Photo Credit: katzyk via Compfight cc
Quote of the day
When I began using my connections to benefit my clients, with the intention of becoming more of a resource than a vendor or service provider, I discovered I could accomplish all of those things in a more meaningful and lasting way. I would now network in order to provide solutions and add more value for my existing clients.
~DEREK COBURN, author of Networking Is Not Working: Stop Collecting Business Cards and Start Making Meaningful Connections
WRITING
- How To Defeat The Dreaded Blank Page, Writers Write | Tweet
The cursor blinks. The page remains unchanged. The writer goes to make coffee. The writer returns. The cursor still blinks. The page is still unchanged. The writer bangs her head. Repeat.
How We Write: Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blank Page
The Non-Structural Language of Story, Storyfix 2.0 | Tweet
Or… How To Get Your Story Written Efficiently and Effectively, Even If Structure Is Not Your Thing. Or maybe… Stop Worrying and Just String Some Pearls Together.
Writing Magic: Creating Stories that Fly
9 (or more) Things I Love About Scrivener, Writer Unboxed | Tweet
When I got serious about writing, I grew seriously frustrated with my word processor’s limitations. And then a friend told me about this writing software called Scrivener.
- How To Deal With Writer’s Burnout, Pat Verducci | Tweet
Does the thought of looking at your pages make you want to cry? Have you rewritten, rejiggered, and re-conceptualized them so many times that they don’t even look like words on the page anymore, but instead, just strange hieroglyphics from outer space?
The Burned-Out Student’s Guide to Writing
SCREENWRITING
- WRITING EXERCISES: The Valley of Impossibilities, Script Mag | Tweet
Sometimes getting together with a few friends and exercising the ol’ brain can be a lot of fun. For instance, over breakfast not too long ago a friend said that she’d been playing around with a couple of story/script ideas and wanted to escalate her hero’s difficulties as he moved through his adventure. She was very serious about what had to be done to get to the end and relayed some of the hero’s obstacles she planned to use. However, she wasn’t sure what to use first.
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
- Movie Analysis: “Nightingale” – Themes, Go Into The Story | Tweet
Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of watching movies.
SELF-PUBLISHING
What to do when book marketing doesn’t work for you, Creativindie | Tweet
My book, Book Marketing is Dead, has been out for almost two years. In that time, it’s sold around 10,000 copies and has 140 reviews. But the two reviews most people found helpful are critical.
Avoiding The Debut Author Mistakes, Just Publishing | Tweet
Your first book is finished and published! Now What? It does not matter if you have self published, or have been published by a small press, you are very excited, motivated and very keen to start seeing your book sales roll in. Unfortunately though, in their eagerness and excitement, many new authors make silly mistakes that can have exactly the opposite effect.
CREATIVITY
It was the Scottish physician William Cullen who coined the term “neurosis” in 1769, but Sigmund Freud who popularized it as a way to describe a number of nerve disorders—distinct from the full mental break of psychosis, but debilitating nevertheless (including hysteria, phobias, depression, and hypochondria).
HAPPINESS
As pills and gadgets proliferate, what matters is still social connection.
Triumphs of Experience: The Men of the Harvard Grant Study
PSYCHOLOGY
This Graphic Explains 20 Cognitive Biases That Affect Your Decision-Making, Lifehacker | Tweet
We all make bad decisions sometimes, but have you ever wondered what mental obstacles can lead you astray? This infographic goes over 20 of the most common cognitive biases that can mess with your head when it’s decision time.
The 25 Cognitive Biases: Uncovering The Myth Of Rational Thinking
NETWORKING
Reading a room is a skill that can be learned; a guide to nonverbal cues like how people stand or hold their hands.
Networking Is Not Working: Stop Collecting Business Cards and Start Making Meaningful Connections
STARTUPS
You can emerge as an effective trailblazer in your office by being true to yourself and constantly learning. Start by watching these short lectures and embodying their lessons.