Riley Adams's Blog, page 141

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have a great week!

Crafting an effective opening: http://dld.bz/deSwa

10 Commandments for Interview Sources: http://dld.bz/deSwe @urbanmusewriter

12 Reasons Why Breaking Bad Would’ve Made An Incredible Novel: http://dld.bz/deSwk @LukeLeeOfficial

Writing a confession without cliché: http://dld.bz/deSyv

25 Websites To Click If You Are In Publishing: http://dld.bz/deSyy

How to keep rejection letters in perspective: http://dld.bz/deApn @KarenCV

Why 1 writer has chosen self-pub (which he calls ‘team pub’):  http://dld.bz/cQDNy @daniel_baylis

Why Writers Must Self-Publish Their Books: http://dld.bz/deY53 @jfbookman

Writing About Emotions… or Why You Have to Go Through Stuff: http://dld.bz/deY5B @kathleenpopa

7 Mistakes Authors Make Online: http://dld.bz/deY5Q @EdieMelson

Advantages of e-readers for older adults: http://dld.bz/deY5R @annerallen

10 Common Elements Of Award Winning Screenplays: http://dld.bz/deY5U @elliot_grove

How Writing a Book Proposal Can Boost Your Sales: http://dld.bz/deY5Y @flawritersconf @AllyMachate

Is Blogging Really Necessary? http://dld.bz/deY6c @writerplatform

3 Rules of Character: http://dld.bz/deY6d @shalvatzis

Is good characterization really about change? http://dld.bz/deY6f @bang2write

How to write down story ideas so you can remember why they were brilliant: http://dld.bz/deY6m @nailyournovel

1 writer’s note to her pre-published self: http://dld.bz/deY63 @deborahcoonts

Author brands – Why Consistency is Worth Paying For: http://dld.bz/deY6A @ollyrhodes @RomanceUni

Resolving the Amazon Keyword Issue: http://dld.bz/deY7m @bookgal

Banning the Negative Book Review: http://dld.bz/deY7C& @nytimes

Do you find your genre, or does it find you? http://dld.bz/deY7K @ventgalleries

How to Turn Down or Leave a Freelance Writing Gig Tactfully: http://dld.bz/deY7N @freelancewj

Character motivation sheet: http://dld.bz/deY7Q @yahighway

7 steps to a great WordPress author website: http://dld.bz/deY7T @ollyrhodes

63 Character Emotions to Explore: http://dld.bz/cMCTj @fictionnotes

The search engine for writers: writerskb.com @hiveword

The search engine for writers: writerskb.com @hiveword

How To Create Distinct Characters: An Exercise: http://dld.bz/dfcM2 @woodwardkaren

To name, or not to name? An unusual case involving oppression: http://dld.bz/deMvu @juliettewade

Writing (Not Overwriting) Description: http://dld.bz/dfht6 @scriptmag

How to Stay Focused & Motivated to Get Your Book Done: http://dld.bz/dfhtQ @FutureofInk

10 Google Chrome Extensions That Save Time And Keep You Organized: http://dld.bz/dfhtT @RWW

1 writer’s Wattpad experience: http://dld.bz/dfhuc @TheWritPlatform

How to improve your writing–subplots and subtext: http://dld.bz/dfhuu @storyfix @writersdigest

Online traps for unwary writers and illustrators: http://dld.bz/dfhu9 @nicolamorgan

Freelancers: Free Bookkeeping with Nutcache: Track Your Expenses and Get Paid: http://dld.bz/dfhuM @tutsplus

The Top 5 Char­ac­ter­is­tics of a Great Villain: http://dld.bz/dfhvt @RebeccaZanetti

A 5-Step Strategy for Building a Successful Blog: http://dld.bz/dfhv8 @tglong

Do you need a literary agent? http://dld.bz/dfhwx

What Makes You So Special? The Magic to Selling Books: http://dld.bz/dfhw2 @kristenlambtx

5 tools for building conflict in your novel: http://dld.bz/dfhwH @JamesScottBell @writersdigest

7 ways to add subplots to your novel: http://dld.bz/dfhxA @writersdigest @BrianKlems

How to Master Your Creative Writing Process: http://dld.bz/dfkD5 @WritingForward

6 tips for protecting your images on social networks: http://dld.bz/dfkEj @JessieNuez.

Imaginary Audience: 6 Tips on Envisioning Your Readership: http://dld.bz/dfkEs @_RobbieBlair_

4 Branding Tips for Nonfiction Writers and Authors: http://dld.bz/dfkEu @NinaAmir

How to write a book to film adaptation simultaneously: http://dld.bz/dfkGs @orbitbooks

George R. R. Martin: “There Are 2 Kinds of Writers: Architects and Gardeners”: http://dld.bz/dfkG4 @99u

Tolkien Explains Why There’s No Such Thing as Writing “For Children”: http://dld.bz/dfkHb @brainpicker

Tips for writing the perfect logline and why it’s as important as your screenplay (or book): http://dld.bz/dfkJs @noamkroll

78 free, legal movie script PDF downloads: http://dld.bz/dfkJJ @gointothestory

Creating Friction With Clashing Personalities: http://dld.bz/dfkKq @thecreativepenn @angelaackerman

5 Things Novelists Can Learn From Screenwriters: http://dld.bz/dfkK2 @WritersRelief

10 self-pub tips from a bestselling author: http://dld.bz/dfkKG @spalding_author

Tips for setting up book signings as a self-pubbed writer: http://dld.bz/dfkKK

8 of the Best Genre-Busting Books About Writers and Writing: http://dld.bz/dfkKP @flavorwire

Running into set-backs as a writer? Focus on moving forward: http://dld.bz/dfkKU @hopeclark

The Exotic & Erotic Truth about Women Writers: http://dld.bz/dfkKV @francescabiller @elephantjournal

How to Plan Your 2014 Screenwriting Goals: http://dld.bz/dfkKX @CConradt

7 Biggest Threats to Writing: http://dld.bz/dfp5A @Lyndaryoung

Using Story Beats To Increase Writing Speed: http://dld.bz/dfp5P @DavidGaughran

What’s wrong with (some) modern fantasy: http://dld.bz/dfp6a @mharoldpage

4 truths to help you succeed as a self-pub writer: http://dld.bz/dfp6d

Script writing resources: http://dld.bz/dfp6m @rfwriters

7 Tips to Design an Effective Author Newsletter: http://dld.bz/dfqXb @sierragodfrey

3 Writing Tips Learned From NaNoWriMo: http://dld.bz/dfqXd @Janice_hardy

6 Benefits of Self-Publishing: http://dld.bz/dfrau @WritersEdit

Guide to writing deaf or hard of hearing characters: http://dld.bz/dfra3

Writing Therapy to Overcome Life’s Traumatic Events: http://dld.bz/dfra7 @savfmarie @DIYWriting

“Self” Publishing: It Takes a Team: http://dld.bz/dfraF @ElisabethWeed @writerunboxed

On Immediately Trunking Manuscripts: http://dld.bz/ddUrh @ava_jae

2 Must-Dos to Make Your Book Marketing Infinitely Easier: http://dld.bz/dfreA @writerplatform

An explanation of developmental editing: http://dld.bz/dfreE @katiemccoach

How To Succeed In Screenwriting – The Do List: http://dld.bz/dfreT @scriptmag @LeeZJessup

Best practices for social media posting: http://dld.bz/dfrfj @GuyKawasaki

Get more mileage from your blog posts by pre-cycling: http://dld.bz/dfrf7

7 Stages You Pass To Become a Writer: http://dld.bz/ddUqY @Ani_LifeProb

Plotting – 10 Basic Dos and Don’ts: http://dld.bz/dftRe @amandaonwriting

To cut to the chase use offhand remarks in your writing: http://dld.bz/dftRq @ventgalleries

Creative ways of killing your characters: http://dld.bz/dftRQ

Inconsistent Hyphenation: http://dld.bz/dftRY @writing_tips

Literary fiction has a problem with happy endings: http://dld.bz/dftSc @richardlea

6 Scientist Myths That Books and Movies Love To Perpetuate: http://dld.bz/dftSr @amazingstories0

What Authors Want: http://dld.bz/dftSw

Don’t Call It Fanfic: Writers Rework Their Favorite Stories: http://dld.bz/dftS6 @npr

Branding 101 For Authors: http://dld.bz/dftSF @BadRedheadMedia

Author brands – Why Consistency is Worth Paying For: http://dld.bz/deY6A @ollyrhodes @RomanceUni

Banning the Negative Book Review: http://dld.bz/deY7C & @nytimes

Resolving the Amazon Keyword Issue: http://dld.bz/deY7m @bookgal

63 Character Emotions to Explore: http://dld.bz/cMCTj @fictionnotes

Will the price for books ever seem right again? http://dld.bz/dfx7j @Porter_Anderson @MarkCoker @joshfarrington

10 tips for making the most of your award: http://dld.bz/dfyTZ @DinaSantorelli

7 Lessons Learned from Blogging: http://dld.bz/den3c  @JL_Campbell @AlexJCavanaugh

A preview of the upcoming #DBW14 con: http://dld.bz/df5kT @Porter_Anderson . Live tweets Mon. at 9aET / 2pGMT / 3pCET

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

A Switch from Writing Standalones to Continuing Story Arcs

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I used to be a big fan of writing each book in my different series as a standalone.  I liked the fact that readers could pick up any book in my series and understand what was going on.  If you have continuing stories throughout your series, then obviously the reader has to find the first book in the series if they want to make sense of the subplots.

And, with mysteries, you really don’t need to have a continuing subplot or continuing plot.  Each book is a single mystery—a murder or two for the sleuth and reader to figure out together.

My main concern, when I started writing for Penguin, was that the first books in my series wouldn’t stay on the shelves in bookstores—that the stores would stock only the latest book in the series and new readers would be lost if I wrote an episodic storyline.

I write to an older demographic and readers do email me if they can’t find a book in print.  But I now feel a lot more comfortable about writing a story arc over the course of a series.  The way bookstores are reducing shelf space to make room for non-book products (Nooks, café space, notebooks, toys), I believe that older readers, even those more set in their ways, will venture into the world of online ordering.

I’ve also noticed that I’ve gotten fewer emails lately from readers asking me to help them track down printed copies of older books.  My ebook sales figures and royalties have grown, too.  It seems clear to me that I’m getting more readers purchasing digital copies of my books than printed ones.

With ebooks, it’s a piece of cake getting an earlier book in a series. All the books are available, at all times, with no end date in sight.

Over the last six months, I started reading in my customer reviews that readers were looking for some character growth or change shown in relationships between characters.  I guess that’s natural, since they were reviewing the 4th or 5th book in a series.  At that point, they wanted the characters to develop more than they could in a typical standalone mystery (where the plot is mainly centered on the mystery itself).

As a reader, I can find continuing storylines frustrating, if there isn’t enough of the story’s conflict resolved in the book.  It just gives a very unfinished feel, or lends a teaser-like quality to the story. But for these mysteries, it’s easier to manage—the main plot, the whodunit, is always neatly tied up at the end in cozy/traditional mysteries.  So the only threads I leave dangling have to do with the characters’ subplots and their relationships.  I’m hoping that gives readers enough of a sense of story completion/resolution while piquing their interest in upcoming books in the series and future character growth.

This has resulted in a big shift for me with my writing.  I’ve also carefully listed the order of books in my series on my website to eliminate any confusion there (and that list was also in response to reader request).

What about you?  As a reader, do you enjoy reading episodic storylines?  As a writer, do you write them?  Have you changed your approach, like I have?

Image: MorgueFile: VeggieGretz

The post A Switch from Writing Standalones to Continuing Story Arcs appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

10 Tips for Making the Most of Your Award

By Dina Santorelli, @DinaSantorelli

So you’ve won an award for your book. Very cool. You should be congratulated not just for winning, but for having the gumption to enter that competition in the first place. Just submitting an entry in a contest means that you think your work is good enough to win, which, in my book, is an achievement whether or not it actually does. So good for you!

But now that you have won, after you’ve pinched yourself and celebrated with a much-deserved pat on the back, you’ve got some work to do. That award is something that separates you from all the other authors out there, so you need to let your readers and fans know about it. Here’s how:

Announce your award in the signature of your email. As a freelance writer, I send out lots of emails every day, and not every person I do business with knows about my fiction work. Therefore, every email I send has a nice fat signature at the bottom that makes recipients aware that 1) I was voted one of the best authors on Long Island for two consecutive years; 2) that I was named the best author in Nassau County last year, and 3) that my debut novel Baby Grand was an honorable mention, genre fiction, in the Writer’s Digest 21st Self-Published Book Awards. I also include links to join my mailing list and to buy my book from Amazon. Why not? You’ve got the space—and their attention.






Announce your award on each of your social media profiles. Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. Google+. Tweak each bio to include your win so that your followers and potential followers can see your happy news. I also like to tailor the language and information I use for each social media audience—i.e., I take a more business-y approach on LinkedIn and keep it fun on Facebook.






Include the details of your win on your Amazon profile. Author Central gives you lots of room to work with, so you may even want to include some of the judge’s comments, if you have them.






Buy stickers for your book that proclaim: I am an award-winning author! On Vistaprint, I made up these cute circular stickers that I put on the paperback editions of Baby Grand; they mention my 2nd Place win as Best Long Island Author. It cost me under 20 bucks. Or, you may want to go ahead and redesign your book jacket.






Make use of the contest organization’s marketing materials. For being voted one of the best authors on Long Island, Long Island Press gives out a laminated “Official Winner” placard. I bring this with me to all my appearances, from signings to vendor fairs.






Send out press releases. Again, the key is to let as many people know that you’ve won, and newspapers and news websites can have broad readerships. I send most of my releases to local media, but you can also send off a few to trade pubs that write about publishing.






Be on the lookout for opportunities to tout your win. When Sandra Beckwith posted on social media that she was working on a blog post about awards and was looking for input from authors, I contacted her and was honored to be featured on her Build Book Buzz site.






Run a promotion. What better way to celebrate an exciting achievement than with prizes? Give away signed copies of your book or something special related to your book—my recent Facebook giveaway featured a Believe tag and chain from Origami Owl. (If you run your promotion on Facebook, keep in mind the social media site recently changed its rules regarding sweepstakes.)






Run an ad. Long Island Press, which runs the Best of Long Island awards each year, runs its contest results in a three-part newspaper series and offers winners the opportunity to run ads to thank fans for voting for them. See if your contest organization offers advertising opportunities. If not or if the pricing is out of your range, check out alternative venues, such as Facebook or local newspapers, which have more affordable rates.






Write a guest blog. It’s what we authors do, after all. Write. You can discuss any aspect of your award win—why you entered the contest, how it felt to be recognized—or, as in the case of this post, you can offer advice to other authors on how they can make the most of their award wins too. Good luck!

About Dina:

Voted one of the best Long Island authors for two consecutive years, Dina Santorelli has been a freelance writer for over 16 years and has written frequently about travel, entertainment, lifestyle, bridal, and pop culture. Dina’s latest book, Daft Punk: A Trip Inside the Pyramid, will be published by St. Martin’s Press on January 21, 2014. She is currently working on a sequel to her award-winning debut novel, Baby Grand, a top-rated Mystery/Thriller on Amazon Kindle. For more information about Dina, visit her website at http://dinasantorelli.com.

 

The post 10 Tips for Making the Most of Your Award appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

For Those Who Write Multiple Series

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

One thing about the holidays is that I’m always around people a lot more than I usually am.  In fact, I really can’t think of a time in the last couple of weeks when I was alone in the house.  I did really well, actually, keeping up with my modest writing goals, but part of me is glad that school is back in session today.

I definitely socialize more during the holidays than I do any other time of the year—and yes, it’s exhausting.  But it’s interesting, too.  I always get a different perspective when I’m talking with people I barely know about my writing.

This party season, I discovered that non-writers think it’s rather unnatural that I write three series.   The writing-related questions I answer at parties are progressing now, since I’ve been outed as a writer for a couple of years. I’ve just given up avoiding talking about writing when I’m at a party. Especially since, several times, I’ve suspected that it was the only reason I was invited to the party to begin with.  So we’ve moved past the why did you choose to be a writer? and how long have you been writing questions to the other stuff.  Now it’s: remind me again—what names do you write under? and how many books again have you written? And did you go to school for that?  And—in evidence this particular holiday season—… Elizabeth, why on earth did you choose to write three series?

Writing three series was something that I just happened into.  A progression of events.  I explain that I didn’t just sit down one day at home and take out three sheets of paper and start penning three different books.  I had a series that was canceled by the publisher that I took up on my own to self-publish (first series).  I had an editor who was interested in the books I was writing for the first publisher, who encouraged me to audition for a series they wanted written for Penguin (second series).  Then my agent heard from an editor who was looking for a Southern writer to create a series involving quilting and mysteries (third series).

The fact that I didn’t turn down either of the series that was offered to me shows that I really am nervous about turning down work.  I think working in publishing can be feast or famine—if you’re offered work, you should go ahead and take it.  So I’ll stay a hybrid writer in at least the short-term, since I’m contracted through 2015.

Now for the juggling.  As I’ve mentioned before, it’s doable—mainly because I’m rarely in the position of needing to draft two books at the same time.  I’m usually editing one and drafting another.  Or working solely on one book at a time, which is what I prefer.

One big thing I’ve noticed is that it can take a while for me to get my head back into a series after working on another one.  So this time, I’ve done something completely different and it worked really well for me.  I outlined the next book in the series after finishing a book in that series.

I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but this has not been my approach in the past.  I’m a victim of Shiny New Idea syndrome, too, you know.  It’s even worse when you write multiple series.  And when you’re a hybrid writer, if you receive a check in the mail to start working on a different book than the self-pubbed one you’re currently writing, then you put down that self-pub book and start working on the other one, even if you’re still getting great ideas for the book you’d been working on.

In late-August, I put down a Myrtle Clover book that I was writing (I was about ¼ of the way through the book) and started writing Southern Quilting mystery #4.  I turned it in by January 1 and my instinct was to immediately go back to the Myrtle Clover I was writing, since Southern Quilting mystery #5 is due in August 2014.  I’d been thinking about the Myrtle Clover book while writing the book for the other series.  Ideas for the book, bits of dialogue, funny twists kept popping up, completely unbidden and usually while I was deep into writing the quilting mystery.  I’d record those on a separate Word doc and keep on working—on deadline, after all.

So you can see how I was totally ready to pick back up with that uncompleted book.  But I thought…yeah.  This is what happens every single time.  And then I complain that it takes me forever to outline the next book for Penguin because I’ve got Myrtle Clover characters populating my brain and not the quilting characters. Or it will be the Memphis Barbeque series characters in my head.  Whichever.

This time I did the smart thing, the responsible thing, and outlined that next Penguin book.  The characters were all fresh in my head.  The characters’ interrupted continuing subplots (because I’ve given up writing standalones—more on that later) were still familiar to me.  I brainstormed a scenario for the murder that would pull my sleuth into the fray, I came up with some likely suspects, I even recognized that the story accidentally (subconsciously?)  had a theme and tweaked the subplots I’d sketched out to better reflect it.  It took me a fraction of the time that it took me to outline the previous book in the series.  I’m really kicking myself for not doing this before.

Honestly…I probably should go ahead and write that first chapter now, too.  I’ll be asked for that teaser chapter and I’ll be neck-deep in the Myrtle book and will need to hustle out the first chapter.  Maybe that will be what I’ll work on for the next few days and then I’ll go back to the Myrtle.  Or at least just get a rough draft done for it.

A bit of a rambling post here from me and I apologize for that…the upshot is that I’ve found it’s a lot easier and quicker to sketch out a draft of the next book in a series when finishing a project in that series. Even if I’d rather be popping back over to write a different series.

If you write multiple series, are you all over the place with it, as I’ve been?  And, if you don’t write multiple series…have you thought about it?  Had any ideas for other books?

The post For Those Who Write Multiple Series appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have a great week!

Sound in Novels: http://dld.bz/de759 @livewritethrive

Writing combat in fantasy–10 tips: http://dld.bz/de75M @fantasy_faction

5 tips on writing outside your genre: http://dld.bz/de75X @LeagueWriters

The Myth of Daily Word Count: http://dld.bz/cY5V9 @cerebralgrump

Emotional Barriers in Fiction: Intro to Emotional Channels : http://dld.bz/cY5TS @NakedEditor

Write the story you want to read: http://dld.bz/de76y @BonnieGrove

How to keep rejection letters in perspective: http://dld.bz/deApn @KarenCV

11 Ways to Doom Your Freelance Writing Career: http://dld.bz/deApr

Why Every Writer Should Join a Writing Group: http://dld.bz/de4ns @writersedit

Myth–to sell, you must write what’s hot: http://dld.bz/de3pe @deanwesleysmith

4 Key Book Publishing Paths: http://dld.bz/cU564 @janefriedman

2014 Writing Progress Spreadsheet: http://dld.bz/dezXh @jamieraintree

Inside stories of memorable children’s books: http://dld.bz/deu5M @PublishersWkly

“Every scene should advance the story”: http://dld.bz/deApy @gointothestory

Twisting your plot: http://dld.bz/deAp7

Tips For Marketing Your Novel On Amazon: http://dld.bz/deAp9 @chgriffinauthor

Two books that help with the drafting and revision processes: http://dld.bz/deApG @jamigold @beccapuglisi

Dear Video Game Developers, Hire Real Writers: http://dld.bz/deApK @DragonsRDelish

5 Things to Know: http://dld.bz/deAqa @sfwa

The Wide Margin: Tell the Cat to Beat It: http://dld.bz/deAqf @scriptmag @KDelin

Formatting chapter titles and numbers: http://dld.bz/deAqk

On Writing Characters Who are Nothing Like You: http://dld.bz/deAqp @ava_jae

12 Secrets to Selling More Books at Events: http://dld.bz/deAqr @wherewriterswin

3 skills to make it in publishing: http://dld.bz/deAqv @forbes

“Minimum words, maximum impact”: http://dld.bz/deAqy @gointothestory

Cataloguing Your Influences: http://dld.bz/deAq3 @chris_shultz81

Growing a thick skin: http://dld.bz/deAq9 @womenwriters @katelaity

How writing affects our brain: http://dld.bz/deAsk @Sibbyy

Writing books that sell themselves: http://dld.bz/cY5VW

The Editing Hit List: http://dld.bz/deAs9 @JoshuaEssoe

14 Simple Steps To Ensure Success With Your Writing for the Next 12 Months: http://dld.bz/deAsC @nickdaws

3 Ways Commuting Can Enhance your Creativity: http://dld.bz/deAsU @nicolegulotta

“Test your story concept”: http://dld.bz/deAtm @gointothestory

Which profession drinks the most coffee? http://dld.bz/deAtv @ruethedayblog

Script To Screen: “Adaptation”: http://dld.bz/deAt3 @gointothestory

The Everyday Author’s Guide to Establishing a Book Marketing Plan: http://dld.bz/deAtK @TMRadcliffe

This is How Huge Door-stopper Fantasy Novels Get Made: http://dld.bz/deMuW @tordotcom

14 things a screenwriter learned pitching in Hollywood: http://dld.bz/deMuX @TIMJOHN1

Think Bigger About Your Nonfiction Book or Writing Business: http://dld.bz/deMva @schwerdtfeger

Elmore Leonard on the Mortal Sin of Dialogue Tags: http://dld.bz/deMvk

Write Outside The Lines of Your Book: http://dld.bz/de74c @JosinMcQuein

Are self-published Authors guilty of sabotaging their trade? http://dld.bz/deMv3 @twelvedaysjade

Not all small presses are equal: http://dld.bz/deMv8 @author_sullivan

Omnipotence is Impotence: Or Why Control Freaks Make Poor Fantasy Writers: http://dld.bz/deMvW

10 things that fuel 1 writer’s obsession with a story: http://dld.bz/deMwk @mythicscribes

Too much vertical space in your manuscript? http://dld.bz/deMwM

Is Gaming Bad for Fiction Writers? http://dld.bz/deMwW @daycathy

Author website tip: keep your homepage simple: http://dld.bz/deMxf @bookgal

The bookselling brain: http://dld.bz/deMxz @thefuturebook

How Catching Fire Fixed All the Worst Mistakes The Hunger Games Made: http://dld.bz/deMx3 @io9

Tax tips for freelancers: is it a business or a hobby? http://dld.bz/deNSt @lizstrauss

Have You Thanked Your Readers Lately? http://dld.bz/deNSB @loriculwell

Death and the Self-Pubbed Writer: http://dld.bz/deNSQ @JAKonrath

Script Symbology: Symbol Systems: http://dld.bz/deNTd @scriptmag

The Difference Between Presume and Assume: http://dld.bz/deNTr @epbure

Fan Fiction: The Next Great Literature? http://dld.bz/deNTx @pacificstand

Time Block Projects to Stay Focused and Motivated: http://dld.bz/deNTG @RealLifeE  @CreativityPost

5 tips for writers from author Paul Harding: http://dld.bz/deNTQ @PublishersWkly

1st draft blues: http://dld.bz/deNTU

How to Practice Writing Every Day: http://dld.bz/dePB3 @WritingForward

8 ways to rev those writing engines: http://dld.bz/dePBC @JordanMcCollum

10 Key Terms That Will Help You Appreciate Fantasy Literature: http://dld.bz/dePBH @io9

“Each scene must be a drama in itself”: http://dld.bz/dePEr @gointothestory

The helpful reader–discoverability: http://dld.bz/dePE6 @kristinerusch

How The Maltese Falcon inspired film noir: http://dld.bz/dePFh @Willjhodgkinson

Don’t Fall For Vanity Radio: http://dld.bz/dePFr @victoriastrauss

“25 Reasons I’m Not a Writer”: http://dld.bz/dePGa @jdiddyesquire

11 Ways to Level Up Your Writing: http://dld.bz/dePGm @DelilahSDawson

Outlining A Story: When Advice Differs: http://dld.bz/dePGv @randysusanmeyer

Writing in the internet era: http://dld.bz/dePGJ @therejectionist @nathanbransford

Meet my metaphor: http://dld.bz/dePGP @pageturner

Should Readers Be Able to Modify Book Content? http://dld.bz/deSuV @BooksAndPals

Keep a Personal Account of Your Progress: http://dld.bz/deSvb

The Tricky Art of Pacing: http://dld.bz/deSvc @beccapuglisi

26 of Noah Webster’s Spelling Changes That Didn’t Catch On: http://dld.bz/deSvh @mental_floss @ArikaOkrent

Worldbuilding: Rituals for the Dead: http://dld.bz/deSvx @marshallmaresca

Your Novel’s Timeline: http://dld.bz/deSv2 @lindasclare

5 Budgeting Tips for Freelancers Living on an Inconsistent Income: http://dld.bz/deSv4 @UrbanMuseWriter

Your Individuality is Your Greatest Asset: Writing and Marketing as You: http://dld.bz/deSvQ @cateartios

Helpful Definitions for Modern Authors: http://dld.bz/deSvV @nytimes

63 Character Emotions to Explore: http://dld.bz/cMCTj @fictionnotes

A 4-step process for goal-setting for writers: http://dld.bz/deZSY @nickdaws

14 Publishing Predictions for 2014: http://dld.bz/deZTd @authormedia

2013 TED Presentations from Writers: http://dld.bz/deZTe @galleycat

How to Keep Your Writing Going for All of 2014: http://dld.bz/deZTg @deanwesleysmith

29 Plot Templates: http://dld.bz/deZTn @fictionnotes

Is Your New Year’s Resolution Killing Your Writing? http://dld.bz/deZTp @jacobkrueger

Writing resolutions–2014 and beyond: http://dld.bz/deZTu {lang} @chuckwendig

3 tips to meet our goals in 2014: http://dld.bz/dfb7w

The search engine for writers: writerskb.com @hiveword

2014 resolutions–restoring emphasis on content instead of word count: http://dld.bz/dfduH @Porter_Anderson @DonMaass @chuckwendig

Tips for young writers: http://dld.bz/dfhsK @aidylEwoh

804 SF themes, motifs, and terminology: http://dld.bz/dfb8x @SFEncyclopedia @john_clute

The psychological progression of story: http://dld.bz/dfgkJ @camillelaguire

Examples of standalone mysteries in crime fiction: http://dld.bz/dfnPm @mkinberg

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Tips for Young Writers

Guest Post by Aidyl Ewoh,  @aidylEwoh

Serious young writers are a lot more common than most people seem to realize, although maybe that’s because we’re all hidden away writing! I am part of an on-line writing group that has over 450 members; almost all of them are in their teens and early twenties (I’m twenty-one). Several of these teens are already published authors.

Being a young writer has a host of challenges just like any other part of life, but there are things you can do to make writing more successful for you. Here are a few things I’ve picked up over the years:

Surround yourself with positive people. The journey to publication is a difficult path and you don’t want to let negative people or ideas crowd into your subconscious mind and discourage you. This doesn’t mean you should try to please everybody; there will always be someone who doesn’t like something you do. When you do hear naysayers prattling, don’t let it dishearten you! Instead, let proving them wrong be the boost you need to keep going.

Practice writing every day, and remember that consistency trumps often times quantity. Sure, it’s great if you can write for an hour, but if you always write something – if only for a few minutes – it will help to keep you in the groove and improve your skill. Plus, you’ll soon have a file of short segments you may draw from, and you never know when they’ll be useful! (It helps to set a word amount; I write at least 100 words each day, and I’ve done that for about 15 months now.) Just make sure to set a reasonable goal that you’ll keep up with.

Read a lot. And don’t only read from the genre you’re writing, but also read books about writing, and read self-development books. John Maxwell, Zig Ziglar, and Art Williams are some great authors in this category. Sure, they might not talk specifically about writing, but they teach principles that will help any communicator learn the dedication, positive attitude, and information they need to make it in the world. And besides, who isn’t inspired by a guy who’s sold 12 million copies of one book?

Find a writing community. I didn’t do this until about a year ago, and it has made such a huge, huge difference! My writing community is called Go Teen Writers, and besides having a blog, they also have a Facebook group that I hang out on all the time. It’s a great place to discuss writing, celebrate victories, find support, get advice, critiques and a laugh. Where else can you have a brainstorm that goes from, “Young siblings rescue princess from dragon”, to “Dragon rescues princess from young siblings”?

Of course, we could go over a lot more, but that actually brings up one last thing – you don’t have to focus on everything at once, and you don’t have be good at everything, overnight. Find one thing to work on, and build from there. Believe me, it’ll save you tons of energy and stress. So keep up the writing, folks, and never give up!

About the Author: 

Whether she’s building life-sized models of dinosaurs with her adopted family, trying her hand at cooking at a private retreat, or living in a barn, author Aidyl Ewoh (aka Lydia Howe) seems to have adventures follow her wherever she goes. Check out her book, Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl and find out more about her at her Blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

About the Book:

Cave Secrets of the Pterodactyl:Traveling with her parents brings Lydia, daughter of explorer and singer Buddy Davis, plenty of adventure and mystery – from hidden clues in bookstores to cave paintings deep underground.

 

The post Tips for Young Writers appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

How to Meet Our Goals in 2014

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Happy 2014 everyone!

And, like everyone else on the internet, I have advice for making it a better year.  :)  I actually had a different post I planned on running today, but since my blog reader was so chock-full of writerly advice for the next year, I felt I needed to run a post as an antidote.  When I read too many lofty goals, it both exhausts me and makes me feel as if I’m not doing enough.

So here are my 3 tips for meeting goals in 2014:

Think to-do list, not resolution.  We hear this type of advice all the time and the reason we hear it is because it usually works.  So, instead of saying write and revise a book in 2014, it would be better to say write for 15 minutes  5 days out of each week in February or ‘by the end of January,  create a list all my character names, traits, and motivations.’  Or, by the end of the month, I want to have a plan for the next three chapters in my book. Or even today, I’ll look for and squeeze in 10 minutes of extra writing time.  How specific can you make it?  How many steps can you turn ‘write a book’ into—keeping the steps actionable and small enough to knock out in the time allotted?

How small can you make your daily goal and still get where you want to be?  That’s the trick to everything in life, I think.  My goals are frighteningly small and I’m always a little uncomfortable when I share them.  But my output is pretty big…because I’m consistent with my small goals.  I know I can meet a writing goal of 3 or 3.5 pages a day. For me, that’s 30 minutes in the morning and another 20 in the afternoon.  My goal, in the past, has been as low as 15 minutes a day when I had an active toddler in the house (this usually netted me a page).  If you write a page a day for 2014 on one project…well, you’ll have a heck of a long book that will actually need to be edited down.  But isn’t that better than not having a book to revise, at all?

This goes for everything in life.  How low can you set the bar and still get what you want? I know that sounds awful, but for me, that’s how I achieve—I hit all my goals and that motivates me to keep hitting goals.  And if I hit my goal and keep going and write more…that doesn’t mean I don’t write the next day.  The next day I meet my very modest goal again.  With modern life—we’ve just got to be realistic about our time.

I hear folks saying they want to lose twenty-five pounds and want to go to the gym every day.  This makes me wince because how many people can live up to that?  And what happens when they have a set-back and miss their goal five or six times? Isn’t it so much better to have a ridiculously low goal and make it a no-brainer and meet it?  So, instead of losing twenty-five pounds, couldn’t they say by the end of the week, substitute water for Diet Coke or take the stairs at work instead of the elevator three times this week ?

Track your accomplishments and post them.

I mentioned this trick in this post, but it really does help me.  I read an article this past year about the psychology of to-do lists and they said they work better if you keep the crossed-off bits on your list so that you can see how far you’ve come.

In that spirit, I think tracking our accomplishments is really helpful.  It helps us see that we’re not just treading water—that we’re making inroads. I put some of my accomplishments on my website’s news page, which makes for a more public way of motivating myself.

How do you stay on track with your projects each year?  And Happy 2014.

Image: MorgueFile: Efi

 

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Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have a great week!  And Happy New Year.

A free directory of cover designers, formatters, freelance editors, and more: http://bit.ly/nolbXq

How to Get Your Writing Out There: http://dld.bz/de4mp @WritersEdit

7 Ways To Find Discipline & Fight Distractions: http://dld.bz/de4mA @nownovel

Finish your novel–work habits: http://dld.bz/de4mJ

Writing with Profit in Mind? Your Book has Already Failed: http://dld.bz/de4mK @writeitsideways

Why Every Writer Should Join a Writing Group: http://dld.bz/de4ns @writersedit

Writing–an outlet for psychosis: http://dld.bz/de7fP @doc_awesomeo

Portals in SF/F: http://dld.bz/de7fU @sfsignal

Why 1 writer chose to write SF theater: http://dld.bz/de7gd @stagethefuture

9 things to think about when you read (like a writer): http://dld.bz/de7gg @Writers_Write

Our hero, the villain: http://dld.bz/de7gw @bookriot

A writer’s question on prefaces: http://dld.bz/de7gx @glencstrathy

Writer’s Block Isn’t Real–Or Why You Should Treat It That Way: http://dld.bz/de7g2 @kiersi

Scrivener Basics: Starting, Opening, and Closing: http://dld.bz/de7g7 @gwen_hernandez

How to make your setting a character: http://dld.bz/de7gE @BrianKlems

How to use a time lock device in a story: http://dld.bz/de7gG @shalvatzis

Tips for getting your tone right: http://dld.bz/de7gK @fictionnotes

Tips for plotting: http://dld.bz/de7gP

8 Characteristics of Good Writing: http://dld.bz/de7gT @WritingForward

How to write a single-location script: http://dld.bz/de7hf @gointothestory

YA and the Moral Center: http://dld.bz/de7js

4 Freelance Article Writing Tips — From a Stand-Up Comedian: http://dld.bz/de7jw @DevaneyMkedev

Flog a Pro: would you turn down this bestselling author’s first page? http://dld.bz/de7jz @RayRhamey @writerunboxed

Character Conflict: Characters in Opposition: http://dld.bz/de7j5

Do You Know Your (Publishing) Rights? http://dld.bz/de7jA @susanspann @RMFWriters

4 short tips for increasing word count: http://dld.bz/de7jT @onewildword

How to Set Up a Virtual Book Tour: http://dld.bz/de7k7 @MidgeRaymond

How To Write A Gripping Scene: http://dld.bz/de7kC @woodwardkaren

Writing a Novel Series: Tips for Developing Spin-Offs and Sequels: http://dld.bz/de7kS @AdriennedeWolfe @thecreativepenn

An overview of theme: http://dld.bz/de7ma @camillelaguire

Pushing Through – When the Writing Gets Tough: http://dld.bz/de7me @rossibooks

Choosing an Book Editor: An Indispensable Investment: http://dld.bz/de7mf @janvbear

How Music Can Help You Write Better Characters: http://dld.bz/de7mZ @losapala

5 Ways Authors Abuse Their Facebook Profile Privileges: http://dld.bz/de7nd

Stephen King on writing (video): http://dld.bz/de7nh @cateartios

Tips for building your Twitter platform: http://dld.bz/de7nk @joebunting

Manners for Writers: http://dld.bz/de7nn @btmargins @randysusanmeyer

Unlock Your Creativity (and Win Pitches) by Starting at the Finish Line: http://dld.bz/de7nr @markmcguinness

Do You Need a Social Media Manager? http://dld.bz/de7pu @jfbookman

Then and Now — Writing Fast: http://dld.bz/de7pv

An apostrophe review: http://dld.bz/de7pw @livewritethrive

The 10 Types of Writers’ Block (and How to Overcome Them): http://dld.bz/de7vt @io9

Tips for the agent query process: http://dld.bz/de7vw

Writing The Antihero (And Why So Many Authors Get It Wrong): http://dld.bz/de7vy @selfpubreview

Lone Ranger writers: http://dld.bz/de7vz @rachellegardner

A story game for crime fiction writers: http://dld.bz/de7v5 @camillelaguire

On Paranormal/Supernatural Romance: http://dld.bz/de7v6 @writedivas

Nonfiction: 3 Steps to Dominate your Niche with a Book Blog: http://dld.bz/de7xe @ninaamir

Maintaining Belief During Fantastical Stories: http://dld.bz/de7xn @Mythcreants

Favorite adverbs and adjectives of Rowling, Myers, and Collins: http://dld.bz/de7xr @fantasy_faction

The Internet Hates You: 5 Writing Habits to Crush: http://dld.bz/de7xu @philjourdan

Understanding Book Distribution: Author-Services Companies: http://dld.bz/de7ya

How to Double Your Story’s Conflict in Seconds: http://dld.bz/de7yd @KMWeiland

10 Branches of Narrative’s Tree: http://dld.bz/de7yu

Using Conflict to Understand Our Characters: http://dld.bz/de7yx @jamigold

How to Make Your Dastardly Villain More Memorable: http://dld.bz/de7y5 @mythcreants

10 Twitter Tips Writers Need to Know: http://dld.bz/de7y9 @CaballoFrances

What makes epic fantasy epic? http://dld.bz/de7yA @fantasy_faction

The hardest thing an agent does: http://dld.bz/de7yC @JanetKGrant

How To Write An Ebook Easily – And Promote it Creatively: http://dld.bz/de7yM

12 Mistakes Nearly Everyone Who Writes About Grammar Mistakes Makes: http://dld.bz/de7yR @ArrantPedantry

A useful tool for plot problems: http://dld.bz/de7yZ

5 Unrealistic Character Traits: http://dld.bz/de7ze @mythcreants

Crafting an effective opening: http://dld.bz/de72c

Why you need a Writing Calendar: http://dld.bz/de72X @MacGregorLit

Consideration Of Theme In Story: http://dld.bz/ddMFa @mooderino

How to Market Your Book on Pinterest: http://dld.bz/de73a @authormedia

The Murder Mystery Arc: http://dld.bz/de73d @sharww

The Art of Dynamic Descriptions: http://dld.bz/de73f

10 Tips on Writing a Series: http://dld.bz/de73j

7 ways to conquer your fear of public speaking: http://dld.bz/de73m @JWhite

Tips for synopsis writing: http://dld.bz/de73q

Writing on the London Underground: http://dld.bz/de73r @mstibbe

100 Exquisite Adjectives: http://dld.bz/de73x @rfwriters

Rethinking Mentally Ill Antagonists in YA: http://dld.bz/de733 @Dannie_Morin

Relative Pronoun Redux: http://dld.bz/de737 @ArrantPedantry

Write Outside The Lines of Your Book: http://dld.bz/de74c @JosinMcQuein

When the Story Calls . . . And When it Doesn’t: http://dld.bz/de74e @jodyhedlund

Draw Your Readers In: The Game of Contrasts: http://dld.bz/de74n

Why writers should practice short fiction: http://dld.bz/cY6kN @TheIndieChicks

Getting Started: Cover Art for Self-Publishers: http://dld.bz/cWdyP @LeslieLSanders

A writer’s greatest tool: http://dld.bz/de74r

How to write and sell a cross-genre novel: http://dld.bz/de74t @writersdigest

An agent answers a question on collaboration: http://dld.bz/de74v @janet_reid

10 keys to becoming a successful writer: http://dld.bz/ddtHA @writersdigest

Do you know what your nonfiction reader really wants? http://dld.bz/de74B

Should You Hire a Computer to Narrate Your Audiobook? http://dld.bz/de74T @JFBookman

No Limits: The Emerging New Adult Market: http://dld.bz/de74X @writerunboxed @barbaraoneal

Each writer brings something different to a story: http://dld.bz/de75f @SouthrnWritrMag

The Best POV ~ First Person or Third? http://dld.bz/de75u @novelrocket

Interview with Elizabeth S Craig on writing process by @SeeleyJamesAuth: http://dld.bz/deCrh

Men Don’t Read Fiction? BULL! http://dld.bz/deMxD @Porter_Anderson

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine(developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have a great week and a Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

7 Lessons Learned from Blogging: http://dld.bz/den3c @JL_Campbell @AlexJCavanaugh

The Range Of Search: A Key to Understanding (and Writing) Mysteries: http://dld.bz/denR2

This week’s #EtherIssue Live Chat: Ebook Sales Flattening? Current Trends. Today at 11 a.m. ET 4 p.m. GMT 5 p.m. CET @Porter_Anderson

Is the penetration of ebooks in the US market ‘flattening out?’ http://dld.bz/devHF @Porter_Anderson @juliebosman

Creating a Submission Package: http://dld.bz/deeDt @YAMuses

Advice for writers from @ChuckWendig: http://dld.bz/demdQ

How to remember more of what you read: http://dld.bz/demee

15 Ways to Zig When You Want to Zag: http://dld.bz/demej @lizstrauss

Tips for more effective copywriting: http://dld.bz/deme4 @demianfarnworth

5 tips for writing a great story: http://dld.bz/demeW @TEDNews

5 tips for a successful book launch: http://dld.bz/demf8 @LiterallyPR

Why is Genre Important to Success? http://dld.bz/demfG @StoryMeBad

The Pros and Cons of Writing Contests: http://dld.bz/demfN @jamigold

Talking about your character: Posture: http://dld.bz/demgc @nownovel

Writing and the Creative Life: Flow: http://dld.bz/demgm @gointothestory

Keeping it Real – Female Protagonists in YA Lit: http://dld.bz/demgw @JennWalkup

Thoughts on character mannerisms: http://dld.bz/demg5 @NowNovel

9 Ways to Find Writing Ideas: http://dld.bz/demgE @katieaxelson

10 steps to becoming a successful writer: http://dld.bz/demgX @mbcollings

Explore a character’s junk drawer: http://dld.bz/demhr

How to pace a crime novel: http://dld.bz/demh6 @nownovel

Managing time in your novel: http://dld.bz/demhE @lindasclare

Diluting your brand: http://dld.bz/demhP @MelindaBPierce

An agent warns against red flags when naming characters: http://dld.bz/depF5 @JennieGoloboy

How to uncover the mood of your novel: http://dld.bz/depFG @nownovel

10 Essential Non-Writing Tools To Help Writers Write: http://dld.bz/depFM @CompletelyNovel

Simple Tricks to Unstick Your Plot: Where Is Everyone? http://dld.bz/depFQ @stdennard

Tips for choosing pen names: http://dld.bz/depFU @fictorians @Nathan_Barra

Then and Now —the Pace of Publishing: http://dld.bz/depGn @MindyKlasky

Critique Etiquette: Should You Resubmit Revisions? http://dld.bz/depGr @ava_jae

How 1 writer pinches from Pixar and Bad Robot to create awesome stories: http://dld.bz/ddQ3Q @guardianbooks

10 Unique Gifts for Booklovers: http://dld.bz/depGT @sarahwinfrey

9 Great Albums To Accompany Your Writing Process: http://dld.bz/depGZ @chris_shultz81

Tips for creating loveable flaws in your characters: http://dld.bz/depHt @nownovel

5 tips for writing romance: http://dld.bz/detjq @nownovel

Self-Publishing 101: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: http://dld.bz/detj2 @i3DS

Surviving the Offer – and Letting the Agent Deal: http://dld.bz/detj7 @susanspann

The Art of the Amazon Sale: Improving Rankings, Selling More Books, and Gaining Exposure: http://dld.bz/detjA @goblinwriter

Book Marketing: Generosity, Social Karma And Co-opetition: http://dld.bz/detjC @thecreativepenn

Your book’s 2nd act–the PLAN: http://dld.bz/detjU @AlexSokoloff

Book Marketing 101: http://dld.bz/detjW @janefriedman

The Four Types of Character Flaws: http://dld.bz/detke @angelaackerman

Hanging Writing Rules Out to Dry: http://dld.bz/detk7 @kerrylonsdale

4 Ways Childhood Reading Shapes Your Writing: http://dld.bz/detkF

Why the ‘marriage plot’ need never grow old: http://dld.bz/deu5w @pageturner @adellewaldman

Tips for staying committed to writing in the face of disappointment: http://dld.bz/deu58 @EddieLouise

Write Less, Not More: How to Slice and Dice Your Content: http://dld.bz/deu5A @jeffgoins

A gut check for writers: http://dld.bz/deu5H @SPressfield

Turning notes into a novel: http://dld.bz/cNTa7 @nownovel

Inside stories of memorable children’s books: http://dld.bz/deu5M @PublishersWkly

Tips for writing endings: http://dld.bz/deu5P @rxena77

5 Pearls of Wisdom from Bestselling Author Elizabeth George: http://dld.bz/deu6s @debutanteball

How a crit and accountability partner can help your writing: http://dld.bz/deu6w @jodcase @writersdigest

Famous Writers’ Sleep Habits vs. Literary Productivity, Visualized: http://dld.bz/deu68 @brainpicker

Why Every Writer Should Work for a Literary Magazine: http://dld.bz/deu7a @submittable @NathanielTower

A glossary of industry terms for writers: http://dld.bz/deu7e @juliabroadbooks

Small is the New Big: How to Attract Your Ideal Reader: http://dld.bz/deu7m @wherewriterswin

“10,000 Hours”: http://dld.bz/dezW7 @artoffate

9 Tips From A Best-Selling Novelist: http://dld.bz/dezWM @HesterHest @Forbes

2014 Writing Progress Spreadsheet: http://dld.bz/dezXh @jamieraintree

Advice to aspiring screenwriters: http://dld.bz/de3nT @Soulofthebiz

Author, Know Thyself: http://dld.bz/de3nV @Shay_Goodman

Rejection. Straight up, no ice. http://dld.bz/de3pc @tobywneal

4 Key Book Publishing Paths: http://dld.bz/cU564 @janefriedman

Myth–to sell, you must write what’s hot: http://dld.bz/de3pe @deanwesleysmith

Make your hero complex by choosing the right flaws: http://dld.bz/de3pf @angelaackerman

What 1 writer learned about going perma-free: http://dld.bz/de3pm @bryancohenbooks

Conference Takeaways on Self-Editing: http://dld.bz/de3pu

5 Ways to Get Your Pins Noticed on Pinterest: http://dld.bz/de3px @smexamimer

How narrating books is changing 1 writer’s writing: http://dld.bz/de3p4 @ventgalleries

How Dungeons and Dragons Can Help Your Writing (Even If You Don’t Play!) http://dld.bz/de3p7 @amylukavics

How to use Pinterest to attract new readers: http://dld.bz/de3p8

Writing heals: http://dld.bz/de3pA

Thoughts on character mannerisms: http://dld.bz/demg5 @NowNovel

10 steps to becoming a successful writer: http://dld.bz/demgX @mbcollings

9 Great Albums To Accompany Your Writing Process: http://dld.bz/depGZ @chris_shultz81

5 tips for writing romance: http://dld.bz/detjq @nownovel

Inside stories of memorable children’s books: http://dld.bz/deu5M @PublishersWkly

Every Article on Screenwriting You Never Have to Read Again: http://dld.bz/de3ye @scriptmag @dannymanus

9 Pointers for Getting Your Novel Included in Book Clubs: http://dld.bz/de3yf

Not self-pub, not trad pub–the 3rd option: http://dld.bz/de3yq @shewritesdotcom

What’s the Key to Solving the Book Discoverability Problem? http://dld.bz/de3yr @pubperspectives @passivevoiceblg

For the stressed writer: 10 Remarkable Ways Meditation Helps Your Mind: http://dld.bz/de3yx @psyblog

Keep at it–eventually, you’ll write a masterpiece: http://dld.bz/de3yy @writerunboxed

20 + Free Resources to Create a Simple Ebook: http://dld.bz/de3y5 @lahara

How to Rescue Time for Writing… and Author Marketing: http://dld.bz/de3y8 @wherewriterswin

12 Ways To Craft A Headline For Social Media and Blogging: http://dld.bz/de3yA @12Most @syedbalkhi

Smashwords Founder @MarkCoker Shares Tips For Self-Published Writers: http://dld.bz/de3yE @galleycat

The importance of rest for writers next year: http://dld.bz/de4kY @Porter_Anderson @brainpicker

The post Twitterific Writing Links appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.

Holiday Blogging Schedule

Aside from my Twitterific writing link round-ups on Sundays, I’m going to take a blogging  break until January 1.  After taking a long look at my to-do list (which includes Christmas and a book due January 1), I realized I need to get cracking !

Happy holidays to everyone and I’ll see you around for the two Twitterifics between now and January 1.

Image: MorgueFile:  Taliesin

The post Holiday Blogging Schedule appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.