blogs
a couple of interesting blog post via Drawn.
First, a little book design process
then a little discussion of tools here and here.
also, this might be interesting for tool heads.
contributors
Technique
Paul Duffield talks shop
The guy drawing Freakangels has a somewhat interesting essay on drawing.
Meg Hunt’s Trade Secrets.
go here
on Flickr
and on Book-by-it’s-cover
some exercises
This is a continuation of an old post where I promised some creative exercises but never followed up on it (sorry)
Being primarily a cartoonist I will of course skew these small acts with an eye toward cartooning but it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that there are corollaries and connections between all the […]
Formal Construction in Poetry
Poetry abounds in history, with uses that delve into every aspect of the human condition. It has been used to create the guidelines of nations in constitutions and declarations, to lift up our lightest matter and subjugate our darkest engorgements. It has chronicled much of our ancient history and some of our modern. […]
Characterization - Part III
Successful dialogue is tricky. For dialogue to resonate it must appear natural while also doing more than one thing at a time. In many creative writing classes teachers will ask their students to go out in the world and document their senses. These assignments do help a writer develop a keen eye/ear/nose/tongue/touch for the world […]
Getting an idea.
There is, perhaps, no more dangerous man in the world than the man with the sensibilities of an artist but without creative talent. With luck such men make wonderful theatrical impresarios and interior decorators, or else they become mass murderers or critics.~Barry Humphries
You know how we’re all forced to have a day job because making […]
Characterization – Part II
Complex Characters
When people talk about “ not empathizing” with a character it is often because the character lacks believability. One can empathize with Hamlet, despite the fact that not everyone is a vengeful Danish Prince, because we identify with him emotionally on some level. We know that, in life, people aren’t wholly bad or good, […]
Characterization: Part I
Creating Character
Before I even begin a rough draft, I do character sketches. I’ve found that this ultimately saves me time. Before I worked with this method I would write draft after draft, trying to feel out the story. What I learned is that I understood the plot well enough, but I didn’t quite have a […]
Simultaneous Submission
Author’s note: This post is designed with poetry submission in mind, though some aspects of it may apply to other forms of writing, especially short stories and the such. Certainly the role of simultaneous submission changes considerably when you’re submitting something as large and time-consuming as a novel or book manuscript, and my opinion of […]