TUESDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-publishing and Better Living: Predictably Irrational

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Quote of the day

We usually think of ourselves as sitting the driver’s seat, with ultimate control over the decisions we made and the direction our life takes; but, alas, this perception has more to do with our desires-with how we want to view ourselves-than with reality.

~DAN ARIELY, author of Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

WRITING

• 5 Techniques for amazing internal dialogue, Writers in the Storm | Tweet

If I took a survey asking writers what the most important elements of fiction were, I’d probably end up with a few consistent answers—plot, characters, dialogue, showing rather than telling. We might not automatically think of including internal dialogue on the list, but we should.

→Writing Dialogue

• 5 Tips for making writing a daily habit, Live Write Thrive | Tweet

What does it take to become a writer? Do you earn the title of author the moment your writing is published or the moment somebody pays you for it? Of course not! You become a writer when writing becomes part of your daily routine.

→Daily Rituals: How Artists Work

• Demystifying the outline with Kat Cantrell, Romance University | Tweet

So when writing a book, we have to think about our shopping list. What kind of book are you writing? If you just said “romance, duh”, I’ll steal a line from Captain Barbossa and reply, “Yes, we know that one.” I’m looking for major turning points.

→Take Off Your Pants!: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing

• Emotional Wounds Thesaurus Entry: Infertility, WHW | Tweet

When you’re writing a character, it’s important to know why she is the way she is. Knowing her backstory is important to achieving this end, and one of the most impactful pieces of a character’s backstory is her emotional wound. This negative experience from the past is so intense that a character will go to great lengths to avoid experiencing that kind of pain and negative emotion again. As a result, certain behaviors, beliefs, and character traits will emerge.

→The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression

SCREENWRITING

• 10 Tips for Successful Character Biographies, Script Mag | Tweet

Who are these people? What do they want? What do they need? Why do they exist in this story? Why should I care? What time’s lunch?

→Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays!: A comprehensive guide to crafting winning characters with film analyses and screenwriting exercises

• Is screenwriting a skill that can be learned?, The Bitter Script Reader | Tweet

Discounting scores of wannabes that lack the language skills and the real writing ability it takes to be decent…I’m curious about the gaps in talent that exist between a decent amateur writer, a writer on the verge of breaking in and an award-winning screenwriter (I’m assuming there’s no real gap in talent between ‘on-the-verge’ and ‘working / staffed’ writers). What gaps can be overcome and what gaps will forever exist due to a unique spark of creative genius and pure talent?

→Save The Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need

SELF-PUBLISHING

• 7 Reasons why Twitter is awesome for writers, Social Media Just for Writers | Tweet

Now here are seven reasons why Twitter is awesome for writers.

→Twitter for Authors (Busy Writer’s Guides Book 6)

• 22 Ways a Blog Can Sell Books, The Book Designer | Tweet

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the role a blog plays in the evolution of nonfiction authors. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been writing aboutentrepreneurship for authors, balancing risk and opportunity when it comes to investing in online training, and making the leap from blogging to authorship.

→BLOGGING: Beginner’s Guide to Starting a Blog, Blog Writing and Blog Marketing (Blogging Guide, Blogging for Profit, Blogging Tips, Create a Blog, Make Money Online, Passive Income)

MOTIVATION

• The ordeal that made me a student of humanity, WSJ | Tweet

At age 17, Dan Ariely suffered terrible burns—and began a life studying our choices and behavior.

→Predictably Irrational, Revised and Expanded Edition: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions

THE BRAIN

• One head, two brains, The Atlantic | Tweet

How a radical epilepsy treatment in the early 20th century paved the way for modern-day understandings of perception, consciousness, and the self.

→Tales from Both Sides of the Brain: A Life in Neuroscience

NEUROSCIENCE

• A Neuroscientist Argues That Everybody Is Misunderstanding Fear and Anxiety, Science of us | Tweet

Humans and animals share roughly the same brain circuitry to defend against threats, and many animal studies are used to shed light on humans’ fear and anxiety.

→Anxious: Using the Brain to Understand and Treat Fear and Anxiety

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

• The lazy way to an awesome life: 3 secrets backed by research, Barking up the wrong tree | Tweet

We all want an awesome life. And very often you know what you need to do to improve it… but you don’t do it. I don’t blame you. Hey, some of that stuff is hard. (I should know. I write about it all the time.) Isn’t there an easy, passive way where your flaws start correcting themselves, you gain respectable goals and become much, much happier?

→Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives — How Your Friends’ Friends’ Friends Affect Everything You Feel, Think, and Do

CHEMISTRY

• Kitchen Science: What’s the difference between brown and white sugar?, io9 | Tweet

We know that, scientifically speaking, brown sugar makes better song lyrics than white sugar, but what is the actual chemical difference between the two? Learn why brown sugar clumps up, how you can unclump it, and what it’s good for.