Character and Characterisation in the Novel How to write convincing characters Characterisation - the task of building characters - isn't easy. But if you're struggling to build characters with real life and vigour, here is our very own patented technique. If you haven't yet started your book, then work on the exercise below before you start. If you have started, but think that maybe you started prematurely, then back up, do the exercise and then look back over your existing work. Oh, and don't feel patronised at being given exercises. Learning to know your characters Strong characterisation is based on knowledge. The Ultimate Character Builder Begin with a blank sheet (or screen). You should aim to cover at least five pages with this exercise. The less central a character is to your book, the less you need to know him/her. And the exercise will work. Checking your work Once you've got a fair way into your writing (say 5 to 10,000 words), then look back at it. Even genre fiction needs swiftly drawn, believable characters.
Nice titles - URL rollovers - link to ignore Nate over at webgraphics talks about a new feature he'd like to see in Safari: that titles on links should be shown in the rather pretty way that Safari currently shows dragged links: That's rather nice, that. Updates Brad Choate sent some changes to make the positioning work correctly when a title's element is in something absolutely positioned, and to handle <ins> elements.Peter Janes fixed nicetitles so that they work in XHTML.This code is released under the MIT licence.A fix to stop titles remaining on the page when you open a link in a new window, courtesy of Paul McLanahan.Minor hack by me to ensure that titles don't appear off the right border of a page.Minor hack by me to make it work on links with images in (2007-05-08) at Vigdor's prompting (and many, many other people over the last four years or so) I don't see it! Your browser requires good DOM support for this to work. How does it work? Oh, you want to know what it actually does, eh? Stuart Langridge, February 2003
Timothy Hallinan - Writer's Resources Finishing Your Novel “A writer is someone who finishes.” -- Thomas Farber This section is for you if: You’ve started a novel but are having trouble finishing it, or You want to start a novel but aren’t sure you’ll be able to finish it. I’ve been writing novels (and teaching about writing novels) for twenty years, and one thing I’ve learned is how to finish. This section is about how to handle those things. Finishing a novel (or any kind of writing project) is a transformational experience. A long time ago, something funny happened to me. I thought I was a writer. And then my house burned down. So I made some notes on the book I remembered best, flew to Thailand, and wrote the whole thing in seven weeks. This area of the site is based on what I've learned since then.
Health | Internet use 'good for the brain' For middle-aged and older people at least, using the internet helps boost brain power, research suggests. A University of California Los Angeles team found searching the web stimulated centres in the brain that controlled decision-making and complex reasoning. The researchers say this might even help to counteract the age-related physiological changes that cause the brain to slow down. The study features in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. As the brain ages, a number of changes occur, including shrinkage and reductions in cell activity, which can affect performance. It has long been thought that activities which keep the brain active, such as crossword puzzles, may help minimise that impact - and the latest study suggests that surfing the web can be added to the list. Lead researcher Professor Gary Small said: "The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerised technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults.
Max Barry | Fifteen Ways to Write a Novel Every year I get asked what I think about NaNoWriMo, and I don’t know how to answer, because I don’t want to say, “I think it makes you write a bad novel.” This is kind of the point. You’re supposed to churn out 50,000 words in one month, and by the end you have a goddamn novel, one you wouldn’t have otherwise. If it’s not Shakespeare, it’s still a goddamn novel. The NaNoWriMo FAQ says: “Aiming low is the best way to succeed,” where “succeed” means “write a goddamn novel.” I find it hard to write a goddamn novel. Some of these methods I use a lot, some only when I’m stuck. The Word TargetWhat: You don’t let yourself leave the keyboard each day until you’ve hit 2,000 words.
Second Life Best Practices in Education Conference 2007 New York Times 50 Most Challenging Words (defined and used) | Currently Obsessed The New York Times recently published a list of 50 fancy words that most frequently stump their readership. They are able to measure this data thanks to a nifty in-page lookup mechanism, which you can try here. Try double-clicking the word “epicenter”. Since the NYT didn’t include definitions of these words, I decided to post a job to MediaPiston to produce an article defining and using each word in the list. The New York Times 50 Fancy Words (defined and used) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Best Science Visualization Videos of 2009 Some of the most impressive images in science are produced when researchers take numerical data and represent it visually through modeling and computer graphics. The Department of Energy honored 10 of this year’s best scientific visualizations with its annual SciDAC Vis Night awards, at the Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing conference (SciDAC) in June. Researchers submitted visualizations to the contest, and program participants voted on the best of the best. (We’ve adapted the captions from the SciDAC Vis Night blurbs.) Above: The Big One This visualization illustrates some of the rupture and wave propagation phenomena of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the San Andreas fault in Southern California. Video: DOE SciDAC Program/Amit Chourasia, Kim Olsen, Steven Day, Luis Dalguer, Yifeng Cui, Jing Zhu, David Okaya, Phil Maechling and Thomas H. Below: Impact of a Copper Bullet on 6 Layers of Harness Satin Weave Kevlar Fabric(video not available) Pages: 1 23456789View All
Write Like a Girl (or Guy) If all the characters you create talk exactly like you do, no one but your mom is going to want to read your book—and maybe not even her if you haven't called recently. That's why you need to understand how to write dialogue that sounds authentic, even when your character differs from you when it comes to their age, region, education level, social status, background, personality, and/or gender. Each of these factors plays a role in how a person (real or fictional) speaks, and you need to consider all of them to make your characters’ dialogue sound truly legit. Let’s preface this whole shebang with a disclaimer: Like anything involving differences between sexes, this can be a bit of a touchy subject. Things have improved significantly. Handling problems When a friend wants to chat about their bad day, men are more likely to respond with a Vanilla Ice-esque “if there’s a problem, yo, I’ll solve it” approach, giving actionable advice with the goal of making the problem go away. Word choice
Greenbush Edusim 50 Most Challenging Words | Just English Back in 2010 The New York Times published a list of 50 fancy words that most frequently stump their readership. The New York Times 50 Fancy Words (defined and used) 1. Inchoate: just begun and so not fully formed or developed I am glad your inchoate proposals for integrating the company were not accepted this time, thus saving us face. 2. Anderson’s profligacy cost him his job and its better you tighten up your belt before you go the same way. 3. Mr. 4. Every major war on this planet were followed by many years of austerity. 5. The firm’s profligate spending only hastened its downfall. 6. Humpty Dumpty’s antics remain a constant source of baldenfreude for children and adults alike. 7. His ludicrous attempts at mimicry in the office only earned him the opprobrium of his colleagues. 8. The millionaire technocrat and his cronies were publicly derided for being apostates, after they were exposed of polluting the environment while purporting to have spent large sums for water conservation. 9. 10. 11.
APML - Attention Profiling Mark-up Language 50 Excellent Writing Exercises to Cultivate Your Creativity & Craft If you’re a good writer, you can succeed in any industry, no matter what kind of online degree you have. But even great writers sometimes have trouble organizing their work, polishing up the details, or even picking a cohesive idea to write about. Here are 50 excellent writing exercises to help cultivate your creativity and craft, from brainstorming to beating writer’s block and remembering your motivation. Brainstorming and Organization Try these brainstorming exercises to map out your ideas, spur on your creativity, and plan your project. Levels: Break down your topic sentence or main theme into levels to create subtopics and then single terms that you can explore individually with lists, charts or free-writing.Free-writing: This traditional form of brainstorming involves writing down anything that comes to your mind even if you don’t think it makes sense. Writer’s Block Use prompts: Print out and then cut up these prompts to store in a writer’s block box. Games Language and Grammar Style