102 Resources for Fiction Writing « Here to Create UPDATE 1/10: Dead links removed, new links added, as well as Revision and Tools and Software sections. Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? 10 Days of Character Building Name Generators Name Playground The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test Priming the idea pump (A character checklist shamlessly lifted from acting) How to Create a Character Seven Common Character Types Handling a Cast of Thousands – Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters It’s Not What They Say . . . Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character” How to Start Writing in the Third Person Web Resources for Developing Characters What are the Sixteen Master Archetypes? Character: A compilation of guidance from classical and contemporary experts on creating great dramatic characters Building Fictional Characters Fiction Writer’s Character Chart Character Building Workshop Tips for Characterization Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Get the Latest Published Shriver Report A Woman’s Nation has released its third in a series of Shriver Reports, A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, in partnership with the Center for American Progress. The print edition of A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, to be published on March 11, 2014, is available for preorder from Amazon here and from Barnes & Noble here. The Kindle eBook edition of the report can be downloaded here. Amazon’s Kindle can be downloaded via the Kindle app, which is available on: Smartphones: iPhone & iPod Touch, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerryComputers: Mac, Windows 8, Windows 7, XP & VistaTablets: iPad, Android, Windows 8 The report is a groundbreaking investigation into the millions of women who are doing it all and barely scraping by, struggling to provide and parent in a nation that hasn’t kept pace with the modern realities of their lives. The report is a product of A Woman’s Nation™ and the Center for American Progress. Table of Contents Julie’s Story Preface By Neera Tanden
Una lección de miedo | VICE México El balcón de mi casa da a Eje Central y Victoria. Desde ahí todo el clima se sentía muy amenazante: había helicópteros y ambulancias por todas partes, y granaderos obstruían todas las calles aledañas. Tanto mis vecinos como algunos paseantes tenían cara de pavor, se veían desconcertados, sin saber lo que estaba pasando. Bajé corriendo y en la calle ya había gente corriendo, todos muy asustados. Detrás de ellos corrían miembros de la Policía Federal. Llegué hasta Eje Central. Este despliegue de fuerza policial me pareció una lección de miedo por parte de las autoridades. @euniceadorno También lee: La paradoja del Zócalo: Policía reprime en nombre de la libertad ¡Viva México, cabrones! Ve más de Eunice: Ojo, mucho ojo: Eunice Adorno Lety la camionera
123 Ideas for Character Flaws Character Flaws From Dark World RPG via The Character Therapist Absent-minded – Preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one’s immediate surroundings. Abstracted, daydreaming, inattentive, oblivious, forgetful.Abusive – Characterized by improper infliction of physical or psychological maltreatment towards another.Addict – One who is addicted to a compulsive activity. If you enjoyed this post, you may enjoy Shades of Emotion – Characters and their emotions, and Writing About Characters With Phobias Source for Image Female Superheroes...Who Wear Clothes (PHOTOS) Comic book characters are hardly known as accurate representations of humanity, but women in particular are often portrayed as glamazon goddesses, clothed in little more than the fabric equivalent of a tightly stitched napkin. This renders their crime-fighting skills secondary to their aesthetics, boiling down their worth to how appealing they appear to be, rather than what they can accomplish. That’s why artist Michael Lee Lunsford’s reimagining of these same iconic characters is so refreshing. Take note, Lunsford stated on his blog, that his work is not a moral code he’s trying to push onto his viewers. Instead, he explains these pieces are: “An exercise in character design, attempting to clothe the heroines nearly all the way and not making them painted-on, while still keeping the look of their original costumes in some way. The above picture is the X-Men’s “Psylocke.” Photo: Michael Lee Lunsford/SupernormalStepTumbles
2013 UN Happiness Report Happiest Countries In World Photo: Courtesy of United Nations. Can you quantify happiness? The United Nations is pretty sure it can. For the second year running, the UN has invited its member countries to measure the happiness of their populations in an effort to help them make better public policy decisions. The key variables for measuring happiness contained no real surprises: a high real GDP per capita, a healthy life expectancy, having someone to depend upon, generosity, perceived freedom to make life choices, and freedom from corruption all indicate a smiley disposition. If you want to optimize your own chances of statistically living a happy life, take a cue from some of the report's findings: 1) Live in Scandinavia. 2) Being alive in America is maybe overrated. 3) Be rich, but not too rich. 4) See a shrink. 5) Canada's a safe bet.
25 Things You Should Know About Worldbuilding Worldbuilding is one of those topics that bakes my noodle every time my brain chooses to dwell on it. I have a whole bucket full of opinions, many of them in stark disagreement with one another. So, this list below should never at any time be taken as “25 Exhaustive Universal Truths About Worldbuilding,” but rather be regarded as, “25 Things Chuck Wendig Thinks About Worldbuilding At This Exact Moment In Time, Oh, Wait, Some Of Them Just Changed.” Kay? Kay. Let’s chat. 1. We’re talking about the revelation of your storyworld and its details through the story itself. 2. My opinion: you build a world to serve the story or stories you want to tell; you do not tell a story that is slave to the worldbuilding. 3. If you prioritize worldbuilding, you’re probably going to end up with like, seven different versions of the D&D Monster Manual but no actual novel. 4. But then again, that’s not to say you’ll find zero value in writing a storyworld bible for the tale at hand. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
Eight things to do when men dominate the room This story was first published on January 17, 2013. If you're a woman, you've no doubt been in this situation before: that moment when you look around the room to find you're the only female present. It could be a conference, an industry seminar, networking event, pitching session or client meeting. Or it could be a standard day at work. Why it happens is a topic for another conversation. Plenty of them. How to take control of your personal situation during such occasions is something I can help with. Arrive early and find a mentor for the moment.
Lean In For Introverts - How To Get Ahead If You're Shy The whole leaning in thing — advocating for yourself, speaking up about raises and promotions — is great, but what if you're the strong, silent type? We have to admit that for those of us who prefer quiet reflection or struggle with projecting ourselves loudly and proudly, much of Sheryl Sandberg's advice is difficult to follow. In short, Lean In is an extrovert's game. Luckily, there's still hope for all you introverts out there, and it's coming straight from Jennifer Kahnweiler, author of The Introverted Leader, in the latest how-to from LeanIn.org. First things first, according to Kahnweiler; you must identify the inherent roadblocks that come with being an introvert. Kahnweiler recommends five steps that can help you break out of the introvert's box and sidestep negative attitudes from coworkers. As with any problem, whether inside the office or out, the key to success is compromise and flexibility.
the sandwich story "Hobbes," Calvin says thoughtfully, perched on the sharply slanted roof outside his bedroom window. "Have you always been around?" Hobbes looks very wise and takes a large bite of his tuna sandwich. His reply is muffled and incomprehensible around the food. Calvin takes this to mean that Hobbes doesn't know, either. The sky looks bigger the closer you get to it, he notices. In the middle of the night Calvin wakes up suddenly from a dream that Mrs. (At least she was neat about it.) Panicked, he grabs for Hobbes and makes a run for the door, taking care to jump a safe distance from the bed so as to avoid any monsters beneath. The door is closed, but Calvin doesn't realize this until his face has made violent contact with the doorknob. (Was he that tall before?) With all the lights on and his parents clutching his shoulders and pressing bloody Kleenexes to his face, Calvin almost doesn't notice something tiny drop to the floor. A tooth! Hobbes is not quite as jubilant as he should be. So he stops.
Is masculinity in crisis? Singer Billy Bragg and director Topher Campbell have their say... - This Britain - UK BB For straight white men, we've been at a cultural apex in England. We've not run up against the barriers that women have as a gender, that people of colour have, so the need to analyse ourselves hasn't really arisen. A lot of men are acting with hostility towards the current wave of feminism because they can't tell the difference between a personal accusation of sexism and a structural critique of the way sexism is endemic in our culture.One of the issues is that there is no single place where we talk about these things, similar to the way that Mumsnet works. We have to give credit to women; coming up against various glass ceilings, they have spent a lot more time discussing how they fit into society than we have. These debates aren't going on anywhere that I can see within male groups. TC I think that if there is a crisis of masculinity, it's a white crisis and a heterosexual crisis. BB Is there a Dadsnet? BB It's what bonds you; and that's unfortunate and a real problem.
La nostalgia ya no es lo que era En sus 20 años de aventuras, Ulises se sirvió del recuerdo de su Penélope en la lejana Ítaca para salir airoso de los numerosos obstáculos y dificultades con los que se fue topando en sus fantásticos viajes. Muchos siglos después, los investigadores ven en la figura del héroe griego uno de los grandes nostálgicos de todas las épocas. Y se hacen la pregunta: ¿acaso es tan negativa la nostalgia? Durante mucho tiempo se consideró un trastorno y llegó a ser descrito como una enfermedad neurológica de causas demoníacas. Pero la nostalgia vive hoy un renacer gracias a más de una década de estudios que ven en este sentimiento agridulce no sólo una inagotable fuente de inspiración para el arte, sino también un remedio contra no pocas fuentes de malestar como la soledad, el aburrimiento o la ansiedad. Las parejas son más felices cuando comparten memorias, según estudios que también indican que la nostalgia hace a la gente más generosa y tolerante. ¿Te consideras una persona nostálgica?
Inaugural poet: My story is America's As my official bio reads, I was made in Cuba, assembled in Spain, and imported to the United States -- meaning my mother, seven months pregnant, and the rest of my family arrived as exiles from Cuba to Madrid, where I was born. Less than two months later, we emigrated once more and settled in New York City, then eventually in Miami, where I was raised and educated. By the time I was 45 days old, I belonged to three countries. My first encounter with this was with cultural negotiation. That storyline was what I knew of that homeland I imagined from family folklore told across the dinner table, gossip at beauty salons with my mother, or in the aisles of the mercados shopping for Cuban staples like chorizo and yucca with my grandmother; or from old photo albums that they had managed to smuggle out of Cuba, and the rum-drunk talk about "what happened" from the men playing dominos on the terraza in the backyard. The other imaginary world -- America-- was at the other end of the spectrum.