Yours to Tell: Dialogues on the Art & Practice of Writing

In this engaging journal of dialogues, professional writers Steve and Melanie Tem have recorded versions of their presentations at writers’ workshops of the basics and fine points that are key to this expressive form. Beginning with the query of why one writes, the pair continue to bat the question back and forth, looking at alternative views until the reader is roused to engage in the discussion. The following fourteen sections cover plot, theme, revision, publication, character, marketing, and much more of interest to the neophyte. Writers not only must practice writing in the various genres, but they also should continually read all styles of communication. References to the classics, the authors’ own publications, and current writers are used to illustrate instructional points. Look at how stories begin, how the first sentence grabs attention and the content flows from this entry. Learn how ideas and themes are generated, how characters are fleshed out, and how to approach short stories, whose structures differ from novels’. Try a story and transmute the basic tale into different genres such as romance, science fiction, horror, travel, history, and more. The recorded discourse between the two authors serves as a rich resource for writers and is further embellished with suggested reading lists and reference works.