Today's writer needs more than just a solid knowledge of usage and composition to write successfully. Bestselling author Arthur Plotnik reveals the secrets to attention-grabbing, unforgettable writing, in this trade paperback edition.Updated with all-new writing exercises, Spunk & Bite will help writers take books, articles, business reports, memos, and even e-mail messages to the next level.

Open The Urban Tree Book and discover the joys of forest trekking--right in your city or town. This first-of-a-kind field guide introduces readers to the trees on their block, in neighborhood parks, and throughout the urban landscape. Unlike traditional tree guides with dizzying numbers of woodland species, The Urban Tree Book explores nature in the city, describing some 200 tree types likely to be found on North America's streets and surrounding spaces, including suburban...

A special 10th anniversary edition of Roy Peter Clark's bestselling guide to writing, featuring five bonus tools.Ten years ago, Roy Peter Clark, America's most influential writing teacher, whittled down almost thirty years of experience in journalism, writing, and teaching into a series of fifty short essays on different aspects of writing. In the past decade, Writing Tools has become a classic guidebook for novices and experts alike and remains one of the...

A fully revised and updated edition with writing prompts and challenges in every chapterToday’s writers need more spunk than Strunk: whether it's the Great American e-mail, Madison Avenue advertising, or Grammy Award-winning rap lyrics, memorable writing must jump off the page. Copy veteran Constance Hale is on a mission to make creative communication, both the lyrical and the unlawful, an option for everyone.With its crisp, witty tone, Sin and Synt...

"You know a book is good when you actually welcome one of those howling days of wind and sleet that makes going out next to impossible." — The New York TimesIn The Earth Moved, Amy Stewart takes us on a journey through the underground world and introduces us to one of its most amazing denizens. The earthworm may be small, spineless, and blind, but its impact on the ecosystem is profound. It ploughs the soil, fights plant diseases, cleans up polluti...

"The teaching of creative writing just entered a whole new era . . . Heavens, what a joy this book is." —Lynne Truss, New York Times–bestselling author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves"What do you think of my fiction book writing?" the aspiring novelist extorted."Darn," the editor hectored, in turn. "I can not publish your novel! It is full of what we in the business call 'really awful writing.'""But how shall I absolve ...

This guide is designed to be a simple approach to a complex tradition dating back nearly a thousand years - the art of Bonsai! As a beginner, this ebook will help you to soon master your skills of growing and maintaining your very own bonsai, covering every topic from varying styles and shaping techniques to propagating and appropriate display.

Build a Believable WorldHow essential is setting to a story? How much description is too much? In what ways do details and setting tie into plot and character development? How can you use setting and description to add depth to your story?You can find all the answers you need in Write Great Fiction: Description & Setting by author and instructor Ron Rozelle. This nuts-and-bolts guide - complete with practical exercises at the end o...

"Would You Like To Know How To Grow The Most Amazing Orchids?" I received my very first orchid for my birthday one year and cherished the elegant plant for the two months that it bloomed. Then, when the petals fell off, I was heartbroken and thought that I had killed it with overindulgence or something. After consulting an expert at my local exotic plant store, I realized that with the proper care, my orchid would bloom again and again.

Yes, it’s true: you can learn how to be a verbal wizard!Ever hear someone utter an unforgettable phrase and feel yourself reacting with with…well, awe? Ever read a great quote and think I could never come up with anything that clever?Daunting as it may seem, there’s nothing mystical about witcraft. Crafting memorable lines doesn’t require DNA-encoded brilliance. What it does require is some knowledge of the trick...

A landmark book, “brilliant, thoughtful” (The Atlantic) and “raw and gorgeous” (LA Times), that fast-forwards the discussion of the central artistic issues of our time, from the bestselling author of The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead.Who owns ideas? How clear is the distinction between fiction and nonfiction? Has the velocity of digital culture rendered traditional modes obsolete? Exploring these and related questions, S...

Since 1973, Storey's Country Wisdom Bulletins have offered practical, hands-on instructions designed to help readers master dozens of country living skills quickly and easily. There are now more than 170 titles in this series, and their remarkable popularity reflects the common desire of country and city dwellers alike to cultivate personal independence in everyday life.