What's more important to a story: a gripping plot or compelling characters? Literary-minded novelists argue in favor of character-based novels while commercial novelists argue in favor of plot-based stories, but the truth of the matter is this: The best fiction is rich in both.

Enter Plot Versus Character. This hands-on guide to creating a well-rounded novel embraces both of these crucial story components. You'll learn to:

Create layered characters by considering personality traits, natural a...

The ultimate guide to visual storytelling! How to make the audience feel the story while they are reading the story. Using his experiences from working in the comic book industry, movie studios and teaching, Marcos introduces the reader to a step-by-step system that will create the most successful storyboards and graphics for the best visual communication. After a brief discussion on narrative art, Marcos introduces us to drawing and composing a single image, to composing steady shots to draw...

Coming to grips with C++11 and C++14 is more than a matter of familiarizing yourself with the features they introduce. The challenge is learning to use those features effectively - so that your software is correct, efficient, maintainable, and portable. That's where this practical book comes in.

It describes how to write truly great software using C++11 and C++14 - i.e. using modern C++. Topics include: The pros and cons of braced initialization, noexcept specifications, perfect forwarding, a...

OVER 3 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE'You will quickly amaze and delight yourself. Hands down the best and most life-enhancing thing I've done in lockdown' India Knight, Sunday TimesDrawing on the Right Side of the Brain is the world's most widely used drawing instruction book. Whether you are a professional, a student, or enjoy art as a hobby, Betty Edwards' practical step-by-step guide will give you greater confidence in your ability, deepen your artistic perception and provide a new way to ...

Provides instruction on drawing objects and environments from the imagination, constructing accurate perspective grids, and experimenting with various mediums.

This concise book contains all you'll ever need to know about perspective drawing. In twenty masterfully organized chapters, from simple to complex, the author explains the basics and not-so-basics of perspective drawing. He includes suggestions on how to make your drawings a lot simpler, drawing methods for observation and space division, a "Remember" section at the end of each chapter in which he summarizes the most important information and principles presented in that chapter, and a "Prob...

Want to learn to code? Want to learn C++? Struggling to follow your lecturer or books and tutorials written for experts? You're not alone. As a professional C++ developer and former Harvard teaching fellow, I know what you need to know to be a great C++ programmer, and I know how to teach it, one step at a time. I know where people struggle, and why, and how to make it clear. I cover every step of the programming process, including:

Getting the tools you need to program and how to use them

Ba...

Renowned, bestselling novelist Chuck Palahniuk takes us behind the scenes of the writing life, with postcards from decades on the road and incredible examination of the power of fiction and the art of storytelling.

In this spellbinding blend of memoir and insight, bestselling author Chuck Palahniuk shares stories and generous advice on what makes writing powerful and what makes for powerful writing.

With advice grounded in years of careful study and a keenly observed life, Palahniuk combines ...

An impassioned look at games and game design that offers the most ambitious framework for understanding them to date.