REALITY CHECK!
Writing for Profit
It's Not just an Adventure - It's a JOB.
Whoever told you that writing fiction for publication - for money - is supposed to be Artistic, Fun, or Easy -- LIED.
Writing may look artistic, and creative writing certainly is artistic (that's why they call it Creative Writing,) but writing for a living; writing for publication with the intent to get paid on a regular basis is NOT artistic, it's NOT always fun, and it certainly is NOT easy.
Writing for publication is WORK. Sure, some of it is fun, but the bulk of it is mind-bending, eye-straining work. Don't get me wrong, creativity is part of the job of writi
The Truth About Selling Fanart by KiRAWRa, literature
Literature
The Truth About Selling Fanart
Update notice as of January 17, 2013: I have given this guide a MAJOR overhaul. It was originally written over a year and a half ago, and since then my own views and understanding of copyrights has changed. I felt that this guide should reflect those changes, so if you read this guide in the past, please take a moment to look through it again as I have added MANY new topics, information, and sources. Unlike my first draft, I have also changed my viewpoint to neutral throughout this writing.
Update notice as of July 17th, 2015: Check out DeviantArt's new article on art theft, fanart, copyrights, and other relevant topics! http://protectart.de
Please copy and paste this into a Word document or deviation. Then highlight the information after the colons and type over it.
Setting
Time/Era: Exact year or approximate time
Name of Country: For fun, you could alter the name of an old country to amuse more educated readers. For example, I altered the Assyrian Empire's name for a conquering people to evoke images of brutality and Mesopotamia.
Geography: Keep track of all the places you mention and their approximate locations. I find it handy to draw a rough map of the area.
Landscape: Trees, soil, water, buildings... Imagine you were flying over the place in an airplane. What would you
A World Building and Novel Writing Guide by Naeomi, literature
Literature
A World Building and Novel Writing Guide
The List System - A World Building & Novel Writing Organization Guide
Introduction
If you are like me, you are someone who finds a lot of benefit in making lists and keeping a lot of notes. This has naturally lead me into developing my own system in organizing my numerous story projects, in a way that keeps them easily accessible, clear, and able to hold any and all Information I need.
World building and Plot making are sometimes time-intensive processes. They can be spread out over long distances of time, or larger chunks of building sprees. Whatever works for you is great! If you aren't sure, listen to your whims. This is a very flexibl
Huge character profile of completeness TEMPLATE by ElithianFox, literature
Literature
Huge character profile of completeness TEMPLATE
Huge character profile of completeness
This character profile template was made by compiling a whole lot of templates made by other artists that I felt were not specific enough and adding many more questions to make everything more specific. The links are in the description, please visit their versions too. This profile is ginormous, not every question may be relevant to your character. The main goal is to have a profile that is as complete as it can get, so not every question will need to be filled in. Add and remove as is needed as there's only few characters every question is relevant for. If you think questions should be added, commen
.:Developing Your Own Species:. by Veidara, literature
Literature
.:Developing Your Own Species:.
• Unusual Characteristics: Creating a species usually stems from the writer envisioning a character or a group with characteristics impossible for a human to have. Determine what odd characteristics you have in mind for your characters and collect them together to begin to form traits of a species. Determine any unusual markings or colorations, how they hold themselves, their tendencies, and begin to think about powers and special abilities apart from that which a human can do.
• Powers: Writing normal lice of life humans isn't for everyone. Characters with powers are unique and intriguing if you can write them as such. Be carefu
dA Guide: Text Formatting by SweetDuke, literature
Literature
dA Guide: Text Formatting
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UPDATE for January 2020:
I created this guide in 2011, so you'll have to take it with a grain of salt since dA has updated a bazillion things since then LOL. It now looks like many codes don't work in Literature submissions anymore, (or disable the "Eclipse" version of the site and show the old site instead), so some of the demonstrations here only look like regular text. But they should display properly if you copy/paste them in the comments. I'm so glad to see how many of you wonderful people still utilize this resource, so I wish you the best and encourage you to go ahead and experiment to see what works and what do
Writing Emotions VISUALLY by OokamiKasumi, literature
Literature
Writing Emotions VISUALLY
Writing Emotions VISUALLY
"What is ...VISUAL writing?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- Visual writing is when the reader can SEE your story unfolding in their imaginations just like a movie.
* Non-visual: It was a dreary day.
* Visual: Icy rain slithered down the window glass from an iron gray sky.
This is more commonly known as SHOWING vs. TELLING.
* Telling: It was a dreary day.
* Showing: Icy rain slithered down the window glass from an iron gray sky.
"What's wrong with just...Telling them?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-- The problem lays with Reader interpre
Tips On Self-Publishing
I recently decided to self-publish a compilation of my work. It is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but have always put off for several reasons; the imagined cost, basic lethargy in editing the damn thing, and laziness when it came to mail-outs to publishers. If this sounds like you so far, you might be able to benefit from a few things I learned along the way. Below I will discuss almost everything you will need to know before jumping into a self-publishing project, some pitfalls to avoid, and approximately what to expect to come out of your pocket. (I'm talking about money, pervert.)
Once I dec
.:Create Your Own SPECIES Bio Template:. by Veidara, literature
Literature
.:Create Your Own SPECIES Bio Template:.
If you’re dabbling in the genres of supernatural, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, and horror, you’re probably going to want to make at least one of your own species eventually. And that’s why I made this short and concise form for you to fill out! This form is free to use but only for those who give credit to me.
Species name:
Outward distinguishable feature of species:
Any notable habits/tendencies:
Any enhanced or extra powers or abilities:
Describe how they discover, train, and harness their abilities:
Various strengths and skills of the species overall:
Various weaknesses and detriments of the species overall:
An