Fiction Unboxed

Part hero's journey, part crash course in storytelling by the modern mavericks of indie publishing, and the bestselling authors of Write. Publish. Repeat., Fiction Unboxed offers something that's never been offered before: a naked look into two writer's process, as they wrote and published a book in 30 days, from scratch, in front of the world. In 2013 Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant wrote and published 1.5 million words (a Harry Potter series and a half worth of fiction). The next year they showed the world how they did it. In May 2014, Johnny and Sean, along with their third partner David Wright, launched a Kickstarter campaign to see if their fans wanted to see how they wrote behind closed doors. They promised to start their newest project without knowing their story, characters, or even their genre, and publish the final draft before their 30 days were up. They promised to capture every email, every story meeting, and every word from every draft. They promised to show every molecule of their process, warts and all. They had 30 days for their fans to green light the campaign. It fully funded in 11 hours. Fiction Unboxed is as revealing as it is inspiring, empowering readers and writers as much as it will entertain them. With actionable advice that will benefit any writer, this book is a true gem for anyone who loves a well told story.

A stunning novella by a hot new talent in YA, in a gorgeous collectable edition. A brilliantly diverse cast of characters face heartbreak and home truths as they return to their old school and discover no one can ever truly go back. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 13+

An in-depth exploration of the experience of playing board games and how game designers shape that experience. In Unboxed, Gordon Calleja explores the experience of playing board games and how game designers shape that experience. Calleja examines key aspects of board game experience—the nature of play, attention, rules, sociality, imagination, narrative, materiality, and immersion—to offer a theory of board game experience and a model for understanding game involvement that is relevant to the analysis, criticism, and design of board games. Drawing on interviews with thirty-two leading board game designers and critics, Calleja—himself a board game designer—provides the set of conceptual tools that board game design has thus far lacked. After considering different conceptions of play, Calleja discusses the nature and role of attention and goes on to outline the key forms of involvement that make up the board game playing experience. In subsequent chapters, Calleja explores each of these forms of involvement, considering both the experience itself and the design considerations that bring it into being. Calleja brings this analysis together in a chapter that maps how these forms of involvement come together in the moment of gameplay, and how their combination shapes the flow of player affect. By tracing the processes by which players experience these moments of rule-mediated, imagination-fueled sociality, Calleja helps us understand the richness of the gameplay experience packed into the humble board game box.

Capture the minds, hearts, and imaginations of 21st century readers! Whether you're a commercial storyteller or a literary novelist, whether your goal is to write a best-selling novel or captivate readers with a satisfying, beautifully written story, the key to success is the same: high-impact fiction. Writing 21st Century Fiction will help you write a novel for today's readers and market, filled with rich characters, compelling plots, and resonant themes. Author and literary agent Donald Maass shows you how to: • Create fiction that transcends genre, conjures characters who look and feel more "real" than real people, and shows readers the work around them in new ways. • Infuse every page with an electric current of emotional appeal and micro-tension. • Harness the power of parallels, symbols, metaphors, and more to illuminate your novel in a lasting way. • Develop a personalized method of writing that works for you. With an arsenal of thought-provoking prompts and questions, plus plenty of examples from best-selling titles, Writing 21st Century Fiction will strip away your preconceived notions about writing in today's world and give you the essential tools you need to create fiction that will leave both readers and critics in awe.

So. You've self-published. You've written some books, but they're not selling as well as you hoped. Or maybe you sold well in the beginning but your sales have slipped and you don't know what to do. You've tried advertising, but you don't think you're very good at it. Or maybe your books just suck. Or maybe the algorithms hate you, or it's because some troll gave you a one-star review. At any rate, you're struggling. You're too busy doing stuff that probably doesn't matter, but you can't see what or how to cut. This book is for you! Indie Writer Unboxed follows four hypothetical writers from the same online writing community on their journey, with challenges they face and steps they take to overcome them. As reader with some self-publishing experience, you're sure to find something in common with one of them: Tom, the semi-retired chemist who looks after his ill wife, Jack, who has lots of small dabbles at many different things, including having sold some books to a traditional press, Emily, who writes lots and lots of books but feels burnt out, and Lucy, a stay-at-home mother with a husband who really doesn't "get" her desire to write. This is not a how-to book, and it's not a book that shows you how to (or claims that you will surely) make squillions. It's a book about the range of realities that the vast majority of writers will find themselves in after the initial glow of publishing has worn off. It's a book about how to adapt, how to change your mindset, and how to be happy.

Engage Your Readers with Emotion While writers might disagree over showing versus telling or plotting versus pantsing, none would argue this: If you want to write strong fiction, you must make your readers feel. The reader's experience must be an emotional journey of its own, one as involving as your characters' struggles, discoveries, and triumphs are for you. That's where The Emotional Craft of Fiction comes in. Veteran literary agent and expert fiction instructor Donald Maass shows you how to use story to provoke a visceral and emotional experience in readers. Topics covered include: • emotional modes of writing • beyond showing versus telling • your story's emotional world • moral stakes • connecting the inner and outer journeys • plot as emotional opportunities • invoking higher emotions, symbols, and emotional language • cascading change • story as emotional mirror • positive spirit and magnanimous writing • the hidden current that makes stories move Readers can simply read a novel...or they can experience it. The Emotional Craft of Fiction shows you how to make that happen.

Greg Zipper is a paranormal vlogger whose livelihood relies on his online popularity. When a fight between him and his girlfriend goes viral for all the wrong reasons, Greg purchases a dark web mystery box in hopes of restoring his audience's faith in him and hitting one million subscribers. But when Greg opens the box, he gets much more than he bargained for, including a Boxer who's determined to stop him from taking his loved ones for granted. Now Greg must do all he can to stop the Boxer, or else he'll lose his livelihood--along with the woman he loves.

How did Lev Calder move from an unwillingly escaped Tithe to a clapper? In this revealing short story, Neal Shusterman opens a window on Lev’s adventures between the time he left CyFi and showed up at the Graveyard. Pulling elements from Neal Shusterman’s critically acclaimed Unwind and giving hints about what is to come in the riveting sequel, UnWholly, this short story is not to be missed.