LitReactor

Max Barry | Fifteen Ways to Write a Novel Every year I get asked what I think about NaNoWriMo, and I don’t know how to answer, because I don’t want to say, “I think it makes you write a bad novel.” This is kind of the point. You’re supposed to churn out 50,000 words in one month, and by the end you have a goddamn novel, one you wouldn’t have otherwise. If it’s not Shakespeare, it’s still a goddamn novel. I find it hard to write a goddamn novel. Some of these methods I use a lot, some only when I’m stuck. The Word TargetWhat: You don’t let yourself leave the keyboard each day until you’ve hit 2,000 words. WriteWords - Writing Community - jobs, directory, forums, articles for writers The Pixar Touch - history of Pixar - Blog - Pixar story rules (one&version) Pixar story artist Emma Coats has tweeted a series of “story basics” over the past month and a half — guidelines that she learned from her more senior colleagues on how to create appealing stories: #1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes. #2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different. #3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. #4: Once upon a time there was ___. #5: Simplify. #6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? #7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. #8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. #9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. #10: Pull apart the stories you like. #11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. #12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. #13: Give your characters opinions. #16: What are the stakes?

The Review Review Story In the spring of 2008, I stopped submitting to literary magazines. As a fiction writer, trying to get my work published felt as futile and inconsequential as trying to write my name on a snowflake. I spent so much time sending work out and buying envelopes, printer ink, stamps, and paper only to receive one after another rejection letter, sometimes not even written on a full piece of paper but cut from the bottom third, as if rejection of my work were not even worth wasting a full page. Of course getting published is not easy and if it were, the rewards would not feel so valuable and hard-won. However, I also felt that there was something unsettling about this entire process. Worse, I was not the only writer like this. Wanting to get published in lit mags had started to feel like doing community service so that it would look good on your college application. At first, this discovery was comforting. With over 600 print and online journals, however, it can be hard to know where to begin.

Internet Resources - Writers Resources - Writing Links & Writers Links for Writers - Word Stuff Unsorted [/writers] James Patrick Kelly - Murder Your Darlings - "When time comes to make that final revision, however, you must harden your heart, sharpen the ax and murder your darlings." Greda Vaso - Determining the Readability of a Book - includes formulas for Gunning's Fog Index, Flesch Formula, Powers Sumner Kearl L. Kip Wheeler - Literary Terms and Definitions L. Kip Wheeler - Comp - Lit - Poetry - Links - more Style - Grammar - Errors in English [/writers]American Heritage - Book of English Usage - free download Band-Aid AP StylebookPaul Brians - Common Errors in EnglishCJ Cherryh - Writerisms and other Sins The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ Gary N.

An Essay by Einstein -- The World As I See It "How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving... "I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. "My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities.

75 Books Every Writer Should Read Whether you want to make writing your career or just want to know how to improve your writing so that you can pass your college courses, there is plenty of reading material out there to help you get inspired and hone your skills. Here’s a collection of titles that will instruct you on just about every aspect of writing, from the basics of grammar to marketing your completed novel, with some incredibly helpful tips from well-known writers themselves as well. Writing Basics These books address things like structure, plot, descriptions and other basic elements of any story. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers: You can improve the quality of your writing by adding a mythical quality to them with advice and insight from this book. Advice from Authors Who better to give advice on writing than those who have made a name for themselves doing it? On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King: This is widely regarded as one of the best books for any aspiring author to read.

Chuck Wendig, Freelance Penmonkey | Chuck Wendig: Freelance Penmonkey Jargon To Jabberwocky: 3 Books To Jazz Your Writing iStockphoto.com I'm an English professor, and I spent the first 15 years of my career trying to write like one. You might be surprised by what that's like. We don't emulate the fiction writers we most admire. We too rarely practice what we preach to our composition students — namely that good writing is simple and direct. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to start writing for general readers, not just my fellow Ph.D.s. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft In On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, Stephen King tells us what he knows about making stories work, and shows us too — in absorbing narratives from his own life. Advice to Writers Advice to Writers, edited by Jon Winokur, is a collection of quotations on the writer's craft. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

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). 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.” Imagine you’re an eccentric millionaire—probably wearing a monocle—who has spent two years and close to $100,000 creating a desk featuring cool-water sprinklers for those working in hot climes.