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The Last Fifty Pages
- The Art and Craft of Unforgettable Endings
- Narrated by: James Scott Bell
- Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins
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The Last Fifty Pages
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Publisher's summary
“The first page of a book sells that book. The last page sells your next book.” (Mickey Spillane, American crime author)
What are the secrets for writing a great ending for your novel? How do you leave readers so satisfied that they'll want another book by you, right now? What tools and techniques can shape your last 50 pages into a powerful, unforgettable experience?
In this audiobook, international Thriller Writers Award winner and number one best-selling writing teacher James Scott Bell reveals:
- The five types of endings
- Things that need to happen in act three
- Ways to use the ah and uh-oh emotional wallops
- A simple technique for crafting twist endings
- The most important secret of all: resonance
- The "stew, brew, accrue, do" brainstorming method
- The best way to tie up loose ends
- The most common ending mistakes, and how to avoid them.
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Listen to this audiobook, and you will come away with a thorough knowledge of why great endings work and how to create them for every novel you write.
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Origins of The Wheel of Time
- The Legends and Mythologies That Inspired Robert Jordan
- By: Michael Livingston, Harriet McDougal - contributor, Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Harriet McDougal, Kate Reading, Michael Kramer, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 155
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 136
Take a deep dive into the real-world history and mythology that inspired the world of Robert Jordan's The Wheel of Time®. This companion to the internationally bestselling series will delve into the creation of Jordan’s masterpiece, drawing from interviews and an unprecedented examination of his unpublished notes. Michael Livingston tells the behind-the-scenes story of who Jordan was, how he worked, and why he holds such an important place in modern literature. Origins of The Wheel of Time will provide exciting knowledge and insights to both new and longtime fans.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Agenda driven ideological bend.
- By Maxwell on 06-19-23
By: Michael Livingston, and others
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Batman Unauthorized
- Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City
- By: Dennis O'Neil - editor, Leah Wilson - editor
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 7 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 147
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Story4 out of 5 stars 147
Compiled by a veteran writer of the comic series, this collection of essays explores Batman’s motivations and actions, as well as those of his foes. Batman is a creature of the night, more about vengeance than justice, more plagued by doubts than full of self-assurance, and more darkness than light. He has no superpowers, just skill, drive, and a really well-made suit.
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1 out of 5 stars
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batman uninformed opinions
- By Aurey C. on 04-13-17
By: Dennis O'Neil - editor, and others
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How Fiction Works
- By: James Wood
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 131
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 85
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 87
Ranging widely from Homer to David Foster Wallace, from What Maisie Knew to Make Way for Ducklings, Wood takes the reader through the basic elements of the art, step by step. He sums up two decades of insight with wit and concision, resulting in nothing less than a philosophy of the novel, which has won critical acclaim nationwide, from the San Francisco Chronicle to the New York Times Book Review.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Educational!
- By Don on 05-04-09
By: James Wood
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Becoming Faulkner
- The Art and Life of William Faulker
- By: Philip Weinstein
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 36
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Story4 out of 5 stars 38
William Faulkner was the greatest American novelist of the 20th century, yet he lived a life marked by a pervasive sense of failure. Throughout his career, he remained haunted by his inability to master a series of personal and professional challenges: his less-than-heroic military career; the loss of his brother in an airplane crash; a disappointing stint as a Hollywood screenwriter; and a destructive bout with alcoholism.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Miss.'s BCS-Bundren.Compson.Snopes/Sutpen/Sartoris
- By W Perry Hall on 05-01-14
By: Philip Weinstein
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Living the Braveheart Life
- Finding the Courage to Follow Your Heart
- By: Randall Wallace
- Narrated by: Matt Baugher
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
Part autobiography, part master class, Living the Braveheart Life invites us to explore five major archetypes in Braveheart that resonate not only in Randall's life but in the modern-day lives of both men and women: the father, teacher, warrior, sage, and outlaw. Join blockbuster film director Randall Wallace on the journey of his creative and personal life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Braveheart has a valable message!
- By Mrs.Bushy on 04-28-21
By: Randall Wallace
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The Republic of Imagination
- America in Three Books
- By: Azar Nafisi
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marnò
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4 out of 5 stars 50
Blending memoir and polemic with close readings of her favorite novels, she describes the unexpected journey that led her to become an American citizen after first dreaming of America as a young girl in Tehran and coming to know the country through its fiction. She urges us to rediscover the America of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and challenges us to be truer to the words and spirit of the Founding Fathers, who understood that their democratic experiment would never thrive or survive unless they could foster a democratic imagination.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Love
- By Rebecca on 05-29-16
By: Azar Nafisi
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Salinger
- By: David Shields, Shane Salerno
- Narrated by: Peter Friedman, January LaVoy, Robert Petkoff, and others
- Length: 19 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 135
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 122
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Story4 out of 5 stars 120
Shields and Salerno illuminate most brightly the last 56 years of Salinger’s life: a period that, until now, had remained completely dark to biographers. Provided unprecedented access to diaries, letters, legal records, and secret documents, listeners will feel they have, for the first time, gotten beyond Salinger’s meticulously built-up wall. The result is the definitive portrait of one of the most fascinating figures of the 20th century.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Ingenious novel or biography? Hard to tell....
- By Melinda on 09-05-13
By: David Shields, and others
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The Elements of Eloquence
- Secrets of the Perfect Turn of Phrase
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,732
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,556
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,528
In his inimitably entertaining and wonderfully witty style, he takes apart famous phrases and shows how you too can write like Shakespeare or quip like Oscar Wilde. Whether you’re aiming to achieve literary immortality or just hoping to deliver the perfect one-liner, The Elements of Eloquence proves that you don’t need to have anything important to say - you simply need to say it well.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Who knew rhetoric could be so much fun?
- By Philo on 10-30-14
By: Mark Forsyth
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Bookworm
- A Memoir of Childhood Reading
- By: Lucy Mangan
- Narrated by: Lucy Mangan
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4 out of 5 stars 31
When Lucy Mangan was little, stories were everything. They opened up new worlds and cast light on all the complexities she encountered in this one. She was whisked away to Narnia and Kirrin Island and Wonderland. She ventured down rabbit holes and womble burrows into midnight gardens and chocolate factories. She wandered the countryside with Milly-Molly-Mandy and played by the tracks with the Railway Children.
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2 out of 5 stars
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The author’s sarcasm
- By Phil B. on 10-01-24
By: Lucy Mangan
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The Art of Fiction
- By: Ayn Rand
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 218
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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Story4 out of 5 stars 129
Ayn Rand discusses how a writer combines abstract ideas with concrete action and description to achieve a unity of theme, plot, characterization, and style, the four essential elements of fiction. Here, too, are Rand's illuminating analyses of passages from famous writers, rewrites of scenes from her own works, and fascinating rules for building dramatic plots and characters with depth.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Get Stein on Writing
- By Lois on 12-04-09
By: Ayn Rand
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The Stephen King Companion
- Four Decades of Fear from the Master of Horror
- By: George Beahm
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper, Claire Christie
- Length: 24 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
The Stephen King Companion is an authoritative look at horror author King's personal life and professional career, from Carrie to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. King expert George Beahm, who has published extensively about Maine's main author, is your seasoned guide to the imaginative world of Stephen King, covering his varied and prodigious output: juvenalia, short fiction, limited edition books, best-selling novels, and film adaptations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Kingopedia: Books, Movies, Bio and Art
- By tru britty on 02-28-16
By: George Beahm
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The Memoir Project
- A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text For Writing & Life
- By: Marion Roach Smith
- Narrated by: Marion Roach Smith
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 196
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 169
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 167
Whether or not one has lived an exceptional or dramatic life, we inherently understand that writing memoir—whether it’s a book, blog, or just a letter to a child - is the single greatest portal to self-examination. Stop treading water in writing exercises or hiding behind “writer’s block” and learn how to write with intent. Marion Roach Smith’s disarmingly frank but wildly fun tactics offer you simple and effective guidelines that work. Your legacy beings now.
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5 out of 5 stars
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amazing what you can learn from brevity
- By Schwartz-Burrill on 09-15-11
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The Devil Finds Work
- An Essay
- By: James Baldwin
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 116
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 113
Baldwin's personal reflections on movies gathered here in a book-length essay are also a probing appraisal of American racial politics. Offering an incisive look at racism in American movies and a vision of America's self-delusions and deceptions, Baldwin challenges the underlying assumptions in such films as In the Heat of the Night, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and The Exorcist.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Critical Masterpiece.
- By Ramon McGee on 05-10-18
By: James Baldwin
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Dear Fahrenheit 451
- Love and Heartbreak in the Stacks
- By: Annie Spence
- Narrated by: Stephanie Spicer
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4 out of 5 stars 67
Librarians spend their lives weeding - not weeds, but books - books that have reached the end of their shelf life both literally and figuratively. They remove books that patrons no longer check out, and they put back books they treasure. Annie Spence, who has a decade of experience as a Midwestern librarian, does this not only at her Michigan library but also at home, for her neighbors, at cocktail parties - everywhere. In Dear Fahrenheit 451, she addresses those books directly.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Totally captivating
- By Grace Smith on 03-24-18
By: Annie Spence
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The Voice is All
- The Lonely Victory of Jack Kerouac
- By: Joyce Johnson
- Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie
- Length: 16 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 23
In The Voice Is All, Joyce Johnson - coauthor of the classic memoir Door Wide Open, about her relationship with Jack Kerouac - brilliantly peels away layers of the Kerouac legend to show how, caught between two cultures and two languages, he forged a voice to contain his dualities. Looking more deeply than previous biographers into how Kerouac's French Canadian background enriched his prose and gave him a unique outsider's vision of America, she tracks his development from boyhood through the phenomenal breakthroughs of 1951 that resulted in the composition of On the Road.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Kerouac's Voice
- By Robert L. Stofel on 09-26-12
By: Joyce Johnson
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Why We Read (Listen To) These Books
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Leave politics out of it.
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Great foundations
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Wired for Story
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- By: Lisa Cron
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- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Imagine knowing what the brain craves from every tale it encounters, what fuels the success of any great story, and what keeps readers transfixed. Wired for Story reveals these cognitive secrets—and it’s a game-changer for anyone who has ever set pen to paper.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Inspiring but boring
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By: Lisa Cron
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The Story Grid
- What Good Editors Know
- By: Shawn Coyne
- Narrated by: Dan Portnoy
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
The Story Grid is a tool developed by editor Shawn Coyne to analyze stories and provide helpful editorial comments. It's like a CT Scan that takes a photo of the global story and tells the editor or writer what is working, what is not, and what must be done to make what works better and fix what's not. The Story Grid breaks down the component parts of stories to identify the problems. And finding the problems in a story is almost as difficult as the writing of the story itself (maybe even more difficult).
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3 out of 5 stars
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good story, but audiobook needs an editor
- By Jeroen de Jong on 12-17-19
By: Shawn Coyne
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How to Write Pulp Fiction
- By: James Scott Bell
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance3 out of 5 stars 12
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Story5 out of 5 stars 12
Type Hard. Type Fast. Make Dough. That was the formula of old-school pulp fiction—plot-driven, popular and gobbled up by a reading public hungry for more. And it produced many writers who hammered out a living selling “cash-and-carry” stories and novels. Some of these writers were among the best America has ever produced. Writers like Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett and John D. MacDonald. Others are numbered among the bestselling authors of all time, including Erle Stanley Gardner, Lester Dent, and Frederick Faust (better known by his pen name, Max Brand). What were the secrets of ...
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4 out of 5 stars
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AI voice isn’t bad… but book is good for any die hard pulp fans!
- By Anonymous User on 07-22-24
By: James Scott Bell
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Story Genius
- How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel (Before You Waste Three Years Writing 327 Pages That Go Nowhere)
- By: Lisa Cron
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 312
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 262
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 260
It's every novelist's greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page-one rewrite. The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot).
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2 out of 5 stars
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As a fantasy writer, this book was not for me.
- By Wendy on 01-10-21
By: Lisa Cron
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Outlining Your Novel
- Map Your Way to Success
- By: K. M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 4 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 549
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 478
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
Let outlines help you write a better book! Writers often look upon outlines with fear and trembling. But when properly understood and correctly wielded, the outline is one of the most powerful weapons in a writer's arsenal.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Doesn't explain how to outline
- By Nothing really matters on 01-28-16
By: K. M. Weiland
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Writing Archetypal Character Arcs
- The Hero's Journey and Beyond (Helping Writers Become Authors, Book 11)
- By: K.M. Weiland
- Narrated by: Sonja Field
- Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2
Ready to take your story's character arcs and themes to the next level? This latest book from veteran writing teacher and story theorist K.M. Weiland ventures far beyond the popular and pervasive Hero's Journey to explore six important archetypal character arcs, representing key moments of initiation in the human experience.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding resource for fiction writers
- By dragonfly99 on 05-25-24
By: K.M. Weiland
What listeners say about The Last Fifty Pages
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mike
- 05-09-20
Deep Dive into Ending a Novel
This book right deep dive into how to end a novel, perhaps the most challenging and important part of writing one. With plenty of real world examples, the author lays out how there is no one way to accomplish the task, while also shedding light on the commonalities that great endings share.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Diane Z.
- 09-27-20
Extremely Helpful!
Every chapter really gave you something to chew on. His explanations and examples were well thought out and succinct. The author did his own reading and he has a demeanor of speech and voice quality that were easy to listen to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Karmyn Jones
- 09-24-24
Writing tips for beginning with the end in mind.
Helpful for creating the most interesting fictional Novels and also for the writing of engaging Screenplays.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Customer
- 11-11-21
Not bad, not the very best
Agree with some of the other reviews. The useful messages are a bit hidden, and it’s repetitive from some other books he has published. But some useful things to take away.
Wish he had a summary pdf like in the great courses.
On a personal note I don’t like that he was putting down the sequel to Gone with the wind. It’s actually an excellent read and I love it maybe more than the actual book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Morgan Tarpley Smith
- 09-16-22
Fantastic writing craft book!
A great addition to James Scott Bell’s other writing craft books. Very insightful! And great narration!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P. Boddy
- 02-24-21
Always Gets The Message/Skill Across With Clarity
His lectures with both Audible and The Great Courses are informative as well as entertaining. Worth every penny...oops, cliche! DOLLAR.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- T. Weaver
- 05-04-21
Interesting listen; excellent information
I ordered this book to see if there was useful information for my writing. I came away wit a couple of great tips for writing fiction. If you plan to write fiction, I highly recommend this book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kevin Potter
- 12-31-19
Excellent
This is a wonderful examination of everything that should go into the ending of a book, along with a ton of useful tips to really make it shine.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Art H
- 07-21-22
an excellent 3-hour Master class
I've been struggling with the ending of my most recent novel. I went looking for help and found this. I bought it because it was short and priced right.
it did not disappoint. 3 hours of well-structured discussion, backed up with effective examples help me get back on track.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bob Conder
- 06-30-23
Great concepts
This is a great reminder of how important story structure, and the creation of emotion is in any story, regardless of the median, in which is presented.
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