25 Ways To Fight Your Story’s Mushy Middle. For me, the middle is the hardest part of writing. It’s easy to get the stallions moving in the beginning — a stun gun up their asses gets them stampeding right quick. I don’t have much of a problem with endings, either; you get to a certain point and the horses are worked up into a mighty lather and run wildly and ineluctably toward the cliff’s edge.
But the middle, man, the motherfucking middle. It’s like being lost in a fog, wandering the wasteland tracts. And I can’t be the only person with this problem: I’ve read far too many books that seem to lose all steam in the middle. Narrative boots stuck in sucking mud. Seems like it’s time for another “list of 25″ to the rescue, then. Hiyaa! 1. Fuck the three-act structure right in its crusty corn-cave. 2.
Hey, when you fake an orgasm, you gotta commit. 3. The shape of a story — especially the shape of a story’s middle — is a lot of soft rises and doughy plateaus and zoftig falls. 4. 5. 6. Sometimes, a story just needs blood. 7. 8. 9. 10. 12 Enjoyable Names for Relatively Common Things. Fancy yourself a logophile ... and didn't have to look up "logophile"? See if you know these 12 words for common things. 1. The plastic table-like item found in pizza boxes is called a box tent and was patented in 1983.
Most people in the biz now call it a pizza saver. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Getty Images 9. 10. 11. 12. What are some of your favorite extra ordinary/extraordinary words? For 12-12-12, we’ll be posting twenty-four '12 lists' throughout the day.
Advice. Publishing. Research. J.K. Rowling, Lexicon and Oz. Alert! Due to the popularity of this article, we have moved it to a static HTML format. After reading this article, if you would like to visit our Web site, greensboro.rhinotimes.com, Click here. Uncle Orson Reviews EverythingJ.K. Rowling, Lexicon and Oz by Orson Scott Card April 24, 2008 Can you believe that J.K.
Rowling "feels like her words were stolen," said lawyer Dan Shallman. Well, heck, I feel like the plot of my novel Ender's Game was stolen by J.K. A young kid growing up in an oppressive family situation suddenly learns that he is one of a special class of children with special abilities, who are to be educated in a remote training facility where student life is dominated by an intense game played by teams flying in midair, at which this kid turns out to be exceptionally talented and a natural leader. This paragraph lists only the most prominent similarities between Ender's Game and the Harry Potter series. I can get on the stand and cry, too, Ms. Seventeen years? So what? 1. 2. 60 Awesome Search Engines for Serious Writers. June 20th, 2010 Finding the information you need as a writer shouldn’t be a chore. Luckily, there are plenty of search engines out there that are designed to help you at any stage of the process, from coming up with great ideas to finding a publisher to get your work into print.
Both writers still in college and those on their way to professional success will appreciate this list of useful search applications that are great from making writing a little easier and more efficient. Professional Find other writers, publishers and ways to market your work through these searchable databases and search engines. Writing These helpful tools will help you along in the writing process. Research Try out these tools to get your writing research done in a snap. Google Scholar: With this specialized search engine from Google, you’ll only get reliable, academic results for your searches.WorldCat: If you need a book from the library, try out this tool. Reference Need to look up a quote or a fact? Niche Writers. 14 Punctuation Marks That You Never Knew Existed. Get Paid $50 to Write a Guest Post. There’s been plenty written on the web, including this blog, about websites like Associated Content and Demand Media. The problem with these sites is that they use a revenue sharing model which means most people will never earn more than a buck or two for their article.
We know your time is more valuable than that, so we’ve put together a list of blogs that will pay you $50 or more for every article that you write for them. Guest blogging is pretty easy and most articles only need to be between 500-600 words. However, most bloggers have high standards, so you’ll want to make sure you’re producing your best work to increase the chances that your post will be published. On to the list…. 1. This site was founded by Heather Wheeler and Joanie Demer, who have both featured on TLC’s Extreme Couponing. 2. This website is all about building online businesses. 3. Writers Weekly was established in 1997 and it is a freelance writing ezine and hub for all things writing. 4. 5. Another writing blog. Creative writing prompts . com ideas for writers. How I Make My Living as an Online Writer (And How You Could Too)
(Photo by Antonina, a fantastic London contemporary portrait photographer) The end of this month will mark three years since I left my day job. Since then, I’ve been supporting myself through writing. It’s my dream career – and I love being able to set my own hours, work from home, and have a huge amount of flexibility and freedom. I haven’t written much here on Aliventures about how exactly I actually make money. Maybe you suspect that there’s some amazing secret skill involved, or some sort of dark art. But there really isn’t. And … if you want to … there’s no reason why you can’t do exactly the same as me. In short, I have a bunch of different revenue streams that bring in cash every month.
I’ll start with the ones that were easiest to get going with, and work up to the methods that take a bit more time… #1: Paid Writing for Blogs (2008 onwards) This is how I started out, in early 2008. My family and friends find it bizarre that I can get paid to write for blogs. Learn more: Whew! Literature-Map - The tourist map of literature. 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.