How 17 Equations Changed the World by Maria Popova What Descartes has to do with C. P. Snow and the second law of thermodynamics. When legendary theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking was setting out to release A Brief History of Time, one of the most influential science books in modern history, his publishers admonished him that every equation included would halve the book’s sales. Undeterred, he dared include E = mc², even though cutting it out would have allegedly sold another 10 million copies. Stewart writes: The power of equations lies in the philosophically difficult correspondence between mathematics, a collective creation of human minds, and an external physical reality. Greek stamp showing Pythagoras's theorem But the case for why we should even care about equations — and mathematics, and science in general — goes back much further. Snow later added: So how did equations begin, anyway? An equation derives its power from a simple source. The original coinage appeared as follows: Donating = Loving Share on Tumblr
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Puts 400,000 High-Res Images Online & Makes Them Free to Use On Friday, The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that "more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images of public domain works in the Museum’s world-renowned collection may be downloaded directly from the Museum’s website for non-commercial use." Even better, the images can be used at no charge (and without getting permission from the museum). In making this announcement, the Met joined other world-class museums in putting put large troves of digital art online. Witness the 87,000 images from the Getty in L.A., the 125,000 Dutch masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum, the 35,000 artistic images from the National Gallery, and the 57,000 works of art on Google Art Project. The Met's online initiative is dubbed "Open Access for Scholarly Content," and, while surfing the Met's digital collections, you'll know if a particular work is free to download if it bears the "OASC" acronym. Happy rummaging. via Kottke Related Content: Download Over 250 Free Art Books From the Getty Museum
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.
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.
Unique Plots 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. 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 second requirement of subplots is that they each affect the outcome of the main plotline. A third quality of successful subplots is that they range.
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. Not to be over-dramatic, but listening to her last month changed my writing life. 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...
Plot Development: How to write the climax and ending of your novel. by Glen C. Strathy* Plot development is something you should think about after you have written a brief plot outline (Part 3). Many writers, especially pantsers, don't like to think about how their plot develops until they've written most of the first draft, preferring to let the ending evolve organically out of what comes before. I believe, however, that you can save yourself a lot of time and effort in the long run by making a few decisions about how your plot develops and the nature of your story early on. Of course, your ending must make emotional and logical sense. Will Your Novel End Happily, Unhappily, Or Somewhere In Between? You may find this hard to believe, but – without at all becoming formulaic – story endings generally fall into four different categories. To make the first choice, you need to know your Story Goal or Problem, which is the foundation of your novel's plot. If the answer is no, then in classical terms, your novel will be a tragedy. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. (E.g. 2. (E.g.
Edgar the storyteller Creatavist