Merce Cardus

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MONDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-publishing, and Better Living: The Joy of Less

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Minimalism

 Photo Credit: OneEighteen via Compfight cc

Quote of the day

We are not what we own; we are what we do, what we think and who we love.

~FRANCINE JAY, author of The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life

WRITING

  • 5 Writing lessons I learned ghostwriting for NY Times Bestsellers, HWBA | Tweet

I’m a bestselling author you’ve never heard of, an invisible man. While ghostwriting, I’ve collaborated with New York Times bestsellers, concepting and writing stories that have reached audiences worldwide and topped sales charts.

→What Does The Ghost Say: Q&A With 3 Successful Ghostwriters

All stories are character-driven. Plot merely serves to change characters from a lowly protagonist into a hero….kicking and screaming along the way. Plot provides the crucible. 

→Writing Three Dimensional Characters (Writing Books that Count Book 1)

Where do you look to find the meaning of a word? A dictionary, of course. There you will find all the literal meanings of a word, its definition—its denotation. Denote also means to signify or indicate. The blue wheelchair symbol in a parking lot denotes that spot as a handicapped parking area.

→The Elements of Style

When the doubts start rolling in, and trust me, THEY WILL, use the lessons of The Hero’s Journey to finish your project. 

→The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers


SCREENWRITING

Beginning. Middle. End. Three parts. Three movements. The number “3” is an interesting one.

→Elements of Fiction Writing – Beginnings, Middles & Ends

 

Screenplay ideas are what feed the movies – without them, there’s no script to write. And each one is (usually) a labor of love… But it’s happened to most of us at one time or another: we finish or send out a script that we’ve poured blood, sweat and tears into, only to learn that now a famous actor/director/producer is announcing that he/she is doing a project on the exact same story. 

→The Writer’s Idea Book 10th Anniversary Edition: How to Develop Great Ideas for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Screenplays

SELF-PUBLISHING

  • 10% of my referral traffic comes from Pinterest: Expand your author platform, FICTION NOTES | Tweet 

You’ve decided that you want to raise your social media profile as an author. There area couple compelling reasons to turn to Pinterest. Yes, Pinterest.

→Pinterest: Why You Need it to Explode your Business Today! (Social Media Marketing, Pinterest)

 

  • Infographic: 5 Actionable Social Media Tips for Authors, REEDSY | Tweet 

Social media is the key to every self-publisher’s dreams when it comes to marketing. Though complex, it’s the foreground to any successful book marketing strategy… and it’s free! Being a self-published author means creating great content, but does it also mean you need to be an expert marketer?

→The Art of Social Media: Power Tips for Power Users

SELF-IMPROVEMENT

I learned to understand that habits are a set of patterns that I just needed to repeat until they became more and more automatic … and that setting up the right environment is everything. Let me repeat that: setting up the right habit environment is everything.

→Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives

NEUROSCIENCE

The simulation only lasts five minutes. That’s what Jordan Muraskin kept saying. Five minutes and you can be back out with your teammates, taking batting practice. Five minutes and you can slip that funny-looking thing off your head, the console that looks like a luminescent swim cap. Five minutes and your athletic career could be changed forever. The baseball player from Bradley University still stared at him with a crossways look that cried, Just what is this supposed to be about?

→Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game

EXERCISE

Just because you run doesn’t mean you’re in shape–as a Runner’s World editor discovered.

→The Better Man Project: 2,476 tips and techniques that will flatten your belly, sharpen your mind, and keep you healthy and happy for life!

CUISINE

Defining a national or cultural cuisine is tricky business. For virtually any cuisine, there are food critics who will claim that the cuisine is too diverse to pin down (for example, see these articles on Mexican, Indian, Chinese cuisines).

→A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients and Culture

MINIMALISM

Well, friends, this is it – the final day of my yearlong shopping ban. I’ll be honest and say I feel like I’ve had a touch of writer’s block for the past month, because I’ve been waiting to write this post. Once I hit the 11-month mark, I knew it was going to be smooth sailing to the finish line, and I’ve been so anxious to share everything I’ve done and learned over the past year, as well as some of my plans for the future. Now that the last day is finally here, I think it’s safe to post this…

→The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide: How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life

 

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