jersey knit bracelet i don't know what it is about this time of year that makes me just want to have my bare feet in the sand, be watching the sun setting into the ocean, and breathing in the warm salty air of the beach...as i get older, more and more i find myself missing that place i used to go to almost every.single.day. as a teen. (my skin doesn't miss it. as a matter of fact, i now wish i listened more and DID put SPF on my face...hindsight is 20/20). my mom calls me from her walk on the beach almost every morning...*sigh*yeah, i get a little homesick around this time of the year. heck on my pinterest my "dreaming of summer" has the most pictures in it. ah yes. i miss my ocean. case in point. this bracelet, brought a flood of memories, not because i used to have one like it but because i can totally see me wearing it by the beach, not caring that it's gotten salty and wet, because i can totally make another one in like less than 5 minutes flat when i get home. *sigh* okay... *cut off excess tails!
Everything you ever needed to know about screenwriting (but were afraid to ask) The architecture of all stories is pretty much the same Take just one story: a dangerous monster threatens a community and one person takes it upon himself or herself to kill the beast and restore happiness to the kingdom. It's the story of Jaws. But it's also the story of Beowulf. Without empathy your work won't work A whole generation remembers how they flinched when they saw the fisherman's decapitated head fall out of the boat in Jaws. Studying screenwriting is older than screenwriting itself The rules that govern screenwriting are the fundamentals of narrative and there's a whole history of structural analysis preceeding the advent of film. Reality television is drama All reality TV – from The X Factor to Grand Designs – has an essentially dramatic structure built around a three-act core. Perfect structure doesn't give you perfect drama Notting Hill is a perfectly structured film, The White Ribbon isn't. Cause and effect is at the root of everything "What happened?" What happens next?
75 Books Every Writer Should Read Whether you want to make writing your career or just want to know how to improve your writing so that you can pass your college courses, there is plenty of reading material out there to help you get inspired and hone your skills. Here’s a collection of titles that will instruct you on just about every aspect of writing, from the basics of grammar to marketing your completed novel, with some incredibly helpful tips from well-known writers themselves as well. Writing Basics These books address things like structure, plot, descriptions and other basic elements of any story. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers: You can improve the quality of your writing by adding a mythical quality to them with advice and insight from this book. Advice from Authors Who better to give advice on writing than those who have made a name for themselves doing it? On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King: This is widely regarded as one of the best books for any aspiring author to read.
Pizza Swirl Bread I have good news and bad news. The good news is… I made you bread. It tastes like pizza. It’s swirled with piles of grated provolone and spicy pepperoni and a nice little mixture of Italian seasoning [...that came out of a tube]. Yeah. The bad news is that it disappeared. Like… all of it. At best I could dig the foil out of the trash for you that enveloped this loaf for a full 13 minutes before complete domination took over. See, bread if my favorite thing to make. I want to dive headfirst into this pepperoni roll on steroids and doggy paddle through every cheesy swirl. Pizza Swirl Bread [adapted from martha stewart.com] makes one loaf 4 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup milk 1/4 cup warm water 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1 large egg 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 garlic cloves, minced 6 ounces provolone cheese, freshly grated 4 ounces grated parmesan cheese 20-30 slices pepperoni, or however much you would like 1/3 cup tomato sauce, or more if desired 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
How to use a semicolon Learn How to Publish a Book: FREE Download from Writer's Digest 1. Write the best manuscript that you possibly can. Don’t just come up with a great idea—spend time executing that idea by writing, editing, rewriting, editing and rewriting again. Find a group to workshop your novel with, whether it be in person or online. 2. Whether you’re pitching to an agent or directly to a publisher, you can’t just write “publish my book because it’s awesome.” 3. Nearly all writers get rejected. 4. Get on Twitter and Facebook and Pinterest. 5. In this age of the Internet, it feels like everything flows at lightening speed. 6. After you submit your query letter out to agents and editors doesn’t mean you have to stop learning. 7. While you are waiting for that phone call from a book publishing company saying, “We want to publish your book!”
bloomsapps Using Blooms Taxonomy in education is a highly effective way to scaffold learning for the students. With the recent popularity and pervasive nature of iOS devices in school districts it is essential for educators to understand how to implement Blooms in the classroom using the apps that are available. While this list is by no means fully comprehensive, it will assist educators in getting started when implementing iOS devices in the classroom. This site will change almost daily as it will be updated with new and exciting apps! If you find any that you have worked with in your classroom please email dmileham@e1b.org or tweet @bloomsapps or @dmileham75 with your suggestions. Two Links to some iTunesU courses relating to iOS Integration: 1 iPad by Erie 1 Boards of Cooperative Educational Services ( Movie Making\Digital Storytelling Camera to PDF Free - cool little app that turns your device into a scanner. LiveBinders: I would be remiss if I didn't post this.
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. 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. When I was a kid, Christmas Eve was the most interminable time because, y’know, Christmas morning is everything. 5. Sometimes, a story needs a bit of new blood in the form of a new character — someone interesting. 6. Sometimes, a story just needs blood. 7. 8. Find approximate middle of book. 9. 10. 11. Fuck the map. 12. 13.
4 Tips on the Publishing Experience Readers: I’ve been around the publishing world. I’ve edited a couple dozen published or soon-to-be published books. And because I spent most of my career at a small press, I know the publishing process, from conception through editing through publication through marketing. So when it came time to launch my own book, The Listeners, I had a pretty good working knowledge of what had to be done, certainly more so than most first-time authors. Guest post by Harrison Demchick, an editor with more than eight years of experience in the publishing industry. Tip #1: Stick With It The Listeners was published on December 17, 2012. Finally, I adapted it into a novel. So: Stick with it. Tip #2: Be Prepared Being an author isn’t something that begins on the day your book is published. When the book does launch, there are certain things you want to have in place. But starting early isn’t just about getting your presentation in order. Reviewers and blurbers like to have their books months in advance.
Every Poet 500 Ways Hungry for another double-barrel buckshot of questionable writing wisdom unloaded into your brain-guts? Ohhh, I have just the thing for you, my little ink-fingered word-cobblers. Available now: 500 WAYS TO BE A BETTER WRITER. Okay, let’s get our procurement options on the table: Or, buy direct (PDF) from here: (A note about buying direct: if you buy direct, I send you the file — er, directly! What The Hell Is This? This is the sequel to 250 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WRITING, and, as many sequels go, this one is bigger and badder — twice the size, in fact, of its predecessor. It features 20 “Lists of 25″ from the blog-bound pages of this very site. What lists, you say? Now, four of those are brand new and are not found here at terribleminds — Endings; Mood; Sleep-Deprived And Also Drunken Thoughts; and the writing exercises. All told, it’s around 50,000 words of total content. None of it is replicated from 250 THINGS. Why Buy? Got a big bad case of the writer’s block? Or — or! If you procure?
5 Ways Your Brain Sabotages Your Writing... And What To Do About It When we sit at the keyboard, we rely on our brains to help us fill that vast white space with intriguing words, well-rounded characters, and watertight plot twists. Sometimes our brains oblige. But more often, our grey matter tells us that we should check Twitter (because what if our blog post got a retweet from someone important?), that we totally have time to catch up on TV while we eat lunch (because that’s just smart multitasking right there!) Psychologists have identified all sorts of cognitive biases and mental tomfoolery that turn your mind against you every day. Escalation of Commitment Your brain says: “You’ve put so much time and effort into writing this story, it’d be crazy not to finish.” Imagine you’re an eccentric millionaire—probably wearing a monocle—who has spent two years and close to $100,000 creating a desk featuring cool-water sprinklers for those working in hot climes. When the situation is more relatable, Escalation of Commitment kicks in. Solutions: Price: $18.02