Wednesday links: Archetypes, new writers, and conflict

I love regularly reading tips and advice articles in certain subjects — particularly writing and publishing. I don’t always need the information right then, but I know that it’ll eventually come in handy. Or at least, I hope it will.

I know there are a lot of other people out there who feel the same way I do, but sometimes it can be difficult to find every useful advice article that’s out there. So I thought I’d bring you a few. Here are the tips and advice articles that jumped out at me the most over the past week.

1. 20 Archetypes for People Based on Names, from Daily Writing Tips: You’ve probably heard at least some of these phrases, but do you know where they all came from? Excerpt: “Various expressions have arisen, sometimes from folkloric or historical origins, to describe types of people by assigning them with personal names. Here are twenty such appellations and their definitions and (sometimes only probable) origins.”
2. Oops! Hold on. You’re Newbie Is Showing, from Kristen Lamb: Every writer needs to start somewhere, right? There’s nothing wrong with being new to writing, but you do need to recognize where you can work to improve. Excerpt: “Many of us who eventually decide to become novelists did so because we grew up loving books. Then, probably just as many of us, thought we could also do that seamless triple front handspring (write a full length novel) with zero professional training, no practice and no falls.”
3. Conflict, Plot Lines, and The Devil Wears Prada, from WOW! Women On Writing: One of the most basic writing rules is that a story needs conflict. That conflict, however, can come in a number of different forms. Excerpt: “There are three common causes of interpersonal conflict: misunderstandings, different goals, and same goals. Each can propel a story.”