True to life : fifty steps to help you tell your story / Beth Kaplan ; cover illustration, Alanna Cavanaugh.

Format:

• Book

Author/Creator:

• Kaplan, Beth, author.

Contributor:

• Cavanaugh, Alanna, cover designer.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

• Creative writing--Study and teaching.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (240 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Toronto ; New York : BPS Books, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In fifty informative and inspiring steps, Beth Kaplan shows you how to write your story in essay or book form by putting on your writer's hat, then your editor's hat, then digging down to bring out the passionate details of the story, and finally living the writing life. Steps include:* Read Like a Writer* Unleash the "I" Word* Claim Your Truth* Write from Scars, Not Wounds* Enter the MarketplaceEDITORIAL REVIEWS"This book is fabulous: a user-friendly, down-to-earth, accessible guide to writing that simplifies the complex without making it simplistic, taking readers through the mechanics from the initial brainstorm to the final edit."--Wendy Litner, Huffington Post writer, lawyer, writing student"I can't imagine a better distillation of Beth's wisdom and experience than this invaluable companion for writers, presented in clear, thoughtful steps that build on one another. True to Life is the perfect guide for beginners as well as veteran memoirists."--Chris Cameron, writer, editor, writing student"Go ahead, make me famous."--Wayson Choy, writing teacher and renowned author of The Jade Peony, Not Yet: A Memoir of Living and Almost Dying, and other books.

Contents:

• Cover
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• Put on Your Writer's Hat
• 1. Believe in your stories and your right to tell them
• 2. Allow yourself to begin
• 3. Try keeping a journal
• 4. Take note
• 5. Carve out a creative space
• 6. Make time
• 7. Choose your tools
• 8. Grant yourself solitude
• 9. Develop a routine
• 10. Preserve your family stories
• 11. Read like a writer
• 12. Unleash the "I" word
• 13. Stand up to the negative voice
• 14. Complete your baggy first draft
• 15. Make it matter
• 16. Start anywhere
• 17. Unblock
• 18. Check your work for runways
• 19. Break your story into scenes
• 20. Keep it to yourself-for now
• 21. Claim your truth
• 22. Unpack your suitcases
• Put on Your Editor's Hat
• 23. Paint the picture with details
• 24. Develop your ear for dialogue
• 25. Beware of w*r*i*t*i*n*g* and jargon
• 26. Be sparing with adverbs, adjectives, similes, and metaphors
• 27. Avoid clichés and wishy-washy definers
• 28. Leave messages to Western Union
• 29. Pace your writing
• 30. Show, don't tell
• 31. Try out your light voice
• 32. Don't be nice
• 33. Build to a moment of change or reflection
• 34. Check your work for bows
• 35. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite
• 36. Review the rules of grammar
• Dig Down
• 37. Open the doors to the dark and deep
• 38. Determine what your story is really about
• 39. Write from scars, not from wounds
• 40. Be concerned about discretion
• 41. Take your time
• 42. Chart your course from one to ten
• 43. Finish
• The Writing Life
• 44. Join a writers' group or class
• 45. Enter the marketplace
• 46. Consider self-publication
• 47. Forget about money, fame, and bestsellers
• 48. Relish your age
• 49. Cherish your body
• 50. Keep going
• Conclusion
• P.S. More Wayson words
• Information on submitting essays and articles.
• Selected books on writing
• Books About Writing and Creativity
• Books of Essays and Interviews
• Books on Journal Writing
• Books on Writing Technique and Getting Published
• Some recommended memoirs
• Canadian
• Other
• About the Author.

Notes:

• Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed August 31, 2014).

ISBN:

• 1-927483-92-1
• 1-927483-91-3

OCLC:

891400285