HUMP DAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-publishing, and Better Living: Getting Things Done

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The beginning is half of every action.

~DAVID ALLEN, author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

WRITING

• 3 Main reasons why people read romance, Jody Hedlund | Tweet

This past week I asked my readers over on Facebook to share why they read romances. I categorized their answers into three main categories.

→On Writing Romance: How to Craft a Novel That Sells

• The art of transparency, Writer Unboxed | Tweet

Stories are artificial, with a carefully constructed internal architecture, each piece relying on the others, all of them there for a reason.  And readers are aware of that.  Sure, they’re willing to suspend disbelief and enter the world of a story as if it were real life.  But they’re still aware of the structure behind the story, even if they’re not conscious of it.

→Story Structure Architect: A Writer’s Guide to Building Dramatic Situations and Compelling Characters

• 4 Things Dexter taught me about writing antiheroes, The Write Practice | Tweet

How do you create a compelling antihero? Let’s take a look at four qualities of antiheroes

→HEROES AND ANTI-HEROES A REader in Depth

• Emotional Wound Thesaurus: Losing a limb, Writers Helping Writers | Tweet

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of a character’s backstory is her emotional wound. This negative experience from the past is so intense that a character will go to great lengths to avoid experiencing that kind of pain and negative emotion again. As a result, certain behaviors, beliefs, and character traits will emerge.

→The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression

SCREENWRITING

• The importance of story concept, Go Into The Story | Tweet

In an interview I conducted with former ICM partner and agent Emile Gladstone, we discussed the importance of story concept.

→Writing Screenplays That Sell, New Twentieth Anniversary Edition: The Complete Guide to Turning Story Concepts into Movie and Television Deals

• BEHIND THE LINES WITH DR: Development Notes–killed by the bell, Script Mag | Tweet

Whether it’s an idea, a finished screenplay or something in between, writers are constantly in the position of filtering the tsunami of ideas from others. Producers, directors and executives view themselves as creative contributors in search of a bettered or more commercial product. Namely, your movie.

→Your Idea Machine (Screenwriting Blue Books Book 1)

SELF-PUBLISHING

• Digital, mobile, global, indie? The future of publishing with Thad McIlroy, The Creative Penn  | Tweet

How mobile devices are changing the way people read and purchase books, and the increased reach of authors given the proliferation of mobile devices.

→Ditch the Publisher: 40 Indie Authors on Their Unique Self-Publishing Journeys

• 5 Ways to improve your email newsletter performance, Jane Friedman | Tweet

Once you start sending—and as you observe how well your list grows—you’ll learn all kinds of things about what works and doesn’t work. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.

→Building an E-mail list: A complete guide to building an e-mail list from scratch

PSYCHOLOGY

• The narcisism test, Psychology Today | Tweet

Do you have too much narcissism– or too little? Take the test and find out.

→Why Is It Always About You? : The Seven Deadly Sins of Narcissism

RELATIONSHIPS

• Friend fail: When your partner dislikes your pals, WSJ | Tweet

Different than family, problem friends can ruin a relationship

FOOD

• What is hydrogenation? And why is it in all your food?, io9 | Tweet

Chances are you’ll eat something hydrogenated today. What does that mean? We’ll give you a quick tour of what hydrogenation is, how it’s done, and why many people don’t like it.

→Foods that Harm and Foods that Heal: The Best and Worst Choices to Treat your Ailments Naturally

TIME MANAGEMENT

• The top time management mistakes you’re making, FastCo | Tweet

From the amount of paper on your desk to the amount of time you check your email, this is what’s standing in the way of getting things done.

→Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

MUSIC

• How music got free by Stephen Witt, NYT | Tweet

‘They just didn’t know what to do’, said the head of the world’s biggest music company, going on to add that there weren’t really any steps he could take to stem the tide of illegal downloads.

→How Music Got Free: The End of an Industry, the Turn of the Century, and the Patient Zero of Piracy