Links of Interest to Writers

Here's a little info to get your started writing this morning:

• Creativity's Workshop:  Creative Action:  Freewrite About Your Writing Fears by Jessica Baverstock @JessBaverstock

• Writing is Hard Work:  5 Tips for Finishing a Writing Project by Roger Colby @RogerDColby

• FutureLearn:  Free Online Courses from leading UK and International Universities @FutureLearn

• Writer's Digest/Brian Klem's Blog:  8 Reasons Every Book Needs a Business Plan to Achieve Success by Nina Amir @NinaAmir

• Project Mayhem:  Considering Common Themes in  Middle Grade Books by Joseph McGee @mcgeejp

• LitReactor:  The Top 10 Reasons I May Have Rejected Your Short Story by Susan DeFreitas @manzanitafire

Links of Interest to Writers

Some great tips about writing in these blog posts!

• Pretentious Title:  Managing Your Inner Editor by Rachel Aaron

• Brain Pickings:  Debunking the Myth of the 10,000-Hours Rule:  What It Actually Takes to Reach Genius-Level Excellence by Maria Popova

• Sharing With Writers & Readers:  Blog Tour Tips:  Reminder or New Ideas for a More Successful Tour by Carol Howard-Johnson

• Books & Such Literary Management:  Alert:  New Home Office Tax Law by Rachel Kent

• Write To Done:  How To Create an Inspiration Workspace for Writing by Laura Carlin & Alison Forbes

• The Washington Post:  The Health Hazards of Sitting by Bonnie Berkowitz & Patterson Clark

Links of Interest to Writers

How is that writing going?

• The Other Side of the Story:  Real Life Diagnostics:  Would You Read on? A Look at a Science Fiction Opening  by Janice Hardy

• Blogging Funk:  Tips For Writing Picture Books:  Picture Book Length by Joe Funk

• Writer's Digest:  7 Ways to Create a Killer Opening Line for Your Novel by Jacob M. Appel 

• Author Jody Hedlund:  5 Top Ways To Rivet a Reader

• Winning Edits:  Author MBA Podcasts    (Conversations about the business of books)

• Moody Writing:  The Long and Short of Writing The Middle

Links of Interest to Writers

Here's to reading about good writing!

• GalleyCat:  George R. R. Martin's Writing Tips by Dianna Dilworth

• TED:  How to Build a Fictional World by Kate Messner

• Writing.ie:  Ten Truths About Being a Writer by Hazel Gaynor

• Brain Pickings:  John Green's Superb Advice to Aspiring Writers & Creators in the Digital Age by Maria Popova

• Write To Done:  How to Start a Novel by Mary Jaksch

• The Write Now! Coach:  A Quick Way to Create a Business Plan (For Writers) by Rochelle Melander

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

How are you doing on those resolutions? Stop worrying about it and read!

• G5:  The ONE Thing All Successful People Do by Stephanie Carter

• The Creative Penn:  Writing Fiction:  Creating Friction With Clashing Personalities by Angela Ackerman

• QueryTracker:  Five Query Mistakes That Make You Look Like An Amateur by Ash Krafton

• The Write Practice:  3 Writing Tips You Can Steal From Animators by Joe Bunting

• Romance University:  Taking Control of Your Writing Career with a Business Plan with Amy Denim

• The Seekers:  Creating Characters One Layer at a Time - Layer Three - Is it American Idol? Nope, it's The Voice by Mary Connealy

Links of Interest to Writers

Learn something new today!

• Adventures in Agentland:  Copyright Basics:  All You Ever Really Didn't Want to Know (and More) by Natalie Lakosil

• GalleyCat:  Can You Include Song Lyrics in Your Book? by Jason Boog

• YA Muses:  Finding Your Story's True North by Lia Keyes

• Harvard Business Review:  Why You Might Make a Better Decision After a Quick Game of Solitaire by Andrew O'Connell

• Write to Done:  5 Ways Your Journal Can Take You Deeper into Your Story by Claire DeBoer

• Amy Tan on Historical Research

• Writer Unboxed:  You Want to Write, or Do You Want to Be a Writer? by Julianna Baggott 

Links of Interest to Writers

Some great writing blog posts that caught my eye!

• The Write Practice:  The Power of Sacred Time:  The Writers Edition by Birgitte Rasine

• Writers in the Storm:  11 Frequently Asked Questions About Book Royalties & Money by Chuck Sambuchino

• The BookBaby Blog:  Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling by Chris Robley

• All Write - Fiction Advice:  Suspending Disbelief for Readers - Part 2  (Find the link to Part 1 in the October 8th links below.)

• Anne R. Allen's Blog:  Why Writers Need to be on Google Plus...Plus a FREE Tutorial On How to Use it Effectively by John Base (Allen)

• Ninie Hammon:  Three Ways to Use Thoughts to Create Unforgettable Characters

• Positive Writer:  Why You Need to Risk Writing Something Dangerous by Bryan Hutchinson

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's a dose of intelligence!

• Writing Forward:  Writing Tips for Creating a Complex Villain by Melissa Donovan

• Writer's Digest/Brian Klems:  How to Build Subplots From Multiple Points of View 

• SpiritAuthors:  Going Public - What All Authors Fear When Getting Read to Publish by Lynn Searfinn

• Publishers Weekley:  New Trends in YA: The Agent's Perspective by Sue Corbett

• LA Times:  Lois Duncan on Reaching a New Generation of Teen Readers by Elisabeth Donnelly

• The Writer:  Character Profile (Interview Your Character) by Patrick Scalis

• Susan Kaye Quinn:  Create a Five-Year Plan

Links of Interest to Writers

The writing part is the fun part - the revision, not so much! Maybe these articles will help ease the pain.

• Mystery Writing is Murder:  Novel Revision: Twenty-page Sessions by Jack Smith

• Positive Writer:  Are You Unwittingly Sabotaging Yourself by talking About Your Writing? by Ali Luke

• Novel Matters:  Protecting the Quiet by Kathleen Popa

• Shelli Johnson:  My Favorite Writing Advice - Make a Writer's Contract

• Write to Done:  This is What Blocks Your Writing (And How to Bust Through)

• MiG Writers:  My Love-Hate (Ok, Mostly Hate) Relationship with Rejections, Plus What I've learned Along the Way by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

• LucReid.com:  Tools for Naming Characters

• The Writer's Alley:  How to Write a Novel While Standing on Your Head Backwards, Chewing Gum, and Texting at the Same Time by Krista Phillips

Links of Interest to Writers

What would motivate you to write? How about a good article about writing?

• Write to Done:  The Surefire Way to Attract New Readers With Every Blog Post You Write by Peter Sandeen

• Writing.ie:  Balancing Plot and Character by Sheila Bugler

• Mythic Scribes:  Ticking Clock as Motivation

• A. Victoria Mixon:  8 Lessons to Learn from Screwing Up Your Manuscript

• All Write:  Expressing Tone in Your Writing

• Jody Hedlund:  The Sacrifices Writers Make in Order to Have Writing time

• Beyond The Margins:  Leaving a Literary Legacy:  Who Will Watch Over Your Work? by Ann Bauer

• The Write Practice:  Are You in the Stare-Into-Space Phase of the Writing Process? by Joe Bunting

• The Hermit in The Woods:  Guest Post:  Author Bruce Blake on Maximizing Your Writing Time

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some articles to get you into the writing mood!

• W.I.P. It:  Online Etiquette for Authors by Lynda R. Young

• A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing:  Four Writing Tips from Wired for Story by Lisa Cron

• All Write:  How Important is Writing Style? by A. J. Humpage

• Buzz Feed:  25 Proper Ways to Read a Book (As told by your favorite celebrities) by Krutika Mallikarjuna

• Jane Friedman:  Best Business Advice for Writers: August 2013

• Moody Writing:  Make Readers Appreciate the Wait

• Nathan Bransford:  Writing & Loneliness

• Beyond the Margins:  After You Sign the Publishing Contract:  What Comes Next?

Business of Writing and Taxes

Here are a few articles I found around the Web this week about the business of writing and taxes. If you haven't set up your business this year, why not do it now?

It Takes More Than Good Intentions  by Terry Whalin

HowDo You Set Up Your Writing Business? By Chip MacGregor

Writers& Taxes by Rachelle Gardner

The Freelancer's Guide To Filing Taxes In 2012 by Alden Wicker 

Do I Need to File Taxes as a Writer?  by Danica Favorite   

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America

At the SFWA – Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America website, all writers can find something at this site to assist them. In addition to the Writers Beware page which offers “Warnings About Literary Fraud and the Schemes, Scams, and Pitfalls That Target Writers,” the Information Center section also contains:

• Advice for New Writers – manuscript preparation, writing tips, market listings 
• Contracts and Copyrights – sample contracts, copyright, piracy info 
• The Craft of Writing – writing techniques, workshops and critique groups, Maintaining motivation, avoiding writers’ block 
• The Business of Writing – agent etiquette, royalty payments, copy-editing, career management, networking and self promotion, publishing technologies like podcasting, e-books, self-publishing.

Of course you can also find a lot of information about writing science fiction and fantasy, authors of science fiction and fantasy, and reading science fiction and fantasy!

Author MBA

Author MBA

Author MBA offers a number of resources at their website for assisting writers with the business side of writing. They do offer courses through their career guides, but they also offer previews of those career guides with a great deal of information in them. Other resources include: 

Insider Interviews with agents

Guest Blog Posts (from their blog which ran from 2006-2008)