How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word
Find a Subject You Care About Find a subject you care about and which you in your heart feel others should care about. It is this genuine caring, and not your games with language, which will be the most compelling and seductive element in your style. I am not urging you to write a novel, by the way — although I would not be sorry if you wrote one, provided you genuinely cared about something. A petition to the mayor about a pothole in front of your house or a love letter to the girl next door will do. Do Not Ramble, Though
Writer's Diet™ Test
The WritersDiet Test Is your writing flabby or fit? Enter a writing sample of 100 to 1000 words and click Run the test. ATTENTION USERS: Please note that the WritersDiet Test is an automated feedback tool, not an assessment tool. The test identifies some of the sentence-level grammatical features that most frequently weigh down academic prose. It is not designed to judge the overall quality of your writing — or anyone else's.
Data Mining Novels Reveals the Six Basic Emotional Arcs of Storytelling
Back in 1995, Kurt Vonnegut gave a lecture in which he described his theory about the shapes of stories. In the process, he plotted several examples on a blackboard. “There is no reason why the simple shapes of stories can’t be fed into computers,” he said. “They are beautiful shapes.” The video is available on YouTube.
tortagialla.com - the creative journal of Artist Linda Tieu
Since I can think of nothing else but bookbinding today, I thought it was about time I wrote a tutorial and explanation of how I make my journals and sketchbooks and even more importantly – why!? I’ve always been in awe of the fine art of bookmaking, but really I started making journals for myself to use. It was simply easier to fold up a bunch of papers I had lying around and start journaling. The ability to customize the size, the papers and add in little details made my journals even more special to me as well. However, I soon fell in love with the bookmaking process itself. I kept making journals and even though I work in more than a handful of journals at the same time, I quickly produced more than I could ever use.
Kids explain how banned and challenged books helped them and even saved their lives / Boing Boing
By Joan Bertin and Millie Davis Banned Books Week has come and gone but we can be sure of one thing: the coming year will be marked by challenges to the same kinds of books that were controversial this year, and in years past. report this ad Controversies over what books are taught in class or shelved in the school library typically start when an adult—usually a parent or community member—feels that a book selected by teachers and librarians is inappropriate, offensive or objectionable. Most often, the objections relate to sexual scenes, offensive language, or depictions of drug and alcohol use. Concerned adults worry that the book promotes ideas that conflict with their personal values and beliefs, or that children will imitate fictional characters and engage in undesirable behavior.
Supplies for Journaling
There's oodles of creative fun to be had painting an art journal, which is art-making, diary-keeping, and journaling all in one. The starting point is having a stash of supplies organized and easily available so you never have to interrupt your creative flow because of a lack of something. Then some appealing paper or journal to work in, and a nice pen. 1. Gather Your Usual Painting Supplies
10 books that will make you a better writer (and why)
Last week, I wrote about 25 habits that will make you a better writer. This week, I thought — let’s dive into books. After twenty-plus years writing, I’ve collected some resources that I absolutely couldn’t do with out.
Over 100 envelope templates and tutorials
Tonniece said... Good gawd Mel, you have been very busy. Thanx soooo much for all these links, and all the time you spent in getting them to us.You are THEE BEST
Iraqi Refugee Empowers Youth To Share Their Stories With 'Narratio'
When Ahmed Badr was 8 years old, his family fled Baghdad in the midst of the Iraq War. Writing helped him process his experience, so he started the website Narratio to give other young people the same opportunity. Ariel Edelman hide caption toggle caption Ariel Edelman
Creative Writing Prompts
Write a scene that includes a character speaking a different language, speaking in a thick accent, or otherwise speaking in a way that is unintelligibe to the other characters. (Note: You don't necessarily need to know the language the character is speaking—be creative with it!) Describe a character's reaction to something without explaining what it is. See if your fellow prompt responders can guess what it is. Write a story or a scene about one character playing a prank on another.
