25 Things You Should Know About Character. Previous iterations of the “25 Things” series: 25 Things Every Writer Should Know 25 Things You Should Know About Storytelling And now… Here you’ll find the many things I believe — at this moment! — about characters: 1. Without character, you have nothing. 2. A great character can be the line between narrative life and story death. 3.
Don’t believe that all those other aspects are separate from the character. 4. The audience will do anything to spend time with a great character. 5. It is critical to know what a character wants from the start. 6. It doesn’t matter if we “like” your character, or in the parlance of junior high whether we even “like-like” your character. 7. It is critical to smack the audience in the crotchal region with an undeniable reason to give a fuck. 8. You must prove this thesis: “This character is worth the audience’s time.” 9. Don’t let the character be a dingleberry stuck to the ass of a toad as he floats downriver on a bumpy log. 10. 11. 12. 13. The law of threes. 105 Writing Tips from Professional Writers.
Point of View in Creative Nonfiction | AndiLit.com. I read a lot of novels, and poetry, and even the occasional screenplay/drama. I enjoy them; I learn from them; I find them delicate, and robust, and powerful, and skillful and all the things that make good writing. BUT when I want to really understand something, when I want to feel it in the center of my chest, when I want my cheeks to be rasped with the reality of life, I turn to creative nonfiction. There’s just something about the authenticity of the writer’s perspective there that makes me connect more fully. I’ve been trying to articulate the difference in connection I feel between fiction and nonfiction ever since my friend @karriehiggins were talking about it on Twitter the other night.
We were discussing ownership in writing – as in who “owns” their perspective more? Fiction writers, poets, screenplay writers, etc? I argued that creative nonfiction writers do. For me, creative nonfiction makes me more readily willing to identify with the narrator. What do you think? Author: Andi. Heroes of History - The Heroic Monomyth. As of July 1, 2013 ThinkQuest has been discontinued.
We would like to thank everyone for being a part of the ThinkQuest global community: Students - For your limitless creativity and innovation, which inspires us all. Teachers - For your passion in guiding students on their quest. Partners - For your unwavering support and evangelism. Parents - For supporting the use of technology not only as an instrument of learning, but as a means of creating knowledge. We encourage everyone to continue to “Think, Create and Collaborate,” unleashing the power of technology to teach, share, and inspire. Best wishes, The Oracle Education Foundation. Playtype | Typographer's Glossary. Serif: Serif's are semi-structural details on the ends of some of the strokes that make up letters and symbols.
A typeface that has serifs is called a serif typeface (or seriffed typeface). Some of the main classifications of Serif type are: Blackletter, Venetian, Garalde, Modern, Slab Serif, Transitional, and Informal. Fonts in each classfication share certain similiar characteristics including the shape or appearance of their serifs. Serif fonts are widely used in traditional printed material such as books and newspapers. Show all Serif Didone is a typeface classification characterized by slab-like serifs without brackets; vertical orientation of weight axes. How to Use Commonly Misused Words. Steps Method 1 of 17: "Affect" and "Effect" 1Use “effect” as instructed. "Effect" is a noun referring to something that happens as a result of something else.
E.g., "The antibiotic had little effect on the illness. ""Effect" is also a verb meaning to bring something about. E.g., "I have decided to effect a change in the scope of this article. " Ad 2Use “affect” as instructed.The verb "affect" means to change something in some way. Method 2 of 17: "Anxious" and "Eager" 1Use "anxious” as instructed.When followed by a gerund (the "–ing" verb form), anxiousness refers to anxiety, not pleasant feelings such as enthusiasm or excitement. 2Use “eager” as instructed.Eagerness conveys enthusiasm and is followed with an infinitive.Ex.
Method 3 of 17: "Convince" and "Persuade" 1Use “convince” as instructed.Convince a person of the truth or validity of an idea.Follow “convince” with "that" or "of. " Method 4 of 17: "Could of" and "Could have" 1Use “could” with “have.” 1Use “each other” as instructed. Tips Ad. Themes & Things To Keep In Mind When Writing Fantasy Stories and Adventures » Daily Encounter. This list is far from complete. It’s not even trying to be complete. It knows better than that. It just wants to be helpful and provide some inspiration here and there; you know, offer little suggestions that might lead to bigger ideas. (Especially by using the words offered as Wikipedia searches!) Feel free to make suggestions in the comments!
If I like it, I’ll add it to the list! If I don’t like it, well, hey, maybe someone else will! Weather Natural: sunlight, rain, snow, hail, fog, humidity, moonlight, wind, smoke, clouds, shadows, overcast skies, clear skies, lightning, hurricanes, tornadoes, moon in sky during daytimeFantastic: summoned weather, unnatural coloration (eg. green fog) Terrain Changes Landmarks Natural: stone outcropping, lightening struck trees, large boulders, waterfallsArtificial: lone buildings (eg. towers, houses, barns), statues, signs/markers, border wallsFantastic: large skeletons (eg. dragons, giants) After-Effects of Events Tricks Cultures Mysticism Events Unfolding.
Infographic: Write It Down. Self publishing costs nothing. A number of people have asked me “How much does self-publishing cost?” , so this post will clear that up. It may be controversial! Please do post comments if you disagree or have questions. Answer 1: It costs nothing Write book: $0 (but lots of time)Edit book: $0 Friend who is an English teacherProof-read book: $0 Friends and colleagues found on TwitterCover design: $0 Royalty free or own photos and text only made into a .jpg on Microsoft PublisherTypeset book: $0 done by self on Microsoft WordPublish book: Published as an Ebook on Smashwords for free and up for sale for US$4.99. Now for sale on the iPhone. Or it costs $10 for the print version:Publish book on Amazon.com by loading onto Lulu.com for free, and choosing the Published by Lulu option (for free). With these options, you have no pile of books sitting in your garage, no distribution to physical bookshops.
This basic model is the one I now follow and will be teaching all the tricks of the trade in the author 2.0 program. 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. 20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes. I’ve edited a monthly magazine for more than six years, and it’s a job that’s come with more frustration than reward. If there’s one thing I am grateful for — and it sure isn’t the pay — it’s that my work has allowed endless time to hone my craft to Louis Skolnick levels of grammar geekery. As someone who slings red ink for a living, let me tell you: grammar is an ultra-micro component in the larger picture; it lies somewhere in the final steps of the editing trail; and as such it’s an overrated quasi-irrelevancy in the creative process, perpetuated into importance primarily by bitter nerds who accumulate tweed jackets and crippling inferiority complexes.
But experience has also taught me that readers, for better or worse, will approach your work with a jaundiced eye and an itch to judge. While your grammar shouldn’t be a reflection of your creative powers or writing abilities, let’s face it — it usually is. Who and Whom This one opens a big can of worms. Which and That Lay and Lie Moot Nor. (More) tips for writing well (Austin Govella at Thinking and Making) Published Wed, Jul 8, 2009 by Austin Govella. Updated Wed, Jul 8, 2009. As an editor, I’ve noticed several recurring bad habits you heathens would do well to disabuse yourselves of immediately. Almost without exception, these bad habits instantiate themselves as a series of stock phrases and constructions that reflect a lack of focus, a lack of fully developed argument, or the kind of intellectual laziness that sets in as you slog through your first draft.
These things happen, That’s ok. Editing helps you save yourselves from these offenses before your thoughts hit the world and everyone knows your dirty secrets. but you can edit yourself, and you should. Use the following checklist as a guide to tightening up both your words as well as and what you mean. 16 things to check when you edit Be vicious when you edit. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. After you edit… The finished piece should be so tight, terse, concise, and clear that it’s boring. Boring. Write like you talk. How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method. Writers' Workshop | Characterisation. How to write convincing characters Characterisation - the task of building characters - isn't easy. But if you're struggling to build characters with real life and vigour, here is our very own patented technique. If you haven't yet started your book, then work on the exercise below before you start.
If you have started, but think that maybe you started prematurely, then back up, do the exercise and then look back over your existing work. Oh, and don't feel patronised at being given exercises. We could name one or two successful novelists who never start a book without using this very exercise. Learning to know your characters Strong characterisation is based on knowledge. The Ultimate Character Builder Begin with a blank sheet (or screen). You should aim to cover at least five pages with this exercise.
The less central a character is to your book, the less you need to know him/her. And the exercise will work. Checking your work Even genre fiction needs swiftly drawn, believable characters. Getting NaNoWriMo Done: How to Write a Novel in 30 Days. With November 1st almost upon us, NaNoWriMo is set to begin. There are plenty of tools to help budding novelists achieve the goal of 50,000 words in 30 days, but what about the reasons behind committing to such a daunting task in the first place? Surely, many of those taking on the challenge have other priorities that they have to deal with – myself included – so adding on the pressure of pushing through those commitments and the occasional bout of writer’s block is going to take herculean effort, right?
Well, yes…and no. Just as there are many people who have yet to give NaNoWriMo a try, there are many who have – and have met the challenge while maintaining a modicum of their regular lives (and sanity) in the process. There are those who have taken on the challenge and have fell by the wayside again, myself included), but there are things you can do to keep you on track to finally typing “The End” at the end of your rapidly-created opus. Set Up Rituals While Writing Wash my face.
Keep. List words containing ex. 5 of the Best Free Writing Software and Tools for Aspiring Novelists. EmailEmail Whether you’re the next Jack Karouac or the next NaNoWriMo dropout, any novelist who takes the craft seriously is going to need the right tools to write. And let’s face it: Microsoft Office can spit out a decent business letter, but the thought of launching a full-blown office suite to do some creative work is a little… depressing.
Most ordinary word processors are also priced out of reach of the starving artist crowd. If you’re looking to hammer out a lengthy manuscript, and you’re not looking to drop a single dime on software, read on to discover the best free writing software and tools for novelists. 1. The best thing a writer can do is write. Best of all, Notational Velocity can automatically sync in the cloud with the free Simplenote service. 2. As with any large project, the hardest thing about writing a novel is getting started. This unit of work and a break is called a œPomodoro, and every four Pomodoros calls for a longer break of about twenty-five minutes. 3. 4. 5. Wordiness, Wordiness, Wordiness List. Absolutely essential = essential aforementioned = DELETE a bigger/greater/higher/larger degree of = more a considerable amount of = DELETE OR BE SPECIFIC a decreased number of = fewer a distance of 28 kilometers = 28 kilometers a lesser/smaller degree of = less/fewer He noticed a lesser degree of errors = He noticed fewer errors. a lot of = many, much a majority of = most, much of, many a person who is xxx = a xxx person A person who is dedicated will succeed = A dedicated person will succeed. a total of seven xxxs = seven xxxs added bonus = bonus advance notice/reservations = notice/reservations advance warning = warning advance planning = planning after all is/was said and done = DELETE After all was said and done, the trip to the well was a disaster. all across = across all of = all all of a sudden = suddenly all of these = these all-time record = record almost never = seldom along the lines of = like any and all = all are/is such that = DELETE Jack and Jill are such that they are doomed to perish.
A new tip for productivity | A Writer's Journey. As a homeschooling mom, I do all my planning for the week on Sundays. I use a spreadsheet that lays out the full week, organizes by topic, and lets me see in one page what needs to be done, and even how to do it. So it occurred to me the other day- Why don’t I use the same technique for writing? Writing Planner- I created a table with 7 columns for each day of the week, and the rows are broken up on labels such as; Appointments- to list important meetings I must attend (and I add the time). Writing- This is writing specific to stories and things I will publish.
Blogging- With keeping a blogging schedule, I find its faster to post and even brainstorm ideas by knowing when I need to update a new post. Marketing- This includes things I do for my web sites, blogs, and my business (learnthepc.net). Other includes specific projects I’m working on. Exercise- This was recently added to remind me that I need to exercise regularly. Feel free to use my idea, and let me know if it work out for you. Give Your Writing More “Body” Harness the Mental, Creative, and Emotional Benefits of Regular Writing. Tastefully Offensive | Premium Funny: Shakespeare Insult Kit. Creative Writing For Dummies Cheat Sheet. The Best Music for Writing, Reading, and Studying – StudySuccessful | Living a successful college life.
How I Make My Living as an Online Writer (And How You Could Too) Writing. WRITING. Writing /communication. Writing. Work/productivity. Reading and writing.
Exercises. Character Development. Fiction. Statistics and Data. Mistakes not to make. Spelling & Grammar. Contests, Finance and Money. Resources. Templates. .bodycard 1692.