Photo Credit: Lola and Yukao Meet via Compfight cc
Quote of the day
Empathy is everywhere: it’s the air you breathe and the ground you walk on; it makes relationships, communities, and societies work. And yet, empathy can also be something of a mystery. Because empathy is such a central part of everything you do, you can overlook it and almost ignore the processes that make empathy work (or stop working).
~KARLA MCLAREN, author of The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill
WRITING
- How to use writing prompts to become a better writer, The Write Life | Tweet
Writing prompts are everywhere, from published collections to free online tools. But when you use them, are you getting all the potential benefits?
→1,000 Awesome Writing Prompts
- 13 High achievements skills for artists and writers, Davidjrogersftw | Tweet
High achievement for artists and writers is within reach. It describes eight qualities creators need if they are to excel. If even one quality is missing, they will not excel.
→Artists, Writers, Thinkers, Dreamers: Portraits of Fifty Famous Folks & All Their Weird Stuff
- Authors in elevators: Writing your blurb with Kayelle Allen, Romance University | Tweet
Let’s say you’re attending a writer’s conference, and you’re scheduled to pitch to an agent whom you’ve been dying to meet. You check in, head down to the lobby, and who gets on with you but that very agent. She sees your name tag, and says, “Oh, I’m supposed to see you tomorrow,” and introduces herself. Then she says, “Tell me about your book.” Your heart is slamming against your rib cage like a prizefighter, your mouth is dry, and your brain is numb. You’re afraid to even try to speak. What do you do?
→Writing Awesome Book Blurbs (A Modern Indie Author’s Guide)
- 5 Tips for introverted writers, Men with pens | Tweet
Most writers are – our career choice typically makes sure that we can work alone, for long periods, without having to deal with many meetings, phone calls or interaction with the public.
SCREENWRITING
- Introducing a protagonist: Is less more?, Go Into The Story | Tweet
There’s no rule saying a story has to establish a character’s ‘normal’ life before the narrative jumps into action. It is, however, pretty typical and it makes sense why.
→How to Write Great Characters: The Key to Your Hero’s Growth and Transformation
- IMPROVISING SCREENPLAYS: 5 Improv Concepts for Outlining Your Screenplay, Script Mag | Tweet
After years of taking classes and performing and coaching improv, I have the benefit of knowing a few improv-specific concepts most writers don’t have access to, ones that — without a doubt — are super helpful when outlining a screenplay.
→Story Structure Expedition: Journey to the Heart of a Story
SELF-PUBLISHING
- Using Pinterest to market children’s picture books, Jane Friedman | Tweet
I knew that indie authors who focus on adult writing had already figured out many ways to succeed. However, I didn’t know if the same advertising and promotional activities would work for children’s picture books or novels. It made sense to try these things, even if I suspected they worked best for romance writers.
→Pinterest for Authors and Writers: 29 Tips to Get Your Writing Noticed
- Exploring payment for authors, Jane Friedman | Tweet
Access to libraries has been difficult for independent authors so far. While SELF-e’s program gives authors automatic availability to librarians at the state level, and a chance at national-level consideration, the author community is right to place a high premium on the principle of authors being paid for their work.
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
- How do I handle it when people trash me?, James Altucher | Tweet
I’ve had four death threats. I’ve had several major media outlets write articles trashing me (with hundreds of comments agreeing. Even two rap songs composed just to bash me).
CREATIVITY
Inspiration can be activated, captured, and manipulated.
→Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling
SCIENCE
- How to recover from an all-nighter, Science of us | Tweet
You couldn’t sleep last night. It happens. Lucky for you, Science of Us has consulted with sleep scientists who (reluctantly) shared their best, research-backed tips for zombie-ing your way through a busy workday on little to no sleep.
PSYCHOLOGY
One death is a tragedy. One million is a stadistic. You’ve probably heard this saying before. It is thought to capture an unfortunate truth about empathy.
→The Art of Empathy: A Complete Guide to Life’s Most Essential Skill
PHILOSOPHY
The philosopher George Berkeley famously argued (contra John Locke) that we can never have truly abstract ideas — ideas stripped of all particulars and details. When I think of a triangle, I imagine a particular triangle, not some abstract idea of “triangle.”
→A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
