Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling | Aerogramme Writers' Studio These rules were originally tweeted by Emma Coats, Pixar’s Story Artist. Number 9 on the list – When you’re stuck, make a list of what wouldn’t happen next – is a great one and can apply to writers in all genres. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it.
50 Awesome Open Source Resources for Writers and Writing Majors With the popularity of blogging and online journals, writers working in the online realm have a growing number of opportunities all the time to practice and refine their craft, and maybe even get paid for it. And if you’re a writing major, why not take advantage of all the opportunities to get great free and open source resources that can help you to write, edit and organize your work? Here’s a list of fifty open source tools that you can use to make your writing even better. Word Processors Why pay for expensive word processing programs when you can get high quality and open source alternatives for much less? yWriter: This word processor is designed especially for writers. Reference Everyone needs a little help with spelling and grammar now and again, and these programs can get you on the right track. JaLingo: This OS independent program allows users to easily look up words in a dictionary right from their desktop, whether they have an Internet connection or not. Organization Helpful Tools
Written? Kitten! The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” Finding a really good muse these days isn’t easy, so plan on going through quite a few before landing on a winner. There are two things more difficult than writing. It’s so easy to hide in your little bubble, typing your little words with your little fingers on your little laptop from the comfort of your tiny chair in your miniature little house. It’s no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer. Available in print withThe Best of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency
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. Although the cover appears to be on the verge of falling off altogether, I’ve risked opening the book once more to bring you Watts’ very useful “Eight-Point Story Arc” – a fool-proof, fail-safe and time-honoured way to structure a story. (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: So, what do the eight points mean? Stasis Trigger The quest Surprise Climax Reversal
Write or Die by Dr Wicked | Putting the 'Prod' in Productivity New Write or Die iOS App! Now you can Write or Die wherever you are! Works for both iPad and iPhone. New online Leaderboard for Write or Die! Over 1.5 million words written so far! VLC Control, custom playlist that works You can now use VLC in Stimulus Mode! 2.1.6 Updates Replaced countdown with more robust countdown clock.Countdown clock now animated, I will add an option to revert to a basic countdown clockMac version now has menu bar for Copying, Pasting and navigating between app windows.Added progress bar indicator for milestones in reward mode To update, revisit the original download link you received in your email and get the latest version. 2.1.3 Fixes Fixed a pernicious issue with time adjustment and wpm locking.Window positioning fixes. 2.1.2 Updates 2.1.1 Fixes Fixed autosave issuesFixed some leaderboard mathCustom background color now works, oops.Buy NowClick the question mark in the bottom right to let me know if you have any issues. Write or Die 2 Visual Stimulus Reward Mode To-Do
10 Ways to Start Your Story Better The sentence you are currently reading has the potential to brand itself indelibly upon our cultural consciousness and to alter the course of Western Civilization. OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration. But what author doesn’t dream of crafting an opening line that will achieve the iconic recognition of “Call me Ishmael,” or the staying power of “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth …”? In writing, as in dating and business, initial reactions matter. This post is by Jacob M. So it’s unfortunate that opening sentences frequently receive short shrift in writing workshops. Think of every opening line you write as a pebble tossed down a mountainside: The stone may jolt back and forth within a limited path, building up force, but the trajectory of its initial release largely determines its subsequent route. Here are 10 ways to do it. 1. This need not lead to elaborate or complex openings. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Check Out These Great Upcoming Writers’ Conferences:
CALLIHOO Writing Helps--Feelings Table Character Feelings You can describe your character's feelings in more exact terms than just "happy" or "sad." Check these lists for the exact nuance to describe your character's intensity of feelings. SF Characters | SF Items | SF Descriptors | SF Places | SF EventsSF Jobs/Occupations | Random Emotions | Emotions List | Intensity of Feelings Apocalypse/Mutant nickname generator This name generator will give you 10 random nicknames for either mutants or people living in a post-apocalyptic world. This generator originally started out as a mutant name generator, but most names can be used as nicknames for people living in a post-apocalyptic world as well, so it turned into this generator. Not all names will fit mutants and not all names will fit normal people caught up in a broken world, but there's plenty of names for both. The names were mainly created as descriptive or role fulfilling names. Note that while some names will fit X-Men themed mutants, many of the names were created with less fortunate mutants in mind. Quite a few of the names, especially the apocalypse-themed ones, can often be used for duos, like 'Bullet' and 'Bulletproof', 'Daydream' and 'Nightmare' or 'Ash' and 'Soot'. To start, simply click on the button to generate 10 random names.
How To Publish a Book & Writing tips & Five steps to follow in writing a novel & How To Publish a Book - StumbleUpon Writing a book is no easy task, it is a complex process which involves planning, discipline, and time. Writing your first book can get tricky because it is not always obvious where you should start from. Here are five steps you can follow when writing your book. 1. It’s tricky to decide exactly what you want to write about. 2. Let’s say you’ve decided to write a fantasy book. 3. Again, this isn’t easy, and most writers are unsure of exactly how the plotline will unfold until they have written the first five chapters of their novel. 4. So now that you have an idea of your fantasy world and the plot, it’s time for the hardest part: sitting down and actually writing the book. 5. The final step is proofreading and editing your book over and over again. (This is a post by our new intern Ivelina Dineva) (Image by Meul (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or FAL], via Wikimedia Commons)
The 7 Cardinal Virtues of Successful Writers While the seven deadly sins are generally agreed upon, there are many lists of life's most important virtues. Today I will bring you another such list: Here are the seven cardinal virtues of successful writers. 1) DILIGENCE for regular writing I've said it before and I will keep saying it until it gets stuck on loop in your own head: To be a writer, what you have to do is write. Everything else you need to know can be picked up along the way. A daily writing routine will move you far closer to your writing goals than any reading project or theoretical study ever could. 2) LOVE of failure Those who fear failure will be defeated by it while those who befriend it will thrive. Michael Jordan said, "I’ve failed over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed." 3) PURITY of delusion The most important gift many talented writers were born with is the gift of delusion. If you already think you're great, hold on to that belief (even though you are probably wrong). You will fail. Rinse.
Fifteen Writing Exercises Writing exercises are a great way to increase your writing skills and generate new ideas. They give you perspective and help you break free from old patterns and crutches. To grow as a writer, you need to sometimes write without the expectation of publication or worry about who will read your work. Don’t fear imperfection. That is what practice is for. Pick ten people you know and write a one-sentence description for each of them.
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