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Quote of the day
In life, people tend to wait for good things to come to them. And by waiting, they miss out. Usually, what you wish for doesn’t fall in your lap; it falls somewhere nearby, and you have to recognize it, stand up, and put in the time and work it takes to get to it. This isn’t because the universe is cruel. It’s because the universe is smart. It has its own cat-string theory and knows we don’t appreciate things that fall into our laps.
~NEIL STRAUSS, author of The Game
WRITING
- Authenticity in novels, Books by Women | Tweet
For me, otherness, identity and the ambiguity of life in two languages and cultures have always been compelling subjects. A child of immigrants is rarely confined to one side of any story, and that’s a gift.
- 6 Ways Authors Over-Dramatize, Jody Hedlynd | Tweet
As novelists we need to dramatize our writing. Fiction is NOT the same as boring real life. Fiction is larger than life. Think about friends or family who are especially good at retelling an ordinary event. They have the ability to make us hang on to every word or make us laugh louder.
Art Of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives
The Upside and the Downside of the So-Called “Best Writing Tip Ever”, Writer’s Digest | Tweet
Dispensing writing tips is risky business. I do it for a living, and I’ve developed a sort of virtual crash helmet to handle incoming flack. While some things about writing are universally true – in the same way that gravity is there even if you don’t believe in gravity – others are more negotiable. Especially when it comes to tips about the process of writing.
The Book on Writing: The Ultimate Guide to Writing Well
Write From The Perspective of a Shoe, The Write Practice | Tweet
We know what it feels like to be human and write from the perspective of a human. But, what does it feel like to be a shoe or a pencil or a dictionary? And, why should we even try to write from the perspective of a shoe?
Writing Genre Fiction: Creating Imaginary Worlds: The 12 Rules
SCREENWRITING
- LEGALLY SPEAKING, IT DEPENDS: Incomplete Projects – What’s a Filmmaker or Writer to Do?, Script Mag | Tweet
We’ve all experienced that helpless feeling of not being able to complete a task that is expected of us. In our industry there are countless unfinished masterpieces and abandoned projects galore. It seems inevitable that somewhere in your career you’ll encounter something that you’re involved in that stops while incomplete or never gets where it was going. This article intends to explore some of those circumstances and evaluate what happens next, what the consequences and responsibilities involved are for the incomplete projects in our lives.
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
- Part 1: If you are a beginning screenwriter…, Go Into The Story | Tweet
Recently I received an email from someone who wants to begin the process of learning the craft of screenwriting. I started my response with the advice to use this blog as a free resource. After all, there are over 13,000 posts in the archives… Then it dawned on me: How would a new writer even know where to begin going through those archives?
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting
SELF-PUBLISHING
How Authors Can Find Their Ideal Reading Audience, Jane Friedman | Tweet
Today’s writers have never had a more global reach; ebooks and digital distribution have made it easier for authors to find readers in other countries as well as their own.
Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Volume 2)
Some Readers Prefer Ebooks – Why Keep Arguing?, Just Publishing | Tweet
The debate about whether readers prefer ebooks over books rages on in the media. Quite honestly though, I have to ask, why? It is as it mainstream media thinks it is at war with ebooks, or more likely, with Amazon. Hardly a day goes by without an article or two on why ebooks are dead, or that book will win, or that readers who prefer ebooks are slaves to Amazon.
MINDFULNESS
I am being stalked by meditation evangelists.
The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself
ECONOMICS
- Beeronomics: I’ll drink to that, The Berkeley Blog | Tweet
I learned a lot about beer from this experience. First, it seems from the blogs that it’s unclear which came first: beer or bread? Historians speculate that prehistoric nomads may have made beer from grain and water before learning to make bread. The ancient Egyptians who built the pyramids got paid by beer, bread and green onions. Different cultures use different grains to make beer; and beer served for nourishment, pain relief, and socializing.
SUCCESS
The 20 Habits of Eventual Millionaires, James Altucher | Tweet
This is the wrong question. It’s upside down. This is a tacky question. This is sort of a rude question. But this was a question on Quora. Actually, the question was a bit worse. It was “I’m in my 20s – can someone in their 40s tell me what I need to do to become a financial success?”
The Choose Yourself Guide To Wealth
PRODUCTIVITY
The Productivity of Being Non-Productive, Becoming Minimalist | Tweet
The theory is that each individual possesses a certain number of character attributes, which, together, result in a person’s tendency to develop certain skills more easily and excel in certain fields. Of the 34 distinct attributes, the StrengthsFinder test will help an individual discover their top five.
CULTURE
The Game at 10: Reflections From a Recovering Pickup Artist, The Atlantic | Tweet
A decade since the book pushed “pickup artistry” into the mainstream, Neil Strauss has some mixed thoughts on its legacy.
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Merce Cardus’ Blog is a one-woman labor of love. It takes thousands of hours to research, read and write. If you enjoy what you find here, please consider a single donation in any amount. You can also join the loyal readers with a monthly donation of your choosing. Thank you.