Links of Interest to Writers

Information on writing I've found helpful!

• TED Talks:  Success, Failure and the Drive to Keep Creating by Elizabeth Gilbert @GilbertLiz
• Yes, even Elizabeth Gilbert received rejection slips. In this video she shares how she could carry on despite the success of Eat, Pray, Love.

• The BookBaby Blog:  Writing by Hand, or Typing:  When Are You The Most Creative? by Chris Robley @ChrisRobley
• Interesting question. I've found that my writing is different when I write by hand versus writing on the computer. I don't know that's it more creative, but I've found it helpful to switch off, especially when I'm stuck or confused about my writing.

• Write for Kids: Top Editor Emma Dryden on Working with Editors and Acting Professionally  @drydenbks @write4kids
• I heard Emma Dryden speak at an SCBWI Oregon Retreat. This video has great information about working with an independent editor.

• Beyond Paper Editing: 25 Word Lists for Writers by Corina Koch MacLeod @CKmacleodwriter
• Writers love lists! In this blog post, we find links to lists of Needless Words, Craft Words, Genre Words, Words from Other Languages, Misused & Mispelled Words.

• Aine Greaney, Writer:  6 Lame Writer Excuses (and 6 Reality Checks) @AineGreaney
• After reading this, you won't have an excuse not to write today!

Links of Interest to Writers

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

• Social Media Today:  SMTookbox:  Tips and Tools for Mastering Google Plus from Martin Shervington @MartinSherv Posted by Steve Rayson @SteveRayson 

• Mary Carroll Moore:  How to Keep Your Writing in Your Over-the-Top Busy Life:  Helpful Techniques from the Experts @writeabook

• Beyond Paper Editing:  Why Editors Use Word--Authors Can Harness Word's Powers, Too! by Corina Koch MacLeod @CKmacleodwriter

• Social Media Just for Writers:  8 Tips for Writers Using Pinterest by Frances Caballo @CaballoFrances

• The Narrative Breakdown:  Character Goals and Philosophies [Podcast] with Matt Bird, Cheryl Klein, and James Monohan @chavelaque

• iO9:  The Universal Shapes of Stories According to Kurt Vonnegut by Robert T. Gonzalez @rtg0nzalez @iO9

Links of Interest to Writers

Words of wisdom about writing.

• Copyblogger:  The Lede:  How to Use Persuasive Words by Jerod Morris @JerodMorris @Copyblogger

• Mary Carroll Moore/How to Plan, Write, & Develop a Book:  Winter Doldrums? Ten Fun Exercises to Get Going on Your Writing Again @writeabook

• Everyone's Story:  Jim Denney:  Replacing Fear With Courage In Writing @WriterJimDenney @ElaineStock

• Writer's First Aid:  A Walking Idea Factory by Kristi Holl @KristiHoll

• Creative Writing with the Crimson League:  5 Strange Truths Authors Know About Productivity by Victoria Grefer @vgrefer

• M. J. Wright:  Essential Writing Tools:  Why Paper's an Essential Editing Tool  @MJWrightNZ

Links of Interest to Writers

Write because you love it!

• Writer's Digest/Brian Klems:  A 12-Day Plan of Simple Writing Exercises

• Artzicarol Ramblings:  Ordering Your Words by Carol Riggs

• Seize The Day:  Novel Craft:  5 Common Scene Problems by Molly Blaisdell

• The Write Practice:  Make The Most of Your Writing Time

• A. Victoria Mixon, Editor:  3 Reasons Description Is Important; 3 Reasons It's Not

• Live, Write, Thrive:  Novel Construction Begins With Concept by C. S. Lakin

Links of Interest to Writers

Take a moment to learn something new about writing.

• Angela Booth's Writing Blog:  Writing Tip:  Schedule Time To Think and Brainstorm

• Digital Book World:  Trident Media Group Chairman Robert Gottlieb on Re-Engineering The Rold of Literary Agents

• Copyblogger:  Here's How Elizabeth Gilbert (Bestselling Author of Eat, Pray, Love) Writes by Kelton Reid

• Fiction Notes:  Hope, Optimism, Despair:  Writer's Emotional Roller Coaster by Darcy Pattison

• Writer's Digest:  Try These 30-Minute Writing Prompts

• Publisher's Weekly:  Fabulous First Lines (2013) by Elizabeth Bluemle

Links of Interest to Writers

Tips to help you be a better writer.

• The Writer Magazine:  Writing Prompts Page

• Tor:  This is How Huge Door-stopper Fantasy Novels Get Made by Irene Gallo

Book Promotion:

• We Grow Media - Dan Blank:  The Attention Myth
• The Weeklings:  The Horrors of Self-Promotion by Sean Beaudoin

• The Creative Penn:  Getting Maximum "Bang" for Your Book Description Buck:  an SEO/Author's Perspective by Lori Culwell

• Janalyn Voigt:  My Writing Closet (You don't need a big space to have an office!)

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some tips that may help motivate your writing.

• Writing for Kids While Raising Them: PiBoIdMo (Picture Book Idea Month) Day 4:  Katie Davis Illustrates 30 Days of Inspiration

• Writability: Helpful NaNoWriMo Links

• Write it Sideways:  Use a Nonlinear Format to Grab Your Reader by the Eyeballs by Clayton Lindemuth

• Writers in the Storm Blog:  Why Writerly Words Are Not Your Friend by Shannon Donnelly

• Storyfix:  Elevate Your Storytelling Game by Larry Brooks

• Avi:  The Kindest Cut of All

• The Character Therapist:  How to Communicate Needs to Non-Writing Partners by Jeannie Campbell

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

Read, Learn, Write.

• LucReid:  Using Gold Coins in Writing

• The Write Now Coach:  Stop Whining and Write by Rochelle Melander

• Writers in the Storm:  Advice for Writers from Literary Agents by Chuck Sambuchino

• Writing in Wonderland:  Starter Kit for Writers

• Critically Yours:  Poking Holes

• Adventures in YA Publishing:  Melissa de la Cruz on Being Fearless

• Huff Post Books:  The Secret to Writing Faster by Karen Dionne

• The Write Practice:  The Only Two Tips You'll Ever Need To Find your Writing Voice by Katie Axelson

Writing Exercises & Prompts

The Internet is an excellent source of writing exercises and prompts. Just find a picture on any site and write about it. Or google "writing exercises" or "writing prompts" to see what great sites pop up. Here are three sites to get your started:

Creative Writing Prompts

Run your cursor over the numbers to see the beginning of the prompt.

Meredith Sue Willis Writing Exercises

My Writing Exercises

Feath’s Bookcase

Feath's Bookcase

Feath’s Bookcase offers generators for:

• Fantasy ideas
• Genre-less ideas
• Characters
• Descriptions
• Plots
• Quotes

It also is a great place for writing prompts and ways to use Tarot cards for character development.

The One-Minute Writer

The One-Minute Writer

Each day this blog offers a writing prompt and asks you to spend one minute writing about it on the theory that EVERYBODY has one minute to spare.

Here are the instructions from the site:

“1. Read the daily writing prompt.
2. Push "Play" on the timer on the right side of the screen.
3. Spend 60 seconds or less writing a response to the daily prompt.

You may respond in the "Comments" section of each post, if your response is family-friendly. Or you can use your word processor, or an old-fashioned pen and paper. It's up to you. Also feel free to use the "Comments" section for informal discussion about the responses that are posted.”

What’s a minute out of your life? I love the fact that they give you the timer. There is absolutely no excuse not to write. Who knows, the daily prompt may start you on the path to writing the great American novel.

Archetype: The Fiction Writer's Guide to Psychology

Archetype: The Fiction Writer's Guide to Psychology

I found this website while researching archetypes and felt like I’d struck gold! Here’s what the first paragraph on the home page says: “Maybe your character needs psychotherapy and you're wondering what goes on behind the closed doors of the therapist's office. Maybe you need to know how to make the psychologist in your fiction sound like a real shrink. Or maybe you're just looking for the psychology behind a really great villain, or wish you could ask a real clinician your psychology questions."


There is so much here that it will take you days to find it all. What you will find :

• articles on psychological disorders
• descriptions of some of the most common psychological tests
• psychology jargon
• research
• media portrayals (including our favorite “Diagnosing Anakin Skywalker”)
• Q & A section
• articles about writng
• story prompts for your Muse
• a blog