online graphical dictionary and thesaurus Visuwords™ online graphical dictionary — Look up words to find their meanings and associations with other words and concepts. Produce diagrams reminiscent of a neural net. Learn how words associate. Enter words into the search box to look them up or double-click a node to expand the tree. It's a dictionary! Visuwords™ uses Princeton University’s WordNet, an opensource database built by University students and language researchers. The Visuwords™ Interface To use the applet you only need to type a word into the search query at the top of the page and press 'Enter'. You can zoom the model in and out by rolling the wheel on your mouse. Understanding the links between Synsets "is a kind of" — hyponym/hypernym pair With regards to "wheat" and "grain", we see a cyan link from "wheat" pointing towards "grain" we can understand this to mean that wheat "is a kind of" grain.
Five Scenes Every Romance Novel Needs Considering writing romance novels? Romance is one of the top selling genres in fiction and has been for a very long time. Romance gets a bad rap and when you say you are writing romance, you may get a superior look or two. They may have heard it is formulaic, but it isn’t. That, in my opinion, is a good thing. What I’m listing here is not a formula. It’s what romance readers, whether they realize it or not, expect to see in a romance novel. And why do they expect to see these things? So, if it’s a formula, so is life. Now to the must have scenes when writing romance. 1.) This is just what it sounds like: the hero and heroine meet on the pages of the book. The meet scene, however, has to have the elements of attraction and conflict. 2.) We ended the meet with conflict. Alas though, this scene can’t end all happy. In the reader’s mind we have established that these people share more than just a physical attraction, but the conflict keeping them apart is even bigger than originally thought.
The Villain’s Journey – Recap from ThrillerFest « DIY MFA On Monday we talked about how character’s are the story. Today, I pose another idea: while characters may be the story, what really makes your story interesting is the antagonist. And in the case of most thrillers, the antagonist happens to be a villain. If you’re wondering about the distinction between villains and antagonists, check out this other post where I address this very question. Essentially, what you need to know is that antagonists are any obstacles that get in the way of the hero’s goal, while the villain is a specific character who personally interferes with that goal. During Thrillerfest, I attended an excellent talk by author Allison Brennan, who emphasized the importance of having a compelling villain as well as a sympathetic hero character. How does this play out in story-telling? Make the hero and the villain want the same thing. Sometimes the hero and the villains actually want the same thing. Make your hero a less-than-super hero. Everyone has a fatal flaw.
Mystery Writing is Murder Plot To Punctuation, LLC: editing services by Jason Black In this article I’m going to give you some practical, hands-on guidelines for choosing the right point of view (POV) for your novel, a task which is not always as straightforward as it sounds. While I can’t tell you what’s right for your novel—only you can decide that—I can explain the ramifications of each, so you can weigh the pros and cons yourself. Making the right choice is critical: The wrong choice will undermine the presentation of your characters. The wrong choice will sabotage your whole novel, leaving you with an enormous pile of work in fixing it. The POV choice is such a deep, fundamental element of any novel that changing it usually amounts to a full re-write. This isn’t a grammar lesson, so I’m going to assume you know the technical difference between first-person and a third-person POVs. Third-person omniscient. However, third-person omniscient is also the emotionally coldest point of view. Third-person limited. First-person. Note, harder does not mean better.
The Other Side of the Story: Online Resources *Updated April 2016 These are just a sampling of the many great (and some of my favorite) sites out there for writers. Must-Visit Writing Sites Agent QueryDuotropeMiss SnarkMystery Writers of America Preditors & EditorsQuery SharkQuery TrackerRomance Writers of America (RWA)Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA)Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)Southern Breeze (AL, GA, FL Panhandle chapter of SCBWI)Writer's Knowledge Base A Great Round Up of Writing-Related Sites from OEDb Agents and Querying Resources NEW: Writers' Conference (more to come) Blue Ridge Writers' ConferenceRomance Writers of America (national) SleuthfestSpringmingleSurrey International Writers' ConferenceUtopiaCon Editors Brooklyn Arden (Cheryl Klein)Evil EditorThink Story Publishing Sites Galley CatPublishing TrendsPublishers Weekly Community Sites Absolute WriteBackspaceNational Novel Writing MonthWANATribe Critique Blogs/Sites Writing Blogs Anne R. Author Blogs/Sites Blogging Blogs
Creative Writing Help This is the "how-to" page, and the place to get creative writing help. Here, you will find articles on all aspects of writing craft: plot, point of view (POV), scenes and sequels, cause and effect, tension, character development, setting, tense, description, poetics, tightening and polishing, dialogue, and everything else I can think of. If you need help on a particular subject and you do not see it here, please contact me, and I'll make that creative writing lesson a priority and add it to my to-do list. This contains an ever growing compilation of creative writing lessons and help articles, so please check back often, or keep the site open as you write for easy access to its contents. Please help us Grow. Creative Writing Lessons For More Creative Writing Help 12 Tips for Getting Published Sooner Writing Degrees Self Publishing Ebooks: Six Tips for Self Publishing Online Book Writing Tips for Career Writers How to Publish a Book Creative Writing Process
Writing Tips - How to Write Dialogue that Speaks Volumes Knowing how to write dialogue in a novel is right up there, on the same level of importance, as the knowing how to write the scenes that contain the dialogue. There are two things a novelist needs to know about dialogue. Dialogue in any novel must always perform the following huge functions: 1. Dialogue must characterize and individualize the speaker. 2. You may recognize these function as being the same things said of writing scenes. Learning how to write dialogue that shines involves some work, but if you can learn to write a compelling scene, you can also learn how to write dialogue that talks volumes. How to Write Dialogue that Shows Individualization This first function requires a thorough understanding of your characters. The primary, complex, and contrasting traits of, for example, your lead characterYour character’s background, strengths, weaknesses, manners, habits, etc. Know How to Write Dialogue that Makes a Difference Woman #1 – Reasonable, thoughtful, secure 1. 2. 3.
Writing for the Genre: The Rules of Romance Thinking of writing a romance novel? There are a couple of rules and guidelines that writers should keep in mind when they start out. The traditional structure of a romance novel starts with the introduction of the characters and the problem. The writer can then begin to expand the characterization and intimacy of the story. At the mid-point of the novel there's a culmination of physical intimacy. The characters are then introduced to a new problem and the story should end with the resolution of the relationship. Once the structure of the story has been plotted out, there are several plot points to consider, one being "happy ever after." Another pretty firm rule is known as "I've only got eyes for you." A third rule of romance writing involves point of view. The romance genre, however, is very forgiving when it comes to multiple character points of view in a scene. Can the rules be broken? There are restrictions as to what stories you can call a romance.
About a little thing called 750 Words The Author's To-Don't List From established to aspiring author—typically in an interview format, you never see the advice go much further than: read, write, and learn as much about the craft as you can. It’s rather standard, often recycled, and although I agree with it, I’d have to say most of my more memorable lessons came through trial and error. Specifically, these are things you shouldn’t do as per the trial and error of others. Not simple blunders, mind you, but large lapses in judgment that pay lasting damages. Don’t lie and say it’s non-fiction Also known as: Pulling a James Frey. Don’t lash out on reviewers Also known as: Pulling a Jacqueline Howett. Don’t post naked pictures of yourself on the Internet You’d think that’d be common sense, right? Don’t have a public meltdown Things are not always going to go the way you want them to. Don’t burn bridges The most popular example of this is when an author has been rejected by a certain lit mag enough times that they begin publicly bashing their publication.
Book Country: Discover New Fiction with the Genre Map Publishers, booksellers, and readers describe books by their literary categories, or genres. It's how books are placed in stores and sold online. We created the Genre Map to help you find the right genre for your book. Roll over the map with your cursor to see the different genres. Some categories, such as women's fiction, stand alone. Please contact us if there's a category you'd like to see on the Genre Map. Social Networking Sites for Writers, Message Boards for Writers We know Facebook and Myspace are used by many writers, but we listed new and old sites that are geared to writers. There are other social networking sites out there for film-makers and musicians and on and on, but these are the ones pointed directly at writers. Story Link Social Networking community for writers that allows you to create profiles and join groups. They also have experts that write informative articles. A good site. The Writing Room Social Networking community for writers that allows you to create profiles and join groups. My Good ebook Social Networking community for writers that allows you to create profiles and join groups. Urbis Post your writing, create a profile, join groups. AbcTales Write your story, post a story. Writertopia Social Networking community for writers that allows you to create profiles and join groups. My Creative Content Social Networking community for writers that allows you to create profiles and join groups. Message Boards for Writers