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Merce Cardus

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LinkFest ~ Best Reads On Writing, Screenwriting & Self-Publishing: The Only Way To Finish

in Reads on Writing & Self-Publishing on 22/04/16

Best Reads on Writing & Selfpublishing 15

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] The only way to finish is to first begin. -Ann Grove. [/perfectpullquote]

WRITING

  • Getting To The End: How To Finish A Book | WRITER UNBOXED

With each book, I reached a point where I was convinced that a) I would never finish; b) that finishing the book was truly impossible; and c) that the fact that anyone in the history of the world had ever finished writing a novel was a wonder up there with the hanging gardens of Babylon and the Taj Mahal (and that took 20+ years to complete). But I finished every book anyway. Here are a few of the tricks that helped me get to that blessed final page.

Related content:

How To Write A Killer Novel Ending


  • Masterplots Theater: Q is for Quest | WRITE ON SISTERS


The quest involves a main character going in search of something, and they have a basic notion of what they seek at the start of the story. They can search for almost anything.

Related content:

 The Hero With A Thousand Faces

  • Mirrors And Foils: How Characters Reflect And Highlight One Another | WRITERS WRITE

Besides the four main characters and other archetypes, which we’ll discuss soon, we can go a little deeper into character.

Related content:

Creating Characters


  • Friends As Enemies | WRITERS HELPING WRITERS

I’m not talking about the friends that your character thinks are friends but end up stabbing her in the back. I’m talking about real friends who cause real trouble, often unintentionally. 

Related content:

The Art Of Character


  • Can’t keep up? 7 Brilliant Ways To Finish Your Story  | KRISTEN LAMB’S BLOG

Do you live in a world of unfinished stories? Across the year, you’ve jotted scraps here and there, stuck an opening scene beneath a flowerpot, a closing line in a shopping list and a great cameo incident… well, you’ve forgotten where it is now but it was awesome.

Related content:

Beginnings, Middles & Ends


  • So, You Wanna Write A Blind Character? | TERRIBLE MINDS 

So you want to write a blind character? But you’re not blind? You’re wondering how on earth you’re going to do that?

Related content:

Writer’s Guide To Character Traits


  • Everything You Need To Know About Writing A 3rd Person POV | HELPING WRITERS BECOME AUTHORS

Chnces are good you’re using a third-person POV (or Point of View) in your story right now. If not, then you likely used it in the past or will give it a try in the future. It’s a nearly universal writing technique and the most popular of all the POV choices. But are you using it correctly?

Related content:

Writing Deep Point Of View


+ 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

 

  • Movie Story Type: Ticking Clock | GO INTO THE STORY

There is significant value for a screenwriter to traffic in movie story types not the least of which is they can be hugely beneficial to the brainstorming process, everything from mix-and-match, genre-bending and gender-bending, switching Protagonists, and so on.


  • COLUMN D: Setup and Payoff: Writing Foreshadowing In Your Script | SCRIPT MAG

From the name alone, you probably know what I’m talking about. Even the average movie-goer would have no difficulty figuring out what it refers to. That’s because every script/film contains setup and payoff, and when it’s done well, it adds immeasurably to the reader/viewer’s appreciation of the story.


  • Screenplay Review: Francis & The Godfather | SCRIPTSHADOW

But a script about the making of The Godfather has an ace up its sleeve. Robert Evans. Talk about a personality. He’s like the male version of Carrie Fischer.


  • 4 Tips For Writing A Better Hero | THE BITTER SCRIPT READER

Here’s a checklist to see if your hero needs more oomph.


  • 5 Ways To Fail As A Screenwriter | LA SCREENWRITER

Hollywood is hard enough to break into as a screenwriter. But some of us make it even harder. If you’re one of those self-destructive screenwriters who’s doing everything he or she can to fail, this listicle is for you. Here are five sure-fire, battle-tested, absolutely guaranteed ways to fail as a screenwriter (AKA How not to break into Hollywood)


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

 

  • How to Save Money And Do Online Book Publicity Yourself | JANE FRIEDMAN

There are two ways to go about getting attention in the media: one is to hire experts to help you reach the media, and the other is to do the legwork yourself.


  • Twitter For Indie Authors: Tips To Succeed On Twitter In 2016 | AUTHOR MARKETING EXPERTS

 To help you ease your way into Twitter, below I’ve created some general etiquette tips to help you understand how to create a polished profile and put your best foot forward.


  • Treat Self-Publishing As A Business  | REEDSY

We often hear that “the golden age of self-publishing is gone”, so we like to use our blog to remind authors that, no, that’s not true. There are many more indie success stories than the ones you repeatedly hear about out there, and Elise Kova‘s is one of them.

  • Top 5 Tips For Authors To Build Opt-In Email List Subscription | SKIPJACK PUBLISHING

Authors, you know you crave them: subscriptions to your opt-in email list.


  • No One Buy Books Or Ebooks On Friday | JUST PUBLISHING ADVICE

I have no definitive data because I’m hopeless at merging Excel files, but I can say that I check my book sales regularly, and from what I see, Fridays absolutely suck.


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

 

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