I can’t remember a time in my life without stories in it. I grew up in an English/Italian family where everyone’s tales about their lives captured my imagination. Books also opened a window into the wonderful world of stories and my ambition to be a writer was born. I decided to write for children in 1971 after our son was born. Ten years of rejections later, my author dream came true and my first picture book was published. It was a stranger danger story that attracted some publicity, which led to invitations to speak at schools. Inspiring children to go on their own story writing adventure has become one of my greatest joys.
Writing stories is like having an adventure. Your imagination can take you anywhere. Yet not every kid finds story writing easy. Sometimes getting started can feel too hard. Making it to the end can look impossible.
Just Write can help to kick-start the process. Find out how to come up with ideas, create interesting characters, paint word pictures, and more in this easy-to-follow guide full of activities and helpful examples. Presented in a friendly, conversational style by a multi-published children’s author, it offers a simple process for children to turn ‘I can’t write stories’ into ‘I can be a writer.’
This book sparked my imagination. I loved the fantasy element that delivered amazing experiences to five ordinary children, and many years later when it came to writing my own novels for young readers, I found myself writing my own quirky adventures where remarkable things happen in a world that otherwise appears to be as we know it.
Edith Nesbit was inspired by her own five children to write this enchanting novel, and its warm and funny portrayal of a magical childhood has ensured its presence in print ever since.
Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautiful gift editions of much loved classic titles. Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. This illustrated edition of Five Children and It features the drawings of H. R. Millar, and an afterword by writer, critic and broadcaster Nicolette Jones.
Whilst out playing in the countryside, five children come across a…
I came across Anne Frank’s diary when I was a little younger than she was when she began writing it. It had a powerful impact on me because it was a true story that offered an insight into the heart and mind of a girl close to my own age who had not survived the Holocaust. It showed me that personal experiences written in an authentic voice are an important part of our storytelling culture. They have the power to change readers’ thinking and develop empathy. Like Anne, I wanted to become a published author, but at the time I had no idea so much of my writing life would be spent focusing on fact rather than fiction.
The Diary of Anne Frank by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
"This Drama Play is a wonderful addition to anyone who has a passion for Anne Frank related reading. A dramatization for the stage and ready for anyone, including schools, to use."
My high school English teacher introduced me to the work of science fiction writer John Wyndham when I was in my mid-teens and I promptly read every title by this author and found a new favourite genre. Along with encouraging me to read outside my usual choices, this teacher gave me some invaluable writing advice after I handed in a short story: "Continue to write in this light-hearted vein and you will do well." Unfortunately, it took me a while to follow it and I spent quite a few years trying unsuccessfully to write serious literary fiction.
In the community of Waknut it is believed mutants are the products of the Devil and must be stamped out. When David befriends a girl with a slight abnormality, he begins to understand the nature of fear and oppression. When he develops his own deviation, he must learn to conceal his secret.
Natalie Goldberg is an internationally acclaimed teacher of writing and Zen practice and her autobiography Long Quiet Highway resonated deeply with me. I’ve considered myself a spiritual seeker since the age of 13 and knew from much earlier that writing is an intrinsic part of my creative expression. Yet I had never considered these two important aspects of my life together. After I read this book, my workshop presentations for adults took a different direction where I was no longer teaching what I knew but sharing a learning experience together.
A moving memoir of a journey of self-discovery through Zen Buddhism In this autobiographical work, Natalie Goldberg takes us on a journey from her suburban childhood to her maturation as a writer. From the high-school classroom where she first listened to the rain, to her fifteen years as a student of Zen Buddhism, Natalie Goldberg’s path is by turns illuminating, disciplined, heartbreaking, hilarious, and healing. Along the way she reflects on her life and work in prose that is both elegant and precise, reminding the reader of what it means to be fully alive. This ebook features an illustrated biography…
My daughter lent me this book at a time when I was in a creative slump. For years I had been earning my living writing for newspapers and magazines and publishing books, poems, and stories for children. Suddenly I felt I had nothing more to say, that my writing life might be over. I didn’t know who I was if I wasn’t a writer. Cameron’s book offered a different perspective on creativity. I began to follow her program without any real expectation of results. Soon after beginning to produce the daily handwritten morning pages and explore the thoughts and feelings I had around writing, something shifted in me. The ideas and words began to flow again. Would I have continued to write without it? I don’t know. I do know the program is effective and have continued to add further Julia Cameron titles to my bookcase.
"With its gentle affirmations, inspirational quotes, fill-in-the-blank lists and tasks — write yourself a thank-you letter, describe yourself at 80, for example — The Artist’s Way proposes an egalitarian view of creativity: Everyone’s got it."—The New York Times
"Morning Pages have become a household name, a shorthand for unlocking your creative potential"—Vogue
Over four million copies sold!
Since its first publication, The Artist's Way phenomena has inspired the genius of Elizabeth Gilbert and millions of readers to embark on a creative journey and find a deeper connection to process and purpose. Julia Cameron's novel approach guides readers in uncovering problems…
Me and The Times offers a fresh perspective on those pre-internet days when the Sunday sections of The New York Times shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation. Starting in 1967, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections over 30 years, innovating and troublemaking all the way.
His memoir is rich in anecdotes and admissions. At The Times, Jan Morris threw a manuscript at him, he shared an embarrassing moment with Jacqueline Kennedy, and he got the paper sued for $1 million. Along the way, Rod Laver challenged Stock to a tennis match, he played a clarinet duet with superstar Richard Stoltzman, and he shared a Mafia-spiced brunch with Jerry Orbach.
Me and The Times: My wild ride from elevator operator to New York Times editor, columnist, and change agent (1967-97)
An intimate, unvarnished look at the making of the Sunday sections of The New York Times in their pre-internet heyday, back when they shaped the country’s political and cultural conversation.
Over 30 years, Robert Stock edited seven of those sections, innovating, and troublemaking all the way – getting the paper sued for $1 million, locking horns with legendary editors Abe Rosenthal and Max Frankel, and publishing articles that sent the publisher Punch Sulzberger up the wall.
On one level, his memoir tracks Stock’s amazing career from his elevator job at Bonwit Teller to his accidental entry into journalism to his…
