How a Scene List Can Change Your Novel-Writing Life By the end of this post you will have a nagging urge to use an excel spreadsheet. Don’t make that face—I know you’re a writer and not a data analyst. Or if you are a data analyst—I get that you’re on this blog to get away from your day job. But guess what? At the suggestion of Randy Ingermason—the creator of the Snowflake Method—I listed all of the scenes in my novel in a nice little Google spreadsheet. Literature and Latte. Scrivener Writing Software “The biggest software advance for writers since the word processor.” —Michael Marshall Smith Grow your ideas in style Scrivener is a powerful content-generation tool for writers that allows you to concentrate on composing and structuring long and difficult documents. While it gives you complete control of the formatting, its focus is on helping you get to the end of that awkward first draft.
Pixar’s 22 Golden Rules of Storytelling Back in 2011, then Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats (now freelancing) tweeted 22 rules of storytelling, according to Pixar. Coats learned the ‘guidelines’ from senior colleagues on how to create appealing stories, tweeting the nuggets of wisdom over a 6 week period. Last week, artist and User Experience Director at Visceral Games (a subsidiary of Electronic Arts), Dino Ignacio, created a series of image macros of the 22 rules and posted them to Imgur and Reddit. Below you will find the list of image macros along with a text summary of Pixar’s 22 rules of storytelling at the end of the post. Unusual Writing Ideas for Extraordinary Writers Unusual writing ideas for extraordinary writers When we think about writing ideas, what usually comes to mind are characters, plots, scenes, language, and images. Ideas almost always have to do with concepts and matters of the mind, but what about the physical act of writing?
64 Online Writing Tools For Writers, Bloggers & Authors — The Writing Cooperative 64 Online Writing Tools For Writers, Bloggers & Authors Download a PDF of these online writing tools for your next writing project. Word Processing (More than just Word and Pages) AutoCrit: Manuscript editing software for fiction writers ($5-$12 per month)BlankPage: Geared towards novelists, it focuses on distraction-free writing, with motivators, prompts, outline help and moreByWord: Simple and efficient text editing for Mac, iPhone and iPad ($11.99)Calmly Writer: Distraction-free writing ($2.99)Focus Writer: Distraction-free writing with a hide-away interface. Donation-basedHaven: Writing app for Mac, with extra features for creatives like character trackers, writing goals, prompts and different “scenes” for writingHemingway App: Helps with readability and syntax (Free and $9.99)Ilys: Promotes a writing flow.
What Are My Writing Tips? It pays to read through your spam filter, sometimes. You will be amazed by what you may find. Along with the usual spams, you could either find a legit comment or a piece of inspiration. I have found such comments. Cliche Finder Have you been searching for just the right cliché to use? Are you searching for a cliché using the word "cat" or "day" but haven't been able to come up with one? Just enter any words in the form below, and this search engine will return any clichés which use that phrase... Over 3,300 clichés indexed! What exactly is a cliche?See my definition Do you know of any clichés not listed here?
WRITING TOOLS Character Pyramid Tool (PDF) Visualize your character’s FLAWS & associated behaviors (for a deeper understanding of this tool, please reference The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Flaws) Character Target Tool (PDF) Organize and group your character’s POSITIVE ATTRIBUTES by category: moral, achievement, interactive or identity (for a greater understanding of this tool, please reference The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Attributes)
Searching for New Writing Markets? Try These Tips and Journals (kathysteinemann.com) Are you a writer or a poet? Have you considered publishing in literary journals? Here are tips for finding markets, and a section with links to four paying journals. The Basics Whether you’re a novelist, a poet, or a short-story writer, you can benefit from having your work appear in literary journals. These journals publish a variety of literature, including micro fiction, short stories, poetry, and essays. 100 Useful Web Tools for Writers All kinds of writers, including poets, biographers, journalists, biz tech writers, students, bloggers and technical writers, take a unique approach to their jobs, mixing creativity with sustainability. Whether you’re a freelance writer just scraping by or someone with a solid job and more regular hours, the Internet can provide you with unending support for your practical duties like billing, scheduling appointments, and of course getting paid; as well as for your more creative pursuits, like developing a plot, finding inspiration and playing around with words. Turn to this list for 100 useful Web tools that will help you with your career, your sanity and your creativity whenever your write.