Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE. 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. "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!!!" "I'm enjoying the weekly email course, Essentials of Poetry Writing. "Thank you for all the material in this course. "I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the lessons and feel they were very helpful in introducing new ideas and perspectives to my writing.
A new home for the short story Let’s imagine that you have aspirations to write fiction and have never written before. You decide to write a short story, because writing a novel straight away is too daunting, and you write and write and write and work hard at it and revise your work and write some more, and once you have arrived at something that you feel confident is finished you feel ready to send it out into the world. Then things get difficult. Who do you send your story to? You are not involved in the literary scene (if indeed there even is such a thing). You do not work in publishing. Aspiring non-fiction writers (critics, journalists, etc.) can submit their work to many different publications – from newspapers to magazines to trade publications – in the hope of being published and developing their talents. In the US, (literally) hundreds of "little" magazines sandwiched between the Paris Review and n+1 in New York and McSweeney’s and the Believer in San Francisco are flourishing. In Britain, where to submit?
Kurt Vonnegut -- troubling.info Eight rules for writing fiction: 1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2. Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. -- Vonnegut, Kurt Vonnegut, Bagombo Snuff Box: Uncollected Short Fiction (New York: G.P. Kurt Vonnegut: How to Write with Style 5 Ways Not to Write a Novel Writing a novel? There's first-draft flow, and there's editing flow. And then there comes a time when you think you might be done, yet the manuscript is still not quite "there." To sell your work to an agent, and then to a publisher, and finally to a great many readers, put thoughts of flow aside now, and consider the following advice. Each of the guides mentioned is worthy of your careful attention. , such as "Danielle was a woman of medium height with brown hair and brown eyes." , such as: "He shaved, and then he wiped off the shaving cream," "She walked to the corner, and she looked both ways," or "We opened the door, and we found the mail on the porch." . such as the following: the difficult task, both share, blend together, on account of, considering the fact that, report back. [Better: Add some tension, impending tension, or trouble to every page. * Did you miss my post about the sometimes unpolished writing of Stephen King ? * Or the one about best writers' resolutions ?
How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point Arc By Ali Hale - 3 minute read One of my favourite “how to write” books is Nigel Watts’ Writing A Novel and Getting Published. My battered, torn and heavily-pencil-marked copy is a testament to how useful I’ve found it over the years. (Even if you’re a short story writer or flash fiction writer rather than a novelist, this structure still applies, so don’t be put off by the title of Watts’ book.) The eight points which Watts lists are, in order: StasisTriggerThe questSurpriseCritical choiceClimaxReversalResolution He explains that every classic plot passes through these stages and that he doesn’t tend to use them to plan a story, but instead uses the points during the writing process: I find [the eight-point arc] most useful as a checklist against which to measure a work in progress. So, what do the eight points mean? Stasis This is the “every day life” in which the story is set. Trigger Something beyond the control of the protagonist (hero/heroine) is the trigger which sparks off the story.
Seven great writing quotes from seven great American writers Ernest Hemingway once said “All American literature comes from one book by Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn. There was nothing before. There has been nothing as good since.” As much as we love our Ernest, we beg to differ. It’s not just the amazing books Americans have written, which cause us to contradict Papa’s viewpoint. It’s the words of wisdom these masters have shared about their craft. John Steinbeck Ernest Hemingway Elmore Leonard Toni Morrison Stephen King Henry Miller F. designed by the awesomely talented Chris Ritter
Guide for Writers: French Phrases When you want a character to sound pretentious, nothing beats a nice turn of French. Somehow, American writers (and readers) associate all things French with money, pretense, and culture. It’s quite the mix of responses, a “love-hate” relationship with France. If you want a character with class, or one completely without class, French is a wonderful tool. affaire de coeur - love affair au contraire - to the contrary au fait - possessing practical knowledge of a thing au revoir - until we meet again autre temps, autres moeurs - other times, other customs avec plaisir - with pleasure bête noire - a thing especially disliked bon jour - good day; hello bon soir - goodnight bourgeoisie - middle-class, materialistic c’est-à-dire - that is to say c’est la vie - such is life chacun à son goût - each to his own taste coup de grâce - death blow coûte que coûte - cost what it cost dégagé - without emotional links de trop - too much or too many dernier ressort - last option Dieu avec nous - God is with us
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. 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. Answer 2: It costs under $5000