Merce Cardus

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LinkFest ~ Best Reads on Writing, Screenwriting & Self-Publishing: Be Split Open

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Best Reads on Writing & Selfpublishing 14

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Write what disturbes you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open. -Natalie Goldsberg. [/perfectpullquote]

WRITING

  • Book That Plane Ticket: How Experiencing Your Setting First-Hand Can Enhance Your Writing | WRITER UNBOXED

What started as a genealogical research trip led not only to the discovery of my soul’s home, but also to my first glimpse of the world through my character’s eyes. Such insight could never have been achieved by looking at photographs.


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Description & Setting

The main drive of this masterplot is simple: the protagonist seeks revenge on the antagonist. The antagonist must have done something that warrants the hero’s desire for vengeance. In other words, the hero must have moral justification for seeking revenge.

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 The Hero With A Thousand Faces

Can a story work without a structure? Of course not. But a structure itself is not a plot. A structure is a Holiday Inn. A plot is a Gaudi cathedral. It has twists, turrets, flying buttresses… So how do we find a plot?

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Plot Perfect

Showing what a character is feeling can be difficult for writers. Here are 3 tips to help ensure readers share the character’s emotional ride: 

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The Emotion Thesaurus

  • 6 Questions Writers Must Answer when Writing Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal  | WRITER’S DIGEST

Creating a galactic empire for a space opera or secondary world for a fantasy epic can present its own challenges, but when your story is half-grounded in the world we already know, you must decide which of reality’s rules hold fast and which can be bent or broken. Here are a few questions to ask yourself as you go about the task of “world-editing” in the early stages of an urban fantasy, paranormal, or near-future science fiction story.

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Writing Genre Fiction

  • How to Discover and Protect Your Most Creative Time for Writing  | THE WRITE LIFE

When you know when you work best, you can take better advantage ofyour creative time — rather than just spinning your wheels.

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Writing Time

There is no hard-and-fast rule regarding how to craft a series, but there are some things a writer should be careful to do.

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Writing the Fiction Series

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 SCREENWRITING

 

I read an interview some years ago in which James Cameron advised creatives to do this: “Make stuff.” Per Cameron, actually making movies is the single best way to learn, really learn the entire process of cinematic storytelling.

  • CASTING & ACTING MAGIC: Table Read Your Screenplay | SCRIPT MAG

Have you thought about having a table read? Hosting a table read with qualified readers will help you get through to the next draft. A table read can help you feel confident in sending your script out for professional coverage.

It’s standard practice for a screenwriter to get some sort of profit participation arrangement in their contract, either on the sale of original material, such as a spec script, or on a writing assignment. However “realistically,” that translates into zero dollars. Nada. Bupkis. Why?

Reading some of the lesser-known myths from Greek mythology can provide insight into archetypes and tropes we have seen throughout the history of storytelling. Finding a new take or modern approach on these narratives and characters might just be the hook you need for that new script you are writing. Here are three Greek myths worth checking out.

One of my main frustrations as the head judge of the LA Screenwriter Logline Competition is just how many people send in ideas that are vague or underdeveloped. Of course, loglines are their own beast, and some of these writers may have wonderful stories in their full scripts, but I doubt it. I think the number one absolute biggest mistake that new writers make is writing a concept that is flawed.

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SELF-PUBLISHING

 

  • Skip the Guests Posts: Here’s How To Promote Your Blog | THE WRITE LIFE

Know what’s even better than guest posting on a popular blog? Getting mentioned or featured by a popular blogger, with a link back to your blog.

 One of the reasons it’s so exciting to see new people coming into the indie publishing field is that they are constantly re-imagining the processes and strategies we’ve been using in new and useful ways.

  • How Much Does It Cost To Self-Publish A Book?  | REEDSY

Without further ado, here’s the infographic! Read the post below for more in-depth data and analysis about each service (editing, design, typesetting).

Instagram is one of the most fun tools out there. It really is! Bear with me and let me show you.

It’s time to exit KDP Select – and the rules have changed!

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