Tools for Outlining Your Stories

Here are some cool tools to use for getting started in outlining your stories

1. Creative Writing Now - Outline for Novel
2. Workflowy
3. Scrivner

Here is a great article for leveraging some other known tools for the outline process: Tools to Outline Your Novel: NaNoWriMo Tip #9

Short Film: Writer's Block

Tom Gran and Martin Woolley wrote and directed Writer's Block, a funny piece of metafiction.

Why Writers Are the Worst Procrastinators

This week The Atlantic had a spot-on article about the writing condition, called Why Writers Are the Worst Procrastinators.

8 Writing Groups on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is one of the best social media networks for connecting with like-minded peers. Below are some of the top groups I have identified for writers.

Finding the Main Event

Recently on the ScriptNotes podcast entitled My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend’s Screenwriter, Mike Birbiglia, a writer, director, performer, and creator of "Sleepwalk With Me" shared a very good insight about creating a story. Often, in writing, the suggestion is to start with your ending so that you know where you are going.

Mike said:

...is finding a main event that the whole film or play builds towards. And if that main event is interesting enough, all you have to do is build backwards to it so that secretly, as a writer, your little trick is that you know that no one has any idea that where you’re going is pretty fascinating.

5 Ways to Increase Writing Productivity

Donna Gambale, Philadelphia-based YA writer, shares 5 opportunities to brainstorm on projects  to keep it fresh and allow you to progress more rapidly when you sit down to write.

1. Driving
2. Doing Chores
3. Falling Asleep
4. Cooking
5. Waiting

The full list of opportunities is described in the Writer's Digest article 5 OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE YOUR WRITING PRODUCTIVITY (WITHOUT ACTUALLY WRITING)

The Cure for Writer's Block

Give yourself permission to write...garbage