drawnblog:

The ridiculously talented Adam Rex shares his hilarious process for picture book making. 

(via groeneinkt)

(Source: breathofdawn, via stereobone)

• yeahwriters - lots of prompts, images, quotes and motivation
• writeworld - prompts, quotes, references, tips
• fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment - character, plot development and vocabulary tips
• writingprompts - amazing and original picture prompts
• dictionaryofobscuresorrows - words you might not know and their meaning
• wordjournal - more words
• shannahmcgill - writing tips
• archetypesandallusions - creative writing tips
• kingdomjournalist - writing tips (not only how to write but also how to prepare emotionally)
• livewritedream - bit of everything (prompts, tips)
• mooderino - concise and to the point questions that help you build characters and stories
• thewritershelpers - quotes, advice, book/author recommendations
• writingquotes - what the url suggests
• get-scribbling - prompts
• writing-problems - to know you are not alone in your struggles

(Source: sheg0, via shieldmaidens-and-shaggypants)

okayophelia:

[made rebloggable by request]

read like a motherfucker. don’t learn from your betters, just inhale them. imprint rhythms and chokeholds and things-that-shoot-up-your-spine into your fingertips. read how romance novels create characters so vivid you want to fuck them and have them be fucked. read brutal minimalism and extravagant prose. read children’s books to remember about wonder and post-modernists to remember about freedom. read because at some point you will be so full with the consumption of language you will need to start pouring it back out again.

write like an asshole. write things when you’ve stayed up so late you are delirious. write when you’re drunk. write when a song has made you feel catastrophic. write when you’re famished. write when you’re spitting mad. write so you don’t curl up in the bottom of a shower and sob. write when people have torn strips off you. write when you’re high on adrenaline. write because there’s a monster on your back and you need to make it real and separate from your soul. eventually, you will not need any of these props to make you brave enough.

seriously. that’s it.

(via shieldmaidens-and-shaggypants)

fayren:

drawnblog:

I have a lot of respect for Ze Frank, and I adored his year-long project, The Show. So many people have said things similar to this, but it’s always a good thing to hear again. In summary: if you want to make stuff, make stuff. It’s the only way you’ll get past the point of making things to the point of having made stuff. Then you get to make more stuff. So go make stuff!

Thoughts on the Creative Career (by zefrankenfriends)

Incredible advice by a man I’ve long admired.

(via brokenheartedfestivities)

storyaddicted:

Advice for those looking to tackle NaNoWriMo or just starting a novel in general by Chuck Wendig:

1. Get your expectations firmly in check.
2. Find your own personal “give-a-fuck” factor.
3. Draw the map for the journey ahead.
4. Become wild west scrivening inkslinger, “Quick-Note McGoat.”
5. Know thy characters.
6. Build an (incomplete) world.
7. Test drive those imaginary motherfuckers.
8. Dig up all the glittery conflict diamonds.
9. Identify the major rules.
10. Find your way into the tale.
11. Also: Identify the Great Egress.
12. Learn all the appropriate things.
13. Suss out the fiddly bits.
14. The 13-Second Closing-Window-Of-Opportunity Pitch
15. Hell, write the whole goddamn query.
16. Know your word processor intimately.
17. Establish a daily schedule.
18. Build a timetable.
19. Ensure that life accommodates the book.
20. Have a publication path in mind.
21. Clean your shitty desk, you filthmonger.
22. The Backup Plan
23. Set it and forget it.
24. Commit, motherfucker.
25. Stop doing all this other stuff and write already.

Read in detail about this list at Chuck Wendig’s blog: terribleminds.

(via brokenheartedfestivities)

janefriedman:

A Map to Get Out of Writer’s Block via NY Book Editors

(via alcottgrimsley)

wynja77:

angelabooth1:

(via The Only 12 ½ Writing Rules You’ll Ever Need [Chart])

One rule only: WRITE.

Truest thing I’ve seen here in a while…

(via alcottgrimsley)

stilleatingoranges:

In the West, plot is commonly thought to revolve around conflict: a confrontation between two or more elements, in which one ultimately dominates the other. The standard three- and five-act plot structures—which permeate Western media—have conflict written into their very foundations. A “problem” appears near the end of the first act; and, in the second act, the conflict generated by this problem takes center stage. Conflict is used to create reader involvement even by many post-modern writers, whose work otherwise defies traditional structure.

The necessity of conflict is preached as a kind of dogma by contemporary writers’ workshops and Internet “guides” to writing. A plot without conflict is considered dull; some even go so far as to call it impossible. This has influenced not only fiction, but writing in general—arguably even philosophy. Yet, is there any truth to this belief? Does plot necessarily hinge on conflict? No. Such claims are a product of the West’s insularity. For countless centuries, Chinese and Japanese writers have used a plot structure that does not have conflict “built in”, so to speak. Rather, it relies on exposition and contrast to generate interest. This structure is known as kishōtenketsu.

Read More