, you will love: If you want to learn how to write a book, join our Writers Write course. by Amanda Patterson © Amanda Patterson
Using Scrivener to Save the Cat Odds are, you’ve heard of Scrivener, even if you haven’t tried it. You’ve probably also read the late Blake Snyder‘s classic guide for writers, SAVE THE CAT. RU’s tech wizard Pat Haggerty shares his unique perspective on the two at Romance University today. Have you ever attended a class on writing theory or story structure and for whatever reason, the content meshed into your writers brain in that “Damn, I can’t wait to get out of here and put that to work” kind of way? Well that’s the way it was for me when I was at RWA Nationals earlier this year and went to the, Save the Cat! Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. Does that even make sense? Save the Cat! Oh, did I mention that I’m a geek? So the night after Jessica gave her great STC workshop at RWA nationals, I went back to my room, fired up my Apple Air, and opened the best editor for writers I’ve ever seen: Scrivener. In STC you start with your logline; that one “What is it and what’s it about” sentence that sums up your whole story.