WRITING
Scene Structure: The #1 Objective for your Novel, Live Write Thrive | Tweet
From The #1 Objective for Your Novel: So . . . what is the number one objective in writing your novel? (Drum roll . . .) To elicit emotion. Not any one specific emotion, but some emotion.
- How to avoid and fix bad writing, The Write Practice | Tweet
In writing, the awkward sentences, phrases, and words will come, but after days of editing and many writing lectures from Joe, I’ve developed a few tips to avoid the bad writing. Here are six tips to avoid and fix the inevitable awkward writing.
- The Writing dilemma: Knowing your shit vs knowing you’re shit, Writers in the storm | Tweet
This will not be a post on grammar. It will, indeed, be a post on shit.
Related content:
The only grammar book that you ever need
- 8 Important things to remember when you rewrite dialogue, Writers Write | Tweet
This is the second step in my dialogue series, How To Write Fabulous Dialogue In 5 Easy Steps.
Related content:
Dialogue: The art of thinking together
- What’s the difference between a scene and a sequence?, Pat Verducci | Tweet
For years, I had a vague idea of what constituted a scene. It seemed to be a moment in a book or film where people talked, and maybe, something happened. I would write these vague “scenes” hoping they were doing what they were supposed to.
Related content:
- How to choose the right tense for your novel, The Write Practice | Tweet
One of the first decisions you have to make when you’re writing a novel or short story is which tense to use. There are only two viable options: past tense or present tense.* Which tense should you choose for your novel?
Related content:
Writing a book synopsis involves creating a summary that gives the reader a sweeping overview of the central plot events and the specific appeal of a story.
Related 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
- Writing and the creative life: Is ‘unlearning’ the key to creativity?, Go Into The Story | Tweet
What if everything we have learned in our lives has actually diminished our creativity? That we were inherently creative as children, then over time lost much of that capability. That possibility is what I discovered when I stumbled across this blog post at Creativity at Work.
- There is no right way to write, Go Into The Story | Tweet
It is perhaps the single most fundamental truth about screenwriting in particular and writing in general that I know…
- Top ten tips on creating character’s world, Script Mag | Tweet
Where are we? Why are we here? What does this place really look like? These are just a few of the questions you don’t want film executives asking themselves about your script because they are confused rather than intrigued. If these film industry folks are questioning these ‘where, why, and what‘ issues, then you are risking your script getting rejected.
- The Craft: Writing the commercial screenplay, Script Mag | Tweet
No one has to go see a movie. But they do, anyway. So often, and among so many different groups of people, that billions of dollars are generated by an industry capable of doing only one thing: creating something that doesn’t exist.
Short takes on: Streaming, TV shows, Bad movies, Oscars, etc, The Bitter Script Reader | Tweet
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
- Do you even check out a book on social media?, Just Publishing Advice | Tweet
Self published authors, who fill social media with ‘Check Out My Book!‘ posts, really do not understand a thing about book marketing.
Blogging, Marketing & Social Media: Three rules I break & why, Writers helping writers | Tweet
This is one of those posts that I hesitate to write, simply because there are a whole lot of “You should do X & must do Y” advice that, er, Becca and I do not do. Maybe this costs us sometimes, but it’s what works for us. So, I’m going to pull the curtain back a bit and offer some food for thought.
- 7 Mistakes you’re making with your author blog and how to fix them, The Creative Penn | Tweet
Here are some of the main things that I see authors getting wrong on their blogs and how to fix them.
Long-term marketing models for self-published authors, Jane Friedman | Tweet
In my latest column at Publishers Weekly, I address the many indie authors who seek short-term solutions to their book marketing challenges. Ultimately, when you study what fuels the success of established self-published authors, it has nothing to do with buying marketing packages or publicity help—rather, such authors adopt a long-term strategy that pays off over time
How to find and work with beta readers to improve your book, Jane Friedman | Tweet
No creative act is a solo endeavor. Editors, designers, marketers—it takes a team of professionals to help authors bring their novels to life. But lurking behind the contracts and cut checks is a valuable set of hands many authors fail to exploit: beta readers.
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