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Quote of the day
It’s not about spiritual awareness, interest, or knowledge. It’s not fi
rst about church, theology, or biblical literacy. It’s not even about wanting your little life to mean something. It’s something that not only believers do. It’s something that every person who has ever taken a breath does. It’s not bound by family, culture, history, geography, language, or ethnicity. It’s not a matter of age or gender. It’s not about any of these things. What all these people share in common is that they are human beings, and because they are human beings, they are hardwired for awe. So are you.
~PAUL DAVID TRIPP, author of
WRITING
- Shawn’s free video mini-course about The Story Grid, Steven Pressfield | Tweet
Here we go again (actually Shawn is the main Dumb Guy behind this) with a five-part free mini-course based on Shawn’s wonderful book The Story Grid, about the craft of story editing.
The Story Grid: What Good Editors Know
When it comes to writing, every writer is unique. But mistakes made by first-time authors are not as unique. In a very unscientific poll, I asked fiction editors which errors they come across the most often. Not surprisingly, the culprits were the same.
The 38 Most Common Fiction Writing Mistakes
- Where I am? Setting the scene, Fiction Notes | Tweet
The plot and characters are often interesting, but I’m lost. I need a map to figure out where I am. In other words, setting is crucial to keeping your readers grounded in your story.
Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time
One Secret to Write a Classic Children’s Book—Or Any Book, The Write Practice | Tweet
You may know the who, what, where, when, and why of the story, but you are missing the most important aspect of writing a children’s book. The other who.
Writing Children’s Books For Dummies
SCREENWRITING
- What’s the deal with page count nowadays?, Go Into The Story | Tweet
In years past, I used to teach that the average scene was 2 pages long. Since a typical script clocked in at 120 pages, then you could basically expect to see around 60 scenes in a script. However, I think that has changed.
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
- How to write visually?, Pat Verducci | Tweet
For many years, I used to think the key to writing a great screenplay was dialogue. But what I discovered, after these fruitless years, is that film is a visual medium and that one powerful image is worth thirty pages of brilliant talk.
Visual Storytelling (Screenwriting Blue Books Book 8)
SELF-PUBLISHING
- 5 Easy SEO Techniques that rock your search rankings, Writers in the Storm | Tweet
It’s a catchphrase that makes all my writing pals shudder. As one of our gals at WITS said, “I know how to spell it, but that’s about all.” SEO doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, some of the best techniques are the easiest for writers, because they involve writing.
- How to find an editor as a self-published author?, Jane Friedman | Tweet
In traditional publishing, submitting your draft to an editor is an inevitable step on the road to bookstore shelves. But how much editing is required for self-publishing? Does a self-published author need to find an editor? And if yes, when and where, and how?
Self-Editing On a Penny: A Comprehensive Guide
CREATIVITY
Why Does Overthinking Sabotage the Creative Process?, Psychology Today | Tweet
Too much cerebral thinking inhibits the creative powers of your cerebellum.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
PSYCHOLOGY
Awe: the powerful emotion with strange and beautiful effects, The Guardian | Tweet
Feeling awe has been linked to health and happiness … but the experience is its own justification.
Awe: Why It Matters for Everything We Think, Say, and Do
LITERATURE
The New Yorker critic on how technology is changing reading, how aging changes critics, and what he’d change about his David Foster Wallace review.
ARCHEOLOGY
Archaeologists used to be obsessed with religion. Now they can’t be bothered with it. Is the field worse off?
Forbidden Archeology: The Hidden History of the Human Race
SCIENCE
- Just how resilient is space-time?, Scientific American | Tweet
More than any other scientific idea, Einstein’s relativity has cemented the notion that space and time are inseparable qualities of the universe.
Gravity’s Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos