About this product: Updated and revised, this new edition of the best-selling favorite enables readers to master the fundamentals of humor writing and better understand the demands of the comedic market. Comedy Writing Secrets now includes:
-Examples from comedy greats as well as cutting-edge contemporary comedians, including Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, and Tina Fey
-A complete spectrum of techniques, from writing one-liners and stand-up routines, to finding a market for one's work
-Step-by-step writing exercises accompanied with sample answers, so readers can practice and hone their skills
With this guide, aspiring comics can learn how to sharpen their comedic talent and turn it into a well-paying pursuit.
Students and researchers all write under pressure, and those pressures—most lamentably, the desire to impress your audience rather than to communicate with them—often lead to pretentious prose, academic posturing, and, not infrequently, writer’s block.
Sociologist Howard S. Becker has written the classic book on how to conquer these pressures and simply write. First published nearly twenty years ago, Writing for Social Scientists has become a lifesaver for writers in all fields, from beginning students to published authors. Becker’s message is clear: in order to learn how to write, take a deep breath and then begin writing. Revise. Repeat.
It is not always an easy process, as Becker wryly relates. Decades of teaching, researching, and writing have given him plenty of material, and Becker neatly exposes the foibles of academia and its “publish or perish” atmosphere. Wordiness, the passive voice, inserting a “the way in which” when a simple “how” will do—all these mechanisms are a part of the social structure of academic writing. By shrugging off such impediments—or at the very least, putting them aside for a few hours—we can reform our work habits and start writing lucidly without worrying about grades, peer approval, or the “literature.”
In this new edition, Becker takes account of major changes in the computer tools available to writers today, and also substantially expands his analysis of how academic institutions create problems for them. As competition in academia grows increasingly heated, Writing for Social Scientists will provide solace to a new generation of frazzled, would-be writers.
About this product: All students and professors need to write, and many struggle to finish their stalled dissertations, journal articles, book chapters, or grant proposals. Writing is hard work and can be difficult to wedge into a frenetic academic schedule. In this practical, light-hearted, and encouraging book, Paul J. Silvia explains that writing productively does not require innate skills or special traits but specific tactics and actions. Drawing examples from his own field of psychology, he shows readers how to overcome motivational roadblocks and become prolific without sacrificing evenings, weekends, and vacations. After describing strategies for writing productively, the author gives detailed advice from the trenches on how to write, submit, revise, and resubmit articles; how to improve writing quality; and how to write and publish academic work.
The more than 200 impersonal but engaging writing prompts in this exercise book help students practice their writing skills without asking them to share personal thoughts they would rather keep to themselves. Quirky, challenging, and humorous, the ideas encourage lighthearted creativity with such topics as writing about a girl named Dot without using any letters with dots (such as i or j), describing a person named Chris by the reactions of others as he walks into a room, or creating three completely different sentences with the word crumpled. Sample responses are included for all the exercises, making this an ideal classroom resource.
Grant writing is a billion dollar industry full of profitable business opportunities! Serving as the link between funders and grantees, professional grant writers are quickly becoming valuable partners to fundraising and philanthropy associations. Use this comprehensive guide to learn the art of researching, preparing and submitting winning grants as well as finding and maintaining clientele and grant projects. Learn how to:
Identify grants and contact funders
Write persuasive proposals that win funding
Create a comprehensive grant proposal following step-by-step instructions and samples
Develop a successful business plan-including home-office guidance, office technology, business startup basics and more
Market your business for less than $100
Also includes a comprehensive resources listing, a four-stage guide to writing funding proposals plus insider tips and techniques. This is a must-have resource for new or experienced grant writers looking to expand their talents and take their careers into their own hands!
About this product: A guide to effective, clear, and powerful legal writing, encouraging writers to challenge conventions. Shows how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, sharpen editing skills, and clear language of jargon. Teaches straight thinking, featuring examples and four model documents. Softcover, hardcover also available. DLC: Legal composition.
About this product: Don't have time to write a long review. This book is well worth the money. Best writing book I have bought since "Writing Down the Bones" over 20 years ago.
About this product: Gotham Writers' Workshop has mastered the art of teaching the craft of writing in a way that is practical, accessible, and entertaining. Now the techniques of this renowned school are available in this book.
Here you'll find: - The fundamental elements of fiction craft-character, plot, point of view, etc.-explained clearly and completely - Key concepts illustrated with passages from great works of fiction - The complete text of "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver-a masterpiece of contemporary short fiction that is analyzed throughout the book - Exercises that let you immediately apply what you learn to your own writing
Written by Gotham Writers' Workshop expert instructors and edited by Dean of Faculty Alexander Steele, Writing Fiction offers the same methods and exercises that have earned the school international acclaim.
Once you've read-and written-your way through this book, you'll have a command of craft that will enable you to turn your ideas into effective short stories and novels.
About this product: "Redish has done her homework and created a thorough overview of the issues in writing for the Web. Ironically, I must recommend that you read her every word so that you can find out why your customers won't read very many words on your website -- and what to do about it."
-- Jakob Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Norman Group
"There are at least twelve billion web pages out there. Twelve billion voices talking, but saying mostly nothing. If just 1% of those pages followed Ginny's practical, clear advice, the world would be a better place. Fortunately, you can follow her advice for 100% of your own site's pages, so pick up a copy of Letting Go of the Words and start communicating effectively today."
--Lou Rosenfeld, co-author, Information Architecture for the World Wide Web
On the web, whether on the job or at home, we usually want to grab information and use it quickly. We go to the web to get answers to questions or to complete tasks - to gather information, reading only what we need. We are all too busy to read much on the web.
This book helps you write successfully for web users. It offers strategy, process, and tactics for creating or revising content for the web. It helps you plan, organize, write, design, and test web content that will make web users come back again and again to your site.
Learn how to create usable and useful content for the web from the master − Ginny Redish. Ginny has taught and mentored hundreds of writers, information designers, and content owners in the principles and secrets of creating web information that is easy to scan, easy to read, and easy to use.
This practical, informative book will help anyone creating web content do it better.
Features * Clearly-explained guidelines with full color illustrations and examples from actual web sites throughout the book. * Written in easy-to-read style with many "befores" and "afters." * Specific guidelines for web-based press releases, legal notices, and other documents. * Tips on making web content accessible for people with special needs.
Janice (Ginny) Redish has been helping clients and colleagues communicate clearly for more than 20 years. For the past ten years, her focus has been helping people create usable and useful web sites. She is co-author of two classic books on usability: A Practical Guide to Usability Testing (with Joseph Dumas), and User and Task Analysis for Interface Design (with JoAnn Hackos), and is the recipient of many awards.
* Clearly-explained guidelines with full color illustrations and examples from actual web sites throughout the book.
* Written in easy-to-read style with many "befores" and "afters."
* Specific guidelines for web-based press releases, legal notices, and other documents.
* Tips on making web content accessible for people with special needs.
About this product: This updated edition of the best-selling book Because Writing Matters reflects the most recent research and reports on the need for teaching writing, and it includes new sections on writing and English language learners, technology, and the writing process.
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