Knowing yourself – ah, what an empowering thing!
And, clearly, Nathan Bransford knows himself well:
by Nathan BransfordA few months ago I announced that I’m going to be self-publishing aguide to writing a novel, and I’m pleased to report that I have finished and edited my first draft!
Not wanting to steal the following article’s thunder, but isn’t all creativity fueled by adversity? Aren’t our attempts to either escape or kick the crap out of adversity what being creative is all about?
Just asking.
by Scott Barry Kaufman, Pd.D.“I create – in order not to cry.” — Painter Paul Klee
TVWriter™’s favorite science fiction critic/aficionado/writer schools us…brilliantly:
by Charlie Jane AndersEvery story begins with an idea. What’s amazing about science fiction stories is, they often start with a cool idea. Like a spin on space travel or robots that nobody’s ever thought of before. But how do you turn an idea into a story, with memorable characters and powerful moments? That’s often the hard part.
Just the same way there are no rules for good storytelling (other than “tell a good story”), there’s no right or wrong way to get an idea for a story. You might start out with a character or a cool scene, and build a whole story and concept around that. You could start with a world, and dream up the whole history of that world, before you figure out when/how your story starts and what the notion is. Or whatever.
Great title! Great article! Man, we wish this had been written exclusively for us:
by Susan K. PerryWhat makes words flow? Some authors and poets swear by a highly particular writing ritual. Others swear they don’t do anything special to get to that place where the words begin pouring forth.
Some time back I questioned, in depth, a large number of novelists and poets (76 in all). Nearly all had won awards for their writing or were bestselling authors. When they described their creative process to me, most mentioned some sort of routine.
Best excuse explanation for intellectual property theft idea borrowing ever:
by Esther Inglis-ArkellWe know that people make up false memories if prompted. But since our brain never stops being a jerk, we can also convert real memories into things we believe we imagined. Cryptomnesia can strike via our own memories, or our memories of things that others tell us. One of the most famous cases of cryptomnesia destroyed the fantasy-writing career of Helen Keller.
Have you ever told people a joke that you’re sure that you made up – only to have someone point to a magazine or website where it was already published? It happens to a lot of people. Their mind registers a phrase or an event and keeps it around, but the provenance of the event is lost. After a sufficient amount of time, the event pops up in their brain, and they assume they made it up.