Overcome your fear of the blank page and examine a wealth of strategies and techniques for writing captivating, moving fiction. First, plunge into several centuries of short stories in the American tradition, looking at how to write them, how to read them, and how to appreciate their profound cultural influence in Great American Short Stories: A Guide for Writers and Readers. Then, enjoy a master class in storytelling that covers everything from evoking scenes to charting plots to selecting points of view in Writing Great Fiction: Storytelling Tips and Techniques.
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Whether you want to write short stories, simply want better insight as a reader, or even if you are looking for a new lens through which to view American history, the 24 rich and informative lectures of Great American Short Stories: A Guide for Writers and Readers will show you the ins and outs of this infinitely adaptable—and intrinsically American—literary form.
A Comprehensive Overview
There's much more to our nation's best-selling books than the enormous sales figures they rake in. They also provide us with unique ways to appreciate and understand American culture. Great American Bestsellers: The Books That Shaped America is a pointed 24-lecture tour of key best-selling works in the history of U.S. literature and what they reveal about the cultural climate of our nation at particular points in its history. Guided by award-winning Professor Peter Conn, you read between the lines of bestsellers including Common Sense, Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Grapes of Wrath, and How to Win Friends and Influence People, as well as recent works by the authors who dominate the modern publishing industry.
In the 24 lectures of Rise of the Novel, you will take a journey from the birth of the novel to the height of the form in the mid-19th century—and better understand what this literary form can tell us about human nature and our unquenchable thirst for great stories. With Professor Emeritus Leo Damrosch of Harvard University as your guide, you will dive into some of the most notable works that helped create and shape the novel over the course of more than three centuries.
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