Merce Cardus's Blog, page 113
January 22, 2015
Nine Out Of Ten Writers Fail At The Premise
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The Anatomy of Story
explains how a great story works, along with the techniques needed to create one.
All stories move in this way
Once a character has a desire, the story ‘walks’ on two ‘legs’: acting and learning. A character pursuing a desire takes actions to get what he wants, and he learns new information about better ways to get it. Whenever he learns new information, he makes a decision, and changes his course of action.
A good premise is crucial to...
James Victore On Inspiration
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Video of the day:
James Victore is an American art director, designer, and author. In 2010 Victore’s monograph Victore or, Who Died and Made You Boss?
was published by Abrams Books. In 2010 and 2012 Victore’s work exhibited in The Museum of Modern Art.
What’s Inspiration?
1. WORK.
I use the analogy of sports and exercise. If you gonna get strong, it takes pushups. How many pushups? Not five. Twenty? Thirty? A Hundred? It’s how strong you wan...
THURSDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing & Better Living: The Lost Art Of Free Time
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Quote of the day:
As a creative person, you literally need free time to be mentally replenished.
~ELIZABETH GRACE SAUNDERS, author ofThe 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment.
WELL-BEING
The lost art of free time [The 3 Secrets to Effective Time Investment]
, 99u| Tweet
So how do we overcome the compulsion to get one more thing done and give ourselves freedom to have guilt-free creative rest? Here are a few strategies that can help.
NUTRITION
Nutrition...
January 21, 2015
Is Genius More Often Found In A Cracked Pot Than In A Whole One?
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Genius: The Natural History of Creativitytells us what genius is, how it is produced, how it relates to madness, how it can be cultivated.
The Creativity of genius:
Schumann: ‘Talent works; genius creates.’”
Ortega y Gasset: ‘Better be ware of notions like genius and inspiration; they are a sort of magic wand and should be used sparingly by anybody who wants to see things clearly.’
Common-sense sets the stage: genius is highly creative, easily misunderstood,...
Is That A Fish In Your Ear? Translation And The Meaning Of Everything
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Video of the day:David Bellos is Director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication at Princeton University, where he is also Professor of French and Comparative Literature. He is the author ofIs That a Fish in Your Ear?: Translation and the Meaning of Everything. A book that doesn’t tell you how to translate but to understand what translation does.
He addresses the following questions:
What is translation? What can we learn from transla...
HUMP DAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing & Better Living: Be Less Judgmental
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Quote of the day
Peopleseek to gain favorable judgments of their competence or avoid negative judgments.This evaluative orientation causes people to shy away from challenges and risk, all to avoid failure.
~CAROL DWECK, author ofMindset: The New Psychology of Success
.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
Economists find rare empirical evidence of love in unique marriage survey, Phys| Tweet
Economists are not famed for their romantic insights. But a new study by two University o...
January 20, 2015
How Many People You Know Within A Fifteen-Minute Walk Of Your House?
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In The Geography of Bliss, Eric Weiner wonders: What if you lived in a country that was fabulously wealthy and no one paid taxes? What if you lived in a country where failure is an option? What if you lived in a country so democratic that you voted seven times a year? What if you lived in a country where excessive thinking is discouraged? Would you be happy then?
How can you measure happiness?
Happiness is a feeling, a mood, an outlook on life. Happiness...
8 Secrets Of Success
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Richard St. John is a success expert. He achieved corporate success as ten-year member of scientific staff at Nortel’s R&D labs andentrepreneurial success as founder of The St. John Group, won highest awards in business communications, became a millionaire. He has a black belt in judo, cycled halfway around the world on a ten-speed bike, ran over 50 marathons on all seven continents, and climb
ed two of the world’s seven summits. He is the author ofThe 8 T...
January 16, 2015
How To Hook Your Readers With Engaging Openings
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Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One & Never Lets Them Go
helps youto overcome the weak openings.
Opening with your character’s thoughts
Opening with your character’s thoughts can be very effective, but you have to be careful that you don’t begin with a character ruminating about some past dreadfulevent—or even the inciting incident after it’s occurred.
At a story’s beginning, we need a scene that we can live through with the protagonist as...
Hack Your Brain’s Default Mode with Meditation
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Dan Harris is a correspondent for ABC News, an anchor forNightline and co-anchor for the weekend edition of Good Morning America. He’s the author of10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works–A True Story.
There’s no way a fidgety and skeptical news anchor would ever have started meditatingwere it not for the science. The science is really compelling. It shows that medit...
