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Quote of the day
The widely talked about and common word “multitasking” is a lie – but nearly everyone in our fast-paced world has accepted is as something that’s true. We’ve all adopted it as a way of life. People are proud of their skills at multitasking, but the truth is that multitasking is neither a reality nor is it efficient.
~DAVE CRENSHAW, author of The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done
WRITING
Writing the Cozy Mystery: The Suspects, Elizabeth Spann | Tweet
Fewer suspects can be easier for readers to keep up with, but can also mean that the murderer’s identity isn’t as much of a surprise.
Good character development is easy. Writers sometimes approach it as if it’s the hardest thing in the world to create a fully fleshed-out, compelling character. And certainly there’s a lot of nuance involved. But truthfully, there is just one single key to amazing character development, and that can be summed up in one word: contrast.
How To Diagnose Your Character: Using Psychology To Create an In-Depth Character
5 Hacks to Create a Good Writing Habit, The Write Practice | Tweet
How do you create a consistent writing habit? Even when you’re busy? Even when you lose your motivation to write?
Writing Habit Mastery: How to Write 2,000 Words a Day and Forever Cure Writer’s Block
- The Surprising Confessions Your Characters Make When You Listen, Writer Unboxed | Tweet
In a novel writing class a while back, I complained, “I couldn’t fall asleep last night. My characters kept talking to me. They kept me up for hours.” “Treasure that,” my instructor said. “The hard part is when they don’t talk.”
1001 Questions to Help Flesh Out Your Character
SCREENWRITING
How old are Hollywood screenwriters?, Stephen Follows | Tweet
The situation for screenwriters is slightly more complicated than directors as films tend to have more writers than directors, and there are many different types of writing credit.
- SCRIPT NOTES: A Final Reflection on Major Character Types, Script Mag | Tweet
As promised, here’s my final article on the five character types. In this batch of articles about the five major character types, I am going to contradict a lot of the conventional wisdom regarding them. We last left our readers on the cliffhanger of promising to redefine the understanding of this final piece of the character-purpose puzzle, the reflection character.
Supporting Character Secrets (Screenwriting Blue Books Book 12)
SELF-PUBLISHING
- The Self Publishing Manifesto, Indie Reader | Tweet
Kindle Scout Now Available World-Wide, Upcoming Indie Author Events, IR’s Bestseller List: Get them while they’re still indie + more in this week’s round-up.
Ask Annie: 5 Twitter Mistakes Writers Make and How to Avoid Them, Writer Unboxed | Tweet
You’ve covered a lot of policy and etiquette in your blogs, but I was wondering if there are any pitfalls you commonly see writers making on Twitter? And if so, what should we do to avoid them?
Twitter for Authors (Busy Writer’s Guides Book 6)
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
- Ignore your feelings, The Atlantic | Tweet
A profanity-filled new self-help book argues that life is kind of terrible, so you should value your actions over your emotions.
F*ck Feelings: One Shrink’s Practical Advice for Managing All Life’s Impossible Problems
MINDFULNESS
- The hard problem: What is consciousness?, The Economist | Tweet
“I THINK, therefore I am.” René Descartes’ aphorism has become a cliché. But it cuts to the core of perhaps the greatest question posed to science: what is consciousness? The other phenomena described in this series of briefs—time and space, matter and energy, even life itself—look tractable.
EXERCISE
How to Finally Start Working Out (Even If You Hate It), Lifehacker | Tweet
Hating exercise isn’t the same as being lazy. Exercise motivation is a complicated subject, but if getting off the couch is the hardest part for you, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how to finally start working out, no matter how much you might hate it.
Escape Your Shape: How to Work Out Smarter, Not Harder
PHILOSOPHY
Some find it comforting to think of life as a story. Others find that absurd. So are you a Narrative or a non-Narrative?
TIME MANAGEMENT
Modern life now forces us to do a multitude of things at once — but can we? Should we?
The Myth of Multitasking: How “Doing It All” Gets Nothing Done