You Must Be This Tall to Ride: Contemporary Writers Take You Inside the Story

Compelling stories have the power to generate infinite wonder: Itas nearly impossible to imagine how the author began, and yet we sense thereas much more beyond the final word. Itas this mysteryaa combination of inspiration and craft, smoke and mirrorsathat makes writing feel momentous. But it can also feel overwhelming, causing us to become small, scared, not quite ready for the abiga rides, such as finishing that story, that novel, and finding the courage to share it with the world.

In You Must Be This Tall to Ride, youall find 20 works of fiction and nonfiction by acclaimed contemporary authors, each offering fresh perspective on acoming of agea (a story to which we can all relate), as well as exclusive personal essays and practical exercises. In their own words, these writers grant you a guided tour of craft with unparalleled access to the process behind their creation, including how to: grow a story from the seed of an image or sentenceallow experiments with language to lead you to plotturn even the most unlikely characters into heroestransform raw anecdotes from your own life into compelling fiction and essayJoin these 20 writers as we grow up and down, taking a rollercoaster ride in stories. Youall not only begin to understand what makes the wheels of a story turn, youall also gain the tools and strategies to transform lost characters and runaway plots into the greatest show on earth. So go ahead, step right up. Listen for the calliope music, and take your place in line.

Your ride has just begun. Less