Are you still stuck for ideas for National Novel Writing Month? Or are you working on a novel at a more leisurely pace? Here are 102 resources on Character, Point of View, Dialogue, Plot, Conflict, Structure, Outlining, Setting, and World Building, plus some links to generate Ideas and Inspiration.
CHARACTER, POINT OF VIEW, DIALOGUE
The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test
Priming the idea pump (A character checklist shamlessly lifted from acting)
Handling a Cast of Thousands – Part I: Getting to Know Your Characters
Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character”
How to Start Writing in the Third Person
Web Resources for Developing Characters
What are the Sixteen Master Archetypes?
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Villains are People, Too, But …
Top 10 Tips for Writing Dialogue
Advantages, Disadvantages and Skills (character traits)
How to Write a Character Bible
Character Development Exercises
All Your Characters Sounds the Same — And They’re Not a Hivemind!
Writing the Other: Bridging Cultural Difference for Successful Fiction
Family Echo (family tree website)
Interviewing Characters: Follow the Energy
100 Character Development Questions for Writers
Lineage Chart Layout Generator
PLOT, CONFLICT, STRUCTURE, OUTLINE
How to Write a Novel: The Snowflake Method
Effectively Outlining Your Plot
Conflict and Character within Story Structure
Ideas, Plots & Using the Premise Sheets
Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense
Plunge Right In … Into Your Story, That Is!
Fiction Writing Tips: Story Grid
Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot
The Thirty-six (plus one) Dramatic Situations
The Evil Overlord Devises a Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plotting Tricks
The Hero’s Journey: Summary of the Steps
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes
SETTING, WORLD BUILDING
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help You Bring Your Settings to Life
Creating the Perfect Setting – Part I
An Impatient Writer’s Approach to Worldbuilding
Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions
Character and Setting Interactions
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
Maps Workshop — Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping
IDEAS, INSPIRATION
Solve Your Problems Simply by Saying Them Out Loud
Writing Inspiration, or Sex on a Bicycle
Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips to Engineer a Productive Flow
The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes
Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits
Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging
Story Starters and Idea Generators
REVISION
One-Pass Manuscript Revision: From First Draft to Last in One Cycle
Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written
Writing 101: So You Want to Write a Novel Part 3: Revising a Novel
TOOLS and SOFTWARE
My Writing Nook (online text editor; free)
Bubbl.us (online mind map application; free)
Freemind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
XMind (mind map application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
Liquid Story Binder (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $45.95; Windows, portable)
Scrivener (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $39.95; Mac)
SuperNotecard (novel organization and writing software; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
yWriter (novel organization and writing software; free; Windows, Linux, portable)
JDarkRoom (minimalist text editor; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable)
AutoRealm (map creation software; free; Windows, Linux with Wine)
And another one, put up for any of my followers who want it.
I’d in theory like to pay more attention to doing writing in a more serious way. I’m not sure what it is that I’m hung up on.
| — | Ernest Hemingway (via kastronaut) |
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Charles M. Schulz, PEANUTS: A Golden Celebration. For not being a writer or much of a cartoonist in the sense of the strip format anymore, I think about this bit almost daily. (via docshaner) |
Amazon Studios is offering its first Script Spotlight Award: $10,000 for the best rewrite of ZvG: Zombies Vs Gladiators. Check out the story department feedback, and upload your version by Aug. 31.
“We think Zombies vs. Gladiators – with its well-drawn characters, rich setting and…
It’s time for the 6th Annual Write-A-Thon!
NYC’S ONLY WRITING MARATHON
Change what it means to Marathon!
Write your a** off for a great cause!
Check out our Write-A-Thon Facebook page and blog!
*Devote a day to writing
*Meet other writers
*Attend free creative writing workshops
*Inspiring lunch time talk by bestselling novelist/playwright/poet Jessica Hagedorn!
*Help NYWC’s free creative writing programs
for the formerly homeless, at-risk youth, seniors & others
*Prizes for top pledge-getters
*Raise or donate a minimum of just $150!
Saturday, June 11th, 2011 from 10:30am-6:00pm
Free lunch and light breakfast will be served!
Library of the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen
20 West 44th Street, NYC
One of last year’s Write-A-Thonners
Prizes to top fundraisers!
- A Kindle, donated by Amazon.com
- iPod Touch, donated by Tekserve
- $250 Gift certificate from Better World Books
- Dinner for 2 at Pastis + signed Balthazaar cookbook
- Membership at Paragraph: Workspace For Writers
- Membership at Brooklyn Writers Space
- 4 tickets to the Brooklyn Cyclones
- Family Fun pass for 4 from Luna Park Amusement Park
- Gift package from skinny skinny
- Astrology Reading from Emily Trinkaus
- Private Yoga lesson from Sarah Herrington
- Gift certificate for 2.5 hour home detox session from Raganella
- 2 tickets to the Battle of The Boroughs Talent Quest 2011
- Autographed set of 6 Chuck Klosterman books
- Tickets to Treehouse Shakers shows
- Free drink coupons from JOE coffee
- Subscriptions to Bellevue Literary Review
Whether it be fanfiction, original stories, drabbles, songs, poems, books, or anything that has to do with creative words, then reblog. Let’s gather all the writers of Tumblr together.
Comic books, screenplays, and experimental poetic prose novels here.
| — | Mike Monteiro (via austinkleon) |
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Kurt Vonnegut. I was introduced to this quote by my girlfriend. I think it’s a wonderful description of the power of literature. (via werdsmiffery) |
