Writing with your Muse offers techniques, strategies, tools, tips, and stories to help you tap into creative inspiration. You don’t have to be psychic to be successful with these techniques, although that natural ability exists in all of us, and these techniques will help you develop your sixth sense. There’s even science to back it up. This book will help you if you hear words or see images but find it difficult to get the text on the page, you’ve written and published but are searching for something fresh and different, you have ideas but don’t know how or where to begin, you want to write but have no ideas, or you’re suffering from a bad case of writer's block. “This book is a must for writers searching for new ideas and methods to release their creative energy. Hawkin is refreshingly honest about her own experiences, establishing her expertise with gentle humor and humility. The book is packed with options and ideas to encourage writers to explore their own inner spiritual and creative sides. If writing is a journey, then Hawkin is the perfect guide to its unexplored and untamed reaches: inspiring, forthright, and inventive.” —Marie Powell, Last of the Gifted series “I’m so thankful Hawkin wrote this unique and beautiful writing book. It is, at once, a craft tool and a spiritual journey guided by a skillful, compassionate mentor. Hawkin’s gentle approach to teaching (she's a former academic and teacher) makes this stand out from other writing craft books.”—Sionnach Wintergreen, Men of the Shadows series

Working and would-be writers, photographers, painters, journal keepers, sculptors, musicians, poets, and creative folk in every field will find inspiration and practical suggestions in this joyous book. This complete course in creative expression is based on Jan Phillips' smash "Marry Your Muse" workshops, and was chosen a Ben Franklin Award gold medal winner for 1997. In Part One, the stirring affirmations of The Artist's Creed empower us to become more confident and productive. In Part Two, anecdotes, photographs, quotations to ponder, fun and effective exercises help us discover a deep and satisfying form of self-expression. In Part Three, the heartful stories of working artists inspire us to fall in love with the artist within

Imagine waking up and not dreading looking at yourself in the mirror; no longer standing in front of a packed wardrobe with absolutely nothing to wear. Instead you put on clothes that make you feel gorgeous; eat a breakfast of favourite food that will give you energy for the day; go out confidently into the world without comparing yourself unfavourably to others. In short, you are happy and comfortable inn your own body. You know it’s not perfect, but it’s yours, and you love that person you see in the mirror. Whether you consider yourself a “creative” or not, this book is for you if you are exhausted by diets, exercise plans and weight loss programmes, and have decided it is time to stop letting your poor body image rule your life! Discover THE creative approach that will change the way you live in your body.

If you want to be a better writer, stop focusing on the words and take a good look at your process using this interactive workbook. Writing isn’t a talent, it’s a process with many phases. You may be skilled at some parts and weaker at the others. Whether you’re working on a novel or writing on the job, make the most of your writing time by tuning your process to fit your unique attributes and strengths. Based on the widely-used book The Writer’s Process, this workbook guides you through a deep dive into the inner game of writing, as it happens in your own head. If you loved The Writer’s Process, this workbook will help you internalize its practices with hands-on exercises, planning guides, and commitment sheets. However, the workbook also stands alone as a useful guide for writers at all stages, without the companion book. Explore and refine your writing strengths The Writer’s Process Workbook is filled with simple exercises and self assessments for exploring your tendencies, as well as suggested practices that are easy to add to your writing life. By the time you’ve finished the workbook, you’ll know whether you favor the Muse (creativity and inspiration) or the Scribe (discipline and analytical thought), and how that balance affects your work. You'll learn incubation strategies for boosting creativity, and how to craft a process that leaves room for a state of flow. Working through this book is like getting personalized advice from a supportive and understanding writing coach. No matter where you are in your writing life, you’ll find something to elevate your process or streamline your work. Your most critical writing tool is your own brain. Spend some time with this workbook today and enjoy the benefits in all the writing you do.

Ariosto's correspondence paints a detailed portrait of the world he lived and wrote in. While some letters illuminate his day-to-day life, including his work as a provincial commissioner for the ruling Este family of Ferrara, others shed light on the composition and production of his poems and plays, allowing a glimpse of the man in his creative workshop. Herbal Doctor, a parody of humanism in general and neoplatonic philosophy in particular, may mark a defense of Ariosto's decision to turn away from the philological world of his contemporaries in order to pursue a different kind of learning.

A unique look into the minds and creative processes of contemporary Irish women poets, this book focuses on the transformation of their life experiences into poetry that blends personal identity with national identiry. It assembles many voices around common themes that are emerging to change Irish poetry permanently. Patricia Boyle Haberstroh, whose book Women Creating Women: Contemporary Irish Women Poets was a Choice Outstanding Academic book in 1996, shows in this new work how nine of the most prolific Irish women writers generate their poetry, broadening our understanding of the context of the poems. She pairs each author's verse with a companion (and often autobiographical) prose piece to illuminate the ways in which the poetry expresses the poet's personal experience. As women in a politically and religiously charged, male-dominated genre and country, these poets feel compelled to transcend daily life by articulating against the "norm." In this book, they describe the issues they confronted in their growth as poets and the strategies they developed to translate life into art. In linking these poets—drawn from Northern Ireland and England as well as the Republic of Ireland—Haberstroh throws into relief the characteristics that define their unique, individual subjects, themes, and styles.

'Poetry is what gets lost in translation.' --Robert Frost Giving voice to ''what gets lost in translation'' is the challenge every poet faces. With The Everything Writing Poetry Book, that challenge just got easier. Featuring examples from works of celebrated poets and instruction on communicating your ideas, this clear and accessible reference helps you gain confidence as you find your own voice. Written by a team who each hold a master’s degree and teach creative writing and literature, this easy-to-follow guide has all you need to take your work to the next level. With this handy guide, you will learn to: Create meter and rhyme Express your innermost thoughts Use imagery and metaphor Polish your word play Find your own rhythm Work with other writers and more The Everything Writing Poetry Book helps you make the most of this rewarding craft - whether you’re a fledgling poet or a seasoned wordsmith.

I’m in a fake relationship with my celebrity crush. How did I wind up in a real-life romance trope? When too much tequila and an enabling BFF put my newest and oh-so-spicy romance novel into the hands of its inspiration, sexy British actor Tom Morrison, I’m horrified (because hello complete stranger, I thought of you while writing these smexy scenes, now excuse me while I spontaneously combust from embarrassment). I need to get the book back before Tom takes out a restraining order on me—or worse, reads the book out loud on social media. Except that’s not what happens. Thanks to a strategic lie and an Oscar-winning knight I’m now pretending to be Tom’s girlfriend while we get his dream project made. Somehow, my screwball plan landed me in the middle of my very own Cinderella story, Hollywood style. Even better, I have a shot at a real life HEA with a gorgeous, hilarious man who thinks I’m amazing… …so why do I get the feeling that disaster is about to strike?

Bestselling author Robert Masello guides working and aspiring writers alike with the hard-won advice, tricks of the trade, and indispensable encouragement that only a seasoned professional can provide. Although there’s no shortage of books on writing and publishing, there’s none quite like Robert’s Rules of Writing: 111 Unconventional Lessons Every Writer Needs to Know. Drawing on his many years of experience as an award-winning journalist, TV writer, and the author of over twenty books published by mainstream houses and translated, to date, into nineteen languages, Robert Masello addresses all the issues that confront, and all the problems that beset, writers of all stripes. Whether you’re working on a novel or a script, a memoir or a blog, an epic poem or a newspaper piece, you’re going to have to find the best way to express yourself clearly, persuasively, and entertainingly. You’ll have to find your own personal voice (much harder than it sounds) and use that unique voice to convey your story, your thoughts, and your opinions, to the many readers out there that you’re eager to reach; with complete candor and welcome irreverence, Robert’s Rules of Writing offers the inside knowledge that will help you do just that. As provocative as they are amusing, these rules are purposely designed to challenge the old axioms and get you thinking afresh about your work. In well over a hundred short but pithy takes, Masello guides you over hurdles, around obstacles, and through the seemingly insurmountable barriers to completion and ultimately publication—hooray!—of your writing. It’s a lively, thought-provoking, and often downright funny addition to any veteran, or fledgling, writer’s shelf.