Top 10 Blogs for Writers 2010/2011- The Winners. When we called for nominations for the Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest, we got over 500 responses. This year’s fifth annual competition was intense. Great to see how passionate readers feel about their favorite writing blog! We ended up with 20 finalists. The finalists were closely examined by our panel of judges,with the greatest weight on the quality of their content.
Leo Babauta, the creator of Zen Habits and mnmlist, the author of Focus and co-creator of Write to Done.Brian Clark, the creator of CopyBlogger, as well as co-founder of Teaching Sells and Third Tribe.Michael Stelzner, the author of “Writing White Papers” and Founder of Social Media ExaminerDeb Ng, the founder and former owner of the Freelance Writing Jobs. And now is the time to reveal the winners of the Top 10 Blogs for Writers. Congratulations to all the winners! Readers, be sure to check out these awesome blogs. And please help spread the word! I’d like to thank the judges for all their work.
Attack of the Killer Story Ideas. As a writer you get this question all the time: where do your story ideas come from? Sometimes we have an answer – like, it’s based on my divorce experience when I wanted to kill my wife’s lawyer – sometimes we fake it because we don’t really have a clue. And upon occasion, the universe gets all the credit. Serendipity can be very literate. In other words, reality sucks sometimes, but, sucky or not, it can inspire some pretty cool story ideas. Thing is, reality is virtually shouting other things at us all the while, masking the softly uttered literary gold running through tirades of being late, taxes due, spouse not getting you, kids acting out, and tires blowing up on the freeway.
You have to look for the gold in those moments. The latter – a blown tire on the freeway – happened to me earlier this week. An example from the sucky end of the spectrum. And the result, in addition to an unbudgeted set of tires, was a file of stories I probably won’t live long enough to write. So I pulled over. Finding – and Leading With — Theme. (Note to skimmers – read to the end for a fun little storytelling exercise — and a contest!) Some writers are completely and totally theme driven. Every story they write has an agenda, a message to send and a point of view to either explore or sell. Others are story-driven, and because their stories are rich with characters and compelling situations, themes seem to surface on their own. Either way, though, theme remains an essential element of a successful story. Rarely is this an accident. The key word here being intention. Which means, the writer did it on purpose.
Theme is as viable a place to begin a story as any other. A story begins with the seed of an idea, which with a little brainpower and the convergence of other creative forces evolves into a concept, a character, a structural sequence (this is where most true stories are hatched) or a theme. It is from that first core competency, based on an idea, that the rest of the story begins to grow. Here’s a way to find out. The Holy Grail of Getting Published Big. That’s what we all want, right?
In our secret heart of hearts we want it all, the window position at Borders, a spot on the Times list, maybe a morning shot on GMA. Truth be known, that little secret desire resides right next to the unflagging belief that we can write as well as the Big Name authors who are living that dream now. That knowledge torments us as we lay awake nights wondering how they made it happen before we did. And so we labor over our craft. We read and we go to conferences and we bang out draft after draft of story after story.
Paying our dues, honing our chops. But here’s the deal. There are two levels of getting published. One is just getting into the game. They are as different as being an extra on a movie set or getting top billing and a trailer. The enlightened writer understands that the established names – the ones you’re sure you can already out-write on a good day – play by a different set of rules. Of course, that never happens. Maybe you should. Coincidence? Routines for Writers » Post Topic » Author Crush Month: Larry Brooks. Larry is one of my all time favorite writer-teachers. He’s a good writer. The stories he crafts are interesting and I hope to be able to read more of them in the coming years.
His strength, though, is in his teaching. As he shares his perspective on storytelling and crafting, he makes the skill accessible to so many of us who have struggled to find the structure and order in the chaos we create. That’s why I’m thrilled he agreed to share some of that teaching here. My Top Three Favorite Writing Tips of All Time a guest post by Larry Brooks Writing tips are like close friends. Sometimes they become ex-friends that, hopefully, remain acquaintances. Like, adjectives are bad things. We get to pick our friends, and our favorite writing tips. These are three tips that changed my writing life. . #3. Versus, for example, an idea, a concept, a vignette, or a theme. A review of your day isn’t a story.
A profile of your great aunt in Iowa isn’t a story. Can you define story? It’s not character. 2. 1. Novel Writing Tips & Fundamentals – Storyfix.com. Write to Done | Unmissable articles on writing. 201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity.
Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm. ~ Anais Nin Creativity is like sex. You fumble your way through, you get lost in it, you fall in love. Both are passionate, rhythmic, pleasurable, and flowing. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders. Save The Words. A-List Blogging Bootcamps — by Leo Babauta and Mary Jaksch. Writing Community for Writers, Readers and Literary Agents. Submit Works, Read & Rate Writings. Fiction Writer's Character Chart - EpiGuide.com. If you're a fiction writer -- whether you're working on a novel, short story, screenplay, television series, play, web series, webserial, or blog-based fiction -- your characters should come alive for your reader or audience.
The highly detailed chart below will help writers develop fictional characters who are believable, captivating, and unique. Print this page to complete the form for each main character you create. IMPORTANT: Note that all fields are optional and should be used simply as a guide; character charts should inspire you to think about your character in new ways, rather than constrain your writing.
Fill in only as much info as you choose. Have fun getting to know your character! If this character chart is helpful, please let us know! To join our community, which focuses on online writing, visit -- and feel free to show off your character charts. Looking for more character questionnaires / charts?