Links of Interest to Writers

I always take time to read a little something about writing before doing the actual writing to get the brain cells activated.

• Live Write Thrive:  5 Writer Goals to Help You Avoid Overwhelm by C. S. Lakin @LiveWriteThrive
• It's so easy to become overwhelmed when trying to do everything that is required to become an author. Perhaps it's more important to discover what you need to do rather than try to do it all. 

• BookLife:  Everyone Needs an Editor by Allison Schiff @booklife
• I've read so many books recently that could have benefited from the assistance of a good editor. Don't think you need one? That's why you need to read this article!

• The Review Review:  How to Make the First Cut in a Writing Contest by Sara Backer 
• I've judged a few writing contests. The advice in this article is sound. The contests I judged waited until the contest was closed before distributing the submissions, so suggestion number one didn't apply, but I would always assume the opposite when submitting to be safe.

• Write to Done:  Lost Your Motivation to Write? The One Thing that Helps by Len Markidan @LenMarkidan @WritetoDone 
• Wonderful suggestion about breaking your to do list into hard and easy tasks and checking your motivation peaks and valleys to decide which task to do. Going to try this!

• Writers Helping Writers:  Pulse on Pacing:  How Smooth Transitions Keep Your Story Moving by Angela Ackerman @AngelaAckerman 
• Pacing is so important for readers. You can have great characters, an interesting plot, and an exotic setting, but if the pacing is slow or choppy, you can lose your reader.

Links of Interest to Writers

After reading these articles about writing, you can't help but sit down and write!

• Writer's Digest/Guide to Literary Agents Blog:  11 Steps to Finding The Agent Who'll Love Your Book, Guest Column by Lori Rader-Day @LoriRaderDay; Blog by Chuck Sambuchino @ChuckSambuchino
• Are you looking for an agent? Great ideas here.

• Publishers Weekly:  Spring 2015 Children's Sneak Previews compiled by Shannon Maughan @PublishlersWkly
• Start your list of books to read next spring! Always fun to see what's ahead.

• Highlights Foundation:  Why You Should Be Outlining by Alan Gratz @AlanGratz
• Author Alan Gratz offers some interesting ways to include your research in your outline so you can sit down and concentrate on writing your book.

• Copyblogger:  The Prepared Writer's Process for Creating Excellent Content Every Day by Katie a.k.a The Wellness Mama @wellnessmama
• Ways to assist you in sitting down every day to writer - adaptable to any type of writing.

• K.M. Weiland/Helping Writers Become Authors:  10 Best Tools to Make Writing More Successful, Organized, and Effective by Sandra Miller @KMWeiland
• Some great apps mentioned in this article that I hadn't head about yet.

Links of Interest to Writers

If you're a writer, you're going to love these blog posts!

• Thup:  Keeping Track by Erin Brown Conway (Have you ever lost track of a character?)

• Just Write a Book Blog:  Writing Short Stories For Fun & Profit:  How Fast Can You Write? by Angela Booth

• The Season Blog:  The Self-Publishing Survey Results - It's a Brave New World by Beverley Kendall

• Writer's First Aid:  The Vicious Procrastination Cycle by Kristi Holl

• Molly Greene, Writer:  Query Letters:  What Agents Love and Loathe

• The Creative Penn:  Stories That Kill - 7 Tips For Writing Crime by Luke Preston

Links of Interest to Writers

Did you write today?

• W.I.P. It:  How Writers Can Balance Time Spent Online by Lynda R. Young

• Aliventures:  How to Create a Writing, Publishing, & Marketing Plan For The Year [Includes Template]

• Omnivoracious:  Beyond Orcs & Elves:  Stacy Whitman on Writing Cross-Culturally by Susan J. Morris

• All Write - Fiction Advice:  Common Writing "Myths" by A.J. Humpage

• Just Write a Book:  Book Editing:  How To Turn a Mess Into a Book by Angela Booth

• Project Eve:  10 Tips To How To Stop Procrastinating by Danielle Boulton

Links of Interest to Writers

Have you gotten your writing off to a good start in 2014? Here's some reading to motivate you!

• The Write Practice:  Three Life-Tips That Will Make You a Better Writer by Katie Axelson

• Jessica Spotswood:  2013:  A Learning Year:  Managing Expectations (An honest look at publishing a debut novel.)

• Entrepreneur:  8 Steps to Having Wildly Productive Mornings by James Clear

• Writer's Fun Zone:  Draw Your Readers In:  The Game of Contrasts by Wyatt Bessing

• Matthew Schuler:  Why Creative People Sometimes Make No Sense

• Adventures in YA Publishing:  Craft of Writing:  Downsizing Your Novel:  What to Keep & What to Throw Away by Carolyn Meyer

Links of Interest to Writers

Spent a great four days at a Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators retreat at Silver Falls State Park near Silverton, Oregon. What fun to be in the company of other writers and talk writing, walk writing, and sleep writing! Inspiring and motivating. A similar feeling happens when I read blog posts with great writing advice like these:

• Lauren Sapala:  The One Thing You're Doing to Block Your Writing Success

• Mystery Writing is Murder:  The Ability to Single-Task by Elizabeth S. Craig

• Writers Helping Writers:  Mystery Writing Basics:  Characters & Plot by Staci Troilo

• An Intense Life:  The Elusive Search for Balance by Christine Fonseca

• Slate:  A Textual Analysis of The Hunger Games:  Suzanne Collins' favorite adjectives, adverbs, & ways of starting a sentence. By Ben Blatt

• The New York Times Sunday Review:  Art Makes You Smart by Brian Kisida, Jay P. Greene, & Daniel H. Bowen

Links of Interest to Writers

Are you serious about writing? Study and write - two important secrets!

• Emma Dryden:  Falling In Lust With Our First Draft (Or, What Not To Do On A First Date)

• A Writer's Journey:  Structured Descriptions by Nat Russo

• The New York Times Sunday Book Review:  Writing Bytes (Writers talk about what new technologies mean for storytelling.)

• Project Mayhem: Chris Eboch Writing Tip: How to Write Vivid Scenes

• Writing Forward:  Your Characters Aren't Your Children by Joshua Danton Boyd

• GalleyCat:  NaNoWriMo Tip #1:  Establish a Writing Schedule

• GalleyCat:  NaNoWriMo Tip #2:  Create an Outline

Links of Interest to Writers

Here they are - some tips to help your writing!

• Imran Writes:  From Plotting to Writing to Editing to Submitting

• Worddreams:  5 Ways to Write Like Your Hair's on Fire by Jacqui Murray

• Kristen Lamb's Blog:  "Write What You Know" - Paying Attention to the Character's Journey 

• Molly Greene:  Business Plan Basics for Authors & Bloggers

• Marcy Kennedy:  Are You Writing in the POV You Think You're Writing In?

• School Library Journal:  Horror in YA Lit is a Staple, Not a Trend

• The Picture Book Academy Blogateers:  Setting Up for Success by Lori Mortensen

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some more great articles to inspire your writing!

• Tomasz Tunguz:  How to Take Exceptional Notes & Be Productive with Paper

• Mythic Scribes:  Is Plot or Character More Important? by K. M. Weiland

• Lynnette Lybelle:  Is Genre-Hopping for You?

• Write 4 Kids:  What Every Writer Hopes For

• Clear Writing with Mr. Clarity:  The Placement of Modifiers

• Galley Cat:  Artist Creates Gorgeous Story Structure Map by Jason Boog (Artist: Appylon)

• AbeBooks:  What Literary Character Are You? Take the Quiz. I'm Galadriel (played by Cate Blanchette in the movies!) from Lord of the Rings. I can live with that!

• Writers Digest:  Writing Fiction:  5 Tips to Get More Creative