John Legend interviews Ta-Nehisi Coates about writing
Hemingway App
Paste your copy into this app and it will help you break up dense copy, slay passive voice and find alternative sentences that are easier to read. H-man, it seems, was onto something. Verbose prose is so 19th century.
Story Grid Podcast
Gah. I just can’t bring myself to pay for an MFA in creative writing. Not after finally getting my bachelor’s paid off after nine long years of monthly bills. Thus, I’ve had to find other educational tools about writing a good story. This podcast is definitely one of the best I’ve come across. In each episode, a publishing world vet and a fledgling author discuss the formula for a good novel—the story grid. It’s full of practical advice I’ve never heard before (like how knowing your genre can be more important than knowing the backstory of your characters).
Helping Writers Become Authors (dot com)
The site’s design is a little overwhelming, and nearly every gad dang link opens a new tab, but hang in there. HelpingWritersBecomeAuthors.com has A LOT of great information and tools for new writers. I’m all for taking short cuts without cutting corners. Here’s an example of a helpful structure chart to use when you’re outlining.
The Starbucks App
Three things. 1) It gamifies your coffee addiction, letting you rack up rewards through the app. 2) It tells you what song’s playing in your store so you can save it on Spotify and listen later (or Google the lyrics because you’re an emotional sap… raises hand…). 3) This.
