[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Best advice on writing I’ve ever received: Finish. –Peter Mayle. [/perfectpullquote]
WRITING
How to write similes | THE WRITE PRACTICE
How to write similes | 
The authors who have been most effective in ushering me to that doorway are those whose writing reveals connections between images, ideas, and sensations I otherwise would have missed.
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- The dreaded synopsis–what it really reveals about our writing | KRISTEN LAMB’S BLOG
The dreaded synopsis–what it really reveals about our writing There is one word known to strike fear into the h
earts of most writers. Synopsis. Most of us would rather perform brain surgery from space using a lemon zester and a squirrel than be forced to boil down our entire novel into one page. Yes one.
Related content:
How To Write A Sizzling Synopsis
- Ten foundational scenes of a fantasy novel | LIVE WRITE THRIVE
Ten foundational scenes of a fantasy novel | I’ve yet to see more than a handful of hugely su
ccessful novels (in my lifetime) that didn’t have solid novel structure. Yes, there are “rules” and while you can fudge them a bit, they are best followed for success.
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- Character motivation thesaurus: to rescue a loved one | WRITERS HELPING WRITERS
Character motivation thesaurus: to rescue a loved one | 
What does your character want? This is an important question to answer because it determines what your protagonist hopes to achieve by the story’s end.
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- Learn how to set up the potential for change in character arcs | HELPING WRITERS BECOME AUTHORS
I used to be a psychic in the circus; indulge me: you haveread a book or watched a film or TV show… perhaps even many? Maybe you have even watched a play (a “play” is a TV show with live actors, no commercial breaks, and you have to pay for your snacks)?
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- How to write emotions and feelings | NAIL YOUR NOVEL
Emotions and feelings are the nucleus of a story.
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- Find your story plot by asking these 7 questions | JENNIFER BLANCHARD
First, here’s the basic definition of plot that I use: a Protagonist who wants something, an Antagonist who opposes what the Protagonist wants, and a journey that ensues because of it.
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+ Books on Writing:
- 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
- How I won the 2’16 NYC Midnight Screenwriter’s challenge | SAVE THE CAT
Paul Searles is a composer and sound designer from Singapore who just won the 2016 NYC Midnight Screenwriter’s Challenge. Here he talks about how the STC! Beat Sheet saved him on a tight deadline.
- The Guide Character: Creating someone to lead your protagonist | LA SCREENWRITER
Characters most effectively develop as a result of interacting with other characters. A standard trope in storytelling is that our protagonist will not figure out solutions to their conflicts on their own. They need experiences that will teach them what works and what doesn’t
- Free screenwriting resource: Movie story types | GO INTO THE STORY
If you want to work as a screenwriter in Hollywood, you’d be smart to familiarize yourself with one way creatives there think of stories.
- Navigating Hollywood: How I got to Hollywood | SCRIPT MAG
Navigating Hollywood isn’t just about knowing the literal roads to take. It’s also about the figurative one. It takes a little bit off fate and a WHOLE lotta networking to get here. Remember, there are a million roads in to this industry and your story will be different from everyone else’s.
- Screenwriting Article – Is originality dead? | SCRIPTSHADOW
This weekend I was discussing a horror script with an aspiring screenwriter. He was working on the “teaser” (his opening scene) which consisted of a girl running through the forest as a shadowy figure chased her.
+Books on Screenwriting:
- 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
- A checklist for publishing your book | WRITERS HELPING WRITERS
Do you know the publishing and marketing steps you’ll need to follow to get your work out into the world?
- Are you a push marketer or a pull marketer? | JANE FRIEDMAN
When selling anything from books to refrigerators, we need to be an advocate for the buyer, not for our product. We want to draw people to a conclusion to buy, not push them. We want to be a pull marketer.
- Free Book Promotions: Are they worth it? | THE BOOK DESIGNER
The continuing controversy among self-published authors is whether you should sign up for Kindle Direct Publishing’s Kindle Select Program and use the free promotion feature.
- Building a publishing empire through speaking and events | SKIPJACK PUBLISHING
Recently, Pamela Fagan Hutchins was a guest on Speaking with TJ Walker, and they discussed the role of events/speaking in her ditching her day job to be a full time writer. You’ll definitely want to check this out.
- Electronic Proofreading Tips and Tricks for authors | JUST PUBLISHING
Proofreading a long manuscript is laborious and time-consuming, but there are a few ways to make the task easier.
+Books on Self-publishing: