About the Nonsense Society. Character Chart. FAVORITES Color: Music: Food: Literature: Expressions: Book: Quote: Expletive(s) (swears): Mode of transportation: HABITS Smokes: What?
How often? Drinks: What? How often? Worst bad habit? SELF-PERCEPTION One word character would use to describe self: One paragraph description of how character would describe self: What does character consider best physical characteristic? Immediate goal(s): Long range goal(s): How does character plan to accomplish goal(s)?
How character react in a crisis (calm/panic/etc.)? Jewelry? Owns a computer? © (c ) copyright 1990-2011 Rebecca Sinclair ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Authors Note: I worked hard on this. The Fiction Writers Character Chart is exclusive to eclectics.com ( and The Eclectics Writer ( URL: Email: reb@rebeccasinclair.com + Updates are posted on an unannounced & unscheduled basis, so check back often! Christopher Meeks: Two Hats For Today's Writers (and 10 Awful Truths) I just saw a documentary, To Write and Keep Kind, a PBS documentary on the life and writing of Raymond Carver.
It's part of the two-disc Criterion Collection version of Robert Altman's movie Short CutsF, based on Raymond Carver's short stories. I couldn't help but think at the end of the documentary, If Carver had to start out today, would he be tweeting and blogging and posting on Goodreads? Thinking that made me realize today's writer needs to wear two hats: those of the artist and of the marketer -- Carver and K-tel. Carver broke new ground in that he wasn't part of the East Coast writing and publishing establishment. His stories of the Pacific Northwest found many fans for their honest portrayal of working -- and drinking -- men and women eking through a hardscrabble life.
What Carver did was extraordinary -- no writer then or now has had an easy path -- but the rules were clearer when Carver was writing and publishing in the sixties through the eighties. One truth hasn't changed. About Fuzzmail. A Simple Novel Outline – 9 questions for 25 chapters « H.E. Roulo. Just as every tree is different but still recognizably a tree, every story is different but contains elements that make it a story.
By defining those before you begin you clarify the scope of your work, identify your themes, and create the story you meant to write. At Norwescon 2011 I sat in on a session called Outline Your Novel in 90-minutes led by Mark Teppo. I’ll give you the brief, readable, synthesized version. Answer 9 questions and create 25 chapter titles and you’re there. Here are the 9 questions to create a novel: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) Now, with those 9 questions answered to your satisfaction, try to fill in a 25 chapter, 75,000 word outline.
Chapters 7-18 are the middle of your book. Chapters 19-25 depict the heroic act to victory. Wasn’t that easy? Okay, sure, the work isn’t done yet. Using the idea that there are 25 chapters, I outlined my current work in progress. I hope that was helpful. Tell me what works for you. Related 6 Steps to Masterful Writing Critiques. 50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Writing Skills. Advertisement Today, too many websites are still inaccessible.
In our new book Inclusive Design Patterns, we explore how to craft flexible front-end design patterns and make future-proof and accessible interfaces without extra effort. Hardcover, 312 pages. Get the book now! Effective writing skills are to a writer what petrol is to a car. Of course, effective writing requires a good command of the language in which you write or want to write. Further Reading on SmashingMag: Link We collected over 50 useful and practical tools and resources that will help you to improve your writing skills. 1. Use English Punctuation Correctly6 A quick and useful crash course in English punctuation. HyperGrammar7 An extensive electronic grammar course at the University of Ottawa’s Writing Centre. Grammar Girl8 Mignon Fogarty’s quick and dirty tips for better writing.
English Style Guide – Economist16 This guide is based on the style book which is given to all journalists at The Economist.