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.
Writing.Com Project Gutenberg Adventure Hook Random Generator Ever find yourself stuck for an adventure idea right up to the time your players arrive for the game? Our Adventure Hook Random Generator gives you Dungeon Masters a starting point from which you can develop a new adventure. This handy program uses a number of preset variables to develop an adventure hook or starting idea for you. Below are three different categories that, depending on the style of your game, provide starting points from which you can develop a D&D game session. Remember -- this is a random generation program. NaNo2010 > Enter Scrivener | Tami Moore What's a Scrivener? Scrivener is a writing app that used to be Mac-only, but has expanded into the Windows environment in time for NaNoWrimo. (Penguinistas rejoice - inside sources tell me that Scrivener's working on a Linux version, too!) I've written about my love of Scrivener before, so I won't go into the details again. Suffice it to say that even though I know I only use a tiny fraction of this impressive application's abilities, the thought of writing without it makes me a sad, sad panda. What If I Don't Have Scrivener? I think you'll still be able to use the last-minute tricks I talk about here, you'll have have to go low-tech (index cards and paper) or find some alternative method that works for you. Red Flag Zone Remember that outline we made, with the row of red flags in the center of the page? Each red flag represented a single chapter or scene. Open up Scrivener and create a new, empty project*.Under the "Draft" add one new "text" for each red flag. *cough* ONWARD. Diagnosis
How to Write for Fiction Magazines: Make Money With Short Stories and Fiction Writing | Suite101.com From sci-fi anthologies to literary flash fiction, there are hundreds of opportunities for fiction writers to get published. Most writers start off with little to no pay, but with patience and dedication, it's possible to earn a second income writing fiction. Here are a few tips for freelance writers seeking print and online magazines that might publish their stories. How to Find Fiction Magazines The fastest way to find specific types of fiction publications is through a search engine, such as Google. Whether online or print, most magazines will have a website that will help give the writer an idea of what type of stories they are interested in publishing. Occasionally, fiction magazines will post a call for submission on job websites such as Craig's List. Aspiring writers should also consider starting a blog about their work. What Fiction Magazine Editors Want Before querying a magazine, writers should first research the publication carefully. Earn Money as a Fiction Writer
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley Chapter One A SQUAT grey building of only thirty-four stories. Over the main entrance the words, CENTRAL LONDON HATCHERY AND CONDITIONING CENTRE, and, in a shield, the World State's motto, COMMUNITY, IDENTITY, STABILITY. The enormous room on the ground floor faced towards the north. "And this," said the Director opening the door, "is the Fertilizing Room." Bent over their instruments, three hundred Fertilizers were plunged, as the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning entered the room, in the scarcely breathing silence, the absent-minded, soliloquizing hum or whistle, of absorbed concentration. "Just to give you a general idea," he would explain to them. "To-morrow," he would add, smiling at them with a slightly menacing geniality, "you'll be settling down to serious work. Meanwhile, it was a privilege. Tall and rather thin but upright, the Director advanced into the room. "Bokanovsky's Process," repeated the Director, and the students underlined the words in their little notebooks. Mr.
short stories at east of the web A game of Scrabble has serious consequences. - Length: 4 pages - Age Rating: PG - Genre: Crime, Humor A semi-barbaric king devises a semi-barabaric (but entirely fair) method of criminal trial involving two doors, a beautiful lady and a very hungry tiger. - Length: 7 pages - Genre: Fiction, Humor ‘Bloody hell!’ - Genre: Humor Looking round he saw an old woman dragging a bucket across the floor and holding a mop. - Length: 3 pages Henry pours more coal onto the hearth as a gust of wind rattles through the cracked window frame. - Length: 14 pages - Genre: Horror ulissa Ye relished all the comfortable little routines and quietude defining her part-time job at The Bookery, downtown’s last small, locally-owned bookstore. - Length: 8 pages - Age Rating: U The forest looked ethereal in the light from the moon overhead. - Length: 15 pages - Age Rating: 18 Corporal Earnest Goodheart is crouched in a ditch on the edge of an orchard between Dunkirk and De Panne. - Genre: Fiction - Length: 20 pages
The Write A Book With Me Rules Here is the tiny list of “official” rules for playing “Write A Book With Me.” You can work on any project you have going at any stage of completion.You shoot for a minimum of 250 words a day, five days a week.You do NOT flog yourself to catch up on missed words for days you did not write. You NEVER owe more than 250 words in a day, no matter if you missed a full week or a full month of writing.You acknowledge that all this has to be is fun—it isn’t work, a competition, or a form of self-flagellation—and if knocking out your words at this pace stops being fun, you walk away with no guilt.Your aim is to finish your book. What you do with it after that is up to you. NOTE: You can join in at any time, and you can start anywhere in any project you have going or want to begin. I’ll work on whatever book (or course) I’m writing at the time. BEGINNER: You can do the minimum words for as many days a week as I work (generally five). You can do this. Keeping In Touch Where To Post Your Progress
About | Write for Your Life My name is Iain Broome and I’m an author and freelance writer, editor and content producer. My first novel is called A is for Angelica, published by Legend Press and available from all good book shops. About the site This is a site for writers, readers and anyone interested in publishing, technology and what’s it’s like to be a professional wordsmith. I started writing here in December 2008 and the whole shebang used to be called Write for Your Life. I publish articles, interviews, videos, and co-host a weekly podcast, which is part of the marvellous 70Decibels network. That said, I’m not one for making assumptions and telling you what to do. So I’m not here to tell you how to write, but I do want to get you thinking about what you do and how you do it. Subscribe for free So that you don’t have to head back here every day, you can join roughly 2300 subscribers and have updates come to you: More about me Find me elsewhere
Ph'nglui Search Fhtagn! HOW TO: Write a Novel Using the Web It took five years for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to go from idea to finished manuscript, but the results have very clearly been nothing short of spectacular. Perhaps you also have an idea for a novel kicking around in your head. Maybe it came to you in the shower one morning before work, or maybe it came to you one evening on the commute home. Maybe you're planning to participate in National Novel Writing Month in November. Whatever the case, writing a novel is an ambitious endeavor, but one that the web is making a lot easier to accomplish. Though you'll still have to do your writing using the old fashioned method — one word at a time — web applications and social media have made the process of writing a novel considerably easier and arguably more enjoyable. 1. One of the most important and perhaps most often overlooked aspects of writing a novel is staying organized. 2. 3. Once you actually get down to the business of writing, the web can make that easier as well. 4.