WRITING
Scene Structure: The First 3 Things You Need in Your Scene, Live Write Thrive | Tweet
at first paragraph is probably going to be the hardest one to write and polish since it carries the biggest burden in your novel (and the last paragraph in the book carries the second biggest burden).- How To Write A Story With A Great Open Ending, Writers Write | Tweet
Wh
en you write fiction, you may not always end with a scene or chapter that neatly wraps up the conflicts and storylines. Instead, you may want to leave your readers with an open ending.
novel ending- Do you think you’re smarter than the hero’s journey?, Pat Verducci | Tweet
Do
you ever look at story structure models and think, “Wow, this is boring,” or, “This template is a breeding ground for cliches.” Or, “Really, in the climax she has to face ‘death’ one more time and overcome it?”
Related content:
Perfecting Plot: Charting the Hero’s Journey
- Tension vs Energy, Writer Unboxed | Tweet
Wh
at is more comfortable for you to write, feelings or action? It’s an important question. The answer predicts what we’ll mostly find on your pages but also what we mostly won’t.
Related content:
Writing Deep Scenes: Plotting your story through action, emotion and theme
- Writing Historical Fiction, Go Teen Writers | Tweet
Wo
uldn’t it be fun to use a time machine and select a place to visit in the past, knowing we’re completely safe while there?
Related content:
Mastering the Art of the Cliffhanger Chapter Ending, Writers Helping Writers | Tweet
Ofte
n writers are told to work on the hook of their story, making readers interested in the characters and setting within the first page or two. And while that’s important (and extremely daunting), it’s equally important to keep the reader reading all the way until THE END.
Related content:
19 tips on Writing Memoir, The Write Practice | Tweet
R
elated content:
+ Related books:
- How to write dazzling dialogue
- Writing success: Your book from start to finish to publication
- Outlining your novel
- Writing deep point of view
- The art of memoir
- Reading like a Writer
- Rock your revisions
- The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression
SCREENWRITING
- 8 Characters of comedy, Flying Wrestler | Tweet
When I work with anyone developing a half-hour pilot, I always recommend Scott Sedita’s book The Eight Characters of Comedy. Written primarily for actors (Sedita is an acting coach in Los Angeles), it can also greatly help writers. It presents eight archetypes found in virtually every comedy series (or comedy feature, for that matter).
- What pitfalls to avoid when writing a script, Go Into The Story | Tweet
- Writing a TV movie & breaking into business, Script Mag | Tweet
The hardest part of building a career as a screenwriter is breaking in. As the major studios continue to reduce the number of theatrical films they produce each year (and base more and more of them on comic books) the difficulty of breaking into theatrical feature films has never been more difficult. But as the number of broadcast, cable and online TV networks continues to increase, the need for original television movies has never been greater.
- Reflections on Carl Jung: Make the darkness conscious (Part 4), Go Into The Story | Tweet
The more I study Carl Jung, the more I discover his ideas about psychology have a direct relevance to screenwriting (specifically) and stories (generally).
Do you believe in your script idea?, Script Mag | Tweet
Believing in a project and pursuing it versus when you should let go of an idea that you have for a project, or indeed walk away from an idea or a project that isn’t working…
Related books:
- Super Structure: The key to unleashing the power of story
- Screenplay: The foundations of screenwriting
- Essentials of screenwriting
- Screenwriting: The sequence approach
- 33 Ways to sell your screenplay
- The eight characters of comedy
SELF-PUBLISHING
- Authors do need a website, Just Publishing Advice | Tweet
While Facebook and Twitter are must have social media platforms for self publishing authors, many forget about taking the extra step of having a website and blog. They are absolutely essential for so many reasons.
Personal Branding: Why You Should Start an Email Newsletter, The Write Life | Tweet
Whether you’re a writer, a designer, or a journalist, you’ve probably considered your personal brand.
- Is Writing Non Fiction More Profitable?, Just Publishing | Tweet
While fiction and particularly romance seem to dominate self publishing, non-fiction has a number of advantages when it comes to making money from your writing. The biggest is that non-fiction offers enormous potential for online discoverability.
The Self-Publishing Checklist: Editorial, Production, and Distribution, Jane Friedman | Tweet
Whether you’re completely new to the publishing process or an old pro, it can be helpful to have a to-do list to guide your self-publishing project to completion, to ensure you don’t miss any important steps, and also to help you plan well enough to hit your target pub date.
11 Mistakes new self-published authors make, Just Publishing Advice | Tweet
However, the common mistakes new self-published authors often make, can make success even more difficult. Avoiding the following classic mistakes will give you a far better chance of success.
Related books:
- Self Publishing: My rules to staying alive and making money
- How I sold 80,000 books
- Write. Publish. Repeat: The no-luck-required guide to self-publishing success
- Createspace & Kindle Self Publishing Masterclass
- The Self-Publishing Road Map