Writer Unboxed

Therese Walsh on May 22 2006 | Filed under: Click Here

Ah, Mondays. They can be as draining as a pocketful of kryptonite to our super-creative powers. But easy as a flinging on a cape, you can transform this most evil weekday into a productive workday.

What follows here is not for the squeamish

…or so promises James Patrick Kelly in his most clickable article Murder your Darlings. Kelly offers some masterful solutions to trimming your fiction works without letting too much blood.

Hate that you have to take an expensive class to learn something truly valuable about your craft? Well, you don’t. Laurie H Hutzler teaches screenwriting at the UCLA Film School, and she offers up many of her prize gems free-of-charge at her site, The Emotional Toolbox. With great info on character maps, story types and more, this isn’t just for screenwriters. Besides, you know how much we love to cull lessons from screenplays, right? You can also sign up for her free newsletter by filling out her online form; click here to learn more.

Still suffering from Mondayitis? I have just the cure…

Have a prize-winning prose poem? A show-stopping short-short? Don’t know what a short-short is? Enlightenment is only a click away when you check out the Fineline Competition.

Want a critique–an honest one–of an excerpt of about 1000 words? Torgo promises one, if you can be patient while he clears his backlog. Just click here to learn more about him and what he offers!

Need a quote to open a chapter, head off a part or to feed one of your characters? Check out the indispensable collection at one of my favorite sites, Brainy Quote.

Finally, just for fun (because I LIKE fun), if you haven’t seen the Seinfeld and Superman American Express commercials online, you should treat yourself to a giggle. (You’ll need Flash to view them.)

Write on, Super Friends!

Therese Walsh co-founded Writer Unboxed in 2006. Her debut novel, The Last Will of Moira Leahy, sold to Random House in a two-book deal in 2008, was named one of January Magazine’s Best Books of 2009, and was a Target Breakout Book in 2010. She's never been published with a lit magazine, but LOST's Carlton Cuse liked her haiku best on Twitter, and that made her pretty happy.