This book is a must-have for all young authors. It is helpful and inspiring and will get you on your way to becoming a professional author. With tips on everything from creating cool story lines and fascinating characters to starting your own reading and writing group to selling your stories and getting them published, SO, YOU WANNA BE A WRITER? has something in it for everyone who has ever felt the urge to sit down with a pen and paper and create something with words. Plus, it includes exclusive interviews with famous authors like Michael Crichton, Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, and Weldelin Van Draaen, AND stories by ten real teen authors who share their own writing advice. Read SO, YOU WANNA BE A WRITER? and take the first step towards making your dreams come true!

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ON WRITING: A MEMOIR OF THE CRAFT
by Stephen King
Pocket Books, $7.99

I am not a big fan of scary books, so I had not read any of Stephen King's work prior to this book, but he is now one of my favoite authors simply because he is such a gifted writer. Part memoir, part writing guide, this superb volume is a practical view of the writer's craft and a peak into the life of one of the bestselling authors of all time. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, ON WRITING will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.

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BIRD BY BIRD
by Anne Lamott
First Anchor Books, $12.95

The Los Angeles Times calls Lamott's book "A warm, generous and hilarious guide through the writer's world and its treacherous swamps." Lamott is at times gentle, wise, laugh-out-loud funny and wittily cynical; she is like the older sister you never had, the writing mentor of your dreams. She makes you appreciate writing in a whole new way while at the same time giving you the honest truth about the business, even the ugly, painful side, nothing held back. This book is a must for all writers and dreamers, a guide to writing and to life itself.

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. (It) was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.' "
-- an excerpt from BIRD BY BIRD

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WHAT IF?: WRITING EXERCISES FOR FICTION WRITERS
by Anne Bernays and Pamela Painter
Harper Collins Publishers, $11.00

This book includes more than seventy-five exercises for both beginners and more experienced writers, designed to develop and refine two basic skills: writing like a writer and, just as important, thinking like a writer. It deals with topics like deciding where to start and end a story, transforming real events into fiction, and developing your very own writing style. WHAT IF? is a priceless tool that every writer can learn from.

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WRITER'S BREAKTHROUGH: STEPS TO COPYRIGHT AND PUBLISH YOUR OWN BOOK

by Dr. Grace LaJoy Henderson

ISBN 0-9747583-1-0 $15.99

WRITER'S BREAKTHROUGHis a simple way to learn the basics of how to copyright, publish, distribute, and market your book. This book will teach you where to begin, guide you step-by-step, and help you to publish your own book.

"This book inspires, educates and empowers you to utilize the writing gift that God gave you."

-- Dan Poynter, The Self-Publishing Manual

Available at http://www.gracelajoy.com/mainfiles/wb.htm

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