How to Plot Like a GrimIn ten simple steps, you too can plot like a Grim.

1. Get an idea
This can be a brief snippet of dialogue. Or an ending that just seems perfect. Sometimes it's just the concept of what I'd like to see a character go through. I write that down. Usually it doesn't see the cold light of day for at least a couple months, but when I've thought about it long enough and can't seem to get the idea out of my head, that's when I sit down and start plotting things out a bit.
2. Work out the basic plot
Now that I've got the idea, I need to work out the basic details. But how do I do that? Well, I write it down. Then I think about the different angles to get to that idea. I write those down. If it's dialogue, who's talking? What do they feel? Who are they talking to? If it's a snippet of a scene, who's in the scene? Why are they there? What are they doing? What's going on outside of that scene?
From the

How to Stop Planning and Use What You've GotArticle cowritten by *ShadowedAcolyte and ^neurotype.
We've chosen to present this in bullets. The first few are ways to tell when your planning has gone too far; the rest are how to get past that.
Featured literature was chosen for its ability to present exposition: good pacing, tantalizing hints, etc.
How do I know I've planned too much?
When you can't hold it all in your head.When you can't explain it without a long-winded summary."So you've planned X. How will you reveal X to the reader?" If you can't immediately think of a good idea, it's probably overplanned.
Volume: how much of your story is world-building/backstory?
Properly spaced, you could get up to 10% world into a story without ruining the book (e.g. for an epic fantasy or something else not set in a place readers will immediately recognize). The rest should be happening now.If the setting is much more familiar—like, Everytown, USA, it could easily be 1% backstory.
Wh

Worldbuilding: Environments and Social StructuresAre you ready to build a world? Good!

The Magic Gateway, by jerry8448. This is what we want to do with worldbuilding.
Worldbuilding is a complex process, because it is essentially creating the base of a different reality from our own. An author must pull together all the elements of a 'world', and capture that in text. This applies in any genre of writing. Even non-fiction has aspects of worldbuilding because it has setting and world details the same as fiction. In any genre, if the world is flat, the story will be flat and one of the best ways to build a fictional world is to know about one's own. Stories and readers both require an interesting and engaging place to go to, and our world, as well as any imagined one, can provide this! Because our world is the base of most human experiences, it is a great place to understand for both personal and writing reasons. If the author understands the sett

Prompt 14: The Beginning!Yes, it's us again. We reincarnate more often than Kenny.
This time is going to be different, though. And you can trust me on that, because it's not me who'll be ensuring it. =futilitarian, a long-time contributor and judge for #transliterations and someone whom I'm sure you all know if only by reputation, is stepping into the breach and making sure this dead horse keeps getting whipped. The one major change you should be aware of is that prompts will now go up on the 15th of each month and end on the 10th. Of course, this ending date is purely arbitrary and only influences who gets into the news feature; you can continue to submit whenever you want. We'll also be introducing a new category into our prompt cycle, but you'll find out more about that a little later on. And these changes pale in comparison to the fact that things will actually be happening.
She's a good influence on me, you see. She's the rod up my arse that keeps the clockwork turning.
On that note:

PE: Story Planning Round-upGreetings all!
WHAT AN AWESOME WEEK!
So last week we had a fantastic event based on Story Planning; a week that was slightly relaxed for a PE week, but full of good advice. These articles haven't just been written for the sake of filling a week, we genuinely hope there is something in them that is useful to you as a writer, to help you with your journey. There's a flash fiction month around the corner, as well as a camp NaNoWriMo and then a full NaNoWrimo in November. There are the times to get planning- don't leave it too close to the deadline!

Article round-up
Here is a list of all the articles we posted in the past week! Please favourite, share the love, comment and express gratitude- especially to our article writers who took the personal time to write these articles and share a little of their own writin

Dialogue WorkshopI want this workshop to be somewhat different from other workshops -- I'm going to break this down into two categories: technical elements and personal advice.
And I hate to say this, but the following information in this workshop only works if applied. Osmosis and good intentions do not work. Sorry.

PRE-EMPTIVE TLDR NUTSHELL
To write effective dialogue, there has to be a basic understanding of what communication is. Wikipedia sums it up nicely: the meaningful exchange of information between two or more people. It's easy but not at the same time.

TECHNICAL
This has to do with actual concepts for crafting effective dialogue. For the most part, I had to research the details but you'll be able to pick out what I added on my own. You know how I get and if you don't, you soon will. No apologies for that.
Links to the websites I used will follow.
Some of the worst advice I've seen and that I'm s

Love dA Lit: Issue 132Welcome to the one-hundred thirty-second issue of Love dA Lit!

Every Sunday this article will aim to promote volunteer opportunities, various resources, prompts, challenges, and workshops, as well as highlighting various contests, and spotlighting a specific group or project for two weeks. This is by no means a complete list of all the literature going-ons, merely a tool to help you get involved and stay informed.
Note: It's another PE week at #projecteducate! As usual it gets its own nice little section for the next two weeks.

Oh yes, and I've moved over most of the resources exclusively to #LITplease's Community Portal, but labeled it with a nice big heading and link to the current one. Hope everything is clear enough! ♥
#LITplease's Community Portal

Fantastic Feature Tuesday #46Please this news article so it will reach a larger audience!
This is a weekly feature of amazing literature that I come by during my
travels across deviantART. This is only a small sample of a vast amount
of wonderful pieces of literature written by absolutely fantastic
writers. Each deviation was carefully selected from a writer's gallery
based on structure, impact and word usage. I will never feature the
same person twice (though this gets harder to keep track of
now that we can change usernames), so check out these lovely writers now while you can!

PS. Hi! I'm alive. I've basically been doing nothing here in the past few weeks but I'll be back this weekend, hopefully!

June, it's on. It is on.Hello everyone! ♥ We've been quiet, but we're still here and still eager to help out!

Don't be afraid to ask questions! Everyone here is nice and happy to answer any questions you have. [Trust me, I know.]
#projecteducate and #CRLiterature are hosting a Story Planning Week and it is a fantastic way to learn from other deviants more about story planning. It really isn't as easy as it would seem, so be sure to look over these articles.

Oh, for you poets out there, there was even a Poetry Forms week a while back.
PE: Story Planning Articles

Questions? Comments? Excited? confused? Really unsure

Community Portal: June 16thCommunity Portal
Love dA Lit: Issue 132
News

^neurotype is looking for themed DD suggestions again. (by note only

)

Farewell to JZlobo, the first Fan Fiction CV. Give him your thanks!

Forums Discussion: Obligatory reading like a writer post: What was the last book you read?

Dialogue Workshop [July 1st]

Mini Criti

Benson's lament

(Sang to Midna's lament)

It all happened late that night
My best friend was killed

Beheaded in front of me
And its all my fault

Dave... I

The Indie Pen Dance - Issue 4 - Robert Loyd WatsonGreetings, readers. Welcome to the Indie Pen Dance, a catalogue of DeviantART's independently published authors! Show our indies some love, like their pages, pick up copies of their books.

I meant to have this out on the 15th, but I'm sure it's starting to become obvious that scheduling is not my strong suit. Today, we pester Robert Loyd Watson, DeviantART's own =merrak

Author: Robert Loyd Watson
Title: A Foundation in Wisdom
Genre: Fantasy / General
Length: 45,000 words
Availability:
Amazon Print - http://www.amazon.com/dp/0988957205/ref=cm_sw_su_dp
Amazon Ebook - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CPQD6OE
B&N Print - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-foundation-in-wisdom-robert-loyd-watson/1115262803?ean=9780988957206
B&N Ebook - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-foundation-in-wisdom-robert-loyd-watson/1115262803?ean=2940016700953&itm=1&usri=

WHO TO LOVE?THOSE THOSE WHOM GOD PUT ON EARTH. HE DIDNT PUT THEM HERE TO BE HATED OR CRITISIED. HE PUT THEM HERE FOR A PURPOSE AND IT IS PEOPLES CHOICE WHETHER THEY WANT TO SEE THAT OR NOT. ~WOLF

Intervention: Chapter 45 part 1"So who is going to make the wish for your friend to return?" Mew asked.
"I guess Diana could do it since she desperately wants Aaron back more than I do." Marcus answered.
"Okay. I will do it." Diana declared. Mew handed Diana the Stone of Rebirth, and slowly floated back.
"In order for this to work, you must have enough desire for what you want in order to get what you want. Otherwise, your wish won't come true." Mew said. Diana looked at the Stone of Rebirth, and tried to figure out what to do.
*Do I just think about what I want, or is there some secret to this?* Diana thought to herself. She remember Aaron said that he just wanted to move from the side of the cliff, and it worked. So, Diana clutched the Stone of Rebirth tightly, and thought of Aaron being with her and Marcus instead of being

My DreamsIn the night, in my dreams,
I'm in love with you,
'Cause we talk to each other like lovers do
I feel joy, I feel pain,
But it's still the same:
When the night is gone
I'll be alone.

Another night, Another dream, but always you,
Like a vision of love that seems to be true.
Another night, Another dream, but always you,
Tonight I will dream of a love once true.

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Duotrope to Become a Paid Service in Jan. 2013

Journal Entry: Sat Dec 1, 2012, 9:51 AM

UPDATE 2/2/2012: Duotrope has just issued a statement via Facebook.

For all those writers out there who are seeking publication and rely on Duotrope to find their publication venues, heads up: on January 1, 2013, the site will require you to buy a paid subscription in order to access the majority of their features.

The subscriptions are $5 per month, or $50 for a full year. Those who do not subscribe will not be able to search, look at submission deadlines, or use the submissions tracker. You will be able to see a limited profile for the various publications listed there, but not the acceptance/rejection statistics.

The Found Poetry Review has started a petition asking Duotrope to consider having the listed publishers pay fees as opposed to the users.

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Duotrope to Become a Paid Service in Jan. 2013by *SadisticIceCream

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=LuanaTF Dec 27, 2012 Professional Digital Artist

Honestly, I'm not pissed by the fact they're now charging for memberships, but by the elitist approach they've chosen: why users and NOT publishers?! In an ideal world, both the parties should pay for membership, even more so since users (authors) rely on smaller budgets than publishers. It makes sense, after all, if you consider that author=worker and publisher=employer.

I can't approve of this course of action. And having donated in the past, I wish at least they would make a 'first year free' kind of promotion for those users who donated.

Bah...

*SadisticIceCream Dec 27, 2012 Writer

I agree, it would be nice if they made it a bit more egalitarian -- the fact that authors aren't exactly made of money nine times out of ten was definitely the point of a petition that had been circulating, asking Duotrope to consider having publishers pay to be listed instead. But I guess this is how it's going to be.

~fallenidle Dec 8, 2012 Professional Writer

So freaking lame. I'm glad someone's started a petition about publishers paying, Matt and I said that as soon as we heard about this. Just...ugh.

*SadisticIceCream Dec 8, 2012 Writer

Yup. Besides the fact, ^neurotype pointed out that Duotrope, while it may be the best in its class in terms of interface, isn't even the only one out there offering similar services, and the rest of them are free. I feel like in the long run, joke's gonna be on them.

`thetaoofchaos Dec 8, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

I actually had no idea there was such a site. I thought everyone had to wade through these massive lists of ezines and publications themselves. Thanks for the info.

*SadisticIceCream Dec 8, 2012 Writer

No problem! I actually have a small listing of a few more, similar databases here, if you do a Ctrl+F for "Find literary journals": [link]

`thetaoofchaos Dec 8, 2012 Hobbyist Writer

Thanks!

^neurotype Dec 4, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Also, found this.

[link]

Duotrope prooobably should've made sure they were the only thing in the market before acting like they were.

*SadisticIceCream Dec 4, 2012 Writer

Oh, that's too good. There are other, similar free databases out there, too -- they probably can't boast the comprehensiveness or ease of use of Duotrope, but it's definitely not impossible to find similar services. Also, people have been noting that Publishers Marketplace is always free at the library, and is cheaper yearly than Duotrope's subscription, so, megafail.

^neurotype Dec 4, 2012 Hobbyist General Artist

Haha, yeah. Also, when I was looking for a market for my horror fairy tale, Google was better. (Anthologies, yay!)

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