More NaNo stuff!
by V.E. on October 11th, 2005
filed under fyi, ladyamedeus, nanowrimo, writing
http://www.rsingermanson.com/html/perfect_scene.html
http://www.rsingermanson.com/html/the_snowflake.html
http://www.authorme.com/
http://www.author-me.com/
There are zillions of books on writing, and most are listed in the catalog of the Writers’ Digest Book Club. Many of them turned out to be excellent compost. Some of them have proven useful. These are the best of the best:
–Techniques of the Selling Writer, by Dwight Swain.
OK, people, if you only buy one book on writing, this is the one! A friend of mine tipped me off to this book back in about 1990. I read the book and applied it to my writing. Then I read it again and applied it to my writing. Then I read it again and applied it to my writing. There is a lot of meat in here. Over the course of a year or so, I learned how to write. If there is any reason I’m published today, it’s because of what I learned in this book. Check out the glowing, stellar reviews on Amazon. The book was written in the 1960s by a renowned teacher of creative writing, Dwight Swain. Pound for pound, this is still the best book on writing out there. And it’s cheap!
–Stein on Writing, by Sol Stein.
I studied once with Sol Stein at his famous “Chapter One” writing workshop in Laguna Beach. It was a real privilege. Sol is one of the great editors and writing teachers of the 20th century, and he’s been quite successful as a novelist. This book is the next best thing to sitting at the table with him and watching his green pen slice up yer perfect prose.
–The Writer’s Journey, by Christopher Vogler.
Ever wondered what made Star Wars such a great movie? Or the Lord of the Rings? Or Harry Potter? All of these are classic examples of the Hero’s Journey, made famous by Joseph Campbell. Chris Vogler is a Hollywood story doctor and he knows his stuff. You may think this is cheesy New Age shlock. Or you may think it makes perfect sense. Whatever. I think the human brain is wired pretty strongly to respond to the Hero’s Journey. If you don’t care to write significant, profound, deeply moving fiction, why then . . . ignore this stuff. But if you want to write better, this book can help.
–Writing the Breakout Novel, by Donald Maass.
Don Maass is only one of the most successful literary agents in New York. And he has some very good ideas on how to write excellent fiction. Read it.
–Story, by Robert McKee.
There are people who swear by McKee’s method. There are those who swear at it. Frankly, he’s not my favorite, but he comes highly recommended by some people I respect, so maybe he’ll work for you. He is very big in Hollywood, and it’s pretty hard to find a screenwriter there who hasn’t plunked down hundreds of bucks to listen to the Great Man talk for a weekend. Buying the book is cheaper, and if you don’t like it you can always foist it off on one of your friends.
–Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Renni Browne and Dave King.
This is the acknowledged best book ever written on the fine art of rewriting your manuscript into a form presentable to even the meanest editor. You need this book if you are editing your manuscript.
–Getting Into Character, by Brandilyn Collins.
This is a book on how to use the techniques of “method actors” to develop your characters. Brandilyn Collins spells out seven techniques for getting inside the skin of characters, even your bad guys. Ever wonder how to identify with a serial killer? Read Brandilyn’s story about the fly . . .
–Plot & Structure, by James Scott Bell.
This is a dynamite book on the elements of plotting and story structure. Jim Bell is one of the fiction columnists for Writer’s Digest and he’s a true expert on plot and story structure. He does a great job of tying in these aspects of writing to all the other things you’re supposed to master, such as your storyworld, your characters, and your theme. And his first chapter was so motivational, I wanted to drop the book and go write something. Buy this puppy.
More general plot stuff
by V.E. on October 11th, 2005
filed under fyi, ladyamedeus, writing
No Plot? No Problem! recommends making a list of the things that, in your opinion, makes a good novel. The idea is that the things you like in a book are the things that make sense to your brain, and therefore are likely the things you will write well about. This list is called the Magna Carta.
The next step is to list everything you hate in a book. This is the stuff to avoid writing about. I forget what he called this list, so I just called it Magna Carta’s evil twin list.
*First person, Third person
*Love stories (NOT trashy romance)
*Snark, Sarcasm
*Rural settings, Urban settings
*Drama, Sci-Fi, Fantasy
*Female main characters
*Unexpected plot twists
*A little bit of mystery
*Magic in one form or another
*Dysfunctional families
*Cliffhanger endings
*Unpopular main characters
*Backstory
*Mythological creatures (vampires, pirates, etc)
*Overcoming evil inside oneself
* Villains who are not complete villains, who have real-people motives
* Authors who are knowledgeable of the subjects about which they write
Magna Carta’s evil twin
*Perfect characters (Mary-Sues)
*Plot lines with no purpose
*Slow moving stories
*Westerns
*Suburban settings
*Unbeatable, god-like heroes
*Slutty main characters (who have nothing else of value)
*Diary format (occasional entries are okay)
*Overly clique-y high school drama plots
*Too little description
*Plots that move too fast
*Stories with too much abstractness
*Too little detail
*Too little dialogue
*Characters with no depth
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Also, the basic plotlines:
1 – man vs. nature
2 – man vs. man
3 – man vs. the environment
4 – man vs. machines/technology
5 – man vs. the supernatural
6 – man vs. self
7 – man vs. god/religion
and/or: Quest, Adventure, Pursuit, Rescue, Escape, Revenge, The Riddle, Rivalry, Underdog, Temptation, Metamorphosis (evolution), Transformation (becoming something else), Maturation, Love, Forbidden Love, Sacrifice, Discovery, Wretched Excess, Ascension, Descension
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AND, copyright stuff:
Because there are HUGE misunderstandings about what a copyright is these days and I keep seeing them repeated over and over again. I thought I could help.
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
There’s a good start. So, yes fan fiction is a violation of copyright.
http://www.keytlaw.com/Copyrights/top10myths.htm
http://www.theistudio.com/seven-online-copyright-myths.html
http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/
Copyrights are made as soon as you make them into apparent form. So automatically everything in this post is being copyrighted as I write it. This post will be invalid in its copyright after I’m dead for EIGHTY years.
Also another thing to know is that an official copyright is EXPENSIVE, which is why most publishers will do it for you. It will cost you quite a bundle, unless you intend to have a high volume, and should be done through a lawyer. Trade mark and copyright often get confused, BTW, but you can’t copyright titles to books, etc. You can copyright ideas, expressions of art, etc. specific phrases, slogans and titles are trademarks. ^_^
Making a Difference
Making a Differenceby V.E. on October 11th, 2005
filed under fyi, ladyamedeus, lgbt, politics, sex work, spirituality
