Story Structure as a Roller Coaster [Art]

We all know that reading can be an adventure with all sorts of twists and turns, which is why this image is so great. What is exposition? Falling action? An unreliable narrator? What if you could illustrate story structure as an amusement park roller coaster? That's where this hilarious and really insightful cartoon by Grant Snider comes in. A glance shows how a great plot twist can be an exciting part of the journey while an unresolved subplot can send you crashing. Check it out.

What do you think?

More aliens and planets lie ahead as the journey continues in Heart of the Nexus, part two of the Nexus Trilogy!!

14 Ways Reading Improves Your Mind and Body

If you're here, you probably love reading, but did you know it's good for you, too? The Expert Editor created this massive infographic that breaks down 14 different ways your brain and body are improved every time you snuggle up with your favorite book.

"My name is Timothy McGill, and I'm a time travel addict..." Time Junkie, now available in paperback and ebook formats!

The Most Feared Books of All Time [Infographic]

Works of art have always been met with harsh criticism. If a book is deemed controversial, it can be challenged, and if that challenge is successful, it can be banned. Books ranging from The Bible and “The Communist Manifesto” all the way to seemingly innocent stories like “Green Eggs and Ham” and the “Harry Potter” series have been met with challenges, or even been banned. Readers.com put together a list of the most feared books of all time in the infographic below.

The DNA of a Successful Book [Infographic]

There's no formula for writing a bestselling novel. That said, here's the formula for a bestselling novel. Just kidding. There are exceptions to every rule, but this infographic by HipType does a nice job of breaking down some common trends in popular books. Of course, this leaves out the number one rule to being a successful author: writing well. But it couldn't hurt to make your protagonist a woman.
 
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Why Old and New Books Smell Good

I think it's safe to say anyone who's a book lover loves the smell of books. Just walking into a bookstore or library and breathing in that distinctive odor is enough to make me feel comforted. With the new world of digital books, the smell of paper books is even more precious. But did you ever wonder why books smell the way they do? Neither did I until I found this fascinating infographic on the chemical composition of books. Compound Interest breaks down the lovely odor with this detailed guide. Mmm, vanilla...


[Via Fastcoexist via Compound Interest]

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The Periodic Table of Storytelling

There are a lot of different elements that go into a story. This infographic, designed by James R. Harris, is a collection of story elements collected from TVTropes arranged in a periodic table.

You can view an interactive version at his website. You can also buy a print at his DeviantART site

[Via ebookfriendly.com]

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How Long Does It Take to Read Popular Books?

Let's say you want to read the world's most popular books. And you should. How long would it take you to read all of them? Personal Creations created this infographic based on the books' length and average reading speed. Your mileage may vary.

UPDATE: Replaced image with IMGUR link

[Via Personal Creations via Shortlist]

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Top 10 Banned or Challenged Classic Novels

Today is the last day of Banned Books Week, "celebrating" the persistent censorship of books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. BookPal.com created this infographic on ten frequently challenged classic novels.


Have you read any of these books?

UPDATE: Replaced image with a larger version

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The Psychology of Abandoned Books

I've started a lot of books in my life, but I haven't finished all of them. I think every reader has abandoned a book at some point in their lives. Goodreads put together a great infographic on the most abandoned books of all time, and some of the reasons why. Having read Moby Dick and Catch-22, I'm not surprised they're on this list.

What books have you abandoned and why?

[Via pinterest.com]

10 Words Everyone Needs to Stop Misspelling

I've made my share of typos, everyone does. But there are a few words that I see misspelled a lot. Anyone who's been through high school should have these down, but we all make mistakes every now and then. Here's a refresher by The Oatmeal in a more amusing format than your average grammar lesson.

eBooks vs. Paper Books [Infographic]

Newsweek raised the question of whether ebooks will eventually eliminate paper books. The answer, of course, is no. But they also created this really clever infographic about the stats. Click to enlarge:

[Via Techcrunch via Newsweek]

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The Hero's Journey Illustrated

One of the most classic story structures is the Hero's Journey, also known as the Monomyth. This structure was identified by Joseph Campbell in his book, The Hero With a Thousand Faces. Many classic stories (although far from all of them) follow this structure, and it's useful as both a reader and a writer to be familiar with it. This simple infographic by novel-software.com is a good illustration of the nine basic elements.

For more detail about the Hero's Journey as well as some of the controversy surrounding it, check out Write If You Dare.

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What's on the Bookshelves of 21 Famous People? [Infographic]

You can learn a lot about a person by what books they read (or don't read). This infographic by bid4papers.com proves it by showing some of the books famous and/or fictional characters have expressed their love for. It's a very cool virtual bookshelf of great books you might want to pick up yourself to follow in their footsteps. Click below to enlarge:

Do Women Prefer Books Written By Women? [Infographic]

It's a known fact in publishing that women read more books than men. But does that mean women prefer women authors as well? As a man, am I at a disadvantage? Well, Random House did some research, and the answer is...not good for me. Here's the infographic that breaks it down by genre, gender, and more.

What do you think?

[Via randomhouse.com/]

Wise Words From Famous Literature [Infographic]

Many great novels have great sayings. Graphic artist Evan Robertson created these posters of nine inspiring, thoughtful, and intruiging lines from classic literature.

The Most Popular Books of All Time [Infographic]

Lovereading.co.uk has created this pretty awesome infographic about the greatest books of all time with all sorts of statistics including the number of translations and copies sold. Check it out.

http://www.lovereading.co.uk/ via http://visual.ly/most-popular-books-all-time

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How and Why to Use Whom in a Sentence [Infographic]

I'll be honest and say I never use "whom" in my writing or speech. That's because I never knew what the difference was between "who" and "whom." The Oatmeal created these handy comics to explain the difference with its usual twisted humor.

How Novels Go From Ideas to Published Fiction [Infographic]

The writing process can seem mysterious and magical, like a lifeform going from conception to full grown organism. That's what this infographic is all about, imagining a novel as a living animal (monster?) going through all the stages to publication and reception. The infographic comes from Jeff VanderMeer and illustrator Jeremy Zerfoss, who created Wonderbook: The Illustrated Guide to Creating Imaginative Fiction. According to the authors, the book "exploits the visual nature of fantasy through original drawings, maps, renderings, and exercises to create a spectacularly beautiful and inspiring object."

[Via  io9]

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The History of Fear of New Writing Technology [Infographic]

A lot of people are crying that digital publishing will destroy the publishing industry, and some are even saying that's already happened. But a new infographic shows that's nothing new. As far back as 1494, when the printing press was invented, people feared it would destroy the act of writing. Authors Kevin C. Pyle and Scott Cunningham have addressed the subject of fear of new technology in their new book Bad For You, and created this handy infographic to illustrate the timeline. It lists numerous new technologies, including publishing, and how people feared them.

[Via Tor.com]

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