http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1773 Start small work your way up. Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Climb the ladder one rung at a time. Get your foot in the door and the rest will follow. Well worn platitudes all. But what does it have to do with writing?Many writers think that the secret to getting published by a major house is working their way up. Write a book, get it published by a vanity/utility publisher and that’s the first rung on the ladder to success.... Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:11 PST en-us http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1773 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1773 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:57:11 PST It's the dream of 81% of the population to write a book. No matter how many times people tell you how difficult it is to do, nearly everyone wants to do it. There hangs a certain romance around writers. I think it's a kind of nostalgia or grieving for some forgotten part of ourselves. We long to return to a place where magic and imagination are revered. Others may just want the quick glory or fast buck they associate with being an author. But whatever you want, getting a ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/968 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/968 Sun, 24 May 2009 10:37:08 PST Wouldn't it be nice to write a book, get paid handsomely for it and be considered a top expert all at once? It's possible--if you know the rules.1. Study the publishing industry.Today celebrity books rule. Books that catch a quick trend come in second. Take chick lit, for example. Nobody cared about hip books for women ten, or even five years ago. But women buy the majority of books--and actually read them. It's not to say that other book genres aren't viable. Of cour... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/979 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/979 Sun, 24 May 2009 10:37:09 PST How is a writer to access her deepest and most powerful wells of creativity? How do we tap into our talent, our genius, our greatest potential for success? Writing classes often tell us how to plot, or structure, or build characters, or create poetic images, but the question of accessing our excellence is a slippery and elusive one. It is possible we’ll need to go outside our usual sources to find an answer.Many will merely say “be born with talent,” coldly suggesting tha... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1166 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1166 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:15 PST Flow state, that mysterious mental zone where time and the outside world seem to disappear, is one of the keys to peak performance. Frankly, your ability to harness the limits of your intelligence, creativity, education, or talents will be largely determined by your capacity to remain in flow while under stress.Those who cannot suffer “stage fright,” “writer’s block” “flop sweat” and numerous other labels for the same phenomenon—inability to access th... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1174 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1174 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:15 PST When the first reviews for my most recent novel (Great Sky Woman, Random House 2006) started coming in, my emotions went through the usual roller coaster. The first, from Publisher’s Weekly, was 90% positive, but mentioned that, in their opinion, it was slow in spots. My stomach sank. Slow? In spots? Oh my God—all is lost!The second review came in two weeks later. This one, from “Booklist,” used words like “magnificent” and “engaging” and “advent... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1226 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1226 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:16 PST One of the core conflicts for creative artists of all kinds is the tug-of-war between art and commerce. Frankly, an artist needs to make money, and it is preferable to make it from his craft. A writer who must work a full-time job to support himself will struggle to find the time to work, and often eventually gives it up altogether. On the other hand, being able to write on any project at all can polish valuable skills, and teach one the rules of the publishing industry. ... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1238 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1238 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:17 PST During a career spanning twenty-five years of novel, film, and television work, I've two major tools most valuable: the yogic “chakras” for characterization, and Joseph Campbell’s model of the Hero’s Journey for plot structure. http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1317 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1317 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:18 PST One subject arising whenever writers gather to discuss their craft is the mining of life itself for story material. While a vital and important technique, it is important to remember that real human beings are impossibly complex, far too complicated to serve as story characters without major modification. The most complex character in all of western fiction (arguably), Hamlet, is still only 1% as complex as a real human being. One must remember that there is a unity betwe... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1324 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1324 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:19 PST There is a great deal of misunderstanding about what that particular branch of literature called “Science Fiction” actually consists of. Is it space-ships and monsters? Time machines? Galactic empires? Well, its all of those things, and often none of them.Science Fiction, broadly speaking, is story-telling that deals with the impact of organized knowledge on human beings. Usually, this means technology, and the way it changes us—and reveals about us. After all, most techn... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1329 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1329 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:19 PST Good writing is often designed around a character who has a distorted vision of himself or of the world. During the story, he is placed under sufficient pressure to force an epiphany, a moment of clarity in which, he sees the world as it is, not as he wished it to be.A classic example is “Casablanca,” where Bogart’s immortal Rick has managed to create an insular world in which he can pretend to be utterly detached and uninvolved. He supposedly has no political beliefs, an... http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1331 http://net-teams.net/nti/Display.cfm/1331 Sun, 24 May 2009 11:20:19 PST