[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] You can’t do it unless you can imagine it. -George Lucas. [/perfectpullquote]
WRITING
6 Tips for how to organize your novel’s edits | HELPING WRITERS BECOME AUTHORS
How can you organize your novel’s edits so you can actually make sense of them
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Scrivener (for Mac OSX). Available also Scrivener for Windows.
Helpful tips on historical research | BOOKS BY WOMEN
Many writers set their work in the past, but only a very few have the luxury of a training in historical research. Yet online resources are making it easier than ever before to get to grips with the history that matters to your latest project.
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Get started in writing historical fiction
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Creating characters
Deepen The Protagonist to Readers By Challenging His or Her Moral Beliefs | WRITERS HELPING WRITERS
But how often do we think about our protagonist’s morality? It’s easy to just make the assumption that he or she is “good” and leave it at that.
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The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression
How to study subtitles to write better dialogue | THE WRITE PRACTICE
What if I told you that you can become a better writer and watch your favorite shows and movies at the same time—and all you have to do is turn on the subtitles?
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- 4 Tips For Creating Bad Boys & Villains Readers Will Love to Hate| WRITER’S DIGEST
While writing about sexy bad boys with both good and bad qualities, I decided to compile a helpful list of tips for creating characters that readers love to hate.
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How to get better at writing daily: 10 methods | NOW NOVEL
Learning how to get better at writing daily will do wonders for your writing style and craft. You can improve writing skills quickly if you set aside as little as half an hour per day to add something new to your writer’s toolkit.
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- 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
- 10 Ways to develop story around a truly great character | LA SCREENWRITER
Some of the greatest films ever made have been character studies. Sure, there is a well-structured story sitting just below the surface that allows us to develop the character in meaningful and interesting ways. However, the purpose and driving force behind the story is to explore what it means to live inside someone else’s skin, which is another way to investigate what it means to be human.
- 6 Screenwriting lessons from Nia Vardalos | LA SCREENWRITER
Nia was a delight to listen to and positively overflowing with useful advice. Here are my top six takeaways from Nia.
- SELLING YOUR SCREENPLAY: Screenwriter & Director Daniel Zirilli on Crossing Point | GO INTO THE STORY
This week I talk with Daniel Zirilli, director and producer of the new action film Crossing Point, about how he broke into the business and is now producing numerous films each year.
- PRIMETIME: How do I submit my scripts to TV Shows? | SCRIPT MAG
Most TV shows — from sitcoms and dramas like Raising Hope or Hawaii Five-Oh to sketch, talk, and variety shows like The Colbert Report or The Tonight Show — are written by staffs, groups of (usually) five to 10 writers hired to architect the season and write every episode … so they’re not actively looking for new scripts, writers, or story ideas.
A tale of sexism and self-respect on a Hollywood job interview | THE BITTER SCRIPT WRITER
This story’s been on my mind these last few weeks. A few years have gone by since it happened, so I feel pretty secure in telling it with a few identifying details removed/obscured.
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- 33 Ways to sell your screenplay
- The eight characters of comedy
SELF-PUBLISHING
- 50 Resources for indie authors in 2016 (Part 2) | AUTHOR MARKETING EXPERTS
Let’s face it, in order to get published these days you have to do more than write a great book.
- Should I stay in kindle KDP select or open publish? | JUST PUBLISHING ADVICE
Amazon KDP Select has many benefits, but all at the cost of exclusivity
What to expect when hiring a ghostwriter? | JANE FRIEDMAN
Ghostwriting is a fantastic option for people who have valuable ideas to share but lack the time, energy, or skill to put them into written form. Working with a ghost can have benefits beyond the final content, too.
When assisted self-publishing is the right choice? | WRITERS HELPING WRITERS
For authors who plan to self-publish once, or rarely, learning all the skills necessary can take too long
Why every author needs a virtual assistant | CREATIVINDIE
Authors always complain about book marketing because they just want to focus on their writing; and it’s true, most of what counts as “book marketing” is actually low level, repetitive (but time-consuming) stuff that you can teach anybody to do.
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- 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