How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day When I started writing The Spirit War (Eli novel #4), I had a bit of a problem. I had a brand new baby and my life (like every new mother's life) was constantly on the verge of shambles. I paid for a sitter four times a week so I could get some writing time, and I guarded these hours like a mama bear guards her cubs - with ferocity and hiker-mauling violence. To keep my schedule and make my deadlines, I needed to write 4000 words during each of these carefully arranged sessions. But (of course), things didn't work out like that. Needless to say, I felt like a failure. When I told people at ConCarolinas that I'd gone from writing 2k to 10k per day, I got a huge response. So, once and for all, here's the story of how I went from writing 500 words an hour to over 1500, and (hopefully) how you can too: A quick note: There are many fine, successful writers out there who equate writing quickly with being a hack. Update! Side 1: Knowledge, or Know What You're Writing Before You Write It
Lifewriting Classes Steven Barnes' Free Writing Class! What follows is, in slightly modified form, the complete text of the 9-week writing class I've taught for years at UCLA. To my knowledge it is the only completely free program of its depth and scope available on the WWW. I would suggest that you download it all, and take the lessons one week at a time, writing your butts off. The information is dense and very, very real. Time-tested and true. Why am I giving this away? If you like it, tell your friends where to find it. And if you want more when you're done with this class, take a look at my Lifewriting for Writers program! Steven Barnes Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five Week Six Week Seven Week Eight Week Nine
25 Things You Should Know About Character Previous iterations of the “25 Things” series: 25 Things Every Writer Should Know 25 Things You Should Know About Storytelling And now… Here you’ll find the many things I believe — at this moment! 1. Without character, you have nothing. 2. A great character can be the line between narrative life and story death. 3. Don’t believe that all those other aspects are separate from the character. 4. The audience will do anything to spend time with a great character. 5. It is critical to know what a character wants from the start. 6. It doesn’t matter if we “like” your character, or in the parlance of junior high whether we even “like-like” your character. 7. It is critical to smack the audience in the crotchal region with an undeniable reason to give a fuck. 8. You must prove this thesis: “This character is worth the audience’s time.” 9. Don’t let the character be a dingleberry stuck to the ass of a toad as he floats downriver on a bumpy log. 10. 11. 12. 13. The law of threes. 15. 16. 17. 18.
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. 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.
5 Ways Your Brain Sabotages Your Writing... And What To Do About It When we sit at the keyboard, we rely on our brains to help us fill that vast white space with intriguing words, well-rounded characters, and watertight plot twists. Sometimes our brains oblige. But more often, our grey matter tells us that we should check Twitter (because what if our blog post got a retweet from someone important?), that we totally have time to catch up on TV while we eat lunch (because that’s just smart multitasking right there!), or that we should quit this writing nonsense and get a real job (because we suck anyway). Everything happens for a reason. Psychologists have identified all sorts of cognitive biases and mental tomfoolery that turn your mind against you every day. Escalation of Commitment Your brain says: “You’ve put so much time and effort into writing this story, it’d be crazy not to finish.” When the situation is more relatable, Escalation of Commitment kicks in. Solutions: Planning Fallacy Hyperbolic Discounting Curse Of Knowledge Dunning-Kruger Effect
Rule of three (writing) The rule of three is a writing principle that suggests that things that come in threes are inherently funnier, more satisfying, or more effective than other numbers of things.[citation needed] The reader or audience of this form of text is also more likely to consume information if it is written in groups of threes. From slogans ("Go, fight, win!") to films, many things are structured in threes. A series of three often creates a progression in which the tension is created, built up, and finally released. The Latin phrase, "omne trium perfectum" (everything that comes in threes is perfect, or, every set of three is complete) conveys the same idea as the rule of three. In comedy, it is also called a comic triple. Snow White receives three visits from her wicked stepmother In many tales, three tasks must be performed to reach a certain goal. The use of a series of three elements is also a well-known feature of public oratory. Jump up ^ Propp, Vladimir.
Writing Writing with a pen Writing is a medium of communication that represents language through the inscription of signs and symbols. In most languages, writing is a complement to speech or spoken language. As human societies emerged, the development of writing was driven by pragmatic exigencies such as exchanging information, maintaining financial accounts, codifying laws and recording history. Means for recording information[edit] H.G. Writing systems[edit] The major writing systems – methods of inscription – broadly fall into four categories: logographic, syllabic, alphabetic, and featural. Logographies[edit] A logogram is a written character which represents a word or morpheme. The main logographic system in use today is Chinese characters, used with some modification for various languages of China, and Japanese. Syllabaries[edit] A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent (or approximate) syllables. Alphabets[edit] Abjads[edit] Abugidas[edit] Featural scripts[edit] History[edit]
How to Become a Writing Rockstar: A Simple Guide Do you want to become a writing rockstar? Have you ever felt like you could be more? I’m talking about that feeling deep down that nudges you forward with your writing. That feeling that tells you that you are good enough, that you can become a real writing rockstar. But it’s not that easy. If it were, you wouldn’t be reading this. Something elusive that doesn’t seem to go away. Can you let it be and still go after your dreams? Let’s explore that question. What is a Writing Rockstar? Before we do anything, we have to define what a writing rockstar is. You see, you’re already a writing rockstar. If you want to do that, that’s fine. This is about doing what makes your heart sing. Society imposes standards on us, but they are irrelevant. Why Become a Writing Rockstar? Because it’s what you want. You don’t need a reason to go after your dreams. You just have to take action. When you embrace your dreams, and you start going after them without needing permission from anyone, your life will change. 1.
How to become a Successful Writer: Seth Godin in Conversation Are you ready for success?Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another. – Seth Godin, The Icarus Deception This is part 2 of Seth Godin in conversation with Mary Jaksch, the Chief Editor of Write to Done. Seth: If you’ve accepted that the rules of the game are that you are not willing to write unless everyone likes what you write, then you’ve just announced that you’re an amateur, not a professional, and that you’re probably doomed. Whereas the professional writer says, ‘It is almost certain that most of what I write will not resonate with most people who read it, but over time, I will gain an audience who trusts me to, at the very least, be interesting.’ Mary: I suppose that’s the real advantage of the internet as opposed to the writing industry: you can always find that small group of people who will be interested in what you write. Seth: Yes, that’s exactly right. Iceland teaches an important lesson. All you need to make a living is for four thousand to adore you.