Merce Cardus

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LinkFest ~ Best Reads on Writing, Screenwriting & Self-Publishing: Start Writing

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Best Reads on Writing& Selfpublishing 13

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on. -Lous L’amour. [/perfectpullquote]

WRITING

 

  • Using a real life legal case as inspiration for a novel | BOOKS BY WOMEN

Contracts, client meetings, and talking on the phone is not something that readers want to find in a thriller. That said, one of my goals in my debut novel was to tell a compelling story while at the same time giving readers a glimpse into what it’s really like to practice law. How could I do that without boring them?

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Writing to Win

 

The defining element of this somewhat made-up masterplot is that the characters are animals that act human, so much so that they talk like us, walk on two legs, and wear clothing. In this way, FINDING NEMO does not fit in this category, but FANTASTIC MR. FOX does.

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Believable characters in ten minutes

Much of writing is instinctual, born of exposure to good stories and a lot of practice. However, there are some tools every writer needs to make their story professional and effective. Grammar and spelling are the obvious ones, but today, I’m talking about the elements of fiction: character, plot, setting, point of view, theme, and style.

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Elements of Fiction Writing 

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of a character’s backstory is her emotional wound. 

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The Emotion Thesaurus

Writing good dialogue can be difficult. Here are some of the most common mistakes beginner writers make. 

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How to write dazzling dialogue

If you’ve been writing any amount of time you have been there—THE SUCK. This is where no matter how hard you try, you just cannot seem to move your story forward.

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Stuck in the Middle

  • Character Development: 9 Tips For Convincing Arcs | NOW NOVEL

Character development is crucial in stories exploring how people relate to each other and their environments. If all your characters stay unchanged, even through extreme circumstances, your novel can feel flat; two-dimensional. Developing your characters creates variety and makes characters vivid.

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Character Arcs

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 SCREENWRITING

 

This gives a pretty good idea about how a TV show gets produced.

  • Suspension Of Disbelief: Making a Hollywood Dream a Reality | SCRIPT MAG

When I attended film school, the first thing I was taught in screenwriting class was the term suspension of disbelief. Our professor ingrained in us that for any film to be successful an audience must be seduced into believing what they are witnessing onscreen as reality, in order to be entertained. 

  • Alexander Payne on Appealing Characters vs. Sympathetic Characters  | GO INTO THE STORY

In my current Create a Compelling Protagonist 1 week class, the subject came up about writing characters who don’t fit into the conventional role of a sympathetic figure, Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) in Bad Santa for example.

There’s been a tremendous amount of discussion about killing characters this week, as HBO revealed whether a key character on Game of Thrones was actually dead or alive. The discussion had merit, as HBO, and especially Game of Thrones, has a habit of killing off significant characters in their narratives.

The legendary screenwriting veteran behind Se7en has a new film coming out, and a lot to say about not letting the industry eat you alive.

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SELF-PUBLISHING

 

The key to making a living with your writing is to have multiple streams of income, and although indie authors usually make more money with digital than print, there are ways to expand your print portfolio even with existing books.

Kindle Unlimited was worth a try, but after 12 months, no thank you.

What are some specific steps we can take to continue to drive sales our self (beyond being lucky enough to get a book bub). It might be nice to brainstorm a list of “lesser known” strategies.

I know that Twitter can seem like an overwhelming jumble of conversations, which is why I’ve created the following guidelines to help you understand what types of content to share, how to network, and tools to tweet effectively! 

Social media and social networking are waning, but grabbing attention is booming.

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