The Writing Tools of 20 Famous Authors – Flavorwire.
As someone who has written longhand (and not really that keen on it) I appreciated this look at how writers write – the actual physical process itself. Especially since I’ve just jumped on the Scrivener bandwagon.
That all said, the Levenger catalog still qualifies as writer porn and if you find yourself in Vegas, there’s a pen shop over at the Wynn with pens only about half the writers in this list could afford.
105 Creative Writing Exercises for the Obese Writer by Ben Hicks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
While the concept here is fine, it’s not really worth the $2.99 price tag. Basically, its a list of writing prompts, organized into almost arbitrary categories with “witty” introductions.
You can find most of these online for free but I’d be willing to spend .99¢ for the organizational effort.
Actually, it’s not even about money. We all like money. We can all appreciate money. Hell, we all want money. No, the issue recently isn’t about money itself, it’s about getting paid. It’s about how we get the money that’s coming into question. I first thought of this when I saw Sean Penn‘s adaptation of Jon Krakauer‘s Into the Wild. In the film (and book, but I hadn’t read the book then), there’s a scene where Chris McCandless decides to burn all the money he has because it’s not “honest” money. He didn’t earn it himself, it was given to him and so he didn’t feel entitled to it. Now, he understood the need for money, he gets various jobs along the way, but that was honest money, necessary money, so it was okay. Continue reading “When did “money” become a bad word?”
This is a great list of quotes.
It’s interesting to me that because most everyone learns to write at some point in their lives, just to exist in society, they all think they can be “writers.” Telling a story with words is a completely different skill set than just being able to convey a simple message but most people don’t see it that way. they figure that since they can string words together for an 8th grade English class (Thank you, Mrs. Mullally) that they can write a book or even a short story, and a good one at that, right out of the gate.
Writing is work. Like all work sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s easier, but it always takes effort to get good at it and these quotes just point that out.
I love this stuff!
25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss.
These are the kinds of words which make English such a fun language to play with. Interpretation is everything. This is also what makes communication difficult sometimes. I always tell my students that as long as I can understand what they are trying to say, then it doesn’t matter so much about the grammar and spelling… but then if they’re using words like these, I may have no idea what it is they’re trying to say. Continue reading “25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss”
Margaret Talbot: How the Y.A. Novelist John Green Built an Ardent Army of Fans : The New Yorker.
I think the title doesn’t do justice to this piece but it’s a fascinating read nonetheless. And if you haven’t read The Fault in our Stars yet, click the title and do it before the film comes out. It’s well worth the hype.
And if you want to know what I think of his books, I’ve read and reviewed The Fault in our Stars here and Will Grayson, Will Grayson here. I’ve also read and enjoyed Paper Towns, but evidently I didn’t write a review of it. Bad critic!
Oh… and then there’s this – a John Green Interview on CBS.
Not much really new here, but it’s all stuff which needs to be said, over and over again.
“Catmull begins by pointing out that failure, for most of us, is loaded with heavy baggage — a stigma that failure is bad and a sign of weakness, engrained in us early and hard.”
This is the result of “Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Words can hurt much more, and have a much more reaching effect than mere “sticks and stones.” Words can destroy us and keep us from being who we are truly capable of being. But at the same time, words can lift us up and and make us better than we ever thought possible.
It all depends on the words we use and how we use them. Words are important.
Ten rules for writing fiction | Books | theguardian.com.
Mostly I’m putting this here for me. There are some great bits of information here, things which any writer could and should hear from time to time. Some of this is motivational, some is good solid advice and some is funny (but funny because it’s true).
And while I was going to close with a Neil Gaiman quote, that’s a bit cliche at this point so instead, I’ll sum up with probably the best advice one could ever get, this one coming from Richard Ford:
“Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea.”
Why Did my Story Get Rejected? | Book View Cafe Blog.
Really great essay on why we look at our own working terms of salability, not sales.
So I’ve been having a crisis of confidence of late. I’m still going through it but it’s getting a little better. Mostly it’s because I haven’t written much for me lately. I’m not complaining (too much). I like what I’ve been writing (and hopefully will continue to write) but there’s some creative stuff bouncing around and trying to get out so I’ve been trying to write creatively on a daily basis, even if it’s just a little, even if it’s just a blog post or movie review, something to get the mental juices flowing a bit. Continue reading “Revising and revisiting and rewriting”
Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk! by FILM CRIT HULK
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
While there’s some interesting stuff in Screenwriting 101
Like all screenwriting books, there are nuggets of useful information and certainly some ideas to ponder but when the FADE OUT comes, it’s merely OK.
That all said, the eBook does get bonus points for having a “Bruce Banner” version which is not in the headache inducing ALL CAPS which is FILM CRIT HULK’S trademark.
As a writer, I love knowing how much I’ve written every day, week, month and for the whole year! Svenja Liv has written a great little Excel spreadsheet which does all the work for you, once you put in the digits. And it’s free!
After you read this, you’ll think this is all common sense (which it is). But how nice of Kristen Lamb to put it in such a great, easily read format so everyone can understand what NOT to do when considering self publishing!
When I began writing I was SO SURE agents would be fighting over my manuscript. Yeah. But after almost thirteen years in the industry, a lot of bloody noses, and even more lessons in humility, I hope that these tips will help you. Self-publishing is AWESOME, and it’s a better fit for certain personalities and even content (um, social media?), but we must be educated before we publish.
Mistake #1 Publishing Before We Are Ready
The problem with the ease of self-publishing is that it is, well, too easy. When we are new, frankly, most of us are too dumb to know what we don’t know. Just because we made As in English, does not automatically qualify us to write a work spanning 60,000-100,000 words. I cannot count how many writers I’ve met who refuse to read fiction, refuse to read craft books, and who only go to pitch agents…
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Getting the Hang of Thursdays 