25 Steps to Being a Traditionally Published Author: Lazy Bastard Edition (Guest Post By Delilah S. Dawson) So, here’s the deal — August for me is, as the kids say, “supa-cray-cray.” I’m working on like, 17 novels and two scripts or something like that. As such, I have put out various tendrils and pea shoots and solicited the aid of various Friends of Terribleminds (TM) to drop in throughout the month and plaster their guest posts on the walls here. This is like that Couch to 5k thing people do to gear up for a marathon. What follows is the quickest, dirtiest, most simple route to writing a novel and getting it published by a traditional publisher, which I accomplished from my own couch in Atlanta while nursing a baby and having neither an MFA nor any previous contacts in publishing. Is this advice perfect? Seriously. This is no secret. When I started writing my first book, I stopped reading. If you want to finish the first draft of your first book, you must think of it like skiing downhill. Looking for a leg up on improving your writing at any point of this writing thing? So celebrate.
It Is in Our Nature to Need Stories | Guest Blog It is in our nature to need stories. They are our earliest sciences, a kind of people-physics. Their logic is how we naturally think. They configure our biology, and how we feel, in ways long essential for our survival. Like our language instinct, a story drive—an inborn hunger for story hearing and story making—emerges untutored universally in healthy children. Every culture bathes their children in stories to explain how the world works and to engage and educate their emotions. “Stories the world over are almost always about people with problems,” writes Jonathan Gottschall. The “human mind is a story processor, not a logic processor,” says Jonathan Haidt. Darwin understood how our biology is fitted to the stories in our social environments, noting, “Many a Hindoo…has been stirred to the bottom of his soul by having partaken of unclean food.” Any story we tell of our species, any science of human nature, that leaves out much of what and how we feel is false. Previously in this series:
111 Lessons Life Taught Us Sometimes thinking about your life and sorting out what you have learned is just as important as tackling a new venture. That’s what our new sister site, Everyday Life Lessons, is all about. It’s an online community where people share, rank and discuss life’s greatest lessons. The site challenges you to reflect on your past, dig deep within yourself and answer one simple question: What has life taught you? Think about all the things you would love to tell yourself if you could travel back in time to give your younger self some advice about life. Here’s a sample of 111 life lessons that were recently submitted to the site: Spend more time with those who make you smile and less time with those who you feel pressured to impress.Never tell someone their dreams are impossible. Everyday Life Lessons is updated daily. Photo by: Lauren Macdonald Related 7 Important Life Lessons Everyone Learns the Hard Way “People never learn anything by being told, they have to find out for themselves.” May 11, 2012
Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips - Article #29643 Joss Whedon is most famous for creating Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its spin-off Angel and the short-lived but much-loved Firefly series. But the writer and director has also worked unseen as a script doctor on movies ranging from Speed to Toy Story. Here, he shares his tips on the art of screenwriting and how, if you have your clear delivery, you can make something mundane like a Fenton law office or Cincinnati drug store seem captivating. Actually finishing it is what I’m gonna put in as step one. Structure means knowing where you’re going ; making sure you don’t meander about. This really should be number one. Everybody has a perspective. Here’s one trick that I learned early on. When I’ve been hired as a script doctor, it’s usually because someone else can’t get it through to the next level. You have one goal : to connect with your audience. Write the movie as much as you can. The first penny I ever earned, I saved.
Common European Framework of Reference for Languages The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment,[1] abbreviated as CEFR or CEF, is a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries (for example, Colombia and the Philippines). It was put together by the Council of Europe as the main part of the project "Language Learning for European Citizenship" between 1989 and 1996. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching and assessing which applies to all languages in Europe. Development[edit] In 1991 the Swiss Federal Authorities held an Intergovernmental Symposium in Rüschlikon, Switzerland, on "Transparency and Coherence in Language Learning in Europe: Objectives, Evaluation, Certification". Theoretical background[edit] General and particular communicative competences are developed by producing or receiving texts in various contexts under various conditions and constraints. Common reference levels[edit]
10 Mind-Blowing Theories That Will Change Your Perception of the World Reality is not as obvious and simple as we like to think. Some of the things that we accept as true at face value are notoriously wrong. Scientists and philosophers have made every effort to change our common perceptions of it. 1. Great glaciation is the theory of the final state that our universe is heading toward. 2. Solipsism is a philosophical theory, which asserts that nothing exists but the individual’s consciousness. Don’t you believe me? As a result, which parts of existence can we not doubt? 3. George Berkeley, the father of Idealism, argued that everything exists as an idea in someone’s mind. The idea being that if the stone really only exists in his imagination, he could not have kicked it with his eyes closed. 4. Everybody has heard of Plato. In addition to this stunning statement, Plato, being a monist, said that everything is made of a single substance. 5. 6. Enternalism is the exact opposite of presentism. 7. So, what is the debate? 8. What’s the point? 9. 10.
Dear Publishers, Hi there, publisher! I’m an author. Maybe you know me? I’m the Internet’s “Chuck Wendig.” AKA, “That Guy Who Curses A Lot In Interesting Ways.” I write stories. You’re a publisher. I like you. I think you do the Story Lord’s work in bringing books to to the world. And that word, “vital,” applies to you. Ahem. Still, as much as I like you, I think it’s time we had a conversation. Just the same, I’m going to opine loudly. Because that’s how I do. Let’s talk about you, you silly scamps, you. DRM Is For Assbadgers I get it. And, hey, DRM by itself is not toxic. And, for the most part, DRM is implemented poorly. DRM is dumb. Similar situation with DRM (with way fewer dead people, to be clear). DRM creates — and then challenges — pirates. It punishes regular readers. I Will Buy The Physical Book And You Will Give Me The E-Book No, really, I’m not kidding. Don’t worry, there’s still room for you at the party. Partner With Independent Bookstores Indie stores are awesome. Help libraries. Mmkay? *stares*
How to Learn Any Language in 3 Months The Okano Isao judo textbook I used to learn Japanese grammar. Post reading time: 15 minutes. Language learning need not be complicated. From the academic environments of Princeton University (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Italian) and the Middlebury Language Schools (Japanese), to the disappointing results observed as a curriculum designer at Berlitz International (Japanese, English), I have sought for more than 10 years to answer a simple question: why do most language classes simply not work? The ideal system — and progression — is based on three elements in this order… 1. Effectiveness, adherence, and efficiency refer to the “what”, “why”, and “how” of learning a target language, respectively. Let’s cover each in turn. Effectiveness: If you select the wrong material, it does not matter how you study or if you study – practical fluency is impossible without the proper tools (material). If you have no interest in politics, will you adhere to a language course that focuses on this material?