storytelling

Friday Links: Finding the Best Way to Frame Your Story

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday, all! I hope you’ve had a wonderful week with some productive writing time and maybe a good book on your nightstand. Heading into the weekend, I’ve some lovely links for you all, and in particular I’d like you to consider how you frame your stories. I don’t just mean the ones you’re writing, but the ones you tell about yourself, your life, your experiences, your daily frustrations.

While not everyone is a writer, we’re all storytellers, so that’s something to think about when you look at the things that might be getting you down. The story is yours to tell, yours to sell, and that includes what you’re telling yourself. A series of rejection letters can be terribly disheartening, but you can also consider them a countdown to an eventual sale.

Without further ado, here are this week’s Friday Links. Enjoy, and happy writing!

How Writing Let Me Take Control of My Own Story – One writer’s disconnect between her writing and her life.

This Is Going to Be about Heroes – Author Maggie Stiefvater on heroism and finding the right way to tell a story.

When Reading Isn’t Enough: Book-Adjacent Hobbies – For book fanatics who love all the bookish things.

The Book-Lovers Guide to Publishing, Part 1: Publishing Ephemera – The first in a series of publishing-related blog posts from Penguin Books.

So You’ve Decided to Write: The Best Way to Deal with Rejection – Some tips on how to move past ‘No’.

My Own Kind of Beautiful: How Geography Affects the Writing Process – One writer’s take on how travel affects his work and what it means to be ready to write about a place.

$5,000 Grants for Writers and Artists with Children: Applications Open until 31 August – 20 grants are available this year for writers and artists with children, to be used for child care, new equipment, or any other number of things.

Friday Links: Inspiration to Write through the Holidays

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! Apologies for the lack of links last week, but between the holiday and my own self-imposed social media blackout, I didn’t have as much as I would need for a full post. And you were all shopping anyway, right? However I am back this week with an all new collection of Friday Links to kick off December and this crazy final month of 2016.

First, a quick reminder that this is Day 2 of the December Writing Challenge. Even if you are just hearing about it now, it’s never too late to start, so make sure you get your writing time in for the day. Now’s also a good time to take a quick look at your weekend plans and figure out when you plan to write tomorrow and Sunday. Don’t risk running out of time; make a writing date with yourself and stick it on your calendar.

All right! Without further ado I give you this week’s Friday Links. There should be something here to inspire all of you to read and write through this busy time of year. Enjoy, and happy writing!

Roxane Gay on the Importance of Storytelling – A short Q&A with the author.

John Scalzi: Writing for Audio Made Me a Better Writer, Period – The author discusses how writing specifically for audio changed his approach.

The Man Who Invented Bookselling as We Know It – The history behind The Temple of Muses, the famous London bookshop that set the standard for book retail in the 18th century.

Putting Penis to Paper: When Sex Writing Goes Terribly Wrong – A humorous look at the art (or lack) of writing sex scenes.

These Women Reporters Went Undercover to Get the Most Important Scoops of Their Day – A look at the girl stunt reporters of the late 19th century.

35 Gifts Under $35 for Writers and Book Lovers – A nice roundup for those of you shopping for the bookish and/or writing set, or who need to nudge your own friends and family toward getting you things you’d like.

The Non-Western Books that Every Student Should Read – Great assortment of titles for anyone looking to diversify their TBR pile.

The History of Female Titles: When ‘Mistress” Meant ‘Mrs.’ and ‘Miss’ Meant ‘Prostitute’ – An interesting account of how women’s titles have changed. Particularly useful for historical fiction authors.

Amy Stewart on Storytelling and Reinvention

Nephele Tempest

Author Amy Stewart got her start writing about gardens with a twist, titles such as Wicked Gardens: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities and The Drunken Botanist. But during her research for the latter title, she came across a story so compelling that she just knew she had to turn it into a novel. The result, Girl Waits with Gun, is her first work of fiction and marks a huge shift in her writing career.

What’s the risk for a bestselling author to switch genres so completely? How did she get started writing about plants and bugs? Stewart answers these and many other questions about craft and the importance of storytelling in her recent interview with Jonathan Fields. This runs nearly an hour, so be sure to set aside some time to settle in for a nice long listen.

Wired for Story

Nephele Tempest

Why are books important? Why should we continue reading once we’ve finished school? What is it about a good movie that resonates with us long after we leave the theater? Why do we need diverse, inclusive media that looks at different lives and different points of view?

As book lovers and/or film buffs, we might simply say we love to read, we love to go to the movies. Maybe we enjoy the thrill of living vicariously through someone else’s story, or perhaps we appreciate the escape from our own daily grind. If we’re feeling a little bit more analytical, we might add that reading expands the mind, or that film can be art, or any other number of reasons, all of which are good and true.

But what about the how of things? How do books and films — story in general — affect us in these profound ways? What is it about a good story that becomes a part of us? Lisa Cron explains in her TEDx Talk, Wired for Story. Whether you consider yourself a devoted reader, a film aficionado, a writer, or combination, or just a human being going through life, this is a fascinating look at how we learn and absorb and form our impressions of the world, and how story is inextricably twined with our approach to life.

Andrew Stanton: The Clues to a Great Story

Nephele Tempest

The following is a wonderful TED talk from filmmaker Andrew Stanton of Pixar, who’s responsible for such great movies as TOY STORY and WALL-E. He discusses the components of a great story, and how the staff at Pixar developed their unique and successful storytelling style.

Please note: Stanton kicks of with a joke in which he swears exactly once (out of the nearly twenty minutes of presentation). Fair warning if you’re offended by profanity.