Links of Interest to Writers

Reading, writing, reading about writing, writing about reading, reading good writing, repeat!

Here are three articles I found interesting:

• Using Google's "My Maps" to Keep Track of All the Locations in Your Novel Aliventures @aliventures 

• Dazzling Dialogue:  The 9 No's You Must Avoid  Jerry B. Jenkins, @jerrybjenkins

• Should Main Characters be Flawless?  A. J. Humpage  @AJHumpage

Links of Interest to Writers

Looking for ways to enrich your writing life? Here are some articles that might help!

• Write to Done:  How to Get Your Life Back: 17 Crucial Tips for Bloggers by Janice Wald @MrsPazananski @WritetoDone

• The Write Life:  10 Fun Writing Ideas to Help You Get Creative This Summer by Jessica Lawlor @jesslaw @thewritelife

• Kristen Lamb's Blog:  Are you Botching Your Dialogue? @KristenLambTx

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some of my favorite blog posts about writing this week.

• The Creative Penn:  The Intentional Writer:  Finding the Time, Space, and Inspiration You Need to Write by Erin Bartels @ErinBartels @TheCreativePenn

• Marcy Kennedy:  Does Genre Still Matter in 21st Century Fiction? @Marcy Kennedy 

• Creative Writing With The Crimson League:  On Continuity in Creative Writing by Victoria Grefer @vgrefer

• The Bookbaby Blog:  3 Tips to Writing Action Scenes by Chris Robley @ChrisRobley @BookBaby 

• Elizabeth Spann Craig:  Twitterific Writing Links @elizabethscraig

• Writers in the Storm:  How to Avoid the Dreaded Dialogue Tag by Laura Drake @PBRWriter

Links of Interest to Writers

A few blog posts on writing to get you motivated.

• Writability:  How to Sprinkle Background into Your WIP by Ava Jae @Ava_Jae

• Anna Staniszewski:  Getting into the Creative Zone @annastanisz

• Janet Reid, Literary Agent:  Question:  The Oft Maligned Prologue  @Janet_Reid

• Writing and Illustrating:  Tips on Writing A Synopsis Kathy Temean @KathyTemean

• Gail Carson Levine:  Vexing Complexity

• Writer's Digest:  25 Tips to Make You a Better Non-Fiction Writer by Mike Sager @therealsager @BrianKlems

Links of Interest to Writers

Here's a little writing inspiration for your reading pleasure.

• Lauren Sapala:  Trimming the Fat (a post about time) @losapala

• Seekerville:  Settings That Captivate Readers by Janet Dean @lihauthor

• Writing is Hard Work:  Dialogue and Description:  The Delicate Balance by Roger Colby @RogerDColby

• Positive Writer:  A Crazy Myth Writers Need to Kill by Bryan Hutchinson @ADDerWORLD

• Kayla Curry:  My Self-Publishing Journal:  The Costs @KaylaCurry1

• Sandy Appleyard:  Email Subscribers Lists:  The Why and The How @SandyAppleyard

Links of Interest to Writers

Spend some time improving your writing craft!

• The Write Conversation:  Keep Writing -- Sometimes You Have to Go Through the Junk to Get to the Gems by Edie Melson

• Emu's Debuts:  Making Time by Megan Morrison

• Daily Writing Tips:  Showing Dialect in Dialogue by Maeve Maddox

• Writers Helping Writers:  Softening a Hard Character to Make Them Likable by Angela Ackerman

• Narrative Breakdown:  Middle Grade Fiction with Author Jill Santopolo

• Huff Post College:  Ink on Paper:  Some Notes on Note-taking by Wray Herbert

Links of Interest to Writers

What are you going to write next?

• Creative Writing With The Crimson League:  First Person Narration:  Is It Like Dialogue? by Victoria Grefer

• Writers Helping Writers:  Good Heavens--Another Post About Opening Lines? by Becca Puglisi

• The Write Now! Coach:  Your Query Letter:  How to Write An Irresistible Offer by Rochelle Melander

• Writer's Digest - Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents Blog:  7 Tips for Pitching to an Agent or Editor at a Conference by Peggy Eddelman

• Publishers Weekly:  DiCamillo, Floca, Sedgwick Win Newbery, Caldecott, Printz (Awards) by Diane Roback

Links of Interest to Writers

If you want to write, here is some great reading to assist you.

• The Writer's [Inner] Journey:  A Workshop for Writers Who Hate Writing Groups (and Why This Writing Group Works) by Meredith Resnick

• Kill Zone:  A Short Course on Dialogue Attributions by James Scott Bell

• The Write Life:  How One Famous Author (Elizabeth Gilbert) Tricks Herself Into Writing Wonderful Stories by Amanda Palleschi

• Writer Unboxed:  The Lessons I Should Have Learned From Stephen King's On Writing... by Jeannie Ruesch

• Time to Write:  More Book Trailers Should Be Like This by Jurgen Wolff'

• Anne R. Allen's Blog:  Writer's Toolbox #5:  Must-Have Research Tools Beyond Google & Wickipedia by Ruth Harris

Links of Interest to Writers

Some vital reading for all writers:

• The New York Times:  Newbery Winner to Promote Her Genre:  Kate DiCamillo to Be Ambassador of Young People's Literature by Julie Bosman

• Glass Cases:  2013:  A Year in Queries by Sarah LaPolla

• Writers Helping Writers:  Using Colloquial Speech To Spice Up Dialogue by Eli Dahle
• Writers Helping Writers:  Writing Tools

• Daily Writing Tips:  The New, Delightful Use of Because by Maeve Maddox

• Writers In The Storm:  Query Letter Pet Peeves - Agents Speak by Chuck Sambuchino

• Brain Pickings:  How Long It Takes To Form A New Habit by Maria Popova

Links of Interest to Writers

What are you waiting for? Start reading!

• The Cybils Finalists (Children's & Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) 

• Goins, Writer:  500 Words a Day:  The Secret to Developing a Regular Writing Habit by Jeff Goins

• BookBaby:  How To Write Your Book's First Draft Like a Professional

• The Write Practice:  3 Dialogue Terms You Probably Didn't Know (But Should!) by Liz Bureman

• The Nitty Gritty of Children's Writing:  He Thought to Himself and Other Excesses by Susan Uhlig

• Write to Done:  How to Be a Writer:  Do You Use These 3 Vital Keys to Success? by Mary Jaksch

Links of Interest to Writers

Learn something new about writing!

• Adventures in YA Publishing:  Inspired Openings:  Write to Discover by Todd Mitchell

• All Write - Fiction Advice:  How to Write Dramatic Dialogue

• Brain Pickings:  How Hans Christian Andersen Revolutionized Storytelling, Plus the Best Illustrations from 150 Years of His Beloved Fairy Tales

• Anne R. Allen's Blog:  Are Your Family & Friends Sabotaging Your Writing Dreams?

• Writer's Circle:  Tech Tools for Writers:  Storyometer by Stephanie Ostroff

• Author Magazine:  An Interview with Andre Dubus III

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

Study your reading to see if the writing works!

• How to Plan, Write, & Develop a Book:  Dialogue Dos & Don'ts:  Crafting Lively & Believable Back-and-Forth on the Pages of Your Book by Mary Carroll Moore

• Amanda Bumgarner:  Head Hopping:  What it Looks Like & Why You Shouldn't Do It

• The Write Practice:  Writer's Block? Try Getting Visual by Joe Bunting

• The Daring Novelist:  Story Game:  The Situation Worksheet by Camille LaQuire

• Mythic Scribes:  Case Study:  Using Villains to Shape Your Hero by Brian DeLeonard

• The New York Times:  Slaves of the Internet, Unite! by Tim Kreider

• Ink & Angst:  A NaNoWriMo Toolkit:  Practical Tip, Apps, & Playlists  (NaNoWriMo = National Novel Writing Month)

Links of Interest to Writers

Learn from great articles on writing!

• The Other Side of the Story:  Real Life Diagnostics Week:  Developing Conflict & Character in an Opening Scene by Janice Hardy

• Daily Writing Tips:  What's the Difference Between Writing and Editing? by Mark Nichol

• From the Write Angle:  Change is Good by by Jemi Fraser

• Get Me Writing:  Crafting an Epic - Perils & Pitfalls
• Free Planning Template for Your Story

• The Picture Book Academy Presents Mondays with Mandy (or Mira):  Teaching Plot Structure with Picture Books

• Shelli Johnson:  My Favorite Writing Advice - Learn Dialogue By Studying Plays

• Kristen Lamb's Blog:  How Sick is Your Novel? Can It Be Saved?

• Project Mayhem:  The Elusive Hunt for Character Awesomeness!

Links of Interest to Writers

For your reading/writing pleasure!

• YA Muses:  Developing Character Through Dialogue by Jodi Kendall

• Huff Post Taste:  Writing a Cookbook by Marisa Churchill

• Publisher's Weekly:  Kindle Matchbook: Amazon Starts Bundling Program (Print + eBooks)

• Book Riot:  A Margaret Atwood Reading Flowchart

• Buzz Feed:  21 Children's Book Characters Born to Be Halloween Costumes by Jackie Reeve

• Mythic Scribes:  The Forests of Fantasyland by Alice Leiper

• Sherman Ave:  How to Tell People You're a Writer (Without Telling Them Anything)

• Brain Pickings:  Maurice Sendak's Little-Known & Lovely Posters Celebrating Reading & The Joy of Reading by Maria Popova