Writing

This volume looks at writing from the perspective of agents, editors, and publishers. It begins with a Q&A segment that spells out how to secure an agent. Moderated by agent Betsy Amster, the panel-BJ Robbins, Julie Barer, and Elyse Cheney-fields questions including What do you like to see in a query letter? and What is a good way to find the right agent? A panel featuring editors Ann Close and Joy Johannesson and publisher Michael Pietsch concludes the program. Questions in this segment range from the general-What makes a book sell?-to the very specific: How do you determine the advance amount an author receives? (99 minutes)

Cerebellum Teaching Systems are simply the most effective method for students to learn and for teachers to teach. This innovative system covers the topics in a fun, fast-paced, and engaging manner. Each module includes a video program along with a digital workbook filled with teacher’s guides, classroom notes, quizzes, games, and discussion questions. The subject matter correlates directly to state standards and is produced and designed by the Cerebellum Academic Team of professional scriptwriters, students, professors, actors, comedians, and teachers. AP English Language & Composition Exam Prep This one-of-a-kind AP* video tutorial enables teachers to review essential foundations of English rhetoric to prepare students for collegiate English courses. This program encourages students to use critical thinking skills, improve writing techniques, and develop analysis skills for the AP* exam.

In the world of literature, weak plots are lamentable, but weak characters are fatal. You've got to be involved with them," says Vikram Seth. "You can't find them boring. If you find them boring, forget it." Gathering the insights of Seth, Dorothy Dunnett, Emma Tom, Neal Drinnan, Claire Messud, and other experienced authors, this program spells out the essentials of characterization, from creating realistic dialogue to developing a character's personality. The pros and cons of basing a character on a real person are weighed as well. (27 minutes)"

This volume concentrates on successful storytelling. In a talk called Scene, Summary, Silence," writer/educator Al Young tells how to engage readers and keep a story moving by creating believable narrative and maintaining a balance between scene and summary. A panel discussion moderated by Mark Childress follows, in which authors Olga Carlisle, James Brown, Lynn Freed, and Al Young examine the influence of their birthplaces on their work. With honesty and humor they answer questions including Do you think you'd be a writer if you came from another place in the world? and What impact did leaving your birthplaces have on your writing? (111 minutes)"

After the pen and paper have been gathered, what comes next? In this program, Fay Weldon, Janet Evanovich, Richard Ford, Amit Chaudhuri, Isobelle Carmody, and other highly regarded authors share their approaches to launching a story. From how to jumpstart the imagination to deciding whether to write for a specific market, these writers candidly speak their minds-even about the dreaded writer's block. If you stop [writing] and start artistically contemplating how desolate you are at stopping, of course you're going to come to a writer's block," says Carmody. (27 minutes)"

She was the sort of woman who spared neither herself nor others-and arguably qualifies as 20th-century France's greatest femme de lettres. In this interview, the late novelist and filmmaker talks openly about the hardship and the romance of her childhood in French Indochina, sharing how this period haunted her life and shaped her work. Excerpts from her films and readings from her books by actress Elizabeth Rider and Duras herself-including The Lover, winner of the Prix Goncourt and translated into more than forty languages-bring to life those formative years in Vietnam. (52 minutes)

4-part series, 25-26 minutes each.

Mary Peplow and Debra Shipley write guidebooks. In this program, they describe different ways in which they accumulate information for their projects and how they select from their research, edit, and shape it. The program is based on their writing for London: The Good Tour Guide, and focuses in detail on the research, collection, and writing up of information for a tour around a Ford automobile factory and a trip over London in a helicopter. (26 minutes)

Ex-Monty Python member Terry Jones writes a weekly piece for the Input" column of the Young Guardian, in which he argues a case for something he feels strongly about. Terry describes how he gets ideas and goes about the process of research and writing. Terry illustrates how he tries to find an unusual angle to writing an argument and compares different approaches. (26 minutes)"

Jaci Stephen is the television reviewer of the Evening Standard. She moves through the world of television in numerous ways-at launches and previews, inside television companies, and sitting at home watching programs. She describes how she goes about writing, the problems posed by different genres, and the restrictions placed upon her writing by the nature of her audience-the readers of a family newspaper. The program uses her review of a comedy show to demonstrate the process of writing a review. (25 minutes)

In this program, the widely-respected press and television journalist John Pilger introduces ideas about reporting. He describes his basic training, and some of the editorial constraints on his writing. He advocates principles of simplicity, truthfulness, meticulous checking of facts, and steadfastness in the face of powerful censors. He gives examples of brave reporting by V. H. Russell (of the Crimean War) and W. S. Pritchett (of the Second World War); he admonishes contemporary newspapers, with examples from the tabloid press, for having abandoned what he sees as true journalistic principles, and presents other examples of what he considers appropriate and praiseworthy reporting. (25 minutes)

In this volume, Amy Tan gives a talk called Serendipity, the Muse, and Divine Intervention." Using examples from The One Hundred Secret Senses, she explores the role that these elements played in the development of her work. This volume also features a lively panel discussion in which authors Amy Tan and Richard Ford and editors Will Allison, Alan Cheuse, and Andrew Tonkovich field questions posed by moderator Stephen Kochand and members of the audience. Questions include What are the best markets for emerging fiction writers?, Are there trends to follow or avoid?, and What role does the editor play in selecting content for various publications? (91 minutes)"

In segment one of this volume, authors Mark Childress, Janet Fitch, and Glen David Gold read and talk about their previously unpublished works. In the second segment, Conversations," Oakley Hall-founder of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, author of 24 novels, and former writing teacher-presents 15 tips that every writer needs to know, beginning with Write every day, Observe and listen, Employ all the senses, and Use strong verbs. (127 minutes)"

Cerebellum Teaching Systems are simply the most effective method for students to learn and for teachers to teach. This innovative system covers the topics in a fun, fast-paced, and engaging manner. Each module includes a video program along with a digital workbook filled with teacher’s guides, classroom notes, quizzes, games, and discussion questions. The subject matter correlates directly to state standards and is produced and designed by the Cerebellum Academic Team of professional scriptwriters, students, professors, actors, comedians, and teachers. Cerebellum programs are entertaining and educational learning supplements that have been recommended by thousands of teachers, administrators, librarians, and professionals. Cerebellum has been a leader in the Educational DVD market since 1993, producing over 1,000 hours of educational media. As a winner of 20 Telly Awards – one of the most sought after awards in the TV, commercial and video industry – Cerebellum has received much critical acclaim for our innovative approach to learning. English Composition This program lays the foundation in analyzing, outlining and composing for any level writer. Students will develop a writing appreciation by examining variety of disciplines, gathering information, identifying the audience, revising and formulating a persuasive essay. Your class will evolve into skilled writers with the ability to compose for a variety of purposes.

Show your students how to stop dabbling and start publishing with this professional-caliber how-to guide to unleashing the inner writer! Covering novels, short stories, memoirs, screenplays, and stage plays, The Aspiring Writer's Collection is one series that all serious writers should have access to. It's packed with advice from agents, editors, publishers, and some of the most significant authors of our times-individuals who live the business of writing every day. Exclusively from Films for the Humanities & Sciences. 9-part series, 48-127 minutes each.