25 Things Every Writer Should Know An alternate title for this post might be, “Things I Think About Writing,” which is to say, these are random snidbits (snippets + tidbits) of beliefs I hold about what it takes to be a writer. I hesitate to say that any of this is exactly Zen (oh how often we as a culture misuse the term “Zen” — like, “Whoa, that tapestry is so cool, it’s really Zen“), but it certainly favors a sharper, shorter style than the blathering wordsplosions I tend to rely on in my day-to-day writing posts. Anyway. Peruse these. Absorb them into your body. Feel free to disagree with any of these; these are not immutable laws. Buckle up. 1. The Internet is 55% porn, and 45% writers. 2. A lot of writers try to skip over the basics and leap fully-formed out of their own head-wombs. 3. 4. I have been writing professionally for a lucky-despite-the-number 13 years. 5. Luck matters. 6. Nobody becomes a writer overnight. 7. Your journey to becoming a writer is all your own. 8. 9. 10. Value is a tricky word. 11. 12.
Write, Publish, and Market Your Ebook: Free Step-by-Step Tutorial You’re going to have to devote lots of time to marketing your ebook: it doesn’t matter how good your ebook is, it will not sell itself. Just as you devoted time and effort to planning and writing your ebook, you need to devote time and effort to creating a comprehensive marketing plan. Here are twenty ways to market/promote your ebook: 1. Pre-sell. Your marketing plan should include pre-launch promotional efforts to start building anticipation for your ebook. If you would like more information on how to effectively pre-sell your ebook, Dave Navarro and Naomi Dunford have an ebook titled “How to Launch the **** Out of Your Ebook”. 2. In addition, your landing page should also direct your prospects to take action. For a great series of tutorials on how to create killer landing pages, click here. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.
Aldous Huxley : Brave New World (1932) is one of the most bewitching and insidious works of literature ever written. An exaggeration? Tragically, no. Brave New World has come to serve as the false symbol for regime of universal happiness . For sure, Huxley was writing a satirical piece of fiction, not scientific prophecy. So how does Huxley turn a future where we're all notionally happy into the archetypal topia? Brave New World is an unsettling, loveless and even sinister place. Thus BNW , and isn't intended by its author to, evoke just how wonderful our lives could be if the human genome were intelligently rewritten. In Brave New World, Huxley contrives to exploit the anxieties of his bourgeois audience about Soviet Communism and Fordist American capitalism. In BNW, happiness derives from consuming mass-produced goods, sports such as Obstacle Golf and Centrifugal Bumble-puppy, promiscuous sex, "the feelies", and most famously of all, a supposedly perfect pleasure-drug, soma . So what form might this cure take?
A Simple Novel Outline - 9 questions for 25 chapters & H.E. Roulo Just as every tree is different but still recognizably a tree, every story is different but contains elements that make it a story. By defining those before you begin you clarify the scope of your work, identify your themes, and create the story you meant to write. At Norwescon 2011 I sat in on a session called Outline Your Novel in 90-minutes led by Mark Teppo. I’ll give you the brief, readable, synthesized version. Answer 9 questions and create 25 chapter titles and you’re there. Here are the 9 questions to create a novel: 1.) 2.) 3.) 4.) 5.) 6.) 7.) 8.) 9.) Now, with those 9 questions answered to your satisfaction, try to fill in a 25 chapter, 75,000 word outline. Chapters 7-18 are the middle of your book. Chapters 19-25 depict the heroic act to victory. Wasn’t that easy? Okay, sure, the work isn’t done yet. Using the idea that there are 25 chapters, I outlined my current work in progress. I hope that was helpful. Tell me what works for you. Related 6 Steps to Masterful Writing Critiques
201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. A foam of music falls over the ears. It is the gong of the orgasm. ~ Anais Nin 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
More Than Human: Bladerunner's Human/Replicant Debate Blade Runner addresses issues arising from the differences between man and machine more than any other film. The root conflict in Blade Runner, as I see it is: What happens when machines created by man become superior to mankind? First, what does "superior" imply? Stronger? today that can physically outperform human beings in particular tasks. Replicants are treated as beings without souls, inanimate, emphasis on anima translated from Latin as "the soul". Philip K. Much like a young child who throws a tantrum rather than face the reality of an unpleasant situation, Leon murders his tormentor, rather than confront the imagery that the scenario has evoked. Rachael, on the other hand, has had human memories artificially implanted. Deckard: "A wasp crawls on your leg..." Rachael: "I'd kill it." Rachael does not even require a moment's hesitation to respond. The question is, who exactly are the Replicants and who are the humans. Rachael: "I'd turn them in to the authorities."
Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles - Creative Writing Help Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE. We'll also keep you informed about interesting website news. "I have searched the web and used different worksheets, but none have come close to your worksheets and descriptions of (what to do and what not to do). Both courses I have taken have with Creative Writing Now have been amazing. Each time I have learned something new. The one thing I love, you take everything apart and give examples." - Katlen Skye "As usual - I already love the course on Irresistible Fiction, rewriting a lot and improving greatly even after the first lesson. “Essentials of Fiction proved that I could indeed write and I wrote every day, much to my boyfriend's dismay (waa sniff).” - Jill Gardner "I am loving the course and the peer interaction on the blog is fantastic!!!" "I'm enjoying the weekly email course, Essentials of Poetry Writing. "Thank you for all the material in this course. "Thanks very much for this course. "I'm learning so much. "Thank you so much!!
Banned Books Online presents Welcome to this special exhibit of books that have been the objects of censorship or censorship attempts. The books featured here, ranging from Ulysses to Little Red Riding Hood, have been selected from the indexes of The Online Books Page. (See that page for more than 3 million more online books!) Please inform onlinebooks@pobox.upenn.edu of any new material that can be included here. October 1 - 7 is Banned Books Week. Books Suppressed or Censored by Legal Authorities Ulysses by James Joyce was selected by the Modern Library as the best novel of the 20th century, and has received wide praise from other literature scholars, including those who have defended online censorship. In 1930, U.S. John Cleland's Fanny Hill (also known as Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) has been frequently suppressed since its initial publication in 1749. The Comstock law also forbade distribution of birth control information. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's autobiography Confessions was banned by U.S. D.