SOMETIMES THE MAGIC WORKS

“Terry  Brooks is adamant about dedicating oneself to the craft, while showing  awe and humility for the creative process. . . . Every serious writer  should refer to this book regularly for inspiration as well as solid  crafting advice.”—Elizabeth Engstrom Cratty

In Sometimes the Magic Works, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks shares his secrets for creating  unusual, memorable fiction. Spanning topics from the importance of  daydreaming to the necessity of writing an outline, from the fine art of  showing instead of merely telling to creating believable characters who make readers care what happens to  them, Brooks draws upon his own experiences, hard lessons learned, and  delightful discoveries made in creating the beloved Shannara and Magic  Kingdom of Landover series, The Word and The Void trilogy, and the  bestselling Star Wars novel The Phantom Menace.

In addition to being a writing guide, Sometimes the Magic Works is Terry Brooks’s self-portrait of the artist. “If you don’t think  there is magic in writing, you probably won’t write anything magical,”  says Brooks. This book offers a rare opportunity to peer into the mind  of (and learn a trick or two from) one of fantasy fiction’s preeminent  magicians.

Praise for Sometimes the Magic Works

“A marvelously pragmatic initiation to the art of writing.”—Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina

“[A] succinct and warmhearted autobiographical meditation on the writing life.”—Publishers Weekly

“A  wise, warm-hearted book—part autobiography, part how-to-do-it manual,  with some amazingly candid behind-the-scenes material . . . Fantasy  fans, novice writers, and even veteran pros will learn plenty from it.”—Robert Silverberg, award-winning author of the Majipoor Chronicles