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

Happy writing!

• Anne R. Allen's Blog:  Is Writing a Hobby or a Profession for You? Why Either Path Can Be a Good Choice

• Fiction Notes:  If You Only Do One Revision, Do This by Darci Pattison

• The Write Now Coach:  Set your Writing Goals for 2014 by Rochelle Melander (That's right - it's not too late!)

• Jane Friedman:  What Do You Want From Your Writing in 2014 -- And Beyond? by Dan Holloway

• QueryTracker:  11 Tips for Making a Book Trailer by Stina Lindenblatt

• Pretentious Title:  FAQ:  To Blog or Not to Blog by Rachel Aaron

Links of Interest to Writers

It's a new year! Vow to read more about writing. Here's a start.

• Mind Openerz:  21 Habits of Happy People (A happy writer is a productive writer. Why not start off the year being happy?)

• Mythic Scribes:  6 Tips for Writing a Knockout Fight Scene by Codey Amprim

• BuzzFeed:  How to Write a Picture Book by Max Barnett & Taylor Norman

• We Grow Media:  The Small Moments by Dan Blank (When setting your big goals, it's important to also think about the small moments that can mean a lot to your progress.)

• StoryFix:  The Key to Writing an Inherently Episodic Story ... Effectively by Larry Brooks

• Institute of Children's Literature:  Wishing Up Good Goals by Jan Fields

Links of Interest to Writers

Read, write, revise - the three keys to great stories. Here's some other great advice.

• Anne R. Allen's Blog:  6 Writing Dragons & How to Slay Them in 2014 by Ruth Harris

• How to Plan, Write, & Develop a Book:  How'd You Do?  Reviewing Your Year's Writing Goals -- A Sure Way to Encourage Your Creative Spirit by Mary Carroll Moore

• Charlotte Rains Dixon:  Reviewing Your 2013 Writing Life

• Beyond the Margins:  Writing Outside Your Generation by Dell Smith

• Writer's First Aid:  A Writer's happy New Year by Kristi Holl (Do you have at least one fun thing on your list of resolutions?)

• Book Riot:  The 10 Best Top 100 Book Lists by Greg Zimmerman

Links of Interest to Writers

Last chance to read about writing this year!

• The Creative Penn:  Create Something Together:  Artistic Collaboration In Action by Joanna Penn

• Teens Can Write, Too:  Writing An Antagonist by John Hansen

• The Blood Red Pencil:  Revision Is Half The Battle bu Diana Hurwitz

• Nathan Bransford:  Creative Fatigue

• Huffington Post Books:  Find Your Writer's Voice in 2014 by Theo Pauline Nestor

• Entrepreneur:  Forgetting Setting Goals, Focus on This Instead by James Clear

Links of Interest to Writers

Are you writing today?

• Courage 2 Create:  How to Keep Yourself Grounded When Writing Away From Home by Ollin Morales

• Writer's First Aid:  Course Corrections by Kristi Holl

• The Seekers:  Using Poetry in Your Novel by Sandra Leesmith

• Nick Daw's Writing Blog:  How To Be Your Own Agent, Whether You Have One or Not by Joe Mynhardt

• Stavros Halvatzis:  How to Use Coincidence in Stories

• A Writer's Wings:  The Seven Deadly Sins of World Building by Cynthia D. Griffin

Links of Interest to Writers

Enjoy the latest links to writing information that I found on the Web!

• The Business of Being an Author:  Turn Your Author Dreams Into Working Goals to Achieve More by Marquita Herald

• All Write - Fiction Advice:  Creating Character Dynamics - Part 2  (For part 1 scroll down to the December 9th links.)

• Bestseller Labs:  The REAL Secret to Writing a Bestseller by Jonathan Gunson (Includes a great poster to remind us to WRITE!)

• Courage 2 Create:  3 Paradigm Shifts to Help Make Pursuing Your Passion More Meaningful by Ollin Morales

• From the Write Angle:  5 Ways to Make Author Friends by Jean Oram

• Writers in Charge:  How to Start a Freelance Writing Business in One Hour a Day by Tom Ewer

A Plan for Setting Writing Goals for 2014

It's that time of year again. Time to think about my writing goals for 2014. Setting goals is not the same as making resolutions. We can resolve to meet our goals, and that's a good thing, but setting and reaching short-term goals and long-term goals should be an ongoing part of our lives. I'm guessing my goals will look similar to the ones I wrote last year, the ones I didn't quite achieve. I will resolve to renew them and work harder to reach them this coming year.

I set goals each year but don't always accomplish what I plan to achieve. Somehow, life always manages to get in the way. But, this year I have a plan! 

Here are some things I'll think about as I write out my goals:

• What do I want to accomplish with my writing?
• Where do I start?
• What steps will I take?
• What resources will I need? 
• How long do I think it will take me?

Once I have a good grasp of what I need to do and how I will do it, I'll set up a timeline - due dates for each step toward a goal. 

I also plan to log my progress. I'll be keeping a journal of each goal and the progress I'm making.

So, let's review:

1. Write out goals 
2. Ask myself questions
3. Break down goals into steps
4. Make timeline with due dates
5. Log progress in journal

Looks brilliant on paper! Let's see how I do. 

How about you? Are you setting goals for 2014?

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some writing articles full of great advice!

• W.I.P It:  8 Benefits of Writing by Lynda R. Young

• Angela Booth's Writing Blog:  Flow:  The Ideal Writing Mind State

• From the Write Angle:  A Case for "Nicer" Villains by R. C. Lewis

• Babbles from Scott Eagan:  What Makes Your Story Stand Out?

• Jamie Gold:  Using Conflict to Understand Our Characters

• Judy Lee Dunn:  Can You Name 99 Things You Love in 10 Minutes?

• Writer's First Aid:  Thinking:  First Backward and Then Forward

Links of Interest to Writers

Advice from the masters!

• Brain Pickings:  Kurt Vonnegut's 8 Tips on How to Write a Great Story

• Amanda Bumgardner:  On Avoiding Unnecessary Narration

• The Write Practice:  What are Stock Characters and How Can They Enliven Your Story by Liz Bureman

• QueryTracker:  Ten Things I Need to Tell You. . .About Dreams Coming True by Rosie Genova

• Writer's Digest/Brian Klems' Blog: 6 Secrets of Writing a Novel by Steven James

• The Writers Alley:  Deb Raney on Time Management 101

• Luc Reid:  Still Not Getting to That Goal? Four Essential Factors

Links of Interest to Writers

Here's to good writing! (And to good reading about writing!)

• Books & Such Literary Agency:  Are You in This for the Long Haul? by Rachelle Gardner

• Galley Cat:  Manuscript Wish Lists Hashtag Returns (on Twitter) by Jason Boog

• Prescription for Murder:  Prologues - To Use or Not to Use! by James J. Murray

• Jane Friedman:  Why Don't Publishers Believe in Author Websites? 

• Lauren Sapala:  Bring the Storm! How Ugly Emotions Can Ignite Your Setting

• LitReactor:  How Precocious is Too Precocious? Writing Smart But Believable Kids by Leah Dearborn

• Script:  Writing Wrap Up: You Can Do It - Setting Writing Goals by Paula Landry (This article is about writing films, but can easily be adapted to any writing!)

• Writer's Digest/Guide to Literary Agents:  5 Easy Steps to Conquer the Heartache of Rejection by Jessica Anya Blau