How many times have you watched a popular movie and thought, "I'd like to write something like that," or "Even I can write better dialogue!" Here's your chance to learn how to write a novel...by watching movies like "Speed," "The Sixth Sense," "Clueless," "Die Hard," "While You Were Sleeping," and more! For the first time, a professional writing instructor and movie buff will take you through the steps necessary to craft your own commercial novel using techniques found in your favorite films. What can Hollywood's biggest features teach you about writing? How to watch movies with a writer's eye. Infusing character traits into scenes and plots. Using material goals to show internal motivation. Techniques for making scenes do double duty, including foreshadowing and flashback. What is a credibility gap, and how you should bridge it. Plus: Three 'tricks' for fixing holes in your plot, characters or anything else in your story. Thompson guides you frame by frame through the ins and outs of writing a hit, in a text that is packed with "Quick Tips" and "Quick Fixes." This is an indispensable reference work that will have you polishing your prose--and preparing it for publication--in no time!

A budding filmmaker with executive function disorder figures out how to become the director of her own life in this funny, relatable middle-grade novel from Erin Dionne. Hester Greene loves making movies. With her camera in hand, she can focus, make decisions, and have the control she lacks in life, where her executive function disorder (think extreme ADHD plus anxiety) sabotages her every move.But middle school is not a movie, and if her last-ditch attempt to save her language-arts grade--and her chance to pass eighth grade, period--doesn't work, Hess could lose her friends, her year, even her camera. It will take more than a cool training montage to get her life together, but by thinking outside the frame, she just might craft a whole new ending.Written partially in script form, with STOP/PAUSE/PLAY/REWIND moments throughout, this laugh-out-loud story will speak to any budding filmmaker, or unintentional troublemaker, in every act of their lives.

Meet Alice Guy-Blaché. She made movies—some of the very first movies, and some of the most exciting! Blow up a pirate ship? Why not? Crawl into a tiger's cage? Of course! Leap off a bridge onto a real speeding train? It will be easy! Driven by her passion for storytelling, Alice saw a potential for film that others had not seen before, allowing her to develop new narratives, new camera angles, new techniques, and to surprise her audiences again and again. With daring and vision, Alice Guy-Blaché introduced the world to a thrilling frontier of imagination and adventure, and became one of filmmaking's first and greatest innovators. Mara Rockliff tells the story of a girl who grew up loving stories and became an acclaimed storyteller and an inspiration in her own right.

An empath talent agent risks her life – and her heart – when she teams up with her not-quite-human client to prove him innocent of murder. Human lie detector Catherine Rodham moves across the country to launch the West Coast arm of the Peterson Talent Agency in Las Vegas, but her plan goes awry after an actress on a film she helped cast turns up murdered, leaving law enforcement stumped. Alex Moore, a Sin City actor with a secret, wants agency representation from Catherine - and maybe something more. But everything changes after he finds himself the target of a murder investigation. When the two team together to solve the serial murders, Alex introduces Catherine to a paranormal underworld she never knew existed. Can Catherine prove Alex's innocence before losing her heart...or her life? Paranormal Mystery with Flirty Romance This is the first book in the Paranormal Talent Agency series. Much like on television, each episode contains a complete sweet paranormal romance and supernatural murder mystery. But the crossover characters and hints of a larger story suggest reading these in order. Scroll up and one click Lights, Camera, Action today. Topics: Fantasy romance, cozy mystery, rated PG-13, first in series, completed series, paranormal mystery, sweet paranormal romance, sweet love story, Las Vegas

Lights, Camera, Execution!: Cinematic Portrayals of Capital Punishment fills a prominent void in the existing film studies and death penalty literature. Each chapter focuses on a particular cinematic portrayal of the death penalty in the United States. Some of the analyzed films are well-known Hollywood blockbusters, such as Dead Man Walking (1995); others are more obscure, such as the made-for-television movie Murder in Coweta County (1983). By contrasting different portrayals where appropriate and identifying themes common to many of the studied films – such as the concept of dignity and the role of race (and racial discrimination) – the volume strengthens the reader’s ability to engage in comparative analysis of topics, stories, and cinematic techniques.Written by three professors with extensive experience teaching, and writing about the death penalty, film studies, and criminal justice, Lights, Camera, Execution! is deliberately designed for both classroom use and general readership.

Watch out, middle school! Babymouse graduates from graphic novels in the first of the Babymouse Tales from the Locker series--now in paperback! For Babymouse, middle school is like a monster movie. You can never be sure who’s a friend and who’s an enemy, and the halls are filled with mean-girl zombies. Instead of brains, the zombies hunger for stuff—the perfect wedge sandals or the right shade of sparkly lip gloss—and they expect everyone to be just like them. But Babymouse doesn’t want to fit in—she wants to stand out! So she joins the film club to write and direct a sweeping cinematic epic. Will making the film of her dreams turn into a nightmare? Highly illustrated with black-and-white art throughout and a dozen or so comic pages, this is the perfect showcase for bestselling authors Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm's signature humor. Middle school may never be the same!

Amigas is officially open for business! Alicia, Jamie, Carmen and Gaz managed to throw an amazing quince for their new friend Sarita. But now that they are sophomores AND in the quince planning business, things are going to get more complicated. Luckily, one of their own is having a quince. Carmen is turning fifteen and the rest of the friends are determined to throw her the best party ever. But in Miami, the heat is always on--and so is the drama. When the group is asked to take part in a reality show featuring quinceanera parties, they all jump at the chance. But being under the spotlight brings out the true colors of the group and before anyone can even cry "action!", Alicia is fighting with Gaz, Carmen is worrying about her vows, and Jamie is feeling left out. With the cameras rolling, will Carmen's party go up in flames?