Amazon.com: Story Starters: How to Jump-Start Your Imagination, Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, and Start Writing Your Story or Novel (9780380795529): Lou Willett Stanek: Books

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Story Starters: How to Jump-Start Your Imagination, Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, and Start Writing Your Story or Novel
 
 
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Story Starters: How to Jump-Start Your Imagination, Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, and Start Writing Your Story or Novel [Paperback]

Lou Willett Stanek (Author)
3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Book Description

April 1, 1998
What If . . .
. . . every classmate passed the bar exam -- except one?
. . . the killer left a calling card -- the ace of spades?
. . . she was a sleeping beauty --
but it wasn't prince's kiss that woke her up?
. . .he had history of obsessive behavior--
and then he developed a passion for. . .

Thousands of Stories Are Just Waiting to be Told -- By You

If you have the passion and energy to write fiction, but have trouble finding an idea and getting started, this is the perfect book for you. Lou Willett Stanek has helped scores of new authors in her acclaimed writing workshops--and now she shows you how to look and listen, how to find stories and begin shaping them like a writer.

Here's how to find inspiration from neighbors and strangers, reshape classic tales, cull current events and use other tricks of the writing trade so effectively you'll soon find yourself brimming with ideas, your imagination revved to its full potential. Begin with a snippet of overheard conversation, an unexpected event, a simple character trait, a place, a problem--Ms. Stanek teaches you to get past "what really happened" and reinvent reality in ways that will astound and delight you, and hold a reader's attention.

Here too are hundreds of "what-ifs," simple situations you can guide to endlessly different conclusions--and use to learn new ways to fashion plot, describe character, develop conflict, paint with language, create a setting, employ flashbacks, build suspense, and much, much more. For every writer who could use a jump-start, from novice to pro, here is a book that will help you keep the faith and. . .

Get Started!


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lou Willett Stanek, a novelist, critic, and teacher, practices what she preaches. She bases her workshops on the theory described in this book. Dr. Stanek earned a Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, an M.A. at Northwestern, and a B.A. from Eastern Illinois University. She also served as a trustee at Millikin University. A Midwesterner, Dr. Stanek now lives in New York and teaches writing at The New School of Social Research.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Avon (April 1, 1998)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0380795523
  • ISBN-13: 978-0380795529
  • Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,597,150 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.2 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Kiss your writer's block good-bye forever!, May 2, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Story Starters: How to Jump-Start Your Imagination, Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, and Start Writing Your Story or Novel (Paperback)
Anyone who has ever suffered from writer's block should rush out and pick up a copy of "Story Starters" today. This useful volume includes hundreds of suggestions for stories in every conceivable category to help get you over the hump. Each chapter addresses a different type of story, from age old themes to stories pulled from the headlines, then shows the writer how to look at familiar concepts in order to use them for inspiration. I loved this book because it not only makes you anxious to hit the typewriter, but it shows you how easy it can be to draw plot ideas from your everyday life. Ms Stanek also includes pertinent lessons that answer questions you might have regarding technical aspects of different genres. For instance, the chapter on writing based on memories discusses the use of flashback as a literary tool. The book is filled with examples from a wide range of fiction and the story starters themselves are so numerous, the most prolific writer would be hard pressed to work his way through them all. I recommend this book whole-heartedly to all writers everywhere.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Have a big bucket ready to catch your story ideas...!, January 9, 2001
This review is from: Story Starters: How to Jump-Start Your Imagination, Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, and Start Writing Your Story or Novel (Paperback)
I picked this book up and flipped it open at random, then started chuckling at how corny the ideas were. How could anybody write a story based on a fairy tale? Based on the Bible? Hasn't it all been done?

But then the ideas started flooding into my mind. I literally cannot read this book on the subway anymore because I can't get my notebook out in time to record all the story concepts this book triggers one after another.

The key, I've found, is not taking Stanek's suggestions literally, but allowing your mind to free-associate. Yes, the ideas may be corny, but they all work. I'm convinced there are trillions of stories in this tiny paperback book, just waiting for you, the author, to let them out.

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Shows you how to find amazing stories in the simplest places, November 5, 2001
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This review is from: Story Starters: How to Jump-Start Your Imagination, Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, and Start Writing Your Story or Novel (Paperback)
I have read several of this "creative writing books", and believe me, a lot of them are not worth the plastic they come wrapped in. This is definitely NOT the case.

The author instructs you in simple yet effective techniques to set your creative genius on the loose. After you read the book and apply some of the ideas in it you will start to see that there is a potential story in almost every event, object or person that you encounter, just need to add a little imagination and you have your story.

The best part is that the author has quite some experience on teaching and educating aspiring writers, so the book is structured in a very didactic, simple and solid way. You can even read it orderly or just concentrating on the parts that you're interested, and still get the whole idea of each chapter.

Among other things she shows you how to get a story from everyday objects, how to get a story from events, how to help shape your character through action rather than pure description, etc.

As I told you before, I have lost quite a load of money on useless creative writing books, and I can tell you: THIS IS A MUST HAVE, perfect for us writing newbies that keep looking around for the perfect story to tell.

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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
With my publisher's blessing, I am pleased to offer a life gift certificate to all readers of Story Starters. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
day your character, story starters
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Don Quixote, Bailey Island, Hong Kong, Wall Street, Belle Starr, Blue Grass, Boy Scout, King Lear, New School
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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