Words that Count: A Guide to Writing Analytical Essays about Fiction


Book Description

Language is complex. Written or spoken, the complexity of language makes the medium the versatile tool we need but also creates the potential for a wide variety of misunderstandings and mistakes. Whether we are attempting to understand a piece of fiction or writing a text to make our thoughts comprehensible to others, the complexity of language is both necessary and fraught. That said, the inevitable pitfalls don’t mean we need to sacrifice precision or accuracy. This guide is a step by step process that offers hands-on methods for accurate analysis and precise essay construction. Chapter one deals with a variety of methods by which to approach stories and novels such that your analysis is structured on carefully constructed, logical progression founded on the primary text rather than on hunches and guesswork, and chapter two offers infrastructures and scaffolding on which any essay can be structured. The structures included in chapter two are not a template and thus do not limit style or content; rather, they are based on a series of tasks that must be completed for an argument to be convincing. As such, the tasks offer a kind of map through the process of essay writing that always indicates your next step. Contrary to accepted mythologies about analyzing fiction and writing essays, neither is a guessing game, and this text can help you remove the guesswork from your own process.




Ursula K. Le Guin, Consent, and Metaphor


Book Description

In Ursula K. Le Guin, Consent, and Metaphor, Kate Sheckler constructs a new method to categorize metaphor, arguing that the moment of consent that exists in the form determines the effects of the interchange. Using the fiction of Ursula K. Le Guin, with the work of Paul Ricoeur as a primary theoretical focus, Sheckler identifies both the dangers and necessity of understanding the interplay that determines by whom and at what point consent is offered within the dynamic shift that occurs in metaphor. In doing so, she identifies the way marginalized groups and cultures can be reconstructed in service to an outside force and notes the absolute necessity of metaphor as a constructive force in a world where we must imagine new ways to approach the future.




Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays


Book Description

Write It Short, Sell It Now Short stories and personal essays have never been hotter--or more crucial for a successful writing career. Earning bylines in magazines and literary journals is a terrific way to get noticed and earn future opportunities in both short- and long-form writing. Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays capitalizes on the popularity of these genres by instructing on the two key steps to publishing short works: crafting excellent pieces and successfully submitting them. You'll learn how to: • Develop different craft elements--including point of view, character, dialogue, scene writing, and more--specifically for short stories and essays. • Recognize the qualities of excellent short works, using examples from recently published stories and essays in major journals. • Understand the business of writing short, from categorizing your work and meeting submission guidelines to networking and submitting to writing contests. • Master the five-step process for submitting and selling like a pro. Featuring advice and examples from a multitude of published authors, Writing & Selling Short Stories & Personal Essays is a must-have for any writer's bookshelf.




Why I Write


Book Description

George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times




DIY MFA


Book Description

Get the Knowledge Without the College! You are a writer. You dream of sharing your words with the world, and you're willing to put in the hard work to achieve success. You may have even considered earning your MFA, but for whatever reason--tuition costs, the time commitment, or other responsibilities--you've never been able to do it. Or maybe you've been looking for a self-guided approach so you don't have to go back to school. This book is for you. DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA--writing, reading, and community--it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers, and publish your work. Inside you'll learn how to: • Set customized goals for writing and learning. • Generate ideas on demand. • Outline your book from beginning to end. • Breathe life into your characters. • Master point of view, voice, dialogue, and more. • Read with a "writer's eye" to emulate the techniques of others. • Network like a pro, get the most out of writing workshops, and submit your work successfully. Writing belongs to everyone--not only those who earn a degree. With DIY MFA, you can take charge of your writing, produce high-quality work, get published, and build a writing career.




The Puttermesser Papers


Book Description

With dashing originality and in prose that sings like an entire choir of sirens, Cynthia Ozick relates the life and times of her most compelling fictional creation. Ruth Puttermesser lives in New York City. Her learning is monumental. Her love life is minimal (she prefers pouring through Plato to romping with married Morris Rappoport). And her fantasies have a disconcerting tendency to come true - with disastrous consequences for what we laughably call "reality." Puttermesser yearns for a daughter and promptly creates one, unassisted, in the form of the first recorded female golem. Laboring in the dusty crevices of the civil service, she dreams of reforming the city - and manages to get herself elected mayor. Puttermesser contemplates the afterlife and is hurtled into it headlong, only to discover that a paradise found is also paradise lost. Overflowing with ideas, lambent with wit, The Puttermesser Papers is a tour de force by one of our most visionary novelists. "The finest achievement of Ozick's career... It has all the buoyant integrity of a Chagall painting." -San Francisco Chronicle "Fanciful, poignant... so intelligent, so finely expressed that, like its main character, it remains endearing, edifying, a spark of light in the gloom." -The New York Times "A crazy delight." -The New York Time Book Review




AP English Literature and Composition Premium, 2025: Prep Book with 8 Practice Tests + Comprehensive Review + Online Practice


Book Description

Be prepared for exam day with Barron’s. Trusted content from AP experts! Barron’s AP English Literature and Composition Premium, 2025 includes in‑depth content review and practice. It’s the only book you’ll need to be prepared for exam day. Written by Experienced Educators Learn from Barron’s‑‑all content is written and reviewed by AP experts Build your understanding with comprehensive review tailored to the most recent exam Get a leg up with tips, strategies, and study advice for exam day‑‑it’s like having a trusted tutor by your side Be Confident on Exam Day Sharpen your test‑taking skills with 8 full‑length practice tests–5 in the book, including a diagnostic test to target your studying, and 3 more online–plus detailed answer explanationsand sample essays Strengthen your knowledge with key advice for answering multiple-choice questions and writing a polished essay Reinforce your learning with practice by tackling dozens of sample questions and mini-workout exercises that cover all units on the AP English Literature and Composition exam Brush up on the literary terms you should know for test day with a clear and comprehensive glossary Robust Online Practice Continue your practice with 3 full‑length practice tests on Barron’s Online Learning Hub Simulate the exam experience with a timed test option Deepen your understanding with detailed answer explanations and expert advice Gain confidence with scoring to check your learning progress




The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction


Book Description

FEATURING ESSAYS FROM: Barrie Jean Borich • Jenny Boully • Norma Elia Cantú • Rigoberto González • Philip Graham • Carol Guess • Jeff Gundy • Robin Hemley • Barbara Hurd • Judith Kitchen •Eric LeMay • Dinah Lenney • Bret Lott • Patrick Madden• Lee Martin • Maggie McKnight • Brenda Miller •Kyle Minor • Aimee Nezhukumatathil • Anne Panning • Lia Purpura • Peggy Shumaker • Sue William Silverman • Jennifer Sinor • Ira Sukrungruang • Nicole Walker Unmatched in its focus on a concise and popular emerging genre, The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Nonfiction features 26 eminent writers, editors, and teachers offering expert analysis, focused exercises, and helpful examples of what make the brief essay form such a perfect medium for experimentation, insight, and illumination. With a comprehensive introduction to the genre and book by editor Dinty W. Moore, this guide is perfect for both the classroom and the individual writer’s desk—an essential handbook for anyone interested in the scintillating and succinct flash nonfiction form. How many words does it take to tell a compelling true story? The answer might surprise you.




The Ballad of the Sad Cafe


Book Description

Mask and Bauble, Georgetown University Theatre presents "Three-in-One," an evening of one-act plays, "The Ballad of the Sad Cafe," Carson McCuller's novella adapted to the stage by Edward Albee, directed by Louis C. Fantasia, assistant director Michael F. Flynn.




Teaching Composition


Book Description