Don’t Write What You Know - Bret Anthony Johnston

Why fiction’s narrative and emotional integrity will always transcend the literal truth Every Wednesday, I teach an introductory fiction workshop at Harvard University, and on the first day of class I pass out a bullet-pointed list of things the students should try hard to avoid. Don’t start a story with an alarm clock going off. The idea panics them for two reasons. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should admit I’ve been accused of writing what I know on a good many occasions. The facts are these: I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas, the part of the country where most every word of fiction I’ve published takes place. Instead of thinking of my experiences as structures I wanted to erect in fiction, I started conceiving of them as the scaffolding that would be torn down once the work was complete. I don’t know the origin of the “write what you know” logic. Stories aren’t about things. Stories aren’t about actions. Here is happening-truth, I was once a soldier.

So, You Want to be a Travel Writer Six tips to get you started from veteran travel writer Julia Steinecke. Around the world in 80 travel-writing assignments? Only if you're lucky. Travel writer Julia Steinecke sheds some light on one of the world's most appealing and misunderstood professions. Travel writing is... huddling in my luxury hotel room over a bowl of instant noodles that I boiled in the coffee maker. Travel writing has the kind of glamour attached to it that makes people think you're willing to do it just for the cool factor. Travel writing is knowing the best place to sleep on the floors of several major airports in Latin America. Travel writing is suddenly realizing I haven't left my home for two days because I've been sitting in front of my computer writing sponsorship requests to airlines, hotels and tourism boards. And, yes, travel writing is seeing the world for cheap, hiking through deserts, cloud forests and traffic, meeting villagers, grandmothers, partiers and activists from every continent. 1. 2. 3. 4.

The Writing Café Ink - Quotes about writing by writers presented by The Fontayne Group Writing "I put a piece of paper under my pillow, and when I could not sleep I wrote in the dark." Henry David Thoreau "Writing is an adventure." Winston Churchill "Know something, sugar? Stories only happen to people who can tell them." Allan Gurganus "... only he is an emancipated thinker who is not afraid to write foolish things." Anton Chekhov "A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightening." "Whether or not you write well, write bravely." "The first rule, indeed by itself virtually a sufficient condition for good style, is to have something to say."

Boxlunch, you wanna boxlunch? Monologue: I’m Comic Sans, Asshole. [Originally published June 15, 2010.] Listen up. I know the shit you’ve been saying behind my back. You think I’m stupid. You don’t like that your coworker used me on that note about stealing her yogurt from the break room fridge? People love me. When people need to kick back, have fun, and party, I will be there, unlike your pathetic fonts. It doesn’t even matter what you think. Enough of this bullshit. Available in our store:The “I’m Comic Sans, Asshole” Mug l'enfer, c'est les autres 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. Think of your laptop as a machine like the one at the gym where you open and close your inner thighs in front of everyone, exposing both your insecurities and your genitals. Because that is what writing is all about. 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 no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer.

9 Tips for Giving Better Editorial Feedback How to Plot and Write a Novel: Plan Your Novel Writing with the Snowflake Method Many novelists mull over story ideas, letting them ripen and develop over time. When the story is ready to be told, instead of just sitting down and starting to type, try the Snowflake Method. This step-by-step way to write a novel begins with essential elements and becomes more detailed with each step. Essential Elements for Novel Structure Snowflakes have a structure which begins with a simple form and adds more elements to create complex patterns. 1. 2. 3. The time-saving factor for novelists here is that at this point, a writer knows whether or not the story has problems. Expand on the Beginning Novel-Writing Steps 4. 5. 6. Plot problems will arise and new insights and ideas will appear through these steps. Revise and Expand into Scenes 7. 8. 9. 10. Ingermanson stresses that the Snowflake Method is not to be hurried. Not for All Writers Ingermanson's Snowflake Method will result in a well-planned, smoothly-plotted story for writers who prefer a plan.

25 Things You Should Know About Worldbuilding Worldbuilding is one of those topics that bakes my noodle every time my brain chooses to dwell on it. I have a whole bucket full of opinions, many of them in stark disagreement with one another. So, this list below should never at any time be taken as “25 Exhaustive Universal Truths About Worldbuilding,” but rather be regarded as, “25 Things Chuck Wendig Thinks About Worldbuilding At This Exact Moment In Time, Oh, Wait, Some Of Them Just Changed.” Kay? Kay. Let’s chat. 1. We’re talking about the revelation of your storyworld and its details through the story itself. 2. My opinion: you build a world to serve the story or stories you want to tell; you do not tell a story that is slave to the worldbuilding. 3. If you prioritize worldbuilding, you’re probably going to end up with like, seven different versions of the D&D Monster Manual but no actual novel. 4. But then again, that’s not to say you’ll find zero value in writing a storyworld bible for the tale at hand. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.

Permanent link for Character Chat! The significance of plot without conflict - still eating oranges Magical World Builder By, Stephanie Cottrell Bryant <map name="admap78618" id="admap78618"><area href=" shape="rect" coords="0,0,468,60" title="" alt="" target="_blank" /></map><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:468px;border-style:none;background-color:#ffffff;"><tr><td><img src=" style="width:468px;height:60px;border-style:none;" usemap="#admap78618" alt="" /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;" colspan="1"><center><a style="font-size:10px;color:#0000ff;text-decoration:none;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;font-family:Tahoma, verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;text-transform: none;letter-spacing:normal;text-shadow:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:normal;" href=" target="_blank">Ads by Project Wonderful! Your ad here, right now: $0</a></center></td></tr></table> Basic World-Building

Words of inspiration to first-time writers… …from the GITS community. We ran a contest yesterday tied to an upcoming Writers Guild Foundation event, asking people to do this: Write words of encouragement to someone you don’t know about to embark on writing their first complete screenplay. No more than 100 words. I was so impressed by the responses, I am including all of them here in the order they were posted: We spend our lives searching within ourselves for something majestic, something big enough for people to take notice. Utterly wonderful sentiments here. Thanks to everyone for your comments. Onward and upward!