Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 234

Twitterific

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! Here are writing links that I've posted to Twitter for the past week. If you're looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a CTRL+F, type your subject...

Narrowing Down Our Project

The past week, I've been at Harbor Island, South Carolina, enjoying the beach with my parents and children. Through the magic of WiFi, I've also been at my blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other places, too. Now I'm packing up to head back to North Carolina.

I've got a couple of books to write in the next 6-9 months, and sometimes my mind jumps around from favorite idea to favorite idea. At least mine are all in the same genre (well, a few aren't, but they're relegated to a Word file for...

Doing it All Wrong

I was back again at the YMCA, exercising with my children last week. This time I'd finished walking on the treadmill and decided to try out a weight machine I'd never used before.

I read the little sign on the side of the machine and hesitantly started out.

After a minute or two, I relaxed. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it seemed almost easy!

I was confidently lifting the weights when a big guy, with a YMCA badge on, walked up to me, frowning. "You're doing ...

Stretching Ourselves as Writers: by Deborah Sharp

Thanks so much, Elizabeth, for inviting me to guest at ''Mystery Writing is Murder.'' A lot of truth in that blog title, honey.

If you're a writer, you should be able to write anywhere, right? I was embracing that dictum recently while barreling south on the Florida Turnpike, cruise control set somewhere north of 70 mph.

Don't get your knickers in a knot, safe driving advocates. Both hands were firmly on the wheel. My husband was in the passenger seat with his laptop, typing away...

5 Ways to Promote Your Book Using Social Media--by Louise Baker

Social media can be used to promote just about anything, from a fashion show to a big sale at a large department store. For those who don't know what social media is, the term refers to any web-based technology that promotes interaction between users. Two of the most popular social media sites are Facebook and Twitter, but there are hundreds of social media sites out there. Here are five ways to use social media to promote your book.

1) Facebook Events

Use the events feature on...

Some Thoughts on Public Speaking

Because I have events in the next couple of months that will involve speaking, I decided to pull up my tips from a year ago and review them. (I haven't done any public speaking for a couple of months and I get rusty quickly.) In case anyone else is in the same boat, I'm running the post again here:

Five years ago, public speaking was a dreaded, but necessary, horror for me. You'd have had to shoot me with a tranquilizer dart and prop me up at the lectern to prevent me from looking like I...

Little Mistakes—How Much Do They Matter?

Maybe it's because it's Walmart, but I get annoyed every time I'm at the checkout because the sign says 12 items or less. It should be 12 items or fewer.

This, of course, makes no difference at all. The point is the same—if you have 13 or more items, don't stand in that line. (Although people do. That annoys me too, but that's a whole other issue.)

And when I took my dog to the vet the other day, I drove on a road that claimed it was a boulevard. A boulevard, by definition, is a wide ...

Twitterific

Here are writing links that I've posted to Twitter for the past week. If you're looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a CTRL+F, type your subject, and hit enter.

Purposeful Daydreaming:

You've Decided to Try for Publication. Now What?

From time to time, I'm going to run a post on the basics of looking for a publisher or agent. I frequently get emails from folks who are looking for very general, basic information—and sometimes they've just discovered the online writing community.

The biggest moment in my writing career came with the realization that I wanted to be published by a traditional publisher. Oddly, the big moment wasn't when I was accepted by a traditional publisher or when I found an agent to represent...

How Our Backgrounds Influence Our Writing: by Rick Chesler

I'd like to welcome Rick Chesler to Mystery Writing is Murder. Rick holds a Bachelor of Science in marine biology and has had a life-long interest in the ocean and its creatures. When not at work as an environmental project manager, he can be found scuba diving or traveling to research his next thriller idea. He currently lives in Honolulu, Hawaii with his wife, a cat and some fish. His book, Wired Kingdom, was released May 2010.

First of all, thanks to Elizabeth Spann Craig for having me a...