Catalog Search Results
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
From complicated clients to lusty love interests, from sprightly sidekick to detail-oriented detectives, women have always played a role in mystery and suspense fiction. Professor Schmid introduces you to female detectives in literature through time and examines how even at the earliest stages, the figure of the female detective assumed a wide variety of types to appeal to different audiences.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Using a proprietary system of his own invention, Mr. Bell introduces you to the foundational principles of a successful novel: LOCK (Lead, Objective, Confrontation, Knockout). He demonstrates how famous authors such as Stephen King, David Baldacci, and others utilize these fundamental elements. Plus, review the five types of endings and discover the pros and cons of each.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Examine the pros and cons to using literary agents, and learn how the responsibilities and obligations of literary agents have evolved. Learn about how to acquire one, what to expect from an agent, and what standard and non-standard practices you may encounter if you choose to go that route..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
From the Greek “lyre,” a lyric poem expresses a writer’s thoughts and feelings through the intimacy of the first-person narrator, evoking a strong emotional reaction in the audience. Professor Cognard-Black demonstrates the similarities between a lyric poem and a lyric essay and shares a moving example of a lyric piece written by one of her own students that uses memory fragments and figurative language to synthesize experience into a kind of...
65) Detecting Clues
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
The clue is so imperative to the successful mystery story that there are few elements more subject to rules and regulations. Yet for all the requirements around how, when, and why to present clues, this narrative element is highly subjective. In this lecture, you’ll learn how clues are used to help, hinder, mislead, and solve mysteries, for both the characters and the audience.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
Professor Cognard-Black introduces you to artistic proofs, which are grounded in your expertise and colored by your own observations and experiences. The most important artistic proof in any essay is ethos—the writer’s ethical appeal or credibility. She demonstrates how to effectively use ethos along with logos or rationality to bring reasonableness into your essays, which vital to writing effectively. You’ll examine the work of a pair of writers...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2014.
Language
English
Description
While first-person narration is an effective way to tell a story, third-person narration offers a wonderful range and flexibility, and allows you to dive just as deeply into your characters' heads - if not more deeply - than the first-person perspective. Survey the spectrum of third-person voices, from the objective and external to the interior stream of consciousness.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Mr. Bell introduces the five functions of dialogue and breaks down the importance of vocabulary, syntax, and specifics like regionalism to help build the character. Examine examples from Margaret Mitchell, John Howard Lawson, Charles Webb, and others. Explore the importance of subtext, or what is underneath the words, and how it can suggest secrets, fears, memories, yearnings, or hopes.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Delve into the science fiction-based worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin, who approaches various situations with an open mind, drawing upon disciplines like physics, anthropology, and fine arts. She builds worlds in which people attempt all kinds of strategies of governance. Discover how Le Guin uses sci-fi and utopia to explore LGBTQ issues with the intent to change our views on gender and sexuality.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Shift your attention from rural American utopias to explore from a different perspective: Victorian anxieties about technology and the vanishing frontier. Analyze these fears in Samuel Butler's Erewhon, which utilizes utopian conventions and heavy doses of satire to critique religion, health, education, and humanity's increasingly complex relationship to machines.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Mr. Bell unpacks the most important parts of a book proposal that you would send to an agent or a publisher (query, synopsis, and sample chapters) by defining each and breaking down what you should and shouldn’t do. He also gives invaluable advice on what to look for in an agent, how to negotiate a contract, the importance of copyrights, and the most important component: getting paid.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Femininity is once again examined, this time with a focus on the roles women play in stories. Dr. Harvey shares a combined version of "Rapunzel," pulling from Grimm's German version and Basile's Italian version. Looking at the triad of Maiden/Mother/Crone and Warrior/Father/Sage, Dr. Harvey shows how stories reduce and distill all our life experiences into simple symbols.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
The query letter is your first impression and often what catches an agent or publisher’s attention, so it’s important to create a memorable one. Learn what elements comprise a good query letter, what components the publisher or agent requires, and how to stand out from a sea of queries so your book gets further consideration. Find out which red flags almost always result in immediate rejection..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
To help keep your essays from becoming overly sentimental, Professor Cognard-Black discusses pitfalls for writers to avoid. You’ll be introduced to three examples of what rhetorical theorists call logical fallacies and then take on the challenge of an assignment that brings together emotional appeals with rational ones to achieve credibility, empathy, and candor. You’ll examine Naomi Shihab Nye’s ability to blend rational argument with compassionate...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2015.
Language
English
Description
Once you’ve nailed a query letter, you will need to provide a synopsis. Condensing your entire story into a one-page overview while still keeping it compelling and intriguing is not easy. Get valuable tips on what a synopsis should and should not contain, and learn what your synopsis needs to focus on and accomplish to be successful..
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Dr. Harvey jumps into the 20th century to demonstrate how Tall Tales reinforce the ideals of the cultures where they were born. After sharing the stories of "Pecos Bill," "Katy Goodgrit" and "Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox," Dr. Harvey delves into how ballads and folksongs served as a voice from those who couldn't speak. She presents "The Ballad of John Henry" and "The Ballad of Casey Jones."
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Dive into the writing styles of “pantsers” versus “plotters” and get a better understanding of whether you want to aim for a plot-driven or a character-driven story. And using the writings of John Grisham, Ernest Hemingway, Lee Child, and others, evaluate the traditional mythical structure of a three-act story.
78) A Children’s Guide to Folklore and Wonder Tales: Episode 6,Cinderella II: Baba Yaga and Goddesses
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
With the French and Italian versions of "Cinderella," Dr. Harvey presented a classic "rise" tale, but "Cinderella" is the one of the world's oldest "magic tales" with many versions, interpretations, and morals. Vasilisa the Fair" follows the traditional "Cinderella" story, but with many twists and offers the idea that there can be ambiguity in folklore characters.
79) Humor Essays
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2016.
Language
English
Description
One of the most surprising insights into humor essays is the revelation that most humor comes from misfortune. This idea has been around for centuries, as even Aristotle noted that laughing at tragedy is cathartic for both the writer and the audience. You’ll delve into how self-deprecating humor lends itself to creating ethos or credibility in this particular form of essay. Professor Cognard-Black provides a treasure trove of humorists to study,...
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2020.
Language
English
Description
Mickey Spillane noted, “The first chapter sells the book. The last chapter sells the next book.” Mr. Bell has already provided the tools to get your reader hooked with the first chapter, and potentially the first line! Now, he provides the five strategies that will help you end your book in a way that gets your reader craving your next title.
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