Maggie Hamand, PhD, is a novelist, nonfiction author, journalist, and publisher. She was the winner of the first World One-Day Novel Cup in 1994 with the novel The Resurrection of the Body, which was written in 24 hours and subsequently optioned for film and television. Her novel Virgin & Child was the 2020 Morning Star Book of the Year.

INTRODUCTION 1

PART 1: GETTING STARTED 5

CHAPTER 1: You and Your Writing 7

CHAPTER 2: Getting into the Write Mindset 25

CHAPTER 3: Finding Material to Work With 39

PART 2: INTRODUCING THE ELEMENTS OF CREATIVE WRITING 51

CHAPTER 4: Creating Characters 53

CHAPTER 5: Giving Characters a Voice with Dialogue 67

CHAPTER 6: Choosing a Narrator 81

CHAPTER 7: Describing Your World 95

CHAPTER 8: Plotting Your Way 107

CHAPTER 9: Setting Up a Solid Structure 125

CHAPTER 10: From Drafting to Rewriting and Editing: Making Your Work Shine 141

PART 3: WRITING FICTION 153

CHAPTER 11: When Less is More: Crafting Short Stories 155

CHAPTER 12: Writing the Novel 171

CHAPTER 13: Once Upon a Time: Writing for Children 187

CHAPTER 14: Penning Plays 201

CHAPTER 15: Writing Screenplays 213

CHAPTER 16: Rhymes and Reasons: Writing Poetry 227

PART 4: EXPLORING NONFICTION 239

CHAPTER 17: Breaking into Journalism 241

CHAPTER 18: Writing from Life: Giving a Voice to the Past 255

CHAPTER 19: Crafting Narrative Nonfiction 273

CHAPTER 20: Travel Writing: Tales for Armchair Explorers 285

CHAPTER 21: All About Blogging 293

PART 5: FINDING AN AUDIENCE 301

CHAPTER 22: Finding Professionals to Publish Your Book 303

CHAPTER 23: Staying in Control with Self-Publishing 321

CHAPTER 24: Becoming a Professional 341

PART 6: THE PART OF TENS 357

CHAPTER 25: Ten Top Tips for Writers 359

CHAPTER 26: Ten Ways to Get Noticed 365

INDEX 371