MONDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-publishing, and Better Living: Ambivert Journey

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Public speaking is a great way to work on that muscle. When up on a stage or in front of a class, just being up there makes people like you. The audience automatically thinks you are outgoing and friendly. The audience believes it takes a special person to do public speaking, as it’s one of the most common phobias. They think you are an extrovert.

~EDWIN PALSMA, author of Ambivert Journey: A Guide for Introverts

WRITING

• Spicing up a story with similes & metaphors, Jodi Hedlund | Tweet

Have you ever read a book that felt somewhat bland? Maybe it was a good plot with well-developed characters, but for some reason it just didn’t grab you. Obviously there are countless ways to add seasoning and flavor to our stories, but there are three easy-to-use spices: similes, metaphors, and personification. 

→Skin Like Milk, Hair of Silk: What Are Similes and Metaphors? (Words Are Categorical)

• The Unexpected Reason You Struggle to Write (& the Solution That’s Right Under Your Nose), Finally Writing | Tweet

What happens when we do work that matters to us, is we tighten unconsciously, in the same way we might cross our arms when in new, vulnerable, or uncomfortable situations. Similarly we want to protect ourselves from the vulnerability and potential of creating. When we curl our bodies up, hold on to tension or discomfort, our writing tightens and slowly suffocates.

→Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly

• 4 Ways to Write a Likable Protagonist at the Start of His Character Arc, Helping Writers Become Authors | Tweet

Do you know what I struggle with more anything when it comes to character arcs? Creating a likable protagonist right from the get-go.

→Character Arcs: Founding, forming and finishing your character’s internal journey (Writing Craft) (Volume 1)

• How To Write Great Dialogue, My Bookish Life | Tweet

How to write great dialogue is a popular topic in my corner of the cybersphere. It’s not an easy task, but it is achievable – with time, practice, and a lot of patience. Personally, I find exposition much less challenging, and spend considerably more effort on the dialogue.

→How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript

SCREENWRITING

• THE CRAFT: Work Habits of the Pros, Script Mag | Tweet

Screenwriting is unlike any other professional endeavor. To survive its unique pressures and peculiarities and have a career, you’ll have to master a few fundamental disciplines.

→The 101 Habits of Highly Successful Screenwriters, 10th Anniversary Edition: Insider Secrets from Hollywood’s Top Writers

• Interview (Video): Oliver Stone, Go Into The Story | Tweet

This is a fascinating journey into the mindset of writer-director Oliver Stone, an interview directed toward a largely Chinese audience.

→The Untold History of the United States

SELF-PUBLISHING

• 10 Lethal Marketing Mistakes, Author Marketing Experts | Tweet

→Why Authors Fail: 17 Mistakes Self Publishing Authors Make That Sabotage Their Success (And How To Fix Them)

• Pinterest for author: a step-by-step guide, Reedsy | Tweet

Pinterest is the social media site that has every wannabe chef and bride-to-be totally hooked. It allows users to “pin their interests” to create virtual scrapbooks filled with hundreds of inspirational images: recipes, vacation destinations, home decor, wedding details, etc. With about 70 million users, the idea behind the platform is to enhance the ingenuity in everyday life through organized interests.

→Pinterest: How To Use Pinterest For Business And Pleasure – The Ultimate Guide To Pinterest Marketing For Beginners (Pinterest Marketing, Pinterest for Business, Social Media Marketing)

CREATIVITY

• How to Inspire Creative Thinking: Details, Details, Pacific Standard | Tweet

New research finds recollecting specific aspects of a recent event can inspire creativity, as measured by a key test.

 →How To Create New Ideas: A Comprehensive Course in The Art and Science of Creative Thinking

NUTRITION

• The science of why you crave comfort food, Time | Tweet

It’s not just because these foods are tasty. It’s because they make us feel less alone.

→The Dairy Good Cookbook: Everyday Comfort Food from America’s Dairy Farm Families

PSYCHOLOGY

• Not an Introvert, Not an Extrovert? You May Be An Ambivert, WSJ | Tweet

Sometimes social, sometimes solitary, ambiverts often make good sales people.

→Ambivert Journey: A Guide for Introverts

LEADERSHIP

• Not lonely at the top, NYT | Tweet

Folk wisdom tells us it’s lonely at the top. This makes intuitive sense: To occupy the sole position atop a hierarchy, to have the sole authority for tough decisions nobody else wants to (or can) make, and to bear the sole responsibility for the consequences of those decisions is, almost by definition, to be alone. Power implies isolation.

→The Leadership Handbook: 26 Critical Lessons Every Leader Needs

ECONOMICS

• Bartender says he received this patronizing ‘Economics’ card instead of an actual tip, Grub Street | Tweet

What you see here is the card that a Seattle bartender says he received from a patron in lieu of the more traditional cash tip.

→Tips: Getting More: A Restaurant Insider’s Guide to Making More Money