Riley Adams's Blog, page 101
July 30, 2016
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
Easy ways to start (and remain) in a scene: http://ow.ly/YYJr302jbOf @Lindasclare
The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial): from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/jycA302FpmY
Going Beyond the Default in Your Worldbuilding: http://ow.ly/h9nm302jbqq @JulietteWade
A writer on her struggles with depression: http://ow.ly/th91302jbJO @kseniaanske
9 Productivity Hacks to Help You Meet Your Next Deadline: http://ow.ly/VNe3302jbfw @emily_tjaden
Frankfurt’s 2016 Rights Meeting: Where the Surprises Are: http://ow.ly/fPe8302FpsF @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Defending Your Style Vs. Being Stubborn: http://ow.ly/QO7u302kANd @NatRusso
3 steps to a smoother writing style: http://ow.ly/994g302kAKK @Roz_Morris
Spin doctors in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/DuLB302kATb @mkinberg
Crime fiction that avoids graphic depictions of the victims: http://ow.ly/QiQh302kAXH @mkinberg
The Benefits of Talking Through Your Scenes: http://ow.ly/vwps302kAZM @Janice_Hardy
Getting Ahead of Yourself …and Your Reader: http://ow.ly/ENy5302kB3I @DonMaass
Tips for better co-writing: http://ow.ly/Otmt302kB1k by PJ Parrish
How to Write an Eating Scene: http://ow.ly/F4ai302kB2W @jamesscottbell
For Writers: Intro to Disability Vocabulary: http://ow.ly/gqPa302kAzH @PunkinOnWheels @corinneduyvis
1 Writer’s Experience With Amazon Giveaways: http://ow.ly/eprv302kAPh @NatRusso
How to Transform Your Story With a Moment of Truth: http://ow.ly/aykH302kALG @KMWeiland
8 Classic Openings and Why They Work: http://ow.ly/S9hi302kB6r @robvlock
Write a Sequel That Doesn’t Disappoint: http://ow.ly/4pOO301Yzce @ink_and_quills
Why are orphans so popular in literature? http://ow.ly/YvbJ302lGXq @LizMooreBooks @lithub
Want to Work in 18 Miles of Books? First, the Quiz: http://ow.ly/thQR302lGIS @anniecorreal @nytimes
Why US Publishing Needs Indie Presses: http://ow.ly/cUyK302lGbX by Nathan Scott McNamara @TheAtlantic
The Spanish publishing market: 4 points of concern from Luis Solano http://ow.ly/4xvI302zvBL @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Writing About Love: http://ow.ly/ceeq302lIFR @isabelcostello @WomenWriters
5 steps to a more popular book: http://ow.ly/qopi302lJid @jurgenappelo
Copyright: What Every Author Needs to Know: http://ow.ly/Gvt8302lIl2 @HelenSedwick @BookWorksNYC
If You Just Keep Writing, Will You Get Better? http://ow.ly/jMlR302lIyN by Barbara Baig for @JaneFriedman
What does your story assume? http://ow.ly/hjmk302lId7 @artofstoriesAB
Extras and bonus material for reader retention: http://ow.ly/mWv5302lJ5v @JamiGold
Popular Copyright Myths: http://ow.ly/2MvB302lIPD @SusanSpann
4 Tips On Creativity From The Creator Of Calvin & Hobbes: http://ow.ly/e4Hy302lIgC @GoIntoTheStory
10 Classics of Campaign Literature: http://ow.ly/WPRP302lGtG @WithEdSimon @lithub
5 Things You Learn from Writing “Bad” Books: http://ow.ly/NB9k302qwM4 @KelsieEngen
4 Key Ways LinkedIn Helps Authors: http://ow.ly/dEpy302qwE5 @WhereWritersWin
How To Banish Writer’s Block: http://ow.ly/ULCM302qwuK @KMWeiland @thecreativepenn
How to Choose, Develop, & Research a Setting: http://ow.ly/oKsy302qwB8 @tessaemilyhall
Creating Plot Twists: http://ow.ly/4wHD302qwHj @AJHumpage
Kindle Scout Case Study: http://ow.ly/Eeyn302qxc1 @kathay1973 @IndieAuthorALLI
34 Ways to Describe Scents: http://ow.ly/3hge302qwyg @WordDreams
The Scientific Method of Writing: http://ow.ly/IyTp302qwQj @AuthorCoH
How to Create an Internal Mindset Conducive to Writing: http://ow.ly/7LKN302qxpu @AnneJanzer @JaneFriedman
How to Write an Amazing Short Story: http://ow.ly/yqyU302qwXD by Alyssa Boorman
How To Master Alternate Point of View: http://ow.ly/4sle302qwUd @kj_bags
Plotter or pantser? You decide! http://ow.ly/TJNR302qx40 @IndieAuthorALLI @DebbieYoungBN
Make Your Character Do These 4 Things: http://ow.ly/RoSA302qIAz @wendypmiller
What’s Stopping You From Publishing? http://ow.ly/Qsd4302qImH @AnnGarvin_
How to Create Striking Similes: http://ow.ly/mMOR302qI6x @ProWritingAid
6 Tips for Defeating Writer’s Block: http://ow.ly/g9EO302qI1E @LouiseMatchett8
How Do You Write a Poem? http://ow.ly/TKI2302qItU @GigglingStream
Where to start a book and knowing when you’re done with it: http://ow.ly/WV8m302qIaD @StephMorrill
5 Tips to Beat the Self-Publishing Summer Sales Slump: http://ow.ly/xYb2302rXAd @JAHuss
What’s Selling: Global Rights Update from Penguin Random House: http://ow.ly/Sglv302FoX2 @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Housekeepers in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/WTG3302ywXA @mkinberg
How to Use Facebook to Reach Niche Readers: http://ow.ly/hSMV302yqAH @BarbMorgenroth @annerallen
Frankfurt’s 2016 Rights Meeting: Where the Surprises Are: http://ow.ly/QFej302DacM @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Five Books Featuring Holes: http://ow.ly/zNoI302jbRq @tordotcom @jbushnell
6 Easy Steps to More Pinterest Followers: http://ow.ly/XjBR302jbo4 @standoutbooks
What Makes A Horror Story Horror? http://ow.ly/5Ay6302jaZ4 @DBlakeAuthor
Making the Most of a Writing Prompt: http://ow.ly/hNlT302jbXr @SuzannahWindsor @TalValante
4 Tough Questions for Your Critique Group: http://ow.ly/HgSU302jbhx @ramonadef
5 Mistakes Self-Published Authors Make: http://ow.ly/bIYt302jbHi @rachel5bartee
5 Pieces of Writing Advice to Ignore: http://ow.ly/Oy7i302dd4O @jamesscottbell
The Ultimate Literary Guide to Whiskey: http://ow.ly/haBg302h9ec @BryceTBauer @SignatureReads
Learning From Inexperience: http://ow.ly/N3Zr302h8pK @DavidBCoe
The Worst Book Signing Ever: http://ow.ly/5bPl302Dlrv @lorijakiela @lithub
A Snapshot of a 21st-Century Librarian: http://ow.ly/vPat302DehD @TheresaQuill @TheAtlantic @AdrienneNGreen
Promoting Your Book with Pinterest: http://ow.ly/wpUd302tiJF @RochelleDCarter @BwkrSelfPublish
How Are Libraries Doing Around the World? http://ow.ly/onYC302h9oC @asap_jonathon @flavorwire
How to Use Pinterest to Build an Audience: http://ow.ly/SH1U302h8nV @EricaVerrillo
Where to begin with folk horror: http://ow.ly/YbM1302h8Ns @BFI @AdamScovell
Criteria for a good ending: http://ow.ly/MfeB302h8z6 by Kay Bergstrom @RMFWriters
How ‘Smooth Criminal’ Subverted the Hardboiled Detective Genre: http://ow.ly/ZAvK302h9vm by Aida Amoako @QueenMobs
Need to reduce wordcount? Be selective with dialogue tags and more: http://ow.ly/3a3p302h8tt @bentateauthor
How to Use Video Livestreaming for Book Promotion: http://ow.ly/9Qnw302h8VC @Bookgal
Scene Description Spotlight: “Unforgiven”: http://ow.ly/em5l302h9lZ @GoIntoTheStory
Words to describe someone’s voice: http://ow.ly/IicE302h9Ec @_FYWH
Enhancing narrative by using terminology of the field we’re writing about: http://ow.ly/MuwE302h91D @JerryBJenkins
6 Author Marketing Mistakes: http://ow.ly/FWzz302h8SY @ceciliaedits
Amazon tries to increase the popularity of e-shorts: http://ow.ly/3fdr302zvq1 @Porter_Anderson @laurahazardowen @pubperspectives
When Publishers Ignore Copyright: http://ow.ly/nPuK302yquO @MJHealy @pubperspectives
Methods for Distributing Free Books: http://ow.ly/AxNH302zpmG
Tips for pitching yourself and your book to the media: http://ow.ly/cQFj302zuDr @SpunkOnAStick @DancingLemurPre
Blogging: An Inexpensive, Powerful Marketing Tool for Authors: http://ow.ly/mtxH302zuks @annerallen @TheIWSG
5 Lessons for Writers from the Movies: http://ow.ly/EnBZ302fBWD @MirandaBW @SignatureReads
5 Guerilla Tactics for Promoting Your Debut Novel: http://ow.ly/SICI302fAok @manzanitafire
6 Helpful Apps for Writers: http://ow.ly/WUkk302fzi5 @Chris_Kokoski
5 Ways To Kill “Zombie” Prose Before It Kills You: http://ow.ly/yMZb302fzeP @Chris_Kokoski
Building a Better Definition of Science Fiction: http://ow.ly/RA2t302fwC1 @jeffvandermeer
Tips for Planning a Writing Retreat: http://ow.ly/nCxg302fA9w @robwhart
How to Create Legendary Villains: http://ow.ly/XKlK302fAGK @KristenLambTX
The Use of Subtext: http://ow.ly/AxBO302fCdI @JamesTuckwriter
Ben Lerner: Why So Many People (Rightfully) Hate Poetry: http://ow.ly/98wV302fwKT @Delistraty
Character Questionnaire: 94 Questions to Ask: http://ow.ly/cBIN302fBeR @Writers_Write
3 Modifiers Left Dangling Without a Supporting Subject: http://ow.ly/Zf8a302fAR2 @writing_tips
6 Tips to Increase Your Social Media Shares: http://ow.ly/bFOK302fB1y @tthursb @SMExaminer
Booktrack and Little, Brown Partner on YA Novellas: http://ow.ly/4giz302yqau @Porter_Anderson @pccameron
Writer’s block: 3 ways to get over it: http://ow.ly/FxBa302bBP4 @redswanmedia
The Polish book market: http://ow.ly/qknp302tf17 @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Gone Months Without Writing? Try This: http://ow.ly/w1v0302ddn7 @McgannKellie
Emotional Wounds Thesaurus: Being Held Captive: http://ow.ly/uAff302ddja @beccapuglisi
Outlining and Tracking Tool for Novels: http://ow.ly/Sj1r302dcQ3 @FantasyScroll
10 Ways to Add a Spark of Fire to Our Writing: http://ow.ly/KjGT302ddw4 @kcraftwriter
6 Tips for How to Organize Your Novel’s Edits: http://ow.ly/Gv1L302dcDj @KMWeiland
10 Sites for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/Yr6l302dcxC @EricaVerrillo
How To Create An Ebook Boxset Or Bundle And Why You Should: http://ow.ly/ZstR302ddLe @thecreativepenn
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
July 24, 2016
Distributing Free Books
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
It used to annoy me when I’d read about how important it was to offer a free book to readers for newsletter signups or as rewards for newsletter subscribers.
The advice was all well and good, but it rarely got into the nitty-gritty of it. How exactly were we supposed to give away these freebies? Surely I wasn’t expected to monitor signups and send out individual emails to subscribers?
The same problem would arise when I’d be invited to participate in group giveaways or when I’d need to submit advance review copies.
How was I supposed to share these files with subscribers or reviewers without manually sending them out?
Method 1:
At the time, MailChimp (free newsletter software … at least, free for 2,000 or fewer subscribers) did not host files for giveaways. This meant I needed a workaround. After a good deal of research, I adopted this approach to use my book A Dyeing Shame as a reward for signing up for my newsletter: For the download links, I used Amazon’s free cloud storage. I logged in with my Amazon login. Then I created a “bucket” called “dyeingshame” and uploaded 3 files: Kindle, epub, and PDF. When I selected each file on the site, a side menu came up. I chose ‘properties’, then ‘permissions’. Then I clicked the green arrow for ‘add more permissions.’ I then used the drop-down menu to select ‘everyone. and saved it. A minute later, the file was showing as public. I copied the file url and hyperlinked it to the ‘download’ text image on the webpage landing page I set up for newsletter subscribers.
It wasn’t hard, but it was convoluted and took a little time.
Method 2: The good news is that MailChimp now hosts files. You upload the book files (epub, mobi/Kindle) and then link to the files instead of attaching them in your newsletter campaign. If you run into any issues, you can always choose my previous method.
The only negatives that I’ve experienced are readers who have had technical difficulties when downloading the files. I came up with a standard explanation of how to navigate the downloading and reading of the files, but it did eat up some of my time (and, yes, my readership includes many senior readers … many of them are quite tech-savvy on e-readers, but some are not. Your mileage may vary as to whether this proves an issue).
Method 3: That’s one reason why I was excited to hear about instaFreebie. If a reader runs into a problem, they’re the ones running interference. You upload your book’s epub file, cover, and info to their site (they will convert the epub to a mobi file for Kindle readers or a PDF).
(Sorry for any blurriness below:)
Showing a successful upload:
Once it’s processed after several minutes, click ‘new giveaway’ and ‘create quick giveaway.’ You’ll then see the page below:
You have the option for setting an expiration date for the free book or a limit to the number of copies that are allowed to be downloaded. Important to note…instaFreebie will share your free book on their site or allow the freebie to be public unless you uncheck the boxes allowing them to do so.
They provide you with a link to the book for your reviewers, newsletter subscribers, giveaway winners. The site suggests that you could even use it for beta reader sharing. You insert that link on emails to reviewers, new subscribers (using automation … provide the link for your landing page for new subscribers), and winners:
The readers/reviewers click on the link and get three options for receiving their book, along with any tech support they need.
The premium version of instaFreebie removes the need for us to set up the link through MailChimp–it collects email addresses and automatically connects them to our MailChimp account. But, sadly, I find myself again too frugal to use the premium version of a service. :) I’ll continue with my email automation through MailChimp that I’ve already set up. But that is an option for you, if you want integration with MailChimp without any hassle.
There are other methods of sharing files …NetGalley, for instance. But the cost is prohibitive, I find. BookFunnel is another option, but there is a $20 a year cost …I’d like to hear your thoughts if you’ve used them.
This is an area that’s changing all the time, so I’m interested to hear how you distribute free copies of your books. What service do you use or do you handle it manually?
And a note that I’ll return to the blog on Sunday this week so that I can have extra time to finish up my book and send it to my editor! :)
Methods for distributing free books to reviewers and readers:
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The post Distributing Free Books appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
July 23, 2016
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
3 Steps to Write an Antagonist You Hate: http://ow.ly/n2533027zLA @reagancolbert97
The English World’s Richest Prize for Short Story (Open for Submissions): http://ow.ly/2n25302teCb @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Instill the Joy of Reading and Storytelling in Children: http://ow.ly/EYuE302lR5q @jemifraser @TheIWSG
Mastering Different Writing Styles: 7 Tips: http://ow.ly/omus3027AqF @nownovel
Worldbuilding for Realistic Fiction: http://ow.ly/xXsm3027A2d @artofstoriesAB
5 Must-Dos for the Proactive Author: http://ow.ly/ElfC3027zCS @LovettRomance @DIYMFA
Skipping Time in Your Story: http://ow.ly/ZKfX3027A77 @artofstoriesAB
4 Mistakes That Can Cost Your Book the Bestsellers List: http://ow.ly/j7gx302u3WO by C.S. Plocher
Live-in nurses in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/u87P302tfqA @mkinberg
A Simple Approach to Building a Better Email List: http://ow.ly/LBhX30264lT @storyrally
Crime fiction: sleuths who read about sleuths: http://ow.ly/kRoi302lt9X @mkinberg
Amazon’s team of old-school book reviewers influences readers: http://ow.ly/BLDn30264nO @gonzalezseattle @seattletimes
China’s ‘3 Book Program’: Chinese Publishers Are Introduced to International Exports: http://ow.ly/oZak302te8m @Porter_Anderson @InfoJedi
An in-depth look at what, how, and why books sell: http://ow.ly/zn493026450 @ElectricLit @TheLincoln
What a Media Kit is and Why You Need One: http://ow.ly/p5vG30264qJ @MFlicksAuthors
Marketing into an increasingly annoyed readership: http://ow.ly/Uo9X30264la @Janet_Reid
Book Distributors Compared: http://ow.ly/CuLv30264gk @111publishing
The when and how of starting a street team: http://ow.ly/B3lz30264th @kerrylonsdale
Leaving Your Comfort Zone: Reading Out of Genre: http://ow.ly/JWP230264wp @j_s_brown @WomenWriters
UK: why are there so many new publishing imprints? http://ow.ly/9Z3u30263Y6 @carmitstead @GuardianBooks
Taking the Audiobook Plunge? Read This First: http://ow.ly/twiY30264zm @DianeRinella @AngelaAckerman
What Editors Wish You Knew about Meeting with Them at Conferences: http://ow.ly/ajUV30264xF @KarenBall1
Amazon Is Quietly Eliminating List Prices: http://ow.ly/4ON230264ak @DavidStreitfeld @nytimes
Newsletters: The Hidden Secret to Marketing? http://ow.ly/kdbu302tivY @RochelleDCarter @BwkrSelfPublish
World-Building Tips and Tools: http://ow.ly/KGig302lQvC @AlexJCavanaugh @TheIWSG
Storytelling About Storytelling: A Swiss ‘Summer of Darkness’ App: http://ow.ly/VHRX302tdNQ @anindita @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Subplot Survival 101: http://ow.ly/CE6Z30254pu @ClareLangleyH
How to Notify Amazon Buyers about New Content in Your eBook: http://ow.ly/cbQC30253yC @Martinthewriter
Tips for better dialogue: http://ow.ly/KdOA30253TF @AuthorKJ
Writing A One-Page Business Plan: 5 Questions A Self-Publisher Must Ask: http://ow.ly/vofs30253v3 @jckunzjr
Not sure how to use your Amazon affiliate links correctly? Ask Amazon: http://ow.ly/YN3C30253Kd @eNovelAuthors
4 essential elemenst for the first 5 pages: http://ow.ly/tMtG30254eO @swkehoe
Point of View Confusion: http://ow.ly/8trL30254s6 @CandaceWillms @IndiesUnlimited
Lessons Learned: 5 Tips for Episodic Writing: http://ow.ly/iL8u30253MO @inkylinks
Why Your Readers Are Your Greatest Asset: http://ow.ly/2oAf30253qH @PublishingSpark
6 Easy Steps to Planning Out Your Novel: http://ow.ly/4alK302543j @LMacNaughton
Tips for recording video and basic equipment needed: http://ow.ly/Bnw830253im @shelleyhitz
How Writers Can Bring Setting to Life through Personification: http://ow.ly/w41p30253Bg @CSLakin
Metrics Are Worthless…So What Should You Focus on Instead? http://ow.ly/ExNZ30252By @Bookgal
How to write effective book titles: http://ow.ly/92fX30253b8 @Peter_Rey_
5-Minute Book Marketing for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/GeJm30252sg @Bookgal
How To Use Snapchat To Build Your Unique Readership: http://ow.ly/rOlq30252p6 @K8Tilton
The Platform Building Step You’re Probably Missing: from Fix My Story http://ow.ly/SsWb30252mA
Turn your Book into an Audiobook in 6 Steps: http://ow.ly/rELc3021P7i @clairedeluana
Tune in to the @ReedsyHQ live chat on FB each Wed. at 3p ET (now). http://bit.ly/28TpYzb . Today’s topic: blogging
5 Tips to Keep You from Being Overwhelmed: http://ow.ly/4XD63021OD6 @CSLakin
Writing Crime Fiction in the Era of Black Lives Matter: http://ow.ly/RvIn302qxOq @RachelHowzell @BillLoehfelm and Henry Chang @lithub
Book Promoting: Is $1.99 The New 99 Cents? http://ow.ly/KdQI3021Oic @Martinthewriter @IndiesUnlimited
6 Reasons to Power Up Your Productivity as a Writer: http://ow.ly/eHOz3021O5I @AGHackney
Indie Authors: Book Promotion Tools and Tips: http://ow.ly/7qEW3021JkW @sabsky
What Should You Put in Your Email Newsletter? http://ow.ly/5Qvp3021Jga @kikimojo @JaneFriedman
Book Promotion: Do This, Not That: http://ow.ly/ivSs3021J3y @PamelaBeason @JFbookman
When an Internet Skeptic Takes to Twitter: http://ow.ly/EEIA302lHYH @svenbirkerts @lithub
Tips for Author Blogs: http://ow.ly/d9vA301YAQO @krgpryal @WomenWriters
Writing in 2nd person POV: http://ow.ly/Ghfw301YBnb @LindaKSienkwicz @WomenWriters
Character Thoughts: Direct and Indirect Interior Monologues: http://ow.ly/3j7s301YBxa @FictionNotes
Making your Character Shine From Page One: http://ow.ly/Ru6o301YBSm @winellroad
5 Secrets of Complex Supporting Characters: http://ow.ly/eKpD301YBZo @KMWeiland
Book Marks: The book review aggregator: http://ow.ly/zmvt301YB0k @lithub
Symbolism & Setting: http://ow.ly/fSDz301YBAY @KristenLambTX
5 helpful hints for writing at night: http://ow.ly/pFst301YCdM @pubcoach
23 Ways to Defeat the Sagging Middle: http://ow.ly/FsKn301YBtI @FictionNotes
How To Track Your Word Count & Set Writing Goals: http://ow.ly/tKkq301YALW @SukhiJutla
Use Minor Characters to Flesh Out Your Protagonist: http://ow.ly/6tAV301YC7N @KMWeiland
How to Create an Internal Mindset Conducive to Writing: http://ow.ly/G9hM301YClR @AnneJanzer @JaneFriedman
Why Calvin and Hobbes is Great Literature: http://ow.ly/yX2Q302lHKg @GabbyBellot @lithub
How to Use Whatsapp in India: http://ow.ly/9I8P302kHNQ @ritesh_kala @IndieAuthorALLI
Tools to Manage Metadata: http://ow.ly/DSBb302lFg0
Overcoming Book Signing Fear: http://ow.ly/ynat302lJOm @ChrysFey @TheIWSG
4 strengths of fish-out-of-water stories: http://ow.ly/aJJx302lsDh @LaurelGarver @jemifraser
How Publishers Abuse Termination Fees: http://ow.ly/1yPf302ltg2 @PassiveVoiceBlg @victoriastrauss
US French Embassy Releases Its 2016 Translation Report: http://ow.ly/P5xw302kmkY @DennisAbrams2 @pubperspectives
How Writers Can Bring Setting to Life through Personification: http://ow.ly/hvkF301YAbN @beccapuglisi
Dictating a Book? Tips for Editing the First Draft: http://ow.ly/uMpP301YyWl @CKmacleodwriter
How NOT to dictate your book: http://ow.ly/F40B301YxUc by Wendy Jones @IndieAuthorALLI
A Look at How Horror Author @peterstraubnyc Crafts His Opening Chapters: http://ow.ly/QqrV301Yzii by Tina L. Jens @BlackGateDotCom
6 Ways to Set Up Scrivener for Writing: http://ow.ly/roPK301Yz6x @CKmacleodwriter
4 Steps to Break Grammar Rules with Style: http://ow.ly/OigW301YAif @Julie_Glover
6 Ways to End a Book in a Series: http://ow.ly/jpaf301YzZh @RobinRWrites
Brushing up on character mannerisms by braving public spaces: http://ow.ly/6xhx301YzNr @joannaslan
Radio Tips for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/iYLb301Yyte @RachelAmphlett @IndieAuthorALLI
How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Author Website: http://ow.ly/mC8M301YA76 @JFbookman
3 Tactics To Make You A More Productive Writer: http://ow.ly/jVZ1301YA3k @sacha_black
Crime fiction featuring the dark side of fashion design: http://ow.ly/sWqu302kAU6 @mkinberg
When You Don’t Want to Write: http://ow.ly/OLx4301VR7f @msheatherwebb
#NEABigRead: Stepping Up Its Game for Diversity, Relevance: http://ow.ly/YKrZ302kmqj @Porter_Anderson @amystolls @NEABigRead
Conflict in every scene? Disasters in every act? Yes and no: http://ow.ly/KUS2302kAJu @Roz_Morris
Links I shared last week: http://ow.ly/fPI4302kmLq .All the links I’ve shared (30K+, free and searchable): writerskb.com @Hiveword
Romance Writers of America Discuss Sales, Globalization, and Diversity Challenges: http://ow.ly/VVXF302km9C @Porter_Anderson @rwa
Adverbs Are Overwhelmingly, Indisputably the Best Part of Speech: http://ow.ly/lPOU301VQ4c @colindickey
Rentrement of Compulsion: How to Write a Rondeau (Infographic) http://ow.ly/j5Tc301VQm9 @lwlindquist @tspoetry
A Less Lonely Way to Get More Writing Done: http://ow.ly/MuSy301VRiS @Janice_Hardy
A Tale of Two Writers: http://ow.ly/DEBg301VRps @storyfix
In Defence of Clichés: http://ow.ly/XQs2301VPM4 @JoEberhardt
How One Writer Overcame Fear and Got a 2nd Chance: http://ow.ly/6oDL301VRdp @thereallisakerr
When Marcel Proust Was an Anxious Debut Novelist: http://ow.ly/K30U3027tRf @lithub @billcart67
The Fabulist and Fantastic Edges of Contemporary Southern Women€s Poetry: http://ow.ly/oP6F302xhXc @ElectricLit by Stacey Balkun
There is more to war poetry than mud, wire and slaughter: http://ow.ly/EdIU3027ttg by Andrew Motion @GuardianBooks
Write a Nonfiction Book: Your 5-Minute Plan: http://ow.ly/K1yA302brD8 @angee
How to Create a Book Cover Using Canva: http://ow.ly/CGKV302xhr6 @lornafaith
How to Write an Email Sequence to Keep Readers Hooked: http://ow.ly/rwxP302brJy @HennekeD
Education in Storyworlds: http://ow.ly/hFgN302brPf by A.D. Shrum
A Story Opening To Avoid: http://ow.ly/uv7t302bBJP @angiehodapp @agentkristinNLA
Breakdown Boards: http://ow.ly/lSsM302bBNh @SPressfield
The Polish book market: http://ow.ly/qknp302tf17 @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Writer’s block: 3 ways to get over it: http://ow.ly/FxBa302bBP4 @redswanmedia
Ultralight Lit: Choosing What to Read on a Long Hike: http://ow.ly/STFs302dcdg @robmoorstuff @Powells
Tips for creating an effective website: http://ow.ly/YRnK302ddzZ @DanBlank
10 Tricks for Getting Your Book Reviewed by a Book Blogger: http://ow.ly/ux6H302ddDd @BakerviewConsul for @annerallen
4 Ways to Make Your Writing More Interesting: http://ow.ly/XSsp302dd9C @Rachel_Aaron
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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July 21, 2016
Linear Writing
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I mentioned last week that I enjoy hearing other writers’ book-writing processes. I share a variety of writing-craft tips on Twitter because although something may not be useful for me, it might be useful for someone else.
But sometimes, I think, it’s helpful to hear how others write. Although I’m pretty set in my ways with my process, sometimes I need to try something new. And sometimes I think I need to try something new because I’m so set in my ways. It helps to keep my writing fresh, even though I may be working on book ten in a series.
I read a post from writer B.E. Sanderson’s Outside the Box blog on linear writing … working straight through scenes to reach the end of the story.
I’m a linear writer almost to a fault now, but B.E.’s post reminded me that I haven’t always written that way. There was one book that I wrote backward from the end to the middle (the middle was where I’d gotten stuck).
Another book I wrote completely out of order. I’d gotten ideas for different sections of the story at different times and had written whatever scene I’d gotten the inspiration for.
I don’t know how many of you are mystery readers, but I can say from experience that the second book was a disaster in edits. Mysteries follow a particular pattern and mystery writers must track clues, red herrings, suspects’ lies, and alibis. Hopping around through a mystery meant that it took me longer to edit the book than it did to write the first draft (where ordinarily I edit in about 3 or 4 days before sending the manuscript to a freelance or publisher’s editor).
Not only were the elements of the mystery in a mess, but the transitions between scenes were either extremely choppy or missing altogether. The book ended up becoming Progressive Dinner Deadly and worked out fine and dandy … but I would never try to write a book completely out of order again.
But I might try writing a book from the end to the middle again, if I were stuck. It worked last time.
As someone who has written both ways, here are my thoughts on both approaches:
Pros to Linear Writing:
You’re writing it as the reader will be reading it.
You have a better sense of where you are in the story.
Transitions are (usually) neater.
If you’re writing a complicated story (like a mystery), it can be less confusing for you to edit later.
Pros to Writing Scenes Out of Order:
It can be extremely useful to jumpstart a story when you’re stuck …particularly moving backward through the book.
Sometimes when you’re not in the mood to write a particular scene (you’re feeling down or discouraged and you need to write a lively scene, e.g.) it helps to write a scene that better matches your mood.
When you’re full of ideas and dialogue for a future scene, the draft of the scene can be more animated when you write the idea as you get it.
If you’ve written a lot of books and you’re getting tired of your approach (or it’s boring you), writing out of order can infuse your story with new life.
When I’m tempted to write out of order now:
I make a note…either on my outline or in Track Changes right there in the margin…mapping out the scene or noting the ideas I had for it. Then I continue with the story in my linear fashion. For the most part, I just don’t have the editing time to write a book out of order anymore.
Have you ever written a story out of order? How did it go?
Pros and Cons of Linear Writing:
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July 17, 2016
Metadata Tools
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Those who’ve been reading my blog for a while know that I’ve had something of a bee in my bonnet lately over metadata. When I first heard about metadata, it sounded like the most boring (and confusing) thing I’d ever heard of. I became curious as I continued hearing more and more about it. I attended a couple of talks on metadata at a couple of different conferences. I read slideshows on it from conferences I hadn’t attended.
And then I decided that the topic of metadata was actually pretty interesting and useful after all. To me, it’s a way of making my books visible to readers. In that way, it’s useful in the way that a card catalog used to be useful at the public library. Carla King wrote a great article for BookWorks called “Mastering Metadata: the Key to Marketing Your Books,” if you want a more detailed explanation of its helpfulness.
Then I realized at some point in the process that my own metadata, or the way I label the bits and pieces of my books, was wildly inconsistent. I might be Elizabeth Craig, I might be Elizabeth Spann Craig, I might be Elizabeth S. Craig. That doesn’t help my visibility on a search engine….surely I’d bring in better results if I listed myself one way all the time.
Similarly, it’s also a problem when we’re inconsistent with series details. Looking at my KDP dashboard, I saw that one of my series was occasionally listed as The Myrtle Clover mysteries and sometimes listed as A Myrtle Clover Mystery and sometimes as A Myrtle Clover Cozy Mystery. Not good. Again, consistency is key.
After a while, I tried tracking various metadata. I’d keep a list of keywords and a list of the series names, etc.
Then I realized that it would be more useful if I could keep it all in one place in a spreadsheet. Except I’m horrible at spreadsheets.
I stumbled on Airtable about a week ago. It’s a spreadsheet maker for people who are horrible at spreadsheets. This is what I came up with. I think you can click on it and copy it yourself (try clicking ‘view larger version’ at the bottom of the image). And no doubt you could make one better, yourself! Airtable is free (at least, the version I’m using is free).
If you’d rather not mess with spreadsheets, Carla King has a downloadable metadata cheat sheet in the article I referenced above (at the bottom of the post). Or, if you’re not really sure if you need to work on your own metadata, David Wogahn recommends auditing our own search engine listings in his blog post, ” A Simple Author Metadata Audit in Less Than 30 Minutes.”
Hope this gives you some ideas for keeping track of metadata and keeping it consistent. Is recording metadata something that you do to save time or for consistency?
Tools to help writers manage metadata:
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July 16, 2016
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
The Kindle “Delivery Cost” and How it Affects Writers: http://ow.ly/q30H301U6Dg @RJCrayton
10 Tips for Beginning (and Expert) Poets: http://ow.ly/ATfX301VQN6 @hrhookwriter
“I Used to be a Writer”: http://ow.ly/7igq301VQBr @TamsenButler @WomenWriters
How To Craft a 1-Page Synopsis Using Story Beats: http://ow.ly/mONf301VPWy @SueColetta1
5 Good Ideas Science Fiction Teaches Us to Fear: http://ow.ly/FxxG301VQIx by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Your Speaking Gig Should Also Market Your Books/Business: http://ow.ly/VTMa301VQSc @Margo_L_Dill
How One Writer Overcame Fear and Got a 2nd Chance: http://ow.ly/6oDL301VRdp @thereallisakerr
Blab for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/uW67301U6gW @LornaSixsmith @IndieAuthorALLI
An Agent Offers Reasons She Rejected 25 queries: http://ow.ly/C99s301U6tA @Janet_Reid
Do You Write for Young Adults or Millenials? Try Snapchat: http://ow.ly/keYB301U6cS @CaballoFrances
Contract Terms to Watch Out For: http://ow.ly/jcCe301U6nV @111publishing
Should You Self-Publish or Traditionally Publish? http://ow.ly/RsQ6301U6OP @JaneFriedman
SEO for Bloggers: http://ow.ly/yFTV301U6a0 @randfish
Can technology help you write? 5 science-backed tips: http://ow.ly/uTb5301SykI by Chris Smith @TheWritPlatform
4 Ways to Take Criticism Like a Pro: http://ow.ly/SZjz301Sybo @bhathenatanaz @WritersDigest
When Grief Becomes Surreal: http://ow.ly/uj6R302iAqL @lithub @TobiasCarroll
Honing vs. Sharpening Knives: What’s the Difference? http://ow.ly/2GHC301Syg4 @benjaminsobieck
What Getting Published At 16 Teaches About Becoming a Writer: http://ow.ly/FWW0302iAsM @BannerCatherine @lithub
50 Creative Writing Prompts for Different Parts of Your Story: http://ow.ly/HQBv301SxVp @nownovel
Tips for making your book a page-turner: http://ow.ly/uqI1302iaru @rxena77
Too Distracted to Write? Respect Your Resistance: http://ow.ly/6gE5301SylN @RosanneBane
How Writing Habits Make Writing Easier: http://ow.ly/q7EN301SxYy @MahinWriter
Writer’s Guide to Weapons: What’s that Smell? Cordite vs. Gunpowder vs. Propellant: http://ow.ly/7KkW301SymA @benjaminsobieck
Become an Intuitive Writer: http://ow.ly/VvKZ301SxJv @JanalynVoigt
How Successful Authors Use Social Media: 23 Content Ideas: http://ow.ly/BOJ3301Syfp @DianaUrban
To The Invisible Writer: http://ow.ly/2oUf301SxSw @JanalynVoigt
Blinding a Hero: On Writing a Disability: http://ow.ly/U9ye301SyhG by Tanvir Bush @TheWritPlatform
Description Shouldn’t Be Boring: http://ow.ly/tSVp301SygV @MarcyKennedy
Write Inner Dialogue That Speaks to the Reader: http://ow.ly/k6uz301SydS @ZoeMMcCarthy
When No One Shows Up To Your Reading: Lessons Learned: http://ow.ly/mxLn301Sy5I @leewind @scbwi @TheNormanNation
5 Faulty “Not Only . . . But Also” Sentences: http://ow.ly/9qIU301RAKV @writing_tips
How Hemingway Kept His Momentum Going: http://ow.ly/QZJx301QVKv @ChadRAllen
Motifs, Symbols, and Themes: http://ow.ly/iIxl301RAv3 @PBRWriter
Making Your Scenes Work for You: Tips: http://ow.ly/VyCk301RAOa @AnthonyEhlers
The Biggest Obstacle To Your Writing: http://ow.ly/5zhQ301RAhn @jamieraintree
Author uses novel tactic to promote book: http://ow.ly/RytV301RAw0 @sandrabeckwith
The Discbound Planner for Organizing Your Writing Life: http://ow.ly/PWqm301RAud @jamieraintree
Summer Celebrations: The 6 Wildest Parties in Literary History: http://ow.ly/vssa301RAID @BookTrib
Too many ideas? An idea ranker worksheet: http://ow.ly/uDIy301RAE1 @EvaDeverell
Need Writing Ideas? Take Inventory of Your Life: http://ow.ly/eego301RANg @annkroeker
Avoid Sad Sack Protagonists: http://ow.ly/Kz64301RAPl @Diana_Hurwitz
The components of plot: http://ow.ly/EUjr301RAfV @RuthanneReid
How an idea becomes a comic: http://ow.ly/EDYl301Q4Oe @Nsousanis
What It Means To Be an Inclusive Literary Journal: http://ow.ly/rgiQ301PQzx @zinziclemmons @lithub
How to Create an Online Course: http://ow.ly/K9UV301LDYv @HelloMorganTimm
How To Use Story Archetypes To Subvert Expectations: http://ow.ly/Chmk301LByG @kayladeanwrites @DIYMFA
4 Mantras That Will Motivate You to Write: http://ow.ly/5mQS301LBgp @RiteLikeRowling
Unleashing Bravery Into Your Writing Life: http://ow.ly/Yxnx301LB0H @reallucyflint
5 Tips for Better Facebook Live Broadcasts: http://ow.ly/pUA0301LAAI by Jeff Ente @SMExaminer
How to Self-Publish a Book on Amazon: 24 Steps: http://ow.ly/P4Jn302d6ob @mfishbein
The Visual Writer: Using Images To Bring Your Writing Alive: http://ow.ly/klMD301LAoR @nhendrickson1
The Second Pinch Point in Stories: http://ow.ly/ScNt301LzTt @CSLakin
5 Ways to Combine Sentences: http://ow.ly/HQqk301LzFa @writing_tips
Character Archetypes: Minions, Medleys and Minor Characters: http://ow.ly/Y94M301LzyR @HunterEmkay
Editing vs. Proofreading: http://ow.ly/1EqZ302bCkY @Scribendi_Inc
Librarian Chelsea Couillard-Smith Creates #BlackLivesMatter Booklist for Teens: http://ow.ly/shVz302brjd @sljournal
The Key to Creating Believable Plots and Subplots: http://ow.ly/2BUy301RATy @CSLakin
5 Obstacles Every Writer Must Face and How to Overcome Them: http://ow.ly/AGYN301QVkJ @ChadRAllen
Are You Asking the Right Question About Backstory? http://ow.ly/5JJY301JjJO @p2p_editor
Voice vs. Grammar: http://ow.ly/O8ec301Jjv3 by Nils Ödlund @mythicscribes
Mapping the Novel: A Whole-brained Approach: http://ow.ly/Dpf2301FBuj @Wordstrumpet
How 1 Writer Learned To Stop Checking Her Book Sales: http://ow.ly/RKwl3027AcU
50 Favorite Fictional Women: http://ow.ly/KR2y301FB3x @mollitudo @brooklynmag
How To Kickstart Your Productivity: http://ow.ly/33X8301FAfb @DoWhatYouLoveXx
How to Make Real Money Selling Short Fiction: http://ow.ly/80Mc301SyvC @SteveCampbellFL
‘Brexit Means Brexit’? All in UK Publishing Are Not Convinced: http://ow.ly/ZrDK302a5cV @rogertagholm @pubperspectives
Thinking of joining a writing group? Ask yourself these 8 questions first: http://ow.ly/BuwJ300p6lF @LisasShare @publishingtalk
4 Tips For Creating Bad Boys & Villains Readers Will Love to Hate: http://ow.ly/J5yo301EoMR @HunterSmith01
13 Questions to Ask Before Submitting to a Literary Journal: http://ow.ly/w2gU301FtCb @erikadreifus @lithub
Tips for Naming Characters: http://ow.ly/cwYZ301Epql @Adria_in_Paris
The writer’s duty: to lift people up: on E.B. White: http://ow.ly/6Liw3027rAA @pubcoach
Writing: Ways to Cultivate Solitude: http://ow.ly/UXA7301Eote @soniaroth
Helpful Tools and Sites for Writers (worksheets, writing courses, prompts, more): http://ow.ly/VWW13027r1T
7 Great Sources of Conflict for Romances: http://ow.ly/FIUa301Eoqr by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
The Legal Side of Writing for Anthologies: http://ow.ly/hTAf301CRN2 @SusanSpann
Rags to riches stories in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/jgJt3027o9V @mkinberg
A @pubperspectives white paper on #TheMarkets2016: download your free copy: http://ow.ly/6QkU3027ore @Porter_Anderson
The Call to Action: Strategies to Make It Big: http://ow.ly/ipJU301EoXv @TheresaStevens
4 tips for setting goals: http://ow.ly/8oOK301EoEa @MichaelHyatt
Building a Book Audience With Short Stories or Excerpts: http://ow.ly/sK6J301EoKK @jennienash
What to Do When Your Novel’s Too Short: http://ow.ly/newt301EpmV @Janice_Hardy
Story Setting Tips for Writers Who Are Remote from the Location: http://ow.ly/8Ky8301Ep2j @Jenn_Mattern
Converting Backstory into Character: http://ow.ly/5FID301EoQc @TheresaStevens
Teens’ Thoughts on Writing: http://ow.ly/ourl301Epjc @ShanDitty
What’s Your Genre? A High-Level Overview for Writers: http://ow.ly/dwLi301CRbB @brooke_warner
Miss Havisham: A History: http://ow.ly/gpqP301PQec @CAAF @TheToast
Shopping an offer from an agent is a bad idea: http://ow.ly/si5D301CRJR @Janet_Reid
Tying (and Trimming) Loose Ends for a Tidy Finish: http://ow.ly/9Sj1301CRym @AlyConnerBrown
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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July 14, 2016
Writing Routines: When to Write?
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Out of all the different things I’ve done to make my writing better, practice has benefitted me most outside of pure reading.
I’ve taken classes, I’ve read craft books, I’ve read many, many posts on improving my writing in interesting and creative ways. But practicing has been the best approach for better writing.
The key is writing as often as we can. There are some days when writing is harder than others. Sometimes it’s totally me…I just don’t feel as if I can bear to look at my manuscript. I’ll still write on those days, but it will be a fraction of the amount I usually write. Sometimes it’s a sick child, travel, or other things that get in the way.
I’ve found that I do best and get more written if I write first thing in the mornings before any demands are made on my day by other people. I pour my coffee, take a quick glance (quick is vital) at my phone to make sure that no family emergencies have happened overnight (although I know I’d more likely get a phone call on my house phone if that were the case), and then I hop right into the story.
If I write at the same time, in the same place, and after the same routine (getting up, putting contacts in, going downstairs, getting my coffee), it’s almost as if I’ve got muscle memory with my writing. The writing happens automatically. I don’t mean that the text seems robotic and automatic, only that it’s produced efficiently and on demand. I don’t have to force myself to it…it’s just what I do at that point of the day.
I love mornings, I admit it. I love that smug feeling after I’ve knocked out the biggest thing that I’ve got to do that day to meet my goals. If you’re interested in becoming a morning writer, I read an interesting article recently called “Win the Morning, Win the Day,”by Bec Evans, which expresses better than I’m doing here why this is a helpful approach for so many of us. She states:
“By making your morning routine a habit you can conserve your willpower for other more important activities. President Obama famously limits his suit and tie choices so he doesn’t deplete willpower deciding what to wear.
It’s not easy to make good habits or break old ones, but it can be done. Having a set of activities you do on rising makes it more likely for a habit to become established. The best advice for setting a habit is to start small and attach it to something you do already, like making your first cup of coffee, and slowly increase the time spent. You’ll be surprised how quickly it becomes routine.”
Although I do love the mornings, I always feel sort of bad for the night writers. For one thing, I feel like they get a bit of short shrift among other writers. Writing in the morning is popular…night writing not so much. But some writers have morning obligations, odd schedules, or are just unable to write in the mornings before work. For those writers, I’ll mention another article I read recently with tips for night writing. It’s by Daphne Gray-Grant for PR Daily: “5 Helpful Tips for Writing at Night.” I think one of her best tips is where she’s essentially recommending that we be realistic with our nighttime writing.
“Make your writing time late enough that it won’t compete with social or family obligations. If your writing time is 7 p.m. you’re essentially committing to never going out to dinner with friends, never seeing a nighttime movie, never going to a concert.
Make sure your time is going to work for you at least five days per week.”
Are you more of a morning writer or an evening writer? Or are you a writer who fits writing in when you can (I’ve had years when that’s been true)?
The post Writing Routines: When to Write? appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
July 10, 2016
Helpful Tools and Sites for Writers
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
As I’m looking for helpful content for writers, I come across lots of different kinds of tools. Some of them I immediately put into use myself, or I’ll add the article on the tool to an Evernote notebook to study for later.
Sometimes I come across things that aren’t useful for me, but because writers all have different approaches, they’ll be useful for someone. And I think many of these things are worth a try if we get stuck or if we haven’t come up with our own tools yet. Here are a few.
Worksheets:
If you’re interested in trying a worksheet to help get through plotting or brainstorming, there are many different resources available online. Here are a few to get your started:
Beat sheet from Larry Brooks of Storyfix.
Eva Deverell has 52 worksheets from 2015 alone and more each Wednesday.
Annie Neugebauer has some novel plotting worksheets.
Jami Gold has a nice variety of worksheets for writers.
Martina A. Boone offers some character development worksheets.
Or, if you’re in the goal-setting mindset, DIY MFA has goal-setting worksheets.
Writing Courses:
Once every couple of months I get emails from writers asking where they might find online writing courses. I frequently will direct them to the RWA, Romance Writers of America–whether they write romance or not. Their courses range from the business of writing to social media and website creation, to the writing craft. Class fees are generally inexpensive and only slightly higher for non-members. Here are a few sites to get you started, but you can Google ‘online workshops’ and ‘RWA,’ you’ll get plenty of results: RWA (scroll down), Colorado Romance Writers, Outreach International RWA, Lowcountry Romance Writers of America.
The IWSG has a great listing of courses (some free, others not) on their site (scroll to the bottom of the page).
Prompts as Warm-ups:
50 creative writing prompts on a variety of different areas from Bridget McNulty at Now Novel.
Prompts for Writers from Anjie Kokan
Michael Gonchar from the New York Times with 500 prompts for narrative and personal writing
Social Media:
Have trouble connecting with readers (or figuring out what to say when you do?) Angelina M. Lopez on Writers of the Storm explains how to maintain a social media calendar.
For Writers Who Need an Alternative to Excel:
If you’re not great with spreadsheets but you’re finding uses for them, try the free version of Airtable. They have spreadsheets for people who don’t like spreadsheets.
Industry News for Writers:
The Hot Sheet: industry newsletter for authors (30 day free trial): from @Porter_Anderson & @JaneFriedman: http://ow.ly/DIld301hoVW
Need Help On a Specific Subject?
The free search engine for writers from me and Mike Fleming: Writerskb.com
That’s all I’ve got right now…how about you? Come across any great tools or info for writers?
Need writing prompts, or free writing courses or worksheets? Links to resources:
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July 9, 2016
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
It’s good to be back! Hope everyone had a good couple of weeks. Here’s an extended Twitterific. :)
12 Things Noticed While Reading Every Short Story Published in 2014-–15: http://ow.ly/l5PH301wphW @lucekel @ElectricLit
The curse of 1st person narration: http://ow.ly/EDia301wrbB @NovelEditor
Is KDP Select Right for You? http://ow.ly/jGcs301AYBk @MarcyKennedy
Man Booker Prize Trends: Male and Middle-Aged in 3rd Person: http://ow.ly/VDuy3022Yrx @DennisAbrams2 @pubperspectives
5 Overlooked Pixar Storytelling Tips: http://ow.ly/ZVK9301AYFZ @RobinRWrites
The PLAN method of plotting and the movie Jaws: http://ow.ly/rdPS301AYKh @AlexSokoloff
10 Writing Pitfalls: http://ow.ly/zCLf301AZ3j @MartinaABoone
When Less Is More on Social Media: http://ow.ly/mLcJ301AZ8f @cksyme @JaneFriedman
What’s the Best POD Service for Self-published Paperbacks? http://ow.ly/agVQ301AZjU @jayartale @IndieAuthorALLI
Artists: how to graciously say no to anyone and free up creative time: http://ow.ly/yAyg301B0hb @austinkleon
The Female Bachelor in Literature: http://ow.ly/hXH6301Badb @thepointmag @IvanKreilkamp
How to Manipulate Scrivener Labels: http://ow.ly/rISz301CQhN @Ava_Jae
I Want to Be a Novelist. Where Do I Start? http://ow.ly/A9Vz301CQlj @DanielleLHanna @IndiePlotTwist
Promote Your Book With One Easy Photoshop Technique: http://ow.ly/O4uK301CQso @aliciarades
The Top 10 Books for Hamilnerds: http://ow.ly/vYFT301CQuF @donalybooks @thereadingzone
Grab Readers With a Multi-Faceted Characteristic Moment: http://ow.ly/fFKe301CRh2 @KMWeiland
An agent on interacting with agents on Twitter: http://ow.ly/Io31301CQLa @Janet_Reid
Book Distribution on Demand: Ingram’s Kelly Gallagher: http://ow.ly/IR9t3022YIe @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Character Thoughts: Direct and Indirect Interior Monologues: http://ow.ly/OLFi301CRob @FictionNotes
Writing Phone Conversations to Forward Your Plot: http://ow.ly/YeII301CRrD by Deena Nataf @BookBaby
Why Is “Unlikable” Often a Deal-Breaker for Readers? http://ow.ly/V7R2301CRnG @JamiGold
3 ways weather can help your story: http://ow.ly/KZ4j301CRHs by Ellen Mulholland
Tying (and Trimming) Loose Ends for a Tidy Finish: http://ow.ly/9Sj1301CRym @AlyConnerBrown
How to Start Writing a Novel if Stuck: 8 Steps: http://ow.ly/V14z301tzIy @nownovel
Blogging Got You Down? Follow These 6 Steps: http://ow.ly/qDbk3022XQr @CaballoFrances
Psychic Ability Featured in Crime Fiction: http://ow.ly/fZur301SyDA @mkinberg
‘Rising sophistication’ among indies results in ‘power authors’ with different needs: http://ow.ly/PRNu3022Y9T @Porter_Anderson @OrnaRoss
8 Ebook Discovery Services Compared: http://ow.ly/7IP73022XNI @JohnDoppler @IndieAuthorALLI
5 Important Works of Eco-Fiction: http://ow.ly/yQmk301wjxJ @MidgeRaymond @lithub
Where Science Fiction Meets Punk Rock: http://ow.ly/5uYY301wqo2 @MikeBrooks668 @tordotcom
4 Things The Office Teaches Us About Writing: http://ow.ly/2zj4301woeW @crisfreese @WritersDigest
The Pomodoro Technique: Timers to Improve Productivity and Write More: http://ow.ly/W8DK301wqy2 @WilsonTheWriter
Fiction and Non-Fiction Blend Picture Books: http://ow.ly/Xkss301wrid @Kid_Lit
On the Invisibility of Middle-Aged Women: http://ow.ly/7C5I301wjiw @DortheNors @lithub
Words to describe someone’s voice: http://ow.ly/9Yb9301wqZm from Nimble’s Notebook
10 Cheats to Tell Well: http://ow.ly/ivUW301tzLk @SeptCFawkes
What to Expect When Hiring a Ghostwriter: http://ow.ly/k6DF301tAag @StacyEnnis @JaneFriedman
Evernote For Authors (Video): http://ow.ly/7Gf7301QDd0 @spajonas
3 Tips to Avoid Mistakes with Writing Contests: http://ow.ly/Zv0S301tzRt @janetlaneauthor @RMFWriters
Looking Ahead to the UAE’s Free Trade Zone for Publishing: Bodour: http://ow.ly/o0Rl301YEUy @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
7 Helpful Resources for New Freelance Writers: http://ow.ly/WYHV301tzNU @decorcione
3 Cases of Superfluous Hyphenation: http://ow.ly/77zw301tzGO @writing_tips
3 Tips for Collecting a Wealth of Humorous Material: http://ow.ly/kZYp301tAVX @JeanWilund
Developing Themes In Your Stories: The Inciting Incident: http://ow.ly/LGzb301tAnr @SaraL_Writer @DIYMFA
5 Reasons You Should Still Pursue a Traditional Book Contract: http://ow.ly/iuzt301tA0Y @tinaannforkner @WomenWriters
A Pre-Writing Checklist: http://ow.ly/pwR0301tzEI @HeatherJacksonW
Celebrate your Success: http://ow.ly/rUbZ301tzW7 @kcraftwriter
5 Reasons We Need More New Age Fiction: http://ow.ly/INNq301tAg7 @abbeycamp @WritersDigest
10 Things That Improved 2 Authors’ Writing: http://ow.ly/QbXN301tAxE @SGarberGirl @staceyleeauthor
Tech Tips for Writers: How to Embed Google Docs: http://ow.ly/Fkie301tzYw @WordDreams
The Art of the Short Story: http://ow.ly/vVI6301YFL9 @helencphillips @matthewvollmer @lithub
Be a disciplined artist in 7 steps: http://ow.ly/9EQc301pSeu @gigirosenberg
9 Greek Sayings For The Writer: http://ow.ly/dA4k301pS9D @LZMarieAuthor
How To Improve Your Creativity: http://ow.ly/xuVc301pRSR @GarryRodgers1
3 Movies Ruined By Their Endings: http://ow.ly/ojWG301pRM2 @DBlakeAuthor
8 Book Marketing Shots in the Dark: http://ow.ly/okXm301YyFO @DebbieYoungBN @IndieAuthorALLI
Reading habits and the Classics with Bestselling Author @KMWeiland : http://ow.ly/13bP301ZyHh @thewritingtrain
Tune in to the @ReedsyHQ live chat on FB each Wednesday at 3p ET (now). Today’s topic: worldbuidling: http://ow.ly/yNbH301wguu
Why Your Ebook Should Not Look Like a Print Book: http://ow.ly/I8IV301pQKu @JWManus
Why Is Dystopian Fiction Evergreen? http://ow.ly/4zqg301YF2h @MarkPiesing @pubperspectives
Character Archetypes: M for Minions, Medleys and Minor Characters: http://ow.ly/V0SN301pQfD @HunterEmkay
Finding Your Audience: Pre-Launch Steps: http://ow.ly/qtZ5301pQ9d @AngelaQuarles
How To Keep Writing: 5 Tricks To Sneak Past Perfectionism: http://ow.ly/voif301pQ1t by Michelle Russell
5 Ways to Twist the Chosen One Cliche: http://ow.ly/XFKi301pPTs @Write4theKing
Character Archetypes: L for Lover: http://ow.ly/TpEW301pPP8 @HunterEmkay
How to Write a Multi-Dimensional Lead Character: http://ow.ly/R8mU301pRxK @IndiePlotTwist @CarrieLynnLewis
Butt in Chair without an Aching Back: http://ow.ly/oViC301pRmP @KnowlesMarianne @WritersRumpus
5 Books With Families We’’d Like to Live Alongside as Neighbors: http://ow.ly/UZIe301phB0 @stephenhsegal @Valya
Using Backstory Effectively: http://ow.ly/Ni6X301WVDa @p2p_editor
The Business of Screenwriting: Who does what in a writer-representative relationship? http://ow.ly/j4HD301phrl @GoIntoTheStory
10 Tips for Throwing a Successful Book Launch Party: http://ow.ly/OZSM301phu8 @EricaVerrillo
How To Get Your Writing Done: 2 Methods: http://ow.ly/TXc1301phyj @Wordstrumpet
George RR Martin: Game of Thrones characters die because ‘it has to be done’: http://ow.ly/zKAX301phFQ @alisonflood @GeorgeRRMartin
The 10 opposing traits of highly creative people: http://ow.ly/dekJ301phNi @word_smiths
10 Reliable Ways To Get More Out Of Facebook: http://ow.ly/uHYn301phYM @standoutbooks
Why Authors Need An Account on Every Social Media Channel: http://ow.ly/5uY2301phKi @cksyme
3 Reasons All Writers Should Write Flash Fiction: http://ow.ly/xcD3301phZL @Magic_Violinist
Book Marketing: Tactics and Trials: http://ow.ly/PmQG301phto @EmilyWenstrom
Writers: win the morning, win the day: http://ow.ly/DvxX301phMj @Eva_Bec
Plot Twists: http://ow.ly/EfMo301phss @donnalhsmith
Tips for Writing A Character With Depression: http://ow.ly/Bq6n301yIur @misfitalexa
How to Connect Your WordPress Blog to Medium: http://ow.ly/IDTs301yIb4 @teefeena @SMExaminer
8 Common Creative Writing Mistakes: http://ow.ly/7ybt301yBbm @WritingForward
A Better Way to Think About Show, Don’t Tell: http://ow.ly/hwcY301yB3p @RuthanneReid
30 Practical Ways To Beat Writer’s Block: http://ow.ly/IYcH301yAXa @Writers_Write
Why Depression Is Bad For Writers and Tips for Avoiding it: http://ow.ly/OYgj301yAzv @colleen_m_story
Write a Sequel That Doesn’t Disappoint: http://ow.ly/1kkl301yAhv @ink_and_quills
Crowdfunding a novel: Unbound: http://ow.ly/3wOr301U6S0 @Roz_Morris @salenagodden @bobbyllew @whengoddcries
Why Your Hero Should Eavesdrop and Make a Bad Assumption (in 4 steps) : http://ow.ly/K6Di301yA7w @BetterNovelProj
5 Times Katniss Nailed Deep PoV: http://ow.ly/hzOL301yA1p @MarcyKennedy @BetterNovelProj
Modern China is So Crazy It Needs a New Literary Genre: http://ow.ly/7aY7301yzEE by Ning Ken @lithub
A Writing Tool to Help Collect Jumbles of Ideas: http://ow.ly/URnr301TZaO @oliebol
The Rise of the Video Game Memoir: http://ow.ly/NIz5301yyCg @TobiasCarroll @SignatureReads
Why Does Anyone Write? http://ow.ly/mUNH301PNLQ @Alice_Adams @lithub
Lone Wolves and Authors on a Budget: http://ow.ly/9IKk301nRF4 @PiperBayard
15 Ways To Defeat Writer’s Block, As Told By Published Authors: http://ow.ly/u0O9301nRB3 @FarrahPenn
Writing the First Chapter: Tips and Fixes: http://ow.ly/ldq7301Sz6R @RuthHarrisBooks
Be Brave & Write Inclusively: A Resource List: http://ow.ly/p5VE301POmr @QuillShift
How to Finish Your Book in 3 Drafts: http://ow.ly/33cP301nRpu @Book_Arch
Helpful editing tools: http://ow.ly/6Waq301nRk7 @nancylin90
Middle Eastern Writers Find Refuge in the Dystopian Novel: http://ow.ly/acot301nRfU @xanalter @nytimesbooks
How Writers Can Develop Emotional Connections between Reader and Hero: http://ow.ly/RELe301nRae @CSLakin
Writing Cinematically: http://ow.ly/CKKQ301nR0g @AuthorDebRaney
Two Different Approaches to Successful Pre-Orders: http://ow.ly/HN02301SxHN @SteveCampbellFL
8 steps to finding a writing routine that works for you: http://ow.ly/Hx1E301dhek @word_smiths @Write_Track
Mingling at the Twitter Cocktail: 5 Tips: http://ow.ly/HIEp301POB0 @joshfunkbooks
The 7 Stages of Love, According to French Poetry: http://ow.ly/jHxq301PNBx @lithub
Writing Tips: Eliminate Redundancies: http://ow.ly/9Uky301nRsr @WritingForward
7 Seeds You Need To Plant For Future Writing Success: http://ow.ly/EOoN301PNmd @colleen_m_story
Copyright and the Industry’s Authors: Canada’s Book Summit: http://ow.ly/ij0N301PN8I @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Self-publishing to-do list: http://ow.ly/TRSE301PNdG @kseniaanske
3 Tips For Steady Platform Growth: http://ow.ly/WAiY301jOjc @susanrstilwell
Key Statistics on the 2015 German Book Market: http://ow.ly/mWtP301PN2N by Ingrid Süßmann @pubperspectives
Know What Keeps You Sane: http://ow.ly/beb3301jOBn @wendypmiller
Famous Novels Retitled Like Episodes of “Friends”: http://ow.ly/quNg301mPcz by Jason Adam Katzenstein @NewYorker
7 Point Story Structure: Case Study of A Game of Thrones: http://ow.ly/a744301mPYF @kylieday0
What to Do When Your Book Launch Fails: http://ow.ly/Lvfp301mPNW @GoinsWriter @timgrahl
This Is Why You Hated the Ending to That Book: http://ow.ly/z613301mQhl @MegDowell
How To Write A Pet The Puppy Scene For Dark Characters: http://ow.ly/mfdr301mPU1 @DBlakeAuthor
American Noir and the Outlaw Lit of James Sallis: http://ow.ly/FQPz301mPCe @RealLiveCritic @lithub
Finding a building an audience for your blog: 5 tips: http://ow.ly/N21a301mQ6T @debluskin
Dickinson’s poetic innovations depended on her gardening skills: http://ow.ly/LotR301mQnT @ferrisjabr @Slate
5 Books Written by Authors in the Grip of Mental Illness: http://ow.ly/8mKs301hnkI @jeffreysomers
Story Twinkies: Do You Need One? http://ow.ly/PlRh301hirP @RobinRWrites
An Agent on 4 Emotional Obstacles That Trip Writers Up (and How to Work Through Them): http://ow.ly/rw91301QMLv @maria_ribas @ChadRAllen
Your Writing Voice and Putting You on the Page: http://ow.ly/Nhw6301hiE9 @rachaeldthomas
3 Kinds Of Isolation For Your Story: http://ow.ly/VYpd301hi6p @DBlakeAuthor
Creativity, Art And Business With @lisacongdon http://ow.ly/qr5y301hiUP @thecreativepenn
Paris Bookstore Offers Print-on-Demand: http://ow.ly/e4EJ301Fxfq @pressfuturist @pubperspectives
How To Master Structure: http://ow.ly/g54z301hneY by Daniel Murphy @WritersEdit
Imposter syndrome in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/DZso301Fwjg @mkinberg
Grit: perseverance makes you a better writer (and how to develop it): http://ow.ly/MDz9301dh3w @Eva_Bec @Write_Track
Self-Publishing and the ‘Curatorial Mark’ of Trad Pub: http://ow.ly/EcXu301PMdD @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
How to Start Your Book In the Right Place: http://ow.ly/BAEC301hhKN @jennienash
The Horror of the Subtle Psychopath (with Examples from ‘Creep’: http://ow.ly/vYov301jNws @brendanmorrow @BDisgusting
The Rule of 3 (And How it Helps Our Writing): http://ow.ly/8rZ1301jNPp @Janice_Hardy
Writing a Memoir: 6 Tough-Love Lessons: http://ow.ly/Dx9y301jNJx @MerylWilliams
5 Unique Ways to Market Your 1st Book: http://ow.ly/rrE4301ffur @MissOhEmGee @WomenWriters
“Does this appeal..? I can have 1429 pages on your desk by noon”: The Elevator Pitch: http://ow.ly/Kl3i301O5sM @nplusonemag by Cora Frazier
How to Start Using Hashtags Effectively: http://ow.ly/3HGr301feWs @BadRedheadMedia
7 Ways to Make Your Historical Novel Come Alive: http://ow.ly/9vHL301feOo by Alison Love @WritersDigest
How Objects Tell Your Story: http://ow.ly/hfS1301feC8 @MindyHalleck
Is ‘Confessional Poetry’ still a relevant term? http://ow.ly/EHaM301fe78 @desi_writers @MominaMela
Writer, Mother, Both, Neither: http://ow.ly/9mTt301fdeu @thelithub @BelleBoggs
How to cheat your creative distractions: http://ow.ly/qMRh301dgXm @Write_Track
On Max Perkins, One of America’s Greatest Editors: http://ow.ly/e4Sz301ceqF @A_ScottBerg
Meditation for Writers: http://ow.ly/zirw301ff7G @MarySharratt @WriterUnboxed
The life and death (ok, just death) of poets: http://ow.ly/Bsbj301Mrms @My_poetic_side
Kindness that adds a bit of relief in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/xtAL301FvKV @mkinberg
3 Ways to Be More Productive When You Sit Down to Write: http://ow.ly/IfpV301ccAK @AGEditorial
Emotional Wounds Thesaurus Entry: Being Stalked: http://ow.ly/9BHF301cc1R @beccapuglisi
Crime Writing: When Your Research Starts to Terrify You: http://ow.ly/Z9X2301cdoq @flynnberry_ @thelithub
From ‘Older’ Publishing to New: Industry Veterans Go Indie http://ow.ly/Zr4V301FwOm @Porter_Anderson @thischairrocks @synch101
People with disabilities are not plot devices: http://ow.ly/3rp6301cbSM @stevenspohn @ChuckWendig
3 Tips to Help Increase Writing Output: http://ow.ly/YP04301ccx1 @JodyHedlund
6 Ways to Make Time to Write: A Guide for Busy Parents: http://ow.ly/Csb8301cc56 @aliventures
Writing with RSI: Tips to treat and avoid RSI: http://ow.ly/kJoa301ccsS @TheOnlyJohnnyA @IndieAuthorALLI
How to Write Dialogue Without Using Adverbs: http://ow.ly/p11U301ccLX @Jffelkins
Word count spreadsheets: http://ow.ly/FcR8301cc7s @jhdierking
5 Essential Questions for Every Writer: http://ow.ly/kfO8301cbZj @joebunting
Lessons in Viral Marketing from One of the Nation’s Top Supermarkets http://ow.ly/ucpl301cbvX @JuliaReffner
How to Customize Your Email Newsletter Sign-Up Forms to Increase Reader Engagement: http://ow.ly/ytSf301cbPv @kikimojo
The Best Categories For Your Book Sales on Amazon: http://ow.ly/P3u7301aRsQ @BookBaby @shelleyhitz
What Information Theory Teaches Writers: http://ow.ly/9WsK301JjdO @p2p_editor
When You Write a Memoir, Readers Think They Know You Better Than They Do: http://ow.ly/c86j301ILLZ @danijshapiro @nytimesbooks
3 Examples of How Semicolons Strengthen a Sentence: http://ow.ly/uMvd301aRyj @writing_tips
Grabbing writing time where you can: http://ow.ly/zBbt301aS9l @EdieMelson
What Kind of Writer Are You: Cook or Baker? http://ow.ly/bHbe301IIgB @annanorthtweets @lithub
Developing a Supernatural Edge: Foreshadowing: http://ow.ly/p4y7301aRKw @RMNSediting
George Orwell’s Personal Guide on the Motivation to Write: http://ow.ly/2o8x301aRYr @katekrake
How to Write Horror: Innovative Ideas: http://ow.ly/u0s0301aRVc @katekrake
Book Promotion: Do This, Not That: http://ow.ly/sVEW301aSbO @NewShelvesBooks
How to Become a Novelist: 10 Top Authors’ Tips: http://ow.ly/Uh8F301aRZX @nownovel
How to Choose a Domain Name for Your Author Website: http://ow.ly/nHDV301aRrw @JFbookman
Adding Layers to Our Books: http://ow.ly/LGKb301b2Eu @RMNSediting
How To Find “The End”: http://ow.ly/Iqgd301aSdR @HazelGaynor @WomenWriters
How to Write Through Distractions: http://ow.ly/NKqx301aRwp @_SmartEDits
How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome as a Writer: http://ow.ly/Klps301aTgh @mdilloway @WriterUnboxed
Do Hedging Words Sabotage Your Writing? http://ow.ly/5jnX301aTc1 @CSLakin
How to Create a Successful Protagonist: http://ow.ly/3bij301aTkR @josephrbates
High maintenance characters in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/Xvdz301FveQ @mkinberg
Avoiding contrivances in our stories: http://ow.ly/1hjv301aT5j by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
Tips for Writers on Using Instagram: http://ow.ly/j4Wc301aSNR @JennBardsley
Tackling Speech Tags: http://ow.ly/23dB301aSD9 @RMNSediting
How to write foot-tapping copy: http://ow.ly/zoAQ301a4jN @wearearticulate by Sarah Cready
4 tips for success with our writing: http://ow.ly/VUre301FuNY @author_sullivan @TheIWSG
Great Dialogue Makes the Best Stories: http://ow.ly/8sMi3019XkA @AmySueNathan
Free Writing: How to get out of your head and into your character: http://ow.ly/fSH03019XgS @louisehawes
Why Superheroes Are Bigger Than Their Stories: http://ow.ly/OeEX301FsNb @bobproehl @lithub
Did an illicit affair give birth to Moby Dick? http://ow.ly/9uCC301Ftgb by William Giraldi @NewRepublic
International Publishing and the UK’s Vote for ‘Brexit’: http://ow.ly/TtUS301Fwze @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Tending Garden: Writing and Editing Advice for Debut Novelists: http://ow.ly/q4D030103Mv @SignatureReads @ElizJChurch
How To Write About Your Life Without Boring Your Readers: http://ow.ly/rauV301a4sw @LifeDoneWrite
How to Develop Your Best Novel Writing Ideas: http://ow.ly/Cudr3019XcL @WritingForward
ISBNS – the Complete Lowdown for Indie Authors: http://ow.ly/zPE8301DrvN @murdertakestime @IndieAuthorALLI
Social Media Scams: 8 More Scams Writers Should Know About: http://ow.ly/sFpg301CRWx @annerallen
Keeping Your Story Real Even When You’re Lying: http://ow.ly/jYrg3019WTx by PJ Parrish
5 (Dirty Little) Truths about Proofreading: http://ow.ly/MFgv3018OEn @manzanitafire @LitReactor
How to Start Your Book or Movie with a Bang: http://ow.ly/mb3D3018NYo @patverducci
Poetry as Substitute for Medication: http://ow.ly/xTgK30104oJ @rosmance @SignatureReads
Corralling Your Writing Ideas: http://ow.ly/Vwyr3019WN7 @Wordstrumpet
10 Tips For Creating Fantastic Book Cover Designs: http://ow.ly/Ah923019WJv @joshuajdesign
Are Libraries the New Bookstores? http://ow.ly/i8zp3019WRP @marthamconway @WriterUnboxed
How do you know if you’re a good writer? An agent responds: http://ow.ly/5oVn3019WOa @Janet_Reid
8 Keys to Constructing a Great Plot for Your Novel: http://ow.ly/ekAp3019WDM @lornafaith
12 tips for good description: http://ow.ly/nkpq3019WW4 by Abby Geni @glimmertrain
8 Ways to Use Goodreads to Promote Your Book: http://ow.ly/306l3019WBD @EricaVerrillo
4 Tips for Avoiding Sentence-Level Clichés: http://ow.ly/ZXNa3019WCG @ceciliaedits
How To Express Your Characters’ Thoughts: With Exercises: http://ow.ly/LtqY3018NGO @standoutbooks
“The Most Valuable Thing I Learned at Pixar: How to Fail”: http://ow.ly/gr123018NUW @GoIntoTheStory”
Creative people have psychopathic personality traits: http://ow.ly/aqxN3015mj8 @chelsebaum @ElectricLit
The Pen Name Pickle: @JayneAnnKrentz on the Pseudonymous Life: http://ow.ly/ZgrT30103xw @SignatureReads
More Than Mere Dialogue: http://ow.ly/NmGP3018O9Y from Advanced Fiction Writing
70 Idioms with Heart: http://ow.ly/avD13018NAW @writing_tips
A Guide to Characterization http://ow.ly/sjC13018NsD @stupidpenney
Why Are So Many Poets Also Artists? http://ow.ly/FrpB3018Ovx by Maggie Millner @thelithub
The Portrait Of The Antagonist As A Human Being: http://ow.ly/99N13018NDv @MiaJouBotha
What Are The Rules On Mixing Viewpoints When Writing Fiction? http://ow.ly/ssLD3018O5S From Advanced Fiction Writing
The curse of 1st person narration: http://ow.ly/r7uE3018OKO @NovelEditor
Ernest Hemingway: Middlebrow Revolutionary: http://ow.ly/ChTn3018OhC by Michael Bourne @The_Millions
5 Places To Find Inspiration For More Interesting Characters: http://ow.ly/gRyU3015lrj @misfitalexa
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
June 25, 2016
Twitterific Writing Links
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.
Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.
I’m going to take a short summer blog break and will go dark until July 10th, when I’ll return with an extended Twitterific. :) Early wishes for a Happy Independence Day for my blog readers in the States.
Alternate Endings to Great Expectations: http://ow.ly/mZCE301B7nv @TheToast @mallelis
Plot vs Character: What Drives a Great Novel? http://ow.ly/HyU23015k9u @nownovel
Is a Quick Release Schedule Right for Your Books? http://ow.ly/QR1Z3015k6u @ksumnersmith
Take Your Reader to Another World: http://ow.ly/JpLZ3015keB @KeithCronin @WriterUnboxed
5 Places To Find Inspiration For More Interesting Characters: http://ow.ly/gRyU3015lrj @misfitalexa
The Pen Name Pickle: @JayneAnnKrentz on the Pseudonymous Life: http://ow.ly/ZgrT30103xw @SignatureReads
Creative people have psychopathic personality traits: http://ow.ly/aqxN3015mj8 @chelsebaum @ElectricLit
Ernest Hemingway: Middlebrow Revolutionary: http://ow.ly/ChTn3018OhC by Michael Bourne @The_Millions
“The Most Valuable Thing I Learned at Pixar: How to Fail””: http://ow.ly/gr123018NUW @GoIntoTheStory”
The curse of 1st person narration: http://ow.ly/r7uE3018OKO @NovelEditor
What Are The Rules On Mixing Viewpoints When Writing Fiction? http://ow.ly/ssLD3018O5S From Advanced Fiction Writing
How To Express Your Characters’ Thoughts: With Exercises: http://ow.ly/LtqY3018NGO @standoutbooks
The Portrait Of The Antagonist As A Human Being: http://ow.ly/99N13018NDv @MiaJouBotha
Why Are So Many Poets Also Artists? http://ow.ly/FrpB3018Ovx by Maggie Millner @thelithub
A Guide to Characterization http://ow.ly/sjC13018NsD @stupidpenney
70 Idioms with Heart: http://ow.ly/avD13018NAW @writing_tips
More Than Mere Dialogue: http://ow.ly/NmGP3018O9Y from Advanced Fiction Writing
Poetry as Substitute for Medication: http://ow.ly/xTgK30104oJ @rosmance @SignatureReads
How to Start Your Book or Movie with a Bang: http://ow.ly/mb3D3018NYo @patverducci
5 (Dirty Little) Truths about Proofreading: http://ow.ly/MFgv3018OEn @manzanitafire @LitReactor
4 Tips for Avoiding Sentence-Level Clichés: http://ow.ly/ZXNa3019WCG @ceciliaedits
Keeping Your Story Real Even When You’re Lying: http://ow.ly/jYrg3019WTx by PJ Parrish
Do Writers Need To Be Alone to Thrive? http://ow.ly/b39K301B1lc @lithub @angelaflournoy @KatherineTowler
Checklist for redesigning your book cover: http://ow.ly/lcya301AYv0 @Roz_Morris
Images in Posts and an Amazon Anomaly: http://ow.ly/lllA301BflD
How A Book Foreword Can Help An Author’s Career: http://ow.ly/fz9l301z5yf @jckunzjr
Ciphers and coding in crime fiction: http://ow.ly/B7aG301AXbP @mkinberg
How to Get Reviews: Without Cheating: http://ow.ly/7LUD300XoIl @hopeclark
10 Tips For Memoir: http://ow.ly/1rJ23015lBj @MargotStarbuck
What 1 Writer’s Parents Really Think About Her Memoir of Alcoholism: http://ow.ly/qyOJ3015l0h @sarahhepola @thelithub
7 Seeds You Need To Plant For Future Writing Success: http://ow.ly/T2UL3015kAD @colleen_m_story
The Myth About Print Coming Back and Bookstores on the Rise: http://ow.ly/IFps3015lfS @JaneFriedman
Studying Screenwriting: Classic 30s Movie: “It Happened One Night”: http://ow.ly/6zYc3015klS @GoIntoTheStory
How to Get the Most From Your Professional Book Edit: http://ow.ly/hSZS3015lTn @BubbleCow
Happily Ever After: Anatomy of a Romance Novel in 9 Parts: http://ow.ly/S5UQ30103iM @SignatureReads by Catherine M. Roach
5 Reasons Why Moby-Dick Just Won’t Die: http://ow.ly/Ktu6301yyvV @MZBeauregard @lithub
3 Tips To Writing A Great Acknowledgements Page: http://ow.ly/fENp301z54w @jckunzjr
Why Indie Presses Are Opening Bookstores: http://ow.ly/DyUj301tRhm @JonSealy @lithub
Writers’ Wedding Tips: 6 Adaptations to Guide You: http://ow.ly/gXrC301039A @Keith_Rice1 @SignatureReads
Is crowdfunding right for you? A roundup with everything you need to know: http://ow.ly/aipW301ypEW @PAShortt
Can My Indie Book Be Discovered? http://ow.ly/UMQX300XoF9 @hopeclark
A Familiar Newcomer to Czech Books: Empresa Media: http://ow.ly/6dfj301wuF8 @jaroslawadamows @pubperspectives
Troubled Waters: Causeways of Shingle, Sand and Ice in Horror Fiction: http://ow.ly/cny33012CEi @ThisIsHorror by V.H. Leslie
The Building Blocks of Great YA Fiction: http://ow.ly/SFc33012BZs @SophieMasson 1 @WriterUnboxed
How to Start a Story in First Person: 8 Tips: http://ow.ly/MQJN3012Cfn @nownovel
4 Ways to Spark Your Writing Ambition If You’ve Been Feeling a Bit Meh: http://ow.ly/7tXg3012Cps @reallucyflint
How to Survive the Edit Letter: http://ow.ly/Gxmg3012Cna @Ava_Jae
The Inciting Event: http://ow.ly/xi3Y3012CuA @HunterFaith @magicalwords
Character Type: Addict: http://ow.ly/lbhS3012C84 @GoIntoTheStory
Giving it Away: How the Gift Economy is a Great Model for Professional Writers: http://ow.ly/KlRq3012DKJ by Jasper Bark @ThisIsHorror
‘Wayward Pines’: Developing Elements of Suspense in Fiction http://ow.ly/ZftP3012Cc3 @crisfreese @WritersDigest
Dangling Modifiers: http://ow.ly/pjaM3012CjR @HopeTDougherty
How to Become a Ghostwriter: http://ow.ly/aIvD30102MX @Roz_Morris @JaneFriedman
Show, Don’t Tell: Micro vs Macro: http://ow.ly/8xIt30102JC @AnnetteLyon
How Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein’s Monster Became Human: http://ow.ly/mSUy301tQZZ by Francine Prose @NewRepublic
Tune in to the @ReedsyHQ live chat on Facebook each Wednesday at 3p ET (now). http://bit.ly/28TpYzb . Today’s topic: Covers
How to Figure Out Who Raised Your Hero (and Why You Need to Know): http://ow.ly/Fxoh30101Xl @RuthanneReid
Railing against the grammar police on exclamation points: http://ow.ly/QExj30101NC @annerooney
The Visual Writer’s Guide to Pacing & Tension: http://ow.ly/aXNS30101Ui @sacha_black
Publishing & Politics: ‘ ‘Trumpian Dystopia’: http://ow.ly/O5tz301wuXQ @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Nordic Noir is a Reflection of Modern Europe: http://ow.ly/Uh4o301wk3H @emelieschepp @JoakimZander @ElectricLit
The Dystopian Future in Which Everyone is the Boss: http://ow.ly/miDk301wjHd by J.C. Pan @lithub
Market to Your Preferred Readership: http://ow.ly/ts2u300XoCx @hopeclark
Australia’s Debate on Book Imports, Copyright and Fair Use: http://ow.ly/A5CO301qV3v @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Garth Williams, Illustrator of American Childhood: http://ow.ly/5LeQ30101gw @asarahlarson @NewYorker
Lose the Guilt: You Don’t Have to Write Every Day: http://ow.ly/hkec30102aa @RuthanneReid
3 Best Practices in Life and Writing: http://ow.ly/aMpO30101C5 @lisajlickel
Beats, Revisited: The Shifting Legacy of a Literary Generation http://ow.ly/XYrN301018J TobiasCarroll @SignatureReads
6 Self-published Novels That Made the Big Screen: http://ow.ly/lnvF30101m2 @rosmance @SignatureReads
A profile of the world’s least effusive travel writer (Geoff Dyer): http://ow.ly/izeB30100zo @ArrowsmithUSA
Our Adored Cadavers: Dead Women in Lit: http://ow.ly/OTUZ301tP0u @CadaverFormosus @Hazlitt
Swiss Academic Publisher @KellyShergill Steps Onto World Stage: http://ow.ly/DX6O301qUzN @Porter_Anderson
Dead Dogs Are More Than Metaphors: http://ow.ly/GGDj301tOt4 @lithub @thelampton
Why women are writing the best crime novels: http://ow.ly/W7ty301tQEQ by Terrence Rafferty @TheAtlantic
Pulp Friction: if Barnes and Noble goes out of business: http://ow.ly/9Db8301tPVR @PassiveVoiceBlg @NewRepublic
Stepping off the Hamster Wheel: http://ow.ly/mBoZ300WqTR @Jeannie_Moon
Bates Motel: Building Suspense When You Already Know The Ending: http://ow.ly/Ob2T300WqWb @DBlakeAuthor
4 Tips for Depicting Characters With Disabilities: http://ow.ly/ejuu300WrdO @mythcreants by Chris Winkle
Where To Start: Beginnings: http://ow.ly/UGYq300Wr3y @JillWilliamson
A Pre-Writing Checklist: http://ow.ly/oGsH300Wras @HeatherJacksonW
Using Minor Characters to Explore Theme: http://ow.ly/GbKY300WqRe @dougeboch
Genuine fears for your characters: http://ow.ly/fMZt300Wrfz @ShanDitty
Plumb the Emotional Depth of Your Setting: http://ow.ly/2wZ1300Wr8J @kcraftwriter
7 Tips for Paranormal Writers: http://ow.ly/X3YV300WrcG @worddreams
Pursuit plots: http://ow.ly/YYRs300Wrby @HeatherJacksonW
How to Break Up Your Novel into Definable Sections: http://ow.ly/11wU300WqUz @CSLakin
Horror Hiding In Other Genres: Why You Shouldn’t Write ‘Horror’: http://ow.ly/pohX300WqYi @DBlakeAuthor
Show Don’t Tell: http://ow.ly/det0300UImA @sjaejones
News coverage: consumers say reading text is quicker than video: http://ow.ly/W5xS301qTft @Porter_Anderson @risj_oxford @pubperspectives
Insular settings in crime fiction novels: http://ow.ly/eUaD301qMax @mkinberg
Why Free is Still a Smart Marketing Strategy: http://ow.ly/lZda301rx8e @storyrally
Research Your Way to a More Believable Book: http://ow.ly/o8cb301qLzQ @Robin_Gianna @jemifraser
World-Building Tips and Tools: http://ow.ly/QV4M301qLa6 @TheIWSG @AlexJCavanaugh
Book Formatting Tips: Cleaning up the Word Document: http://ow.ly/Ozpy301qMVZ @SpunkOnAStick @DancingLemurPre
Canada’s @MargaretAtwood to receive 2016 Pinter Prize: http://ow.ly/kKT1301qT1b @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Character Development Is a 2-Edged Sword: http://ow.ly/gJ1p300UIdw @JamiGold
5 Ways to Use Dialogue to Spice Up The Middle of Your Novel: http://ow.ly/jndC300UItu @MartinaABoone
Resisting the Shiny New Idea: http://ow.ly/4kBs300UIeb @Janice_Hardy
Develop Regional Appeal for Greater Readership: http://ow.ly/QvYf300UIiu @WhereWritersWin by Lynda Bouchard
Combining 2 Ways to Plot: http://ow.ly/Nr4z300UIg6 @Ava_Jae
Why you need both CreateSpace and IngramSpark: http://ow.ly/P9lg300UIvx @NewShelvesBooks
The Grant of Rights Clause (Contracts/Dealbreakers): http://ow.ly/eThc300UIsx @KristineRusch
Time Management for Writers: http://ow.ly/i4ry300UIrA @katemoretti1
What Pinch Points Are All About: http://ow.ly/yNxc300UIuB @CSLakin
7 Quick Journaling Exercises To Improve Your Fiction Writing: http://ow.ly/uOlw300UIfs @DanielleLHanna
How to Build and Grow Your Email List: http://ow.ly/2VvU300UIlz @WhereWritersWin
‘The Last Book My Father Read’: After Decades of Hard Work, a Retirement in Books: http://ow.ly/BKO8301piKM by Patrick Ryan
Write to Satisfy the Reader’s Ear: http://ow.ly/92gG300UIUn @Lindasclare
Turn a Cliché Into a Reader’s Surprise: http://ow.ly/bY1N300UIFL @ZoeMMcCarthy
Gretchen Marquette on the unexpected poetry of her father’s life as a cop: http://ow.ly/zKXd301piHL
Fatherhood: Ruining the Writing Career, Saving the Writing: http://ow.ly/Ae3y301pipV @lithub @The_Big_Quiet
How to Make Your Novel Universal: http://ow.ly/bNLS300TNZv @SPressfield
The top writing links of last week are on Twitterific:
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