The Furlow Writing Lab Questionnaires for Writing Character Profiles - Creative Writing Help Enter your e-mail to get the e-book for FREE. We'll also keep you informed about interesting website news. "I have searched the web and used different worksheets, but none have come close to your worksheets and descriptions of (what to do and what not to do). "As usual - I already love the course on Irresistible Fiction, rewriting a lot and improving greatly even after the first lesson. “Essentials of Fiction proved that I could indeed write and I wrote every day, much to my boyfriend's dismay (waa sniff).” - Jill Gardner "I am loving the course and the peer interaction on the blog is fantastic!!!" "I'm enjoying the weekly email course, Essentials of Poetry Writing. "Thank you for all the material in this course. "I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the lessons and feel they were very helpful in introducing new ideas and perspectives to my writing. "Thanks very much for this course. "I'm learning so much. "Thank you so much!! "The Irresistible Fiction course is going well.
How to Build a Stockpile of Good Writing Ideas Returning to old scraps of writing is one of the best ways to cure writer’s block Not every idea that strikes is going to immediately turn into the beginnings of a novel, story, or poem; sometimes an idea is just a lonely little thing that lives underground for 17 years before… oh wait, that’s the cicada. But not unlike those weird little bugs, ideas can take a long while to come of age. You never know when something you thought up months or years ago will fit itself perfectly — almost accidentally — into your latest work-in-progress, or rub against another idea and spark. That’s why it’s important to write everything down: the brilliant lines, the half-baked notions, and that nonsense you scribbled on a sticky-note after a dream. Gather the seeds. Scraps of ideas can come from anywhere. Write ’em all down — as if you were a naturalist taking notes in the field (only YOU are the subject). But how do you build your stockpile of ideas? 1) You never know when or where an idea will strike —
20,000+ Names from Around the World--baby names, pet, pets, sim, story character, meaning, origin, etymology, etymologies, meanings, origins BabyNamesHub.com: Lists. History. Helpful Comments. How to Write a Novel Readers Won’t Put Down Take advantage of our Instructor of the Month deal and get all of James Scott Bell’s bestselling books on writing (and more) for one heavily discounted price. Order Now >> A friend alerted me to an interesting “infographic” posted on Goodreads. - Weak writing - Ridiculous plot - Unlikable main character But the #1 reason by far was: Slow, boring. Makes sense, doesn’t it? So if I may channel my favorite commercial character, The Most Interesting Man in the World: Find out the things readers don’t like, then . . . don’t do those things. I thank you. Let’s have a look. Weak Writing This probably refers to pedestrian or vanilla-sounding prose. Ridiculous Plot Thriller writers are especially prone to this. Every plot needs to have some thread of plausibility. [Want To Be a Great Fiction Writer? Unlikable Main Character The trick to writing about a character who is, by and large, unlikable (i.e., does things we generally don’t approve of) is to give the reader something to hang their hat on.
historical fiction and more If your goal is to write and sell a novel, you need to know what agents and editors look for and what factors influence readers to purchase books . In this boot camp, literary agent Jim McCarthy will discuss the top 10 elements of a successful novel—that sells. You’ll explore the effect e-publishing has on how novels are published, selected, and promoted. You’ll also learn about key craft components: effective use of the three-act structure to writing memorable characters and more. If you're wondering what exactly makes a novel saleable, what makes agents and editors say no to a submission, and how the criteria is different today from 10, 20, or 50 years ago, these questions (and more!) Use McCarthy's advice and tips to ensure your novel has what it takes to catch the eye of readers on the bookshelf and online!
Stormwriting: What It Is and Why You Should Try It Now you’re to the point where you’re ready to start crafting your book. You’ve done a bit of brainstorming, and perhaps you’ve done some writing. But there’s something about brainstorming that’s only partly right. After years of writing, teaching writing, and talking with writers, I’ve come to realize that brainstorming is a critically misunderstood process. Bad practices have become common. Most people have been told that brainstorming is where you sit with a blank piece of paper and you’re supposed to just, like force out new ideas. —Elizabeth Sims (You’ve Got a Book In You) Too often we get stuck in a rigid idea of what a brainstorm is supposed to be. There is a better way. The answer, I found, lies in the very word ‘brainstorming.’ You need to use something deeper and more productive to write a good book: You need to engage your heartbrain, that is to say your whole, deepest self. In one of my mystery series, my main character is an actress. “What attitude is that?” “No,” he said.
10 Things Shakespeare Can Teach Us About Writing Thrillers Conspiracy. Murder. Politics. Love. Sex. Ghosts. And, as Hartley proved in his session “Cues From Shakespeare, the First Thriller Writer,” there’s a lot the bard can teach scribes about storytelling. Here are some of the enduring lessons Hartley shared. 1. Most of Shakespeare’s stories originated in other source material. 2. Hartley asked: Without delving into the Shakespearean authorship question, how could the son of a glove maker evoke settings, fields and time period he couldn’t have ever experienced? 3. Shakespeare doesn’t waste time getting things moving. 4. In the bard’s world, the props and costumes are kept to a minimum. 5. Just like the screenwriting maxim. 6. “It’s not enough for the door to be locked. 7. “Don’t be afraid to slow down to focus between action and event.” 8. Beyond Shakespeare’s works, Hartley used George R.R. 9. Hartley pointed out that we tend to think of Shakespeare as a great philosopher, spouting off wisdoms—but that’s not the case. 10. You might also like:
5 Ways Not to Write a Novel Writing a novel? There's first-draft flow, and there's editing flow. And then there comes a time when you think you might be done, yet the manuscript is still not quite "there." To sell your work to an agent, and then to a publisher, and finally to a great many readers, put thoughts of flow aside now, and consider the following advice. , such as "Danielle was a woman of medium height with brown hair and brown eyes." , such as: "He shaved, and then he wiped off the shaving cream," "She walked to the corner, and she looked both ways," or "We opened the door, and we found the mail on the porch." . such as the following: the difficult task, both share, blend together, on account of, considering the fact that, report back. [Better: Add some tension, impending tension, or trouble to every page. * Did you miss my post about the sometimes unpolished writing of Stephen King ? * Or the one about best writers' resolutions ? Copyright (c) Susan K.
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. Curtis - The Fallacy Files - Logical fallacies and bad arguments Prof.
Twenty Rules of Thumb for Creativity Twenty Rules of Thumb for Creativity 1. The best way to get great ideas is to get lots of ideas and throw the bad ones away. 2. Create ideas that are fifteen minutes ahead of their time...not light-years ahead. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. If you have some other rules of thumb for creativity, Send them to me e-mail Return to Tools Page here.