Plotting Short Fiction Last month at MRA, I listened to Jacqueline Woodson speak about her writing process. It wasn’t the first time I heard her speak and I hope it won’t be my last. She is one of the writers I consider as my personal mentor. She said, “Plot happens.” One thing I’ve learned about writing fiction is the importance of allowing the characters’ to have free will. Kim Jones invited me into her fourth grade class to lead a fiction unit. Still, as a teacher of young fiction writers, it’s necessary to teach what works for me and what might work for other writers. Yesterday I introduced the story mountain to the fourth grade fiction writers. Then I gave them this planning sheet (click the link for a PDF). About half of the writers in the room used the planning sheet and found it helpful. A few notes: Enemy Pie by D. Like this: Like Loading...
Deciding How We Age as We Age Seth Cochran If someone asked me to describe the Transhumanists I know in one word, I would say “ambitious”. We have some pretty lofty goals- immortality, mind enhancement, uploading. But ambition isn’t always enough. Breakdown of white-matter pathways affects decisionmaking as we age According to a poll by the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies: A majority of IEET readers age 35 or older who answered our recently concluded poll say they expect to die within a normal human lifespan. Your brain is constantly changing, and as you age it changes for the worst. Being a youthful 21 years old, on a more personal note, I only have 20-40 years to make rational, well-informed decisions. What’s a Transhumanist to do? Regardless of your pursuit- be it cognitive enhancement, mind uploading, or immortality itself- you're going to need resources. Don't leave the course of your life to chance.
How to Build Subplots From Multiple Viewpoints Multiple viewpoints provide diversion from, and contrast to, the protagonist’s perspective. They can deepen conflict, enlarge a story’s scope and add to a novel the rich texture of real life. Subplots carry those effects even further. In our workaday world, we do not live in isolation. Our lives intersect, collide and overlap. Subplots and multiple points of view are often linked by their very natures. Of course, subplots and multiple points of view make novels longer and more work, but rewards for that effort are there for writer and reader alike—that is, if they are successful. —By Donald Maass, author of The Breakout Novelist Choosing a subplot begins with choosing characters with which to work. If none are to be found, it might be worthwhile to grow some of your secondary characters, depending on the nature of your novel. Subplots will not have the desired magnification effect unless there are connections between them. A third quality of successful subplots is that they range.
Unique Plots 201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. Creativity is like sex. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders
yWriter5 - Free writing software designed by an author, not a salesman Download yWriter5 5.6.2.7 as a self-installing EXE file (recommended) yWriter5 exe installer (9.3mb) Download yWriter5 5.6.2.7 in a zip file yWriter5 zip file (3.9mb) Requires the Windows .Net 3.5 SP1 framework (Runtime) or newer. The yWriter5 installer will tell you if you need this file. Installing on Windows: 1) Download the installation file. Click Yes to proceed or No to cancel. Instead of the above, Windows may throw up a warning similar to the one below: At this point you either trust me (and my company, Spacejock Software) and click 'Yes', or you click 'No' and delete the installer. 2) Follow the prompts to set it up. You can run my programs from a memory stick.
TEN SIMPLE KEYS TO PLOT STRUCTURE Structure is something that every agent and executive in Hollywood talks about, and that all of us teachers/authors/consultants/gurus/whatever go on and on about, to the point that it can seem complicated, intricate, mysterious and hard to master. So I want present plot structure in a way that simplifies it – that will at least give you a starting point for properly structuring your screenplay without overwhelming you with rules and details and jargon. Here are what I consider ten key elements of structure – ten ways of looking at structure that will immediately improve the emotional impact – and commercial potential – of your script. THE SINGLE RULE OF STRUCTURE I once got to work with long time television writer Doug Heyes, who used to say that there is only one rule for achieving proper plot structure: What’s happening now must be inherently more interesting than what just happened.
Musings on British Literature: 1790 to Present: Themes in The God of Small Things In The God of Small Things, there are two central themes. One of these themes is memory, or the act of forgetting, most specifically Estha’s deliberate forgetting. Related to the theme of memory is time and its different aspects: captured time and the subjectivity of time. I found Estha’s forgetting, or as he calls it, "hoovering" his mind, to be one of the most compelling themes. The theme of time is symbolised by Rahel's plastic wristwatch that has the time "ten to two" painted on it. While the other members of the family remember "The Loss of Sophie Mol," the twins only remember the day that they "loved a man to death."
Best free software for writing: 10 programs to unleash your creativity The best free writing apps don't just let you work on your projects - they also let you organize and manage all your writing. Whether it’s work documents, essays, or your creative stories, free writing apps - like the best free word processors - let you organize your thoughts on the page without breaking the bank. These days they will also make it even easier to save, share, and sync documents online. Some of the best choices offer distraction-free interfaces and gamification-style challenges to keep you in the zone. Others focus on professional document creation for work. Our picks cover the best free writing apps and software on the web and across Windows, Mac, Linux, Android, and iOS. To help you find the right tool, we've tested the best free writing app for all types of writers, whether you’re at a desk or writing on the go. We’ve also rounded up the best note-taking apps to make sure you can keep on writing wherever you are. Best free writing apps of 2023 Specifications Reasons to buy
25 Things You Should Know About Plot Previous iterations of the “25 Things” series: 25 Things Every Writer Should Know 25 Things You Should Know About Storytelling 25 Things You Should Know About Character And now… 1. A plot is the sequence of narrative events as witnessed by the audience. 2. Some folks will ask, incorrectly, “What’s the plot?” 3. A plot functions like a skeleton: it is both structural and supportive. 4. The biggest plot crime of them all is a plot that doesn’t make a lick of goddamn sense. 5. The simplest motherfucker of a plot is this: things get worse until they get better. 6. Fiction is driven by characters in conflict, or, put differently, the flame of fiction grows brighter through friction. 7. Of course, the essence of the essential conflict — the one below all that Wo/Man versus stuff — is a character’s wants versus a character’s fears. 8. A plot grows within the story you’re telling. 9. 10. Plot offers the promise of Chekov and his gun, of Hitchcock and his bomb under the table. 11. 12. 13. 13. 14.
Postcolonial Literature main page | 20th-century literature | some postcolonial authors | Filipino-American literature Introduction & Definition "After Iraq: Reframing Postcolonial Studies." "'Postcolonial Literature': Problems with the Term." "Introduction to Postcolonial Studies." Literary Criticism Aboul-Ela, Hosam. Adesanmi, Pius. Bachmann-Medick, Doris. Boehmer, Elleke. Dunick, Lisa M.S.. George, Rosemary Marangoly. Griesbach, Daniel. Henderson, Laretta. Houston, Lynn Marie. Katrak, Ketu H. Laamiri, Mohamed and Sara Mills, eds. Ludescher, Tanyss. Marrouchi, Mustapha. Marshall, Joanna Barszewska. Matzke, Christine and Susanne Muhleisen, eds. Mexal, Stephen J. Oliver-Rotger, Maria Antonia. Orfalea, Gregory. Pordzik, Ralph. Prchal, Tim. Schedler, Christopher. Sohn, Stephen Hong. Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. Stammwitz, Kati. Templer, Bill. Torres, Lourdes. Williams, Laura Anh. Romanticism & Imperialism O'Quinn, Daniel J. Bewell, Alan. Cobbett, William. Fulford, Tim. Fulford, Tim and Peter J.
Edgar the storyteller