Photo Credit: McSnowHammer via Compfight cc
Quote of the day
While the force of gravity keeps a surfer on a surfboard and pulls the board and the surfer down a wave, buoyancy is the force that pushes again gravity and helps make surfing possible.
If the gravity and buoyancy are in alignment, the two forces basically cancel each other out. If either of the forces shifts, such as when you step forward or backward on your board, one end of the board will sink.
A major part of your job as a surfer is to manage the forces of gravity and buoyancy, which you will learn to do through proper balance and body positioning.
~JESS CLARK, author of Grab Your Wave: How to Start Surfing
WRITING
- Five things you can do to improve your writing, Write Divas | Tweet
Writing a book is hard work. I’m sure there aren’t many who will disagree with that statement. Having your book edited is tough too. In fact, it can border on painful because your editor didn’t love every scene or character you worked so hard to create. There are a few things that can help you improve your writing.
100 Ways to Improve Your Writing (Mentor Series)
5 tips for handling amnesia and back story, Nail Your Novel | Tweet
First, do you have a convincing reason for the amnesia? Second, you have a convincing mechanism for paying out the story surprises?
Writing Active Setting Book 2: Emotion, Conflict and Back Story
- How to Motivate a Character In Ways Your Reader Will Relate To, Go Teen Writers | Tweet
By the time I close out chapter three, I’ve usually pushed my character into making the choice to go on the journey she needs to be on. James Scott Bell describes this moment as a “doorway of no return,” and I think that’s a very helpful way to process this moment in the story: My character is choosing to walk through a door that will forever close behind her.
Power Elements Of Character Development (Power Elements Of Fiction Book 2)
5 Out-of-the-Box Writing Prompt Sources, The Write Practice | Tweet
In these modern days of the Internets, prompts go well beyond the standard idea teaser written out on a page—your writing prompt options range from turning to your favorite author blog to stimulating visuals on Pinterest.
SCREENWRITING
- Great Character: Karl Childers (“Sling Blade”), Go Into The Story | Tweet
In the 1996 movie Sling Blade (written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton), the story’s Protagonist is a remarkable character named Karl Childers, also played by Thornton.
How to Write Great Characters: The Key to Your Hero’s Growth and Transformation
- BEHIND THE LINES WITH DR: Rules of Attaching Actors, Script Mag | Tweet
It’s said that you don’t get your picture made in Hollywood without having a star or two attached. The assumption is that there’s much less financial risk when stars are officially involved. Their pricey names on a one-sheet or TV ad or above a neon marquee practically guarantee ticket sales in both the U.S. and abroad.
SELF-PUBLISHING
Why Social Media is Still Your Best Path to Book Visibility, Anne R. Allen’s Blog | Tweet
A lot of marketing gurus are advising authors to cut back on blogging and social media and go back to the email marketing of the last decade.
- 5 Tips for success as a self-published author, Writers Helping Writers | Tweet
The truth is that self-published titles now regularly top the charts – if not outright dominate them. Successful self-published titles have great covers and lots of fervent fans – often the only way to distinguish them from traditionally published titles is the publisher listing in the description (and the price – indie titles are usually less than $5.99 for single titles).
PSYCHOLOGY
- Will practicing a skill in your head make you better at it?, Popular Science | Tweet
Short answer: Only if you’re already good.
SKILL: 40 principles that surgeons, athletes, and other elite performers use to achieve mastery
PHILOSOPHY
There may be no watertight definition of ‘man’ or ‘woman’, but your gender still defines you more than anything else does.
The Metaphysics of Gender (Studies in Feminist Philosophy)
TIME
- Too Much to Do, Not Enough Time, Zen Habits | Tweet
One of the biggest frustrations many of us feel is having too much to do, and not feeling like we have enough time to do it. We are overwhelmed. How do we fit all of the stuff we have to do into our small container? By simplifying. And letting go.
Letting Go: The Pathway of Surrender
SURFING
Catching the perfect wave is one of the most exhilarating feelings to be had on Earth, and there’s still plenty of time left in the summer to get stoked. If you’re at a beach with some good curls, these tips will have you riding in no time.
Grab Your Wave: How to Start Surfing
RELATIONSHIPS
- The most unrealistic thing about Hollywood romance, visualized, The Washington Post | Tweet
The overwhelming majority of American marriages—about 80 percent—are between people who are roughly the same age. But that kind of pairing is a lot less likely in Hollywood, where leading male actors are often cast with female leads who are 10, 15, or 20 years younger—young enough to be their daughters, in some cases.