Lists and goals and inspiration from other writers … it’s the End of Year edition!

ScreenCraft shares Aristotle’s six golden rules of screenwriting. (These apply to novels too.)

Authors Publish has cobbled together words of wisdom from 43 writers with its list of rules for writing.

Over at Writer Magazine, they delve into the task of writing goals, sorted by where you are in your project.

Ever the proponent for positivity, Good News Network lists its 50 good news stories from 2020.

It’s the “I’m a Fan of Christmas Decorations” edition!

This time of year, the GWRN home and office becomes a winter wonderland, with a theme of what I call “overabundance of trees.”

We have a total of 17 decorated trees ranging in all sizes and shapes, including ceramic, pine needle in burlap, Victorian gold and red, silver with red, metal with lights (outdoor), tabletop sizes, a food-only tree, and wall décor that we put bulbs on (my definition is: has branches and we hang ornaments on them, so I count those too).

The only thing we don’t have this year is a live tree. No reason, just didn’t see the need to purchase one.

Here are some of our trees:

I also collect nativity sets. Some are set out for the season; others are on permanent display in this glass case:

Other decorations include mantle garland with lights, topiaries, giant balls hanging from the eaves outside, outdoor lights, door wreaths, doorknob bells, garland, twinkle lights, most of the hand-made decorations through the years, and these miscellaneous items:

As we head into the last month of one crazy year, here are a few tidbits I found to help fellow writers:

If you’re looking for free online photo editors and image editing software, Just Publishing Advice has you covered.

There are significant differences in how you present yourself as a freelancer versus as a job seeker. Freelance Writing Gigs weighs in on those differences in resumes and portfolios for freelance writers.

Over at Go Into the Story, Scott Myers offers some motivation for those navigating the swirling waters of screenwriting: Feet on the ground. Head in the clouds. Bonus: There’s a link to more of his wit and wisdom at the end of his post.

Derek Haines at Just Publishing Advice offers a good discussion of whether KDP Select free Kindle ebook promotions work.

Good News Network has an article in which Americans reveal how they’re staying positive in 2020. We could all use some helpful hints in that area, couldn’t we?

Special Thanksgiving issue!

In light of tomorrow’s Turkey Day, here are a few things I found about the holiday’s origins:

From History.com (a site you should bookmark, by the way), a detailed list of who was at the first thanksgiving. It includes how and when the tradition took hold.

History.com also has a timeline of the holiday.

And speaking of timelines, Delish.com has details on exactly when to cook every dish for Thanksgiving Dinner. Lots of fabulous recipes included!

Check out these tidbits I came across this week:

My computer went all wonky this morning, and I turned to Geek’s Advice for help. You should too, should you find yourself in such dire straits.

If you’re needing help with your ebook covers, Just Publishing Advice lists seven free book cover creators.

Also over at Just Publishing Advice, writer Derek Haines talks about how to spark your writing inspiration.

Film Courage checks in with Gordy Hoffman (BlueCat Screenplay Competition’s founder and judge) about what makes a screenplay stand out.

Good News Network shares this interesting article that posits the Lost Colony might have been found. It’s about time.

Today’s recommendation deserves its own post.

Go Into The Story (GITS) is one of the best blogs out there for screenwriters and filmmakers. Scott Myers has hosted GITS since May 2008 and partners with Black List to present GITS as its official screenwriting blog.

The extensive archives hold a complete education in screenwriting. Check it out, you’ll see what I mean.

The item I’m highlighting today is Deep Focus: Film School on the Cheap, GITS’ post on resources put together by members of its community. It features five subject areas: movies, scripts and screenwriting, film analysis and criticism, filmmakers, and the evolution of filmmaking.

Be sure to bookmark the site. You’ll want to come back often.

No, we don’t have a clear winner in the presidential election yet this morning, but work keeps going and so does the weekly search for interesting and informative stories to help writers. Check out these that I came across this week:

After the nail-biter election results of last night – and with no clear winner at the moment, I thought it best to start with a story from Good News Network about a farm where children with special needs connect with injured animals to form healing friendships. It’s stories like these that make me feel like we’re going to be okay.

Steven Pressfield talks about getting to true identity in his blog post, alone in a room wearing a mask. All of Pressfield’s posts are fabulous. I recommend following him.

Over at Writer’s Digest, editor/screenwriter Jeanne Veillette Bowerman shares some valuable tips on saving money on your screenwriting career. Jeanne’s another must-read that I highly recommend.

Derek Haines at Just Publishing Advice details how to write a blog post to attract more readers. I’m going to bookmark this one and follow the advice!

Also at Just Publishing Advice, Haines makes the case for using strong verbs to add punch to your writing.

Check out these cool bits and pieces I came across this week:

Writer Katie Buller has put together a complete treasure trove of tools for authors that is so comprehensive it’s in two parts: part 1 here and part 2 here.

Writers Helping Writers outlines 4 ways to fix a boring story.

Over at Scriptmag, writer William C. Martell gives us the goods on invisible plants and payoffs. The article is specifically for the screenwriter audience, but the advice is good for novels as well.

For those of you who are putting together your samples, be sure to check out the advice from writer Noemi Tasarra-Twigg at Freelance Writing Gigs on the portfolio mistakes you want to avoid.

Here’s one just for fun: From the same folks who gave us the uproarious It’s a Southern Thing YouTube channel, Bless Your Rank includes several hilarious videos of food and beverage rankings.