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BlaBlaMeter - Bullshit detection tool. Cardboard Cutouts Make Rotten Villains. Cardboard cutouts aren't very scary. One-dimensional villains are far too common in fiction. You know the type: arrogant, slick, evil, and therefore psychologically unbalanced, at least according to the other characters. Like a cardboard cutout purchased in a novelty shop, the one-dimensional villain is propped up in the story to fool the reader into believing that there's actually someone there to react to.

Sure, you might get a jolt when you spot it out of the corner of your eye, but once you realize what's going on, you feel silly for having been fooled (into even buying the book). Case in point: In Dan Brown's most recent book, The Lost Symbol, villain Mal'akh is a walking DSM-IV entry: he nails every diagnostic criterion for narcissistic personality disorder. Brown could learn a few things from Heath Ledger's Joker from The Dark Knight. The Joker's first explanation for the cuts to either side of his mouth is that his father made them while he was abusing the character as a child. Character Chart for Fiction Writers - 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. Journal Writing Ideas - Journal Prompts. 105 Writing Tips from Professional Writers. "Advice on the Art of Writing Short Stories" - Roberto Bolaño. Struggle Is a Sure Sign Youre Creating Art. 36 Writing Essays by Chuck Palahniuk. 1: Establishing Your Authority Chuck teaches two principal methods for building a narrative voice your readers will believe in.

36 Writing Essays by Chuck Palahniuk

Discover the Heart Method and the Head Method and how to employ each to greatest effect. 2: Developing a Theme At the core of Minimalism is focusing any piece of writing to support one or two major themes. Learn harvesting, listing, and other methods, after a fun excursion into the spooky side of Chuck's childhood. 3: Using “On-The-Body” Physical Sensation Great writing must reach both the mind and the heart of your reader, but to effectively suspend reality in favor of the fictional world, you must communicate on a physical level, as well. 4: Submerging the “I”

Faults- Poets.org - Poetry, Poems, Bios &More. CitySounds.fm - The music of cities. What happened in my birth year? Poem Starters and Creative Writing Ideas. Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE.

Poem Starters and Creative Writing Ideas

We'll also keep you informed about interesting website news. "I have searched the web and used different worksheets, but none have come close to your worksheets and descriptions of (what to do and what not to do). Both courses I have taken have with Creative Writing Now have been amazing. Each time I have learned something new. The one thing I love, you take everything apart and give examples. " - Katlen Skye "As usual - I already love the course on Irresistible Fiction, rewriting a lot and improving greatly even after the first lesson. “Essentials of Fiction proved that I could indeed write and I wrote every day, much to my boyfriend's dismay (waa sniff).” - Jill Gardner "I am loving the course and the peer interaction on the blog is fantastic!!! " Exercises for Fiction Writers - Page 2.

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RainyMood.com: Rain makes everything better. How to Write a Blog: The 12 Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Blog. Thinking about writing a blog?

How to Write a Blog: The 12 Dos and Don'ts of Writing a Blog

Been writing a blog for some time now and have yet to establish any growth (and by “growth” I mean “increased pageviews”)? Over the past 10 years I’ve refined my blogging skills—that’s right, I started my first blog back in 2001 and it is so embarrassing by today’s standards that I’m almost unwilling to link to it … almost. Fiction Writing Plot Development Storyboards.

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Fiction Writing Plot Development Storyboards

While taking a workshop with author Janice MacDonald on developing a traditional fiction story plot (the kind with a beginning, middle and end), I decided to modify one of the templates that came with my Pages program into a set of worksheets. These worksheets can help you outline your fiction plot and determine the story structure. The 10 Types of Writers Block (and How to Overcome Them) Daily Duo. Daily Duo features fresh new faces from around the world.

Daily Duo

From models who have just been discovered to those who are already working in international markets, Daily Duo is the place to find diverse talent. Apr 17, 2014 Anoushka Octave.

Fantasy Novel

The Best of British - The Americans guide to speaking British... Cliche Finder. Have you been searching for just the right cliché to use?

Cliche Finder

Are you searching for a cliché using the word "cat" or "day" but haven't been able to come up with one? Just enter any words in the form below, and this search engine will return any clichés which use that phrase... Over 3,300 clichés indexed! What exactly is a cliche? See my definition Do you know of any clichés not listed here? This is Morgan, creator of the Cliche Finder. FutureMe.org: Write a Letter to the Future.