Creative Writing for Dummies

Do you have an idea that you're burning to get down on paper? Do you want to document your travels to far-flung places, or write a few stanzas of poetry? Whether you dream of being a novelist, a travel writer, a poet, a playwright or a columnist, Creative Writing For Dummies shows you how to unlock your creativity and choose the genre of writing that suits you best. Walking you through characterisation, setting, dialogue and plot, as well as giving expert insights into both fiction and non-fiction, it's the ideal launching pad to the world of creative writing.

Creative Writing For Dummies covers:

Part I: Getting started

• Chapter 1: Can Everyone Write?
• Chapter 2: Getting into the Write Mind
• Chapter 3: Finding the Material to work with

Part II: The Elements of Creative Writing

• Chapter 4: Creating Characters
• Chapter 5: Discovering Dialogue
• Chapter 6: Who is telling the story?
• Chapter 7: Creating your own world
• Chapter 8: Plotting your way
• Chapter 9: Creating a Structure
• Chapter 10: Rewriting and editing

Part III: Different Kinds of Fiction Writing

• Chapter 11: Short stories
• Chapter 12: Novels
• Chapter 13: Writing for children
• Chapter 14: Plays
• Chapter 15: Screenplays
• Chapter 16: Poetry

Part IV: Different kinds of Non-fiction writing

• Chapter 17: Breaking into journalism - Writing articles/ magazine writing
• Chapter 18: Writing from life and autobiography
• Chapter 19: Embroidering the facts: Narrative non-fiction
• Chapter 20: Exploring the world from your armchair - Travel writing
• Chapter 21: Blogging - the new big thing

Part V: Finding an audience

• Chapter 22: Finding editors/ publishers/ agents
• Chapter 23: Becoming a professional

Part VI: Part of Tens

• Chapter 24: Ten top tips for writers
• Chapter 25: Ten ways to get noticed

Maggie Hamand is a novelist, non-fiction author and journalist. In 1998, Maggie founded the hugely successful Complete Creative Writing Course at the Groucho Club in London, and has been teaching there since: her students have included many published authors. She is the author of two novels, The Resurrection of the Body and The Rocket Man.