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

Links of Interest to Writers

I love writing! Do you? There seem to be a lot of sevens in today's posting!

• Writer's Digest/Brian Klems:  The 7 Rules of Picking Names for Fictional Characters offered by Elizabeth Sims

• Writer UnBoxed:  The Creative Personality by Barbara O'Neal

• Guide to Literary Agents:  7 Things I've Learned So Far by M. M. Vaughan

• Socialpolitan:  7 Types of Narrative Conflict by Mark Nichol

• A Writer's Journey:  Poor Word Choice is Killing your Story by Nat Russo

• Ninie Hammon:  The Three Best Ways to Describe Your Characters

• Jamie Gold:  What Do Your Characters Falsely Believe?

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

Want to read something to inspire you?

• Writer's Digest:  How to Turn Traumatic Experiences into Fuel for Your Writing by Lydia Crichton

• Cynsations:  Guest Post:  Franny Billingsley on Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks:  Connecting Character & Plot

• Daily Infographic:  How Does Writing Affect Your Brain? [Infographic] by Micaela Lacy

• Lauren Sapala:  The One Thing that Separates Great Writers from the Rest

• The Write Practice:  Your Characters Are Lost:  4 Ways to Find Them by Alicia Rades

• Huffington Post:  7 Surprising Secrets to Skyrocket Your Productivity by Kristen Brown

• QueryTracker:  Change to Goodreads Policies by Sarah Pinneo (Polices regarding the policing of reviews that have nothing to do with the book.)

• StoryFix:  How to "Write Like Rowling" by Larry Brooks

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

Links of Interest to Writers

We read, we write, we publish!

• Prolific Living:  32 Simple Rules Successful Entrepreneurs Live By

• Query Tracker:  Stereoscopic Writing by Jane Lebak

• BookBaby Blog:  5 Mistakes New Authors Often Make

• Dan Pollock's Thriller Blog:  Describing Stuff

• Blood Red Pencil:  Writing Through Life's Messes

• The League of Extraordinary Writers:  Using Evernote for Research by Tamara Ireland Stone

• Script Mag:  The 5 Keys to Being Unstoppable in Your Career

• The Write Practice:  How to Find Your Writing Workspace

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

Write, Write, Write (Here's some reading about writing & those who have written!)

• Kristie Holl's Writer's First Aid:  Toxic vs Supportive Writing Friends

• National Book Foundation:  2013 National Book Award Longlist for Young People's Literature
• Galley Cat:  Free Samples of the NBA Longlist for Young People's Literature

• Writer's Digest:  Tapping Your Inner Villain by Elizabeth Sims

• A Writer's Wings:  5 Ways to Find Time to Write by Cynthia D. Griffin

• Beyond the Margins:  The 6 Habits of Highly Tormented Writers by by Chris Abouzeid

• A. Victoria Mixon:  5 Things a Writer Always Overlooks

• Write it Sideways:  How to Create a Three-Phase Writing Ritual by Debra Eve

• Julie Musil:  Writing Lessons Learned from The Maze Runner

Links of Interest to Writers

Take some time to read articles on craft and learn something you might not have known about writing and writers!

• Writer Unboxed:  On Discipline, Dedication, & Devotion by Robin LaFevers

• The American Writers Museum

• Huff Post Healthy Living:  Overcoming Fear in 8 Steps by Dr. Carmen Harra

• Huff Post The Third Metric:  9 Ways to Gain More Time by Bernadette Noll (I especially liked the suggestion of crossing something off your list that you haven't done but really doesn't need doing.)

• Publisher's Weekly: 11 Most Evil Characters in Books by Koren Zailckas

• Jennifer Crusie's Blog Argh Ink:  Goals & Stakes

• Laurie Halse Anderson: The Magic Word That Destroy's Writer's Block

• Angela Booth's Creativity Factory:  5 Easy Ways to Become More Creative Fast

Links of Interest to Writers

Motivation, inspiration, and passion - three important elements of the writing life. Here are some articles to help you spark all three!

• The Institute of Children's Literature:  Ten Tips for Wowing Editors with Your Verse by Jan Fields

• The Guardian:  Making Your Writing the Best It Can Be:  Top Tips from Children's Books Editors

• Books & Such Literary Agency:  Negotiation:  A Primer by Mary Keeley

• Babbles from Scott Eagan:  What Makes Your Character Interesting?

• YA Confidential:  Roundtable:  "Strong" Female Characters

• Writer Unboxed:  A Cautionary Tale: 3 Writing Rules That Can Derail Your Story by Lisa Cron

• Huff Post Parents:  What Classic Kids' Books Are REALLY About. (Photos)

• Real Life, Beautiful Planet:  Seven Virtuous Ways to Avoid Writing Your Novel by Belinda Pollard

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

Links of Interest to Writers

Read about writing, and then write!

• Terrible Minds:  25 Steps to Edit the Unmerciful Suck Out of Your Story

• The Creativity Post:  Establishing and Evening and Morning Routine by Elizabeth Grace Saunders

• The Writing Life:  Chose Nouns with Muscle

• The Other Side of the Story:  Can You Structure if You're a Pantser? by guest author K. M. Weiland 

• The Character Therapist:  Going to a Conference? Don't Forget to Doodle

• Wordserve Water Cooler:  Write to be Relevant by Kariss Lynch

• Writability:  When is a Good Time to Tell?

• Write it Sideways:  Can a Foreign Language Enhance Your Writing? by Sarah Baughman

Links of Interest to Writers

Articles to inspire your creativity!

• Writer's Digest/Brian Klems:  6 Ways to Write Better Bad Guys 

• Positively Positive:  Trust Your Procrastination by Kate Northrup

• Poets & Writers:  I Wasn't Born Yesterday:  The Beauty of Backstory by Eleanor Henderson

• Storyfix:  Making Your Characters Extreme by Larry Brooks

• A Writer's Wings:  A Study of Character:  At the Mall by Cynthia D. Griffin

• How About We...  The 12 Best Dates in Fiction by Amanda Bullock

• The Plot Whisperer:  Grasp Plot & Theme with the Help of a Picture Book

• Project Mayhem:  Connecting Music to Story by Yahong Chi

Links of Interest to Writers

Write, write, and write some more!

• The Creativity Post:  Writing & The Creative Life:  Routine or Ritual? by Scott Myers

• Jeff Goins, Writer:  We Don't Know How Powerful Our Story Is...Until We Share It

• Kristen Lamb's Blog:  5 Misconceptions About Your Story's "Normal World" by K. M. Weiland

• Marcy Kennedy:  Is Chasing Your Dream Preventing You From Living?

• Buzz Feed:  Just for fun! 19 Must Have Literary Manicures

• Novel Matters:  Who's The Boss?

• Huff Post, GPS for the Soul:  5 Ways to Find Peace in Less Than 5 Minutes

• Positive Writer:  Creative Flow:  There is Magic in Asking Yourself The Right Questions by Bryan Hutchinson

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?

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

Links of Interest to Writers

Motivation needed? Here's some help:

• Daily Writing Tips:  10 Interviewing Tips and Techniques by Mark Nichol

• Fiction Notes:  Excitement:  Starting a New Novel (Writing Process) by Darcy Pattison

• From the Write Angle:  5 things I learned as a Debut Novelist by Mindy McGinnis

• Susan Uhlig:  The Hero's Journey for Magazine Writers - Guest Post by Jan Fields

• Huff Post - The Third Metric:  How to Ditch Digital Distractions (And Actually Focus)

• Writer Unboxed:  Going Deeper:  A Process Rather Than a Technique by Robin LaFevers

• Galley Cat:  2013 Hugo Award Winners - links to samples of the best science fiction of the year

• The New York Times:  Long Odds for Authors Newly Published by James B. Stewart

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some links to get you inspired to write:

• Daily Writing Tips:  5 Tips on How to Work with an Editor by Mark Nichol

• BuzzFeed:  19 Jokes Only Grammar Nerds Will Understand

• Sue Fliess:  When It's Done (Parody of Cups, When I'm Gone) (You're going to love this video!)

• YA Muses:  Real People = Believable Characters

• Institute of Children's Literature:  Q & A Report:  Characters by Jan Fields 

• Tom McAllister:  107 Ironclad Rules for Writers Who Want to Be Better at Writing (Hilarious!)

• Unsettling Wonder:  Mythically Thinking (Some thoughts on attempting to define the Mythic Arts by Jane Yolen & Unsettling Wonder)

• Write to Done:  Scene Stealers:  Funny Writing by Vinita Zutshi

• Copyblogger:  10 Rules for Writing First Drafts (a poster)

Links of Interest to Writers

Looking for a little insight into writing? Try reading one (or more) of these:

• Angela Booth's Writing Blog:  Habits:  Build Your Writing Career Day by Day

• Mary Caroll Moore: Writing Strong Suspense:  The Difference between Speed & Tension in Story

• Jamie Gold, Paranormal Author:  How to find the Start of Our Story

• Copyblogger:  The 3 Steps to Success at Anything by Brian Clark

• Inkygirl:  Comic - Back to School by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

• Nathan Bransford:  Bestselling Novels by Year (1900 - 2012)

• Moody Writing:  Bad Characters Do Bad Things

• The Write Practice:  What Clothes Say About Your Characters

Links of Interest to Writers

Stuff I found interesting, and I thought you might find it interesting too!

• The BookBaby Blog:  Networking Tips for Shy Authors by Chris Robley

• All Write - Fiction Advice:  Are Rules Made to be Broken? by A. J. Humpage

• An Awfully Big Blog Adventure:  Creating a Page-Turning Novel by David Thorpe

• Anne R. Allen's Blog:  Anthologies are Hot:  How to Tell a Great Opportunity from a Pay-to-Play Scam

• Adventures in YA Publishing:  Mapping Your Book to Ensure it Works

• Sara Zaske's Blog:  Top 5 Mistakes in the First 5 Pages

• QueryTracker:  Writing and the Rule of Three by Ash Krafton

• Babbles from Scott Eagan:  Creating a Work Environment that Promotes Creativity

Links of Interest to Writers

Happy reading and even happier writing!

• Book Riot:  Margaret Atwood Reveals Her Genre Kryptonite:  Horror/Terror Tales

• Daily Science Fiction:  Three Weddings and an Objection by M. M. Domaille (Note:  If you haven't discovered http://dailysciencefiction.com yet, you need to check it out! Free daily short story for you to enjoy and rate.)

• Creative Flux:  Stories Within Stories by Trish Nicholson

• She Writes:  Surviving Feedback, One Step at a Time by Kamy Wicoff

• From the Write Angle:  Banning Books vs. Curating Them by R. C. Lewis

• Get Me Writing:  3 Sure-Fire Ways to Prepare Your Characters by Matt Roberts

• Jeff Goins Writer:  Life Feeds Your Words

• Writer's Digest:  Revision:  How to Edit and Polish Your Writing by Brian Klems

• Publisher's Weekly:  2013 Hugo Award Winners Announced

• BuzzFeed:  10 Fantasy Authors Who Fight the Patriarchy, Gender-Stereotypes, & Possibly Dragons by Sede Makonnen

• Nathan Bransford:  The Bullies of Goodreads 

• Art Works:  How Does George Lucas Define Failure?

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some blog posts I found interesting on the Web today:

• Writer's Fun Zone:  How to Create Characters: 10 Ways to Create Deeper & Unforgettable Characters by Margaret Aslanis-Nystrom

• Writability:  How to Make the Most of Your Chapter Endings by Ava Jae

• Viva Scriva:  Facing Our Fears by Sabina I. Rascol

• Time to Write:  The Danger of Waiting for Your Muse Before You Start to Write by Jurgen Wolff

• Author, Jody Hedlund:  Blogging Changes (Observations about changes in blogging over the past 9 months.)

• AuthorCulture:  Word Choice by Lisa Lickel

• Babbles from Scott Eagan:  The Art of the Simultaneous Submission

• Courage to Create:  Stop Hesitating: Take a Step Forward (Even if you think you're not prepared) by Ollin Morales

Links of Interest to Writers

Enjoy these articles/blog posts for writers!

• Blood-Red Pencil:  Internal Conflict Scenes by Diana Hurwitz

• Write to Done:  Passion:  How to Tap Into Yours Every Time You Write by C. S. Lakin

• Mythic Scribes:  Assessing Your Writing - How Do You Know When It's Good? by Benjamin Clayborne

• Timeless Tales Magazine: Sample Issue - New!

• Writing Forward:  What are Plot Points? by Melissa Donovan

• The Write Practice:  How to Turn On Your Muse by Birgitte Rasine

•  Writing for Kids (While Raising Them):  Children's Picture Book Authors & Illustrators on Twitter by Tara Lazar

• Writers In The Storm:  Hiring a Professional Editor - Shrewd or Shameful? by Lori Nelson Spielman

Links of Interest to Writers

Information you may enjoy: 

• Author Magazine:  An Interview with Stella Cameron

• Marjorie Ingall:  Children's Book Footwear
• Marjorie Ingall: Children's Book Footwear, part 2

• The Write Practice:  There Are No Mistakes in the Writer's Studio

• Writer's Digest: 8 Things Stars Wars Can Teach Us About Writing by James Duncan

• Writer's Digest:  How to Write a Novel Readers Won't Put Down by James Scott Bell

• W.I.P:  How to Write an Original Story by Lynda R. Young

• A Story is a Promise:  Storytelling & the Superconscious Mind by Bill Johnson

• Write to Done:  The Secret to Creating Story Structure by K. M. Weiland

• Babbles from Scott Eagan:  Agent Submissions - The Process from the Query to "The Call"

Links of Interest to Writers

Here are some links I enjoyed discovering today:

• Margaret Atwood's 10 Rules of Writing (Brain Pickings)

• 10 Inspiring Bookshops around the World (Messy Nessy Chic)

• When Comparison is Good & Necessary (Rachelle Gardner)

• Top Two Pieces of Writing Advice (Jody Hedlund)

• 4 Big Pitfalls in Story Openings (Jane Friedman)

Updating

Worked on updating some of the sites. Still have a lot to go! Enjoy!

Updated the Blog!

Just added:

32 links to Writing Blogs
2 links to Author Blogs
3 links to Agent Blogs
2 links to Book Blogs

Nope, not going to tell you which ones. You'll have to find them yourselves :)

Happy writing!

Adding New Writing Links

I just added a bunch of new links to the blog. Let me know if I've missed you or a site you find helpful! Sometimes it's difficult to decide whether to put an author's blog under "Writing Blogs" or "Author Blogs," so I put it under both! Hey, it's my blog, I can do what I want :)

Next project - Delete the outdated links.

Time Hoggers

Okay, I know I haven't added any new posts with fascinating links for a few months, but I have excellent excuses:

1. I was working on my middle grade fantasy novel (and I finished the 1st draft at 1:27 p.m. on Wednesday, September 19th, 2012 - and yes, that is my lunchtime at work.
2. I've been playing with my granddaughter one day a weekend. Working five days a week, plus playing with toddler one day a week equals less time to blog.
3. I moved my office to the family room and have been organizing things.
4. Twitter
5. Facebook
6. Goodreads (even though I'm way behind on reviewing stuff!)

Now, I've signed up for a Master Class on Plot and Structure with Cheryl Klein that will take eight weeks to complete. It doesn't start until November 29th, but I've got preparation homewook - I have to bookmap my entire novel and read four books (okay, two are optional, but I've always been an overachiever.) That's going to take some time away from my blogging, but it's Cheryl Klein for goodness sake. She's a super Executive Editor with Arthur A. Levine Books (the American home to the Harry Potter series.) I love her writing book Second Sight and devour her blog Brooklyn Arden. 

I'll post when I can. Meanwhile, enjoy all the terrific writing links on the sidebar.

Author, Jody Hedlund's Blog

Jody Hedlund's Blog

I follow Jody Hedlund on Twitter and frequently click on links to her blog posts about the writing life, both inspirational and craft articles. A lot to learn here. Check out the topics on her side bar for past articles.

Recent Blog Posts:

• Write Because You Love It
• 3 Reminders About eBooks Versus Paper books
• Some Things Are Out of Our Control
• 7 Dialog Basics that Can Help Tighten Our Stories
• Why We Need to Put Our Books to Bed
• How Can Modern Writers Become & Stay Visible?

This is a blog well worth checking out.