Thomas Umstattd Jr.

As a child when I heard the stories of Narnia I always wondered: what world lay beyond the other pools in the wood between the worlds. What adventures do they hold? Well, my brother has found one of those worlds. (more…)

If you are a writer or a speaker this will help you understand how words work and how to make you message stick. This talk comes from the books Presentation Zen by Garr Reynold and Language in Thought and Action by S. I. Hayakawa.

Here is a recording and slides for the Ladder of Abstraction talk that I gave at the Austin Rhetoric Club a few weeks ago.

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Chances are you have thought about writing a book someday. Well here are some free resources I have found helpful.

How to Write A Book (video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXMghQTGNLs
Good tips on writing as an action. Getting writing done.

Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses (mp3)
http://librivox.org/fenimore-coopers-literary-offenses-by-mark-twain/
A 30 minute mp3 of an essay that Mark Twain wrote making fun of another authors horrible writing. Great if you are doing fiction. Funny.

Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips (Podcast)
http://grammar.qdnow.com/
I know you don’t like grammar but this is an easy way to start getting better. Each episode is only about 5 to 8 minutes long. Well produced podcast. Grammar is important.

American Writers (Podcast)
http://www.americanwriters.com/
Podcast on the nitty gritty on writing fiction. How to develop likable characters how to write dialog etc. Read more…