I think that this post over at Script Frenzy perfectly tackles this topic. To find the answer to your question, just scroll to the second page. There’s also a section on the questionnaire to help you develop your antagonist.

-Allegra

Basically because of the sheer number of high quality and professional grade features that the software provides absolutely free. To give you an idea, I’ll post a screenshot of the writing tools they offer as listed from their site:

Not to mention they offer both online and mobile services (free) and their mobile app is the #1 rated scriptwriting app in the App Store.

For the cost (i.e. $0) I don’t think you can do better than that!

~*~Allegra~*~

To be honest, it really depends on what your current needs are as a writer, and what you hope to gain from the site to help further your writing capabilities. 

I consider myself to be both an artist and a writer, and I’ve had a DeviantArt account for about four years now. It’s difficult to get a grasp of just how much writing resources are available, as the site is home to some 11 million plus members and it’s a lot of information to comb through, but as someone who dabbles in both writing and art, and has been an active participant in both parts of the site for four or so years, I can tell you that dA won’t be of much use to you if your aim is to grow as a writer or gain a bit of exposure, as the site is so heavily centered around the graphic arts.

If you would like an alternative outside of the typical lineup of social media sites, might I suggest:

Fiction Press

Why I like it:

You can classify your writing into either the Fiction or Poetry categories, and then further classify it according to genre. The site also allows you the option of assigning a rating, which ranges from K (suitable for young children) to M (Mature - contains content suitable for mature teens and older), which is great for helping you to narrow down to your target audience. 

In terms of feedback, the site does have a review feature that allows readers to leave feedback which, hopefully, you will find useful; however, most of the reviews I find tend to be of the short, complimentary, and not very useful, variety (i.e. “nice,” “good story” sort of comments with little else added). Some readers might not bother leaving a review at all, but might choose the option to “follow” you or a particular story you’ve posted (i.e. subscribing), which is considered a compliment. Nevertheless, the site is home to thousands of members, many of whom are fantastic writers and have given me some very useful critiques concerning the quality of my work.

Other pluses include communities and forums that will help you gain visibility for your work, or where you can ask fellow writers for advice and tips. Now, while the site doesn’t have a specific “Go To” place for guides or writing resources, it has a registry of Beta Readers (over 2,000 just for the fiction category) who can critique your work before you publish it. If you’re not quite sure what they do, generally, a beta reader is someone who will examine your writing for plot holes and other errors that we writers commonly miss during the writing process, and will make corrections or suggestions where they see fit.

Of course, this being the internet, there are many more writing websites available, but I find this one to be among the more user friendly, especially for the amateur writer.

I really hope this helped with your question!

~*~Allegra~*~

I feel like there’s a specific way to do this that I’m forgetting, but I think what you do is submit a manuscript with your real name and your selection of pen name on it. If anybody knows for sure, drop us a message. 

-Evvy

Oooo man, I love these kinds of books. I’m actually trying to write one myself at the moment. It is hard!

The proper name for these types of novels are epistolary novels. That might be a great help in terms of trying to look for stuff for reference.

My suggestion in terms of content would be to look for a collection of letters written by actual people, or other epistolary novels. Or maybe try to find letters that you’ve written to people before. I try to look at it that way: ‘How would I sound if I were writing a letter to someone?’. Hopefully I’m making sense. I’ve been coding java all day and I have a test to study for so I’m sorry if I sound a bit scrambled, haha.

Two epistolary novels that I know of are Dear. Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Clearly and Dangerous Liasons by Choderlos de Laclos, if you want to check those out.

Good luck with your story!

- Pen

I like using Helvetica for titles/subtitles, and Georgia for body text. :)

- Pen

I’ll swap out between ones that look nice at the time. I also will use ones that help me tell different sections apart. 

-Evvy

I know this might sound a bit silly, but my best advice is to make time. Perhaps get up an hour earlier than you usually do, or something like that?

When I have a really busy schedule, like when I’m in school, I find that the best thing that helps me get the most done and calm down my thoughts (I have anxiety disorder) is to both make a to-do list and practice time management.

There’s a time management technique that I’ve been using lately that really gives me the feeling of both being productive and doing the things I actually WANT to do. It’s called the 30/30 rule. You can read more about it here:

http://chetansurpur.com/blog/2010/11/magic-work-cycle.html

Good luck!

- Pen

There are tons of ways to get inspired!  I’m sure there’s a post about this somewhere on the blog, so I’ll just list a few of the things I do.

• Listen to music
• Write about personal experiences
• Write about the things around you
• Watch television (this helps sometimes, but not always)
• Try some writing prompts

These are some of the things I do to get inspired.  Some good places for writing prompts can be found on our Places page.  Thank you for your question, and I hope I’ve helped! -Grammar

It’s not a joke at all!  We’re all pretty busy right now, but we’re in the process of tagging and organizing the posts and then the navigation will be set up. -Grammar

No actually the whole blog is a joke we were waiting for someone to notice. -Evvy