Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 68

December 30, 2018

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 48,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Have you visited the WKB lately? Check out the new redesign where you can browse by category, and sign up for free writing articles, on topics you choose, delivered to your email inbox! Sign up for the Hiveword newsletter here.

Happy New Year! Be sure to scroll down for the most popular links I shared in 2018. :)

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

Moscow’s ‘Non/Fictio№ 20’ Book Fair Hosts 400 Events, 300 Exhibitors: by Eugene Gerden @pubperspectives

Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels

9 Writing Tips for Beginners: @writingcookbook

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

3 Ideas To Inspire Your Writing During The Holidays: @mishy1727 @TheIWSG

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Five Books With Manipulated Memories: by W.L. Goodwater @tordotcom
Editor Roundtable: Jane Eyre: @TheWritership @StoryGrid
8 of the Best Cocktails from Classic Literature: by Alex Day and David Kaplan @SignatureReads
I Hear Santa’s Sleigh: On The Polar Express and What It Means to Believe: @use_theforce_em
When Calvin Met Hobbes: Calvin and Hobbes’ Most Memorable Christmases: @EmmanuelNataf @LitReactor

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

The One Tool You Need to Write Consistently: @NinaAmir
Tips for Fitting in More Writing: @createastorylov
Gave up on NaNoWriMo? Try a gentler, year-round writing challenge: @inkyelbows
4 Essential Strategies for Distraction-Free Writing: by Jon Rumens @NaNoWriMo

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

How the Grinch Beat Writer’s Block: 4 Lessons from Dr. Seuss’ Classic Christmas: Story by Cassie Lipp @WritersDigest

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

The Angst of Trying to Write Better Emails than Gmail’s Smart Compose Autocomplete: @DKThomp @TheAtlantic
Are You Taking Productive Breaks? @LisaEBetz @A3writers
Business Musings: Getting To The Stories You Love to Write: @KristineRusch
10 Perfect Writer Gifts We Just Made Up: @RL_Maizes @ElectricLit
Why Is Writing So Difficult? Here Are 3 Reasons Why: by Erin Sturm @thewritelife
What Do You Do If You’re Constantly Unhappy with Your Writing Life? @losapala
Write Your Own Touching Holiday Story With a Handy Chart: by Jess Zimmerman @ElectricLit
Writing at Christmas: @writing_ie

Genres / Horror

7 Tips For Writing Horror Stories: @AlanBaxter @thecreativepenn

Genres / Miscellaneous

Walking the Line When Submitting to the Christian Market: @RachelleGardner
How to Write Scientific Fiction: Analyzing Carl Sagan’s ‘Contact’: @DustinGrinnell @WritersDigest

Genres / Mystery

Disapproval of Character Marriages as an Element of Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Jessica Fletcher and ‘Murder, She Wrote’ Are Alive and Well: @JonDLand @CrimeReads
Crime Novels that Take a Witty View of Society: @mkinberg
What You Can Learn about Writing Cozy Mysteries from Hallmark Christmas Movies: by Jennifer Donovan @MinotaurBooks @CareerAuthors @hallmarkmovie

Genres / Non-Fiction

How to Define and Describe Your Readership: A Confusing Issue for Nonfiction Book Proposals: @JaneFriedman

Genres / Romance

What Makes a Compelling Romance Novel? @ReedsyHQ

Genres / Screenwriting

Screenwriting: Reflections on “It’s a Wonderful Life”: @SunsetGunShot @GoIntoTheStory
“A Charlie Brown Christmas”: The Christmas Classic that Almost Wasn’t: @rxena77

Genres / Young Adult

Paying it Forward with YA Fiction: @claireneedell @CareerAuthors

Promo / Connecting with Readers

Your Ideal Reader Informs All 7 Stages of Publishing: @BookWorksNYC @SmartAuthors

Promo / Miscellaneous

How to Use Swag to Support Your Book Marketing: @proflangley @JaneFriedman

Promo / Newsletters

Simple Steps to an Author Auto-Responder: @MarcyKennedy

Promo / Video

Guest Post! What Authors Can Get Out Of Video Content: by Kayleigh Alexandra @Draft2Digital

Publishing / Miscellaneous

LIMA’s Tani Wong on Leveraging Content Through Licensing: @Porter_Anderson
Climate Crisis and Fake News Top 2018 International Research Papers: @Porter_Anderson @altmetric
Industry Notes: MVB US Announces Successful Pubnet 2.0 Migration: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
3 Publishing Veterans From the ‘Cubicles of the Business’ Now Rep Authors as Agents: @blackpooltower @missjkill by @Porter_Anderson

Publishing / News / Data

2018 in Review at Canada’s Wattpad: 51 Percent More Readings in Muslim Romance: @Porter_Anderson @AshleighGardner

Publishing / News / International Publishing

IPR License Signs S. Fischer Publishing Houses in Germany to Its Network: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
In Paris, a Meeting of Franco-Arabic Publishers: Challenges and Hopes: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives

Publishing / Process / Legalities

Upon My Death: What Happens To An Author’s Unfinished Work? @helpfulsnowman

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

How To Define Your Character’s Narrative: @Writers_Write
Make Your Characters Flawsome: by S.E. White

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

3 Ways Ursula K. Le Guin Can Help You Improve Your Writing: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

3 Writing Challenges That Will Make You a Better Writer: @DavidHSafford @write_practice
How Eavesdropping Can Improve Your Writing: @EdieMelson

Writing Craft / POV

Write Third-Person Narrative Better: @KathyEdens1 @ProWritingAid
How Many Viewpoint Characters in Your Novel? @SnowflakeGuy

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Problem Words and Abbreviations: @ZoeMMcCarthy

Writing Craft / Scenes

Tips for Writing Powerful Scenes: @SarahSallyHamer @EdieMelson

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

The Sights, Sounds and Smells of Writing About Food: @FinishedPages @womenonwriting

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Tips for Using Strong Verbs: @TCKPublishing

Uncategorized

Rights Roundup: The Midway Point at London Book Fair: @Porter_Anderson @LondonBookFair @pubperspectives #TopTweets2018
Interested in being a full-time writer? My thoughts on what it takes: (guest post with @annerallen ) #TopTweets2018

How To Focus On Writing Right Now: http://ow.ly/Xp2o30mGtYv @BadRedheadMedia #TopTweets2018

‘In Regard To’ vs. ‘In Regards To’: http://ow.ly/9qJk30mzO6n @GrammarGirl #TopTweets2018

3 Tips for Improving Show, Don’t Tell: http://ow.ly/PXZB30mCVNr @KMWeiland #TopTweets2018

Three Ways to Edit Scenes: http://ow.ly/udz230mtkEl @Lindasclare #TopTweets2018

How to Cherish Language: http://ow.ly/2bXY30mBMDv @KMWeiland #TopTweets2018

Rights Roundup: A Handful of Titles for the Holidays: http://ow.ly/EonV30mOqat @Porter_Anderson @malusken @GuillaumePitron @SiriPettersen #TopTweets2018

Lose The Plot: http://ow.ly/TB3W30moAR1@LouiseVoss1 @WomenWriters #TopTweets2018

Bucket List for Writers: http://ow.ly/9fjG30myyN6 by Keith Cronin @WriterUnboxed #TopTweets208

What Writing Fanfiction Taught Me as an Editor: http://ow.ly/CsAa30mCozO @writersyndrome @UncannyMagazine #TopTweets2018

Want to Self-Publish Fiction Successfully? Follow These 9 Tips: http://ow.ly/8ZkI30msJia @annerallen #TopTweets2018

Dialogue Isn’t Everything (How to Keep Your Characters Busy): http://ow.ly/A43i30mAh7Q @FinishedPages @womenonwriting #TopTweets2018

Screenwriting: Top 5 Scene Description Mistakes Writers Make: http://ow.ly/qer530mqssf @Bang2write #TopTweets2018

10 Books to help you feel like a real writer when you’re discouraged: http://ow.ly/wmTR30mguaW @JanetBoyer @annerallen #TopTweets2018

Max Boot’s ‘Corrosion of Conservatism’: A ‘Big Book’ for WW Norton at Frankfurt: http://ow.ly/s9Tc30m9Oy8 @Porter_Anderson @MaxBoot #TopTweets2018

How Wilkie Collins found sensation in ordinary life: http://ow.ly/mTqz30lOMcC @samjordison @GuardianBooks #TopTweets2018

The 12 Best and Worst Things That Can Happen After Your Freelance Article Is Accepted: http://ow.ly/Z87J30lUGA8 @Susanshapironet @WritersDigest #TopTweets2018

A Librarian’s Life: Buddy, the Library Isn’t a 7-Eleven”: http://ow.ly/5jAt30lPHQa @Kristen_Arnett @lithub #TopTweets2018

Breaking the 4th Wall in Scene Description: http://ow.ly/ziCt30m7NjR @GoIntoTheStory #TopTweets2018

Giving Ourselves Permission to Write: http://ow.ly/jEtf30lZJg5 @KerrySchafer @WomenWriters #TopTweets2018

5 Ways to Use the Enneagram to Write Better Characters: http://ow.ly/JglO30lXGuF @KMWeiland #TopTweets2018

Urban Fantasy Noir: 7 Urban Fantasy Crime Novels With Dark Sensibilities: http://ow.ly/hGJW30lY1gw @Richard_Kadrey @CrimeReads #TopTweets2018

A Fantasy Geek’s Guide to YouTube: Weapons and Warfare: http://ow.ly/6V9V30m64vX @RMarpole @FantasyFaction #TopTweets2018

10 Exercises to Become a Better Writer: http://ow.ly/XCUY30lTKrj @ReedsyHQ #TopTweets2018

7 Novels That Capture the Pain and Chaos of Alcoholism: http://ow.ly/oaHl30lQ3Jm @laura_june @lithub #TopTweets2018

How to Write Historical Fiction That Comes Alive: http://ow.ly/fjrA30m642d @JimmyWriter @CareerAuthors #TopTweets2018

The Satisfaction of Excellence: The Growth Mindset for Writers: http://ow.ly/I3zW30lqaeF @jennienash #TopTweets2018

What is the Best Service for Print on Demand Books? http://ow.ly/Cq6230lKCU3 @ReedsyHQ #TopTweets2018

‘Vintage Man Booker’ Is Launched, an Online Retrospective on the Prize’s First 50 Years: http://ow.ly/4PmH30lHVbY @Porter_Anderson @ManBookerPrize #TopTweets2018

The Dos and Don’ts of Supporting Your Local Library: http://ow.ly/QxIu30lE9ZE @Kristen_Arnett @lithub #TopTweets2018

Use The 7 Deadly Sins To Strengthen Your Antagonist’s Motives: http://ow.ly/kjlX30lsB2b @Writers_Write #TopTweets2018

How to Start a Local Writing Group: http://ow.ly/V0G930lyfy5 @shaylaleeraquel #TopTweets2018

Crafting A Fall: Turning Heroes to the Dark Side: http://ow.ly/HXy230lt0U7 by Aaron Miles @FantasyFaction #TopTweets2018

“Mistakes I Made as a New Indie Author”: http://ow.ly/ypxe30lxWoB @Creativindie @annerallen #TopTweets2018″

Use reversal to hook the reader: http://ow.ly/abCZ30lLOez @kseniaanske #TopTweets2018

Interested in being a full-time writer? My thoughts on what it takes: http://ow.ly/tkmz30mZCR7 (guest post with @annerallen ) #TopTweets2018

Five Books About Unconventional Pirates: http://ow.ly/jCFR30lJJQj @seesarawrite @tordotcom #TopTweets2018

Why Backstory Should Be The Scar Tissue Of Your Book: http://ow.ly/rzPw30lEa3u @Writers_Write #TopTweets2018

On (Re)Writing Real-Life Tragedy: http://ow.ly/v1oS30lhywz @KimberlySBelle @WomenWriters #TopTweets2018

5 Things George R. R. Martin Can Teach You About Writing: http://ow.ly/KUEW30lebAu @FredBobJohn #TopTweets2018

The 13 Unluckiest Characters In Fiction: http://ow.ly/k8SP30lnaUK @xymarla @LitReactor #TopTweets2018

Telling LGBTQ Love Stories with Happy Endings Is a Form of Resistance: http://ow.ly/pKlW30l6Twl @CamillePerri @ElectricLit #TopTweets2018

New Report: American Teens Spend Less Time Reading: http://ow.ly/gkx830lvyg7 @Porter_Anderson @jean_twenge #TopTweets2018

For the Love of Libraries: http://ow.ly/RYb130l92bM @SarahMMcCoy @WriterUnboxed #TopTweets2018

10 Reasons Book Reviews Still Matter: http://ow.ly/jDkx30ln0QW @Gabino_Iglesias #TopTweets2018

Poems for Any Occasion: http://ow.ly/wVP730l3MM9 @AnnieNeugebauer @LitReactor #TopTweets2018

How young writers are leading a poetry comeback: http://ow.ly/PmTh30lmKFL @JenHijaz @NewsHour #TopTweets2018

Punctuation Boot Camp: http://ow.ly/fJps30llQjz by Gail Radley @TheWriterMag #TopTweets2018

When To Utilize An Ensemble Cast and How To Do It Well: http://ow.ly/JxN830lpGjr @JoshuaIsard @LitReactor #TopTweets2018

A plea to authors to speak out about piracy: http://ow.ly/5jt830lmPNu @Roz_Morris #TopTweets2018

What It Means to Be a Writing Teacher in the Age of School Shootings: http://ow.ly/XRHe30kJybQ @elisejuska @ElectricLit #TopTweets2018

How to Create a Character Profile: the Ultimate Guide (with Template): http://ow.ly/LfvG30kJyfs @ReedsyHQ #TopTweets2018

Agent Spotlight Interview with Literary Agent @eerie_o : http://ow.ly/OfHw30kLe6k @NatalieIAguirre #TopTweets2018

How the Truth Your Character Believes Defines Your Theme: http://ow.ly/2UcJ30kG8Kf @KMWeiland #TopTweets2018

9 Things I Learned From Reading 45 Books At Once: http://ow.ly/YmWS30kNAvQ @Gabino_Iglesias #TopTweets2018

Who Will Buy Your Book? Validation isn’t the Point: http://ow.ly/YWBm30kA5YY @t_mcallister @The_Millions #TopTweets2018

What is a Denouement? And How to Use It: http://ow.ly/GUZV30kKqTf @ReedsyHQ #TopTweets2018

4 Ways to Write a Better Antagonist: http://ow.ly/FcGx30kNApk @KMWeiland #TopTweets2018

Tips for Reading Longer Classical Novels: http://ow.ly/xSRd30kRy5a @VivGroskop @GuardianBooks #TopTweets2018

12 Rules for Writing a Biographical Novel: http://ow.ly/gfMw30kMgAw @sallykoslow @CareerAuthors #TopTweets2018

Discover the Plot of Your Post-Apocalyptic Novel With a Handy Chart: http://ow.ly/9MZz30kQXx7 by Jess Zimmerman and Halimah Marcus @ElectricLit #TopTweets2018

Why Your First Novel Isn’t Crap: http://ow.ly/5wBw30kSEQA @LisaLisax31 #TopTweets2018

What Does It Mean to Be a Disabled Writer? http://ow.ly/SQm830kmA0m by Alex Lu @Keah_Maria @esmewang @ElectricLit #TopTweets2018

Want Publishing Success? Be a Great Writer and Clever Marketer: http://ow.ly/3t4C30kka5Z @EvatopiaLit @BadRedheadMedia #TopTweets2018

7 Reasons You Need To Hire an Author Assistant Right Now: http://ow.ly/kzF330k9jWb @TheRuralVA @BadRedheadMedia #TopTweets2018

8 Types Of Opening Scenes That Could Work For Your Book: http://ow.ly/CINF30kpXFR @Writers_Write #TopTweets2018

9 Quotes About The Library As A Temple: http://ow.ly/4dIZ30kfJgK @TomBlunt @SignatureReads #TopTweets2018

Supporting Disability Amongst Writers: http://ow.ly/yt8w30k4LKj @nick45wood @sfwa #TopTweets2018

How Reader Analytics Can Support Publishers’ Decisions: http://ow.ly/QSqN30kHMVb @Porter_Anderson @ContecMXOficial #TopTweets2018

10 Cliffhangers That Make Readers Turn The Page: http://ow.ly/RbpQ30kjnXu @Writers_Write #TopTweets2018

The Novel Within the Novel: 8 Meta Stories With Thrillers Inside: http://ow.ly/Gimz30k3BQJ @sarabooks @CrimeReads #TopTweets2018

Rejected? Top 5 Tips What To Do About It: http://ow.ly/FsGe30ke8AG @Bang2write #TopTweets2018

What is a plot point? Find and Plan Clear Story Events: http://ow.ly/XbZU30kcyuw @nownovel #TopTweets2018

Reading Your Story Out Loud in the Revision Period: http://ow.ly/f2h330kxIUh @NickPWilford @TheIWSG #TopTweets2018

Important Reasons Authors Need to Think About Blogging: http://ow.ly/kOpk30kuirv @kikimojo @BadRedheadMedia #TopTweets2018

On Telling Ugly Stories: Writing with a Chronic Illness: http://ow.ly/7fPM30jUHe9 @TisforThompson @parisreview #TopTweets2018

What Exactly Does a Librarian Do? Everything: http://ow.ly/eadf30jAI7l @Kristen_Arnett @lithub #TopTweets2018

A Bunch of Hard Truths About Publishing: http://ow.ly/kXM730jWJUT @RuthanneReid #TopTweets2018

The Best Podcasts for Writers: http://ow.ly/cMjt30jADT8 @WrittenWordM #TopTweets2018

Why All Writers Should Play Dungeons & Dragons: http://ow.ly/Sgwn30jZSDc @ElectricLit #TopTweets2018

Writing Realistic Antagonists: http://ow.ly/xOhB30kc8nN @TyreanMartinson @TheIWSG #TopTweets2018

6 Simple Ways To Help You Find Out What Your Memoir’s About: http://ow.ly/E7Fz30jYhTO @Writers_Write #TopTweets2018

10 Literary Classics We (Not So) Secretly Hate: http://ow.ly/mXIs30jzxkX @knownemily @lithub #TopTweets2018

How To Show Your Alpha Hero is In Control Even When Writing In Deep POV: http://ow.ly/FGYZ30jStXZ @LisaHallWilson #TopTweets2018

How to Find the Conflict in a Story: http://ow.ly/uGVx30jXKmX @DavidHSafford #TopTweets2018

10 Literary Holidays We Desperately Need: http://ow.ly/eeSc30jGLaE @helpfulsnowman #TopTweets2018

Creating a fantasy map: making your fantasy world real: http://ow.ly/ozlq30jywOF @Magpie_Richie @SchmidtJesper #TopTweets2018

Is British English Conquering America, or Vice Versa? http://ow.ly/HUsa30juvjG @lynneguist @nytimesbooks #TopTweets2018

Rights Roundup: The Midway Point at London Book Fair: http://ow.ly/NB8930jqQLo @Porter_Anderson @LondonBookFair @pubperspectives #TopTweets2018

Developing Your Cozy Mystery Story Concept: http://ow.ly/PQD730jCRe2 #TopTweets2018

John Grisham’s 8 Dos And Don’ts For Popular Fiction: http://ow.ly/P1Ue30jmY9l @writerswrite #TopTweets2018

Kerouac’s 30 Rules for Writing: http://ow.ly/ZrXU30jpyQc @Writers_Write #TopTweets2018

10 Success Tips from J.K. Rowling: http://ow.ly/b2MX30ju6mi @JennyHansenCA #TopTweets2018

PEN America takes on the problems writers face in online harassment with a new guide for protection: http://ow.ly/qo0N30jIMTT @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives #TopTweets2018

Real World Writing Schedules: http://ow.ly/8sNx30jpz3d by Karl J. Folk @kseniaanske #TopTweets2018

The Strange Magic of Libraries: http://ow.ly/me4530joRAC @StuartKells @parisreview #TopTweets2018

How to Create Pre-Launch Buzz: http://ow.ly/AWop30j1G9E @BadRedheadMedia #TopTweets2018

How to plan a successful DIY book tour: http://ow.ly/8xpf30jvxXF @byJenAMiller @TheWriterMag #TopTweets2018

11 Ways to Promote Preorder Books that Drive Real Results: http://ow.ly/aXmD30juo1U @ThereseWalsh #TopTweets2018

10 Things The Gym Taught Me About Writing: http://ow.ly/Y2XH30itajQ @Gabino_Iglesias @LitReactor #TopTweets2018

Top Ten Peeves of creative writing teachers: http://ow.ly/skP830iK8G8 By Melodie Campbell @annerallen #TopTweets2018

Agent Spotlight Interview with @literarycarrie from @LDLiteraryhttp http://ow.ly/p6Rg30iL1EG @NatalieIAguirre #TopTweets2018

What’s Your Ideal Writing Life? http://ow.ly/O0mq30iMuTp @LifesizeLD @WritersDigest #TopTweets2018

How Authors Can Build An Indie Empire: How You Advertise Matters: http://ow.ly/8I7230iSu6S @TraciTyneHilton on @EdieMelson #TopTweets2018

Writing a Cozy Mystery: The Murder: http://ow.ly/9U4P30iAwSt @LauraDiSilverio #TopTweets2018

Ten Reasons Why You Need an Editor: http://ow.ly/nZmD30izWM8 @carolcram @WomenWriters #TopTweets2018

13 Writers Who Grew to Hate Their Own Books: http://ow.ly/rY9N30iqMrq @knownemily@lithub #TopTweets2018

Norway’s Big Translation Rights Year: ‘An Increasing International Appeal’: http://ow.ly/BgGQ30jbRqb @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives #TopTweets2018

Want To Invent A Fictional Language? Here’s How To Do It: http://ow.ly/QDAy30iRVYb by Robert Wood @standoutbooks #TopTweets2018

Pros and Cons of Pre-Plotting a Novel before Writing: http://ow.ly/XCW730iTC1q @plotwhisperer #TopTweets2018

Crime fiction: when sleuths have to go back to the drawing board: http://ow.ly/xdND30j18Jz @mkinberg #TopTweets2018

How Netflix is Changing Science Fiction (Beyond Big Marketing Gimmicks): http://ow.ly/jIdC30iHEp7 @AlasdairStuart @tordotcom #TopTweets2018

Ten Steps to Perfect Cover Design: http://ow.ly/fZpH30imlMw @RuthanneReid #TopTweets2018

An Agent Or Editor Is Interested: What Next? http://ow.ly/iykG30imlHI @jules_writes #TopTweets2018

It’s Okay to Use Adverbs: http://ow.ly/VSp130imm2u @Janice_Hardy #TopTweets2018

Strategies for bringing yourself back to writing: http://ow.ly/PY3v30imlyC @MichalskiLiz @WriterUnboxed #TopTweets2018

On Ghostwriting: http://ow.ly/OsvQ30imlsv @GhostwriterBook @ReedsyHQ #TopTweets2018

Opening Action: how to make it work: http://ow.ly/JuTK30imlZM @ml_keller #TopTweets2018

Ten Things Learned from Ursula K. Le Guin: http://ow.ly/1QHX30imli0 by Karen Joy Fowler @parisreview #TopTweets2018

How to Grow Your Writing Portfolio This Year: http://ow.ly/leEV30ikAe2 @RDCwrites #TopTweets2018

Real Writers Power thru the Flu, Right? Wrong: http://ow.ly/HM8230imlVY @RosanneBane #TopTweets2018

Agent Nermin Mollaoglu: The French Market Is Beginning To Open Its Doors to Turkish Books: http://ow.ly/YbMs30iDTJS @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives #TopTweets2018

Nuclear Radiation for Writers: http://ow.ly/NjoQ30ikAc8 @DanKoboldt @RebeccaEnzor #TopTweets2018

How Writers Can Beat Imposter Syndrome: http://ow.ly/FoBi30ikAaj @kcrosswriting @lornafaith #TopTweets2018

3 Steps to Increase your Discoverability: http://ow.ly/E1iW30hFBWw by Bryan Oettel @CareerAuthors #TopTweets2018

5 Tips on Writing Multiple Points of View While Keeping the Reader in Suspense: http://ow.ly/z52c30hJFMU @TRRaganAuthor @WritersDigest #TopTweets2018

Improve Your Novel By Writing a Screenplay: http://ow.ly/KjZV30hpQD6 @JocelynRish @MartinaABoone #TopTweets2018

How to Write a Hook: 8 Tips to Lure in Readers: http://ow.ly/OymN30hmYnW @nownovel #TopTweets2018

Unpublished Writers and Websites: Should You Have One and What Should It Say? http://ow.ly/tfeR30hcj8O @JaneFriedman #TopTweets2018

How to Write When You Don’t Have Time: http://ow.ly/mG4a30hlTWr @SeptCFawkes #TopTweets2018

The semicolon is pointless, and it’s ruining your writing: http://ow.ly/Kk6q30hFzS7 @shadimirza #TopTweets2018

Why Even New Writers Need to Prepare an Author Bio: http://ow.ly/YZbW30hA1bZ @annerallen #TopTweets2018

Presenting Your Book Cover (in a Media Kit): http://ow.ly/8eQ530hymDZ @BuildYourBrandA #TopTweets2018

A.A. Milne on Happiness and How Winnie-the-Pooh Was Born: http://ow.ly/im0230hRZgI @brainpicker #TopTweets2018

How Indie Presses Are Elevating the Publishing World: http://ow.ly/ppcO30hCkEr @jbakernyc @RMoralesKearns @lcheuk @ForestAvePress #TopTweets2018

55 Social Media Hashtags For Authors (And How To Use Them): http://ow.ly/JBbq30hvyVg @WritersRelief #TopTweets2018

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Published on December 30, 2018 05:05

December 15, 2018

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

New Stuff

Reedsy has a podcast designed to help new writers learn more about writing and self-publishing a book, “one chapter at a time.” Find out more here.

Happy Holidays to all who celebrate. I will be taking a blog break until I return two weeks from today with all the top tweets from 2018. I’ll be back on a regular blogging scheduled on Friday, January 4.

Business / Miscellaneous

How to be prolific: @thecreativepenn @beprolifiko
Teaching Writing: Writing Conferences: What to Do When a Writer Doesn’t Say Much? @LannyBall
Don’ts for Publishers in 2019: by Richard Charkin @pubperspectives
Crisis Management For Authors: @cksyme @thecreativepenn
7 Things You Need In A Writing Partner: by Gila Green @Writers_Write
6 Tips to Manage Your Book Editor: by Dana Isaacson @CareerAuthors
How Do I Get a Foreword for My Book? by Alex Fullerton @IngramSpark

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

British Book Awards Expanded for 2019 in Children’s Books, Small Presses: @Porter_Anderson
ALDUS Network’s Facts and Figures 2018 Report: Book Fairs in Europe: @Porter_Anderson
Do Bookstore Events Even Matter? by Dana Kaye @BookBaby

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

6 Iconic Literary Road Trips in the US To Inspire Your Inner Creative: @WomenWriters
10 Creative Writing Exercises for Beginners and Writers: @TCKPublishing

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

8 Books about Family Money: @bykathywang @ElectricLit
11 Modern Classics of Conspiracy Noir: @DwyerMurphy @CrimeReads
George R. R. Martin Might Never Finish A Song of Ice and Fire, and That’s OK: @Rosserford @BNBuzz
A Reading List of Books Published Posthumously: @JRRamakrishnan @ElectricLit
9 Great Medical Thrillers—Chosen by a Physician: @LydiaYKang @CrimeReads
8 Modern Gothic Mysteries to Read Now: @wendywebbauthor @CrimeReads

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

6 Ways to Deal with Your Inner Critic: @writingthrulife

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Why You Should Stop Calling Yourself An ‘Aspiring Writer’: @Bang2write
5 Lessons From a Lost Novel: @KMWeiland
Three ways to get the most out of your writing community: @TheLeighShulman
A Reading List for Combating Impostor Syndrome: @natasha__young @ElectricLit
Writer Wellness: Handling Reviews and the Sedentary Lifestyle: @allisonmaruska @colleen_m_story
Writer Confidence: Do You Self-Reject? @JamiGold
How To Stop Being An Unhappy Writer: @Bang2write
Tips for Making the Writing Life Less-Stressful:

Genres / Fantasy

History for Fantasy Writers: Millers: by E.L. Skip Knox @mythicscribes

Genres / Horror

Plausible Scares: Blending the Real and Unreal in Horror Fiction: @DustinGrinnell @WritersDigest
5 Horror Techniques from the Writers of “Hereditary”: @mindofkyleam @ProWritingAid
How Horror Changed After WWI: @monstersamerica @lithub

Genres / Miscellaneous

10 Essential Elements to Include in Your Gothic Novel: @CareerAuthors

Genres / Mystery

Make Your Mystery Suspects Suspicious: @ZaraAltair
Why Investigative Reporters Become Mystery Writers: by Steven Cooper @CrimeReads
Your Sleuth in First Person Point of View: @ZaraAltair
Sidekick – The Sleuth’s Mirror: @ZaraAltair
The Sleuth Triumphant – Confront the Killer at the End of Your Mystery: @ZaraAltair
Developing a New Cozy Series: Nuts and Bolts:
The Detective Closes In – Begin the Final Act of Your Mystery: @ZaraAltair
Defining a Cozy Mystery: @vickidelany @KillerNashville
On The Many Visions of Voyeurism in Crime Fiction: @ClaireFuller2 @CrimeReads
Where to Hide the Body: Setting in Murder Mysteries: @eawright @WomenWriters
Crime Fiction: Using Moles for Inside Information: @mkinberg
Planted Evidence as an Element of Crime Fiction: @mkinberg

Genres / Non-Fiction

Enliven Your Nonfiction Writing: @AnneJanzer @NonfictionAssoc
8 Tips for a Marketable Nonfiction Book Proposal: @melanievotaw @NonfictionAssoc

Genres / Picture Books

Children’s Books Get More Political and More Progressive: @jpinsk @TheAtlantic

Genres / Romance

The Origin of Clinch Covers on Romance Novels: by Jessica Avery @BookRiot

Promo / Ads

How to Use Paid Promotions to Launch Your Book: @kikimojo

Promo / Blogging

How to Write a Great Blog Post: A Beginner’s Guide: @crsmihai

Promo / Book Reviews

The Plus Side of Negative Reviews: by Craig Tuch @pbackwriter

Promo / Connecting with Readers

Staying Afloat in the Roiling Sea of Books: @jamesscottbell

Promo / Miscellaneous

7 Ways To Market Books For Children: @kareninglis @DavidGaughran
Being Published: Publicity: @emma_darwin
Have You Pre-Sold Your Book? @JFbookman
7 Ways to Write Book Promotion into Your Novel: @Bookgal

Promo / Platforms

Build Your Writer Platform: Create a Strategic Plan to Grow Your Writing Career: @KimberleyGrabas

Promo / Social Media Tips

How to Use Instagram Stories for Your Author Platform: @EJWenstrom @DIYMFA
How Authors Can Get the Most Out of Twitter: @ReedsyHQ

Promo / Video

Popular BookTube Channels for Possible Author Promo: @ReedsyHQ

Publishing / News / Amazon

Amazon Literary Partnership Is Accepting 2019 Applications in ‘A Writer’s Life Cycle’ @Porter_Anderson @nealthompson

Publishing / News / Data

AAP StatShot Monthly Report for October: A Rare Rise for Ebooks: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / News / International Publishing

UK Trade Associations Call for Professional Behavior in a Diverse Industry: @Porter_Anderson @MerylHalls @lizzykremer
Luiz Schwarcz Tackles Brazil’s Bookselling Emergency: ‘The Gift of Books’: @Porter_Anderson
Jorge Herralde of Spain’s Anagrama on Latin America and Being Adaptable: by Adam Critchley @pubperspectives
Industry Notes: Bologna Round Table in New York; New ‘Handmaid’ Images in Milan: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Denmark’s LEGO Has Licensing Partnership With USA’s Chronicle Books: @Porter_Anderson
Publishers Applaud Appeals Court Opinion in ‘Capitol Records v. ReDigi’ Copyright Case: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing

5 Things to Know about Being Published: @nicolamorgan @TheIWSG

Publishing / Process / Book Design

How to Capture Alternating Plot Lines on a Book Cover: by Donna Cheng @lithub

Publishing / Process / Legalities

Copyright Clearance Center’s Michael Healy: South Africa’s Copyright Bill: @Porter_Anderson @copyrightclear
The Importance of Copyright Savvy: @KristineRusch

Pen Name Generators and 5 Steps to Choose a Cool Pen Name: @DaveChesson

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Make Your Characters Memorable: Tips: @JordanDane @killzoneauthors
3 Redemptive Character Types: @SeptCFawkes

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

Evoking Emotions in Readers in a Masterful Way: @LiveWriteThrive

Writing Craft / Conflict

Tips for Writing Fight Scenes: from Sandy Dragon

Writing Craft / Dialogue

Adding Beats: Meaningful Actions that Move Your Story Along: @SueBEdwards
How to Write Better Dialogue: from Warrior Writers

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Writing by Intuition: @SeptCFawkes
Inciting Incident: Definition, Mythbusting, and Examples: @ReedsyHQ

Writing Craft / Plot Holes

How to Fix a Plot Hole in Your Novel (From 14 Writing Experts): @writingcookbook

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming

Creatively Smart Ways to Come Up With Your Book Title: @DaveChesson

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

Writing Subplots that Sing: @Lindasclare

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

4 Tips to Balance Research and Writing: @DanKoboldt @NaNoWriMo

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Beats

How Does the Catalyst Beat Vary According to Genre? (podcast): @savethecat

Writing Craft / Revision

Radical Revision: when the going gets tough, writers get radical: @RuthHarrisBooks
10 Ways You Can Improve Your Work With Critical Reading: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Unveiling your characters: Physical description with style: @LouiseHarnby

Writing Craft / Voice

Four Tips for Moving Between Fiction and Nonfiction Writing Voices: @kayladeanwrites @DIYMFA

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

The Pitfalls of Emotional Body Language in Your Writing: by T.D. Storm
What’s Wrong with Adjectives and Adverbs? @WritingForward
5 Ways Language Can Act Like A Character: @jcwalton24 @DIYMFA

Writing Tools / Resources

How to Introduce a Character – Fill-in-the-Blanks Worksheet & Tips: @EvaDeverell

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Published on December 15, 2018 21:02

December 13, 2018

Tips for Making the Writing Life Less-Stressful

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Although I love what I do and can’t really imagine myself doing anything else, it’s not as if the writing life isn’t stressful. It’s not all The Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

There are always things that need our attention that compete with writing–kids, our parents, household repairs, jobs, etc. Then there’s managing daily life: meals, appointments, events. On top of it all, we need to take care of ourselves (probably the last thing on most of our lists, but one of the most important): exercise, sleep, healthy eating.

Invariably in interviews I’m asked how I manage everything and keep a sense of balance. I know exactly how I manage everything…I’m the queen of organization. I organize things (even other people in my family) within an inch of their lives. The balance? Well, some days are more balanced than others.

Here are some of my tips for keeping sane as a writer:

Lists: I’ve talked a lot about my lists and am sure I’ll do it again soon. It’s what keeps me from completely losing track of everything. My tools: I use Evernote for recipes (including notes on who liked what and who thought something needed broccoli in it, etc.). I use Google Keep to remind me of important things (you can set notifications) and to make a menu and shopping list for the week…that way I always have it with me. I use OneNote for keeping track of ISBNs, formatting notes, IngramSpark codes, etc. I also use calendars to keep me organized–more about this, specifically, in a post coming up on Jan. 4.

Batching tasks: This is just a productivity trick that works well for me. Once I get my head into a task, it makes sense for me to keep doing it instead of switching to something else or multitasking. So if I write one blog post, it makes sense to write 2 or 3 more. If I am assigning ISBNs for a book, I may as well go ahead and assign them for the next book in another series. And I always outline the next book in Series A after finishing a book in Series A and before switching over to a book in Series B.

Timers: I live by my timers because they help get me over that initial I don’t want to do this. That might be working on my outline for 20 minutes or it might be sitting down and making a list of what’s left to do to get ready for Christmas. My favorite one right now is a Pomodoro-style, free online timer: https://tomato-timer.com You can change the times in settings. I have one for 12 minutes, one for 10 minutes, and one for 5 minutes.

My approach to things that might be procrastinated: I take the most important (or most dreaded) tasks of the day and get them out of the way the very first thing. For me, it’s writing and exercise. Some people call this ‘eating the frog first.’

Planning for the week ahead: On Sundays, I take a look at my calendar for the week and get a sense of what’s ahead. This is also when I plan my menus for the week and make a grocery list.

Paperwork: Taxes aren’t fun. I have a CPA to help me now because my taxes started getting confusing five years ago. Through the year, whenever I have a writing-related expense (this could be postage to mail books…and the gas it took to drive to the post office, pro-level software for tools like Hootsuite and Feedly, cover design, website support, etc.), I add it to a special folder. It also helps that I have a bank account solely for my writing business and can see deposits and withdrawals there.

Saying no: I used to rarely say no to opportunities, maybe fearing I wouldn’t get more offers. But this past year I’ve been asked to do any number of things and turned them down in favor of writing (and working on all the other things I’m juggling).

These are just a few ways that I try to keep my life from getting too hectic…what are some of yours?

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Published on December 13, 2018 21:02

December 9, 2018

Developing a New Cozy Series: Nuts and Bolts

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Today I thought I’d cover my process for starting a new cozy series. This post isn’t intended to replace the more in-depth posts I created for developing a sleuth, sidekick, setting, et al. For tips on the nitty gritty part of developing those specific elements, see those particular posts and this series.

My thought on creating a new series this time was to look at all the specific elements and put them on a Word document. I brainstormed ideas for each element and wrote down pros and cons of every choice.

I started out with the sleuth. Considerations were: age of the sleuth, gender of the sleuth (there are cozies with male sleuths…I’ve been asked about this regularly by male mystery writers), sleuth’s occupation (the theme/hook is incredibly important in a cozy mystery), and his or her personality type.

The theme or hook of the book came next. As I mentioned in this post, the choice of theme is a big one for cozy mysteries. I made the list, considering how comfortable I’d feel writing the theme long-term, how much research was entailed in the hook, and how saturated the market was with that particular theme.

The setting came next. Considerations: fictional or real (there are advantages to both, although now I prefer a made-up town with real origins so that I can map the setting in my head)? Small town or city (the majority of cozies use small towns, but there are successful series set in cities)? What is the main setting for the hook (for me, it’s been a barbeque restaurant and a quilt shop…the Myrtle series, however, doesn’t have one and it works fine)?

Then I considered the sidekick. What was I looking for in a sidekick? What age in relation to the sleuth? What gender? Does the sidekick provide the humorous bits (humor also important in a cozy), or is the sidekick the straight man? Is the sidekick a friend or a colleague? I came up with a list of candidates and pros and cons of all the choices. (Would having a retired male sidekick be too similar to another of my series? Would having a really outgoing sidekick with my more-introverted sleuth lead to scene-stealing?)

I moved on to quirky recurring characters. You guessed it: this is another vital component of cozies. First off, how many should I have, considering that I’d need 5 suspects for each story and didn’t want to bog readers down? Next, what was their relation to the sleuth? (In my other series, they’ve been everything from neighbors to book club members, to members in a quilt guild, to shop owners.)

Next, I considered whether to have a love interest for my sleuth. There are a lot of single sleuths out there in cozy mysteries (widowed or unmarried) because avoiding a husband in a mystery series is similar to avoiding having parents in YA books–spouses tend to hold a sleuth back because of the danger involved in their chosen pastime. Considerations: how good am I at pulling off romance (not my forte)? How many recurring characters do I already have? What are readers drawn to…more or less romance (for this I read customer reviews for many series on Amazon. I found that too much focus on the romance seems to irk a lot of cozy readers. It apparently needs to be very secondary to the mystery)?

Pets. Pets are important in cozies (there is an entire subcategory for animal cozies at retail sites). Cat or dog? Animal’s personality? How involved is the pet in the story and in the life of the sleuth? How can the pet help the story along?

After this, I set about on an outline for book one, feeling that I had enough in place to be able to get started on the first story.

How much mapping-out of basics do you do before writing the first book in a series? If you’re a cozy writer, what’s your process like?

Developing a Cozy Mystery Series: Nuts and Bolts:
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Published on December 09, 2018 21:02

December 8, 2018

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Business / Miscellaneous

5 Tips for Writing an Introduction for Another Writer’s Book: @Sara_HeartStory @DIYMFA
7 Lessons Learned from Writing for Publication: @_HannahHeath
Managing Deadlines: @EricaVetsch
The 7 Deadly Sins of Editors (According to Novelists): by Steven James and Pam Johnson @WritersDigest

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

School Visit Resources: @sarahlynnereul
The FutureBook’s Breath-Holding Conference: Waiting for Clarity: @Porter_Anderson @TheFutureBook
Frankfurter Buchmesse Announces RightsTech: Europe for April: @Porter_Anderson @themediawonk @nedsherman
The UK’s Sunday Times/PFD Award Names Adam Weymouth Young Writer of the Year: @Porter_Anderson @adamweymouth

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration

1 Writer’s Year With Thoreau: @austinkleon
Writing Exercise: POV Swap: from Just a Writing Aid

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

Five Books About Heroes Who Shouldn’t Babysit Your Kitten: by Weston Ochse @tordotcom
But How Much Are You Reading? @Porter_Anderson @WriterUnboxed
What Happens When Your Book Collection Goes Up In Smoke? @JeffAbbott
Auspicious Days: Musing on Childhood Readings: @SarahMMcCoy @WriterUnboxed
“How I Would’ve Died In 20 Stephen King Novels”: @helpfulsnowman

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

How to Incorporate Procrastination into Your Writing Schedule: @KathyEdens1 @WritersDigest
4 Ways to Find Time to Write When There Aren’t Enough Hours in the Day: by Warrior Writers
How To Focus On Writing Right Now: @BadRedheadMedia
Keep the Momentum Going with the Good, Better, Best Method: via Warrior Writers

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block

5 Ways to Get Your Writing Unstuck: @terrywhalin
How to Smash 4 Roadblocks That Prevent You from Writing: @LiveWriteThrive

Creativity and Inspiration / Success

7 Steps to Publishing Success by an Accidental Writer: @amyshojai

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Does Anyone Care About Your Book? @JFbookman
A Cat’s Guide to Being a Mentor: @LisaLisax31
Say Yes To Your Writing AND To Your Relationships: @sowulwords @DIYMFA
Letting Go of Kids, and Characters: @VirginiaPye @WomenWriters
Why you should spend LESS time writing: @pubcoach

Genres / Horror

33 Cool Podcasts for Horror Lovers: @AnnieNeugebauer @LitReactor
How to Write a Horror Story: 7 Tips: @ReedsyHQ
8 Great Horror Podcasts and Their Spookiest Episodes: @slidingbookcase @CrimeReads

Genres / Memoir

3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Writing a Memoir: @EliJaxonBear @WritersDigest

Genres / Middle-Grade

Is the Story Middle Grade or YA? @Jean_Hall

Genres / Miscellaneous

Writing magical realism: by Jack Smith @TheWriterMag

Genres / Mystery

The Mother Archetypes of Crime Fiction: @CatrionaMcP @CrimeReads
Unexpected Investigators in Crime Fiction: @eawright @CrimeReads
The Detective’s Opponent in Your Mystery: @ZaraAltair
Writing a Mystery With Public Domain Characters: @Matt_Ferraz
Keep the Mystery in Your Mystery: @ZaraAltair
How to Bring Action to Your Mystery: @ZaraAltair

Genres / Non-Fiction

How to Succeed with a Second Nonfiction Book Project: @theladyck @NinaAmir

Genres / Poetry

Using Tips from Poetry to Strengthen Our Prose: by Pamela Donison @JamiGold

Genres / Screenwriting

How To Read A Screenplay : Style and Language @GoIntoTheStory
Why Spec Scripts Fail: Formula vs. Structure: @stewartfarquhar @scriptmag

Genres / Short Stories

Flash Fiction: A Short Guide: by Craig Anderson @pbackwriter

Genres / Young Adult

Don’t Sugarcoat Teen Issues in Fiction: @AmySGiles @CrimeReads

Promo / Book Reviews

Pitching Book Bloggers for Reviews: @Bookgal @BookWorksNYC
Clearing up the Confusion About Launch Teams, Influencers, & Book Reviewers: @JodyHedlund

Promo / Connecting with Readers

Which Readers Would Also Read Your Books? Finding Comp Titles: @AmyAlessio @RomanceUniv
Your Target Reader: Identifying and Making the Connection: @SmartAuthors

Promo / Influencers

How to Get Book Blurbs, Endorsements, and Testimonials from Big Names: @TCKPublishing

Promo / Miscellaneous

How Writing Fiction of Different Lengths Offers a Book Marketing Advantage: @alison_morton @IndieAuthorALLI
Five Ways To Maintain Book Buzz While Writing and Managing Post-Pub Life: @LizbethMeredith @AngelaAckerman
Quick and Easy Content Creation Strategies: @KarenBanes

Promo / Newsletters

The Top 4 Pitfalls of Running a Newsletter: by Julianne Q Johnson

Promo / Platforms

Book promotion materials: think branding: @BookDesignBook

Promo / Podcasts

Writing, Marketing, and Publishing Podcasts: @thDigitalReader
Podcast Your Way to Greater Author Brand Recognition: @DaveChesson @BookWorksNYC

Publishing / Miscellaneous

An Agent on Writing, Publishing, and Coaching (Podcast): @RachelleGardner

Publishing / News / International Publishing

Rights Roundup: A Handful of Titles for the Holidays: @Porter_Anderson @malusken @GuillaumePitron @SiriPettersen
Four Agents on Rights Trading at Guadalajara: ‘Hunger and Passion’: by Adam Critchley @pubperspectives
London’s Indonesia Rights Forum: ‘Creative Economy’: @rogertagholm @christmas9 @rickypesik
PEN America Files an Amicus Brief on the Right to Literacy in the States: @Porter_Anderson @PENamerican
Olga Tokarczuk’s Widening Recognition: Switzerland’s Jan Michalski Prize: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Brexit Watch: Authors Join Calls for the UK’s Creative Industries’ Protection: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Industry Notes: Wales’ Hay Festival Tickets, Wattpad’s India Office: @Porter_Anderson @wattpad
Words Without Borders December: ‘Black Literature’ of the Afro-Brazilian Resistance @Porter_Anderson @ericmbbecker @wwborders
Croatia’s Pula Book Fair 2018: Focusing on Freedom: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

Self-Publishing 3.0 And How To Build Success As An Indie Author: @OrnaRoss @thecreativepenn

Writing Craft / Beginnings

5 Ways to Successfully Start a Book With a Dream: @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

What is in Your Character’s Lifeboat? @diannmills @EdieMelson
How I Write: Going Somewhere with Characters: @jamesagard
How to Balance Character and Action: @JulieHyzy @CareerAuthors
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Mechanical Engineer: @beccapuglisi

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

Leveraging The Emotional Spectrum in Your Writing: by Bonnie Randall

Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists

Six Ways to Bluff That Your Hero Will Die: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants
How Do You Handle Protagonists Who Kill? by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants

Writing Craft / Endings

Your Story’s Promise: Do You Need an Epilogue? @JamiGold

Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story

5 Tips on Writing a Trauma Backstory: @LisaHallWilson
Holding Back Your Backstory: @writing_tips

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

4 Things Writers Can Learn From Making a Movie: @KMWeiland
5 Story Grid Lessons Learned from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: @mrushingwalker @StoryGrid

Writing Craft / Literary Devices

Time as a Literary Device: Flashbacks vs. Non-Linear Structure: @KristenLambTX

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Cause and Effect: A Clear Path to Better Stories: @TheWritership @StoryGrid
How to Use Background and Foreground: @AJHumpage

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming

Are you overusing character names in your novel? @lisapoisso

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

How to Deal with Plotter’s Block (Worse Than Writer’s Block): @FrancescaHornak @SignatureReads
5 Moral Dilemmas That Make Characters and Stories Better: via Writers’ Society
A three-act structure is how readers understand stories. Here’s a guide to what should be in Act One: @HankPRyan
How to Plot Your Story Using the But/Therefore: by Bucket Siler

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

How to Destroy Civilization and Not Be Boring: @jamesdnicoll

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept

7 Steps For Beta Testing A Story Idea: @thecreativepenn @Weifarer

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Spellcheck Cannot Save You: 5 Author Mistakes to Avoid: @GramrgednAngel @BookWorksNYC
How to use apostrophes in fiction writing: A beginner’s guide: @LouiseHarnby

Writing Craft / Revision

6 Questions to Help You Gut Check Your Story Structure: @swatiteerdhala

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

How to Process and Filter Feedback: @AnnieNeugebauer @WriterUnboxed
5 Tips For Writing A Helpful Critique: by Manuela Williams @DIYMFA

Writing Craft / Scenes

How to Track a Scene: from Warrior Writers
Brainstorming a Scene: @davidfarland

Writing Craft / Series

Pixar and Standalones: When Sequels Work and When They Don’t: @VictoriaGHowell
Should My Novel Become a Series? @erikaliodice @WriterUnboxed

Writing Craft / Tension

Suspense Writers: Here’s How to Keep Your Readers Up All Night: @LauraDiSilverio @CareerAuthors
How to make your writing suspenseful: by Anna Davis @CurtisBrown

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Six Wordcraft Questions Writers Fight Over: by Chris Winkle @mythcreants

Writing Tools / Apps

Google Docs: An Affordable Writing Program: @WordDreams
Best Apps For Writing A Book: @writeonepub

Writing Tools / Resources

Free Online Marketing Courses: by Janet Lane @RMFWriters

The Top Writing Links From Last Week Are On Twitterific:
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Published on December 08, 2018 21:02

December 6, 2018

Writing a Mystery With Public Domain Characters

Writing Sherlock Holmes and the Glad Game

By Matt Ferraz, @Matt_Ferraz

The genesis of Sherlock Holmes and the Glad Game was a challenge I made to myself: pick two public domain characters that apparently have nothing to do with each other, and somehow make them work together. I’ve been a Sherlockian all my life, and wanted to write a book with the detective for some time. But who could I match him with? Other writers already crossed Holmes Jack the Ripper, Mr Hyde, Captain Nemo and so many others. What could I bring to the table that was new and fresh?

I was at a bookshop in my home town when I saw brand new editions of Pollyanna and Pollyanna Grows Up, by Eleanor H. Porter. Those were books I had never read, but knew the basic premise: a girl who always sees the bright side of everything no matter what. I had seen the 1920 movie with Mary Pickford, one of my favourite actresses, but remembered little of it. So I bought copies of those two books, and while reading them, a novel started to form in my mind.

No one had ever had the idea of putting Holmes and Pollyanna Whittier in the same story. After all, they’re so different! But my mind was made up: I was going to write a book where Pollyanna comes to London and assists Holmes and Watson in an investigation.

People didn’t believe I could pull it off. In fact, my fiancée thought it was a crazy idea to begin with, but decided to give me the benefit of doubt. I wrote the first draft of this book in a month – faster than I had ever worked before! For that whole month, I was completely immersed in the story, having re-watched several Holmes movies for inspiration and re-reading big sections of Porter’s books.

My idea wasn’t simply to have Pollyanna ringing at 221b Baker Street offering a case for the detective to solve. I wanted to fit her in the Holmes canon as organically as possible. My book starts with Pollyanna becoming a good friend of Dr. and Mrs. Watson while Holmes was considered to be dead after facing Professor Moriarty.

Pollyanna is in London to see a special doctor due to an injury she suffered in her childhood – which is shown in the first Porter book. She eventually returns to America, but shows up in London two years later, when Holmes is already back from the dead, with a brand new husband and a lot of trouble on her back.

The best part of writing this story were the comedic possibilities in the interaction between these characters. I tried to avoid making Pollyanna too annoying and naive – she’s actually pretty smart and kicks a few butts. It was also nice to create a more humane Holmes, different from the stubborn and arrogant versions we’ve seen in movie and TV in the past few years. It’s a little, quirky and funny book I’m very proud of.

Matt Ferraz is a Brazilian author with works published in English, Italian and Portuguese. He writes stories since he was five, when his mother gave him a typewriter, and hasn’t stopped since.

Writer @Matt_Ferraz on Using Public Domain Characters in a Mystery:
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Published on December 06, 2018 21:01

December 1, 2018

Twitterific Writing Links

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Quick note–thanks, as always, for your comments and for reading the blog! I’m going to be offline until Wednesday so I’ll be slow to respond to comments on this particular post. :) My next post will run on Friday.

Business / Miscellaneous

How to prepare your book file for a fiction editor: @LouiseHarnby

Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous

At Guadalajara International Book Fair: 300 Spanish Publishers: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The UK’s Costa Book Awards Shortlist: Half Debuts, £35,000 in Prize Money @Porter_Anderson @CostaBookAwards
Industry Notes: Norway’s ‘Bookstore Award,’ the UK’s SpecSavers Winners @Porter_Anderson @Simonstranger
The National Book Awards’ 2018 Ceremony: Five Categories: @Porter_Anderson @AcevedoWrites @Justafknminute
Aspen Words Longlists 16 Titles for 2019 Prize in Issue-Driven Fiction: @Porter_Anderson @adriennebrodeur @AspenWords
Colombia Kicks Off Hay’s 2019 International Festivals: @Porter_Anderson @hayfestival_esp @pubperspectives
FutureBook Live 2018: ‘Putting a Rocket Up the Book Trade’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The UK’s 2018 ‘Building Inclusivity’ Conference: A Safe Place for Discussion: @rogertagholm @pubperspectives

Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels

7 Emotions You Will Feel After Publishing Your First Book: @ScottMa96624306 @theindiepubmag
How to Write a Book in 6 Steps: @ReedsyHQ

Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers

6 Books About Women With Superpowers: @caiemmons @ElectricLit
A Century of Reading: The 10 Books That Defined the 1900s: @knownemily
How to Get Back into Reading: @writingcookbook

Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing

The Writing Sprint: from Just a Writing Aid

Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life

Put A Vampire In It! @helpfulsnowman @LitReactor
5 Pieces of Writing Advice No One Tells You: @amplecat @SignatureReads
How to Enjoy Your Writing Life More Than Ever: @ChadRAllen
The Writer Who Can’t Write: @MukherjeeRheea @WriterUnboxed
On the Impossibility of Locating the Line Between Fiction and Non: @mbailatj @lithub
7 Ways Your Cell Phone Steals from You: @colleen_m_story
Who is the Villain in My Adoption Story? by Alice Stephens @lithub
When Does Editing Become Censorship? @debluskin
7 Things A Writer Should Never Do: @colleen_m_story

Genres / Fan Fiction

What Writing Fanfiction Taught Me as an Editor: @writersyndrome @UncannyMagazine

Genres / Mystery

Developing a Cozy Mystery Series: The Hook:
Cameo Appearances by Sleuths in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg

Genres / Picture Books

Defining Kidlit: @bronniesway @DIYMFA

Genres / Screenwriting

Screenwriting: Examples of Recent Log Lines: @dougeboch
10 Top TV Writers Share Their Writing Craft Secrets: @Bang2write

Genres / Short Stories

The Rollercoaster of Writing a Short Story: @LisaLisax31

Promo / Blogging

Why you should blog before writing your book: @pubcoach

Promo / Metadata

Choosing the Best Categories for Your Book: @IndieAuthorALLI

Promo / Miscellaneous

A Marketing Timeline for Authors: @KarenHWhiting @EdieMelson
The Ultimate Guide to Promoting a Book Launch [Free Download]: @DianaUrban @BookBub

Promo / Social Media Tips

Twitter: What You’re Doing Wrong and How to Make it Right: @BadRedheadMedia @annerallen

Promo / Websites

5 Ways to Give Your Website a Facelift: @KarenBanes

Publishing / Miscellaneous

Barnes & Noble Needs A Turnaround Expert: @SeekingAlpha @PassiveVoiceBlg
Freelancing: Reslanting Articles: @WritersCoach
Get Paid to Write Articles and Blog Posts: @TCKPublishing

Publishing / News / International Publishing

PEN Afrikaans, Authors Forum, Criticize South Africa Copyright Amendment Bill: @Porter_Anderson @PenAfrikaans
‘Giving Tuesday’: https://t.co/QWdPXSARAV Supports Worldreader, Ingram Supports Binc: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Germany’s Publishers’ Forum and THE ARTS+, Publishing Scotland and Fellows: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
In Montréal, Concern About Teen Reading Amid New Statistics: @lukaesque @pubperspectives

Publishing / Options / Self-Publishing

Getting Self-Pub Books into Libraries and Other Tactics: @NewShelvesBooks @WritersDigest

Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Pitches

The Log-Line: Pitch Your Story in One Sentence: @KristenLambTX

Publishing / Process / Contracts

Evaluating Offers and Contracts: @SusanSpann @WriterUnboxed

Writing Craft / Beginnings

Real Life Diagnostics: Does This Work as an Opening? Or Is it Boring? By Maria D’Marco @Janice_Hardy
How to Mess Up Your Lead Character’s Ordinary Day: @jamesscottbell
First Page Critique: by Clare Langley-Hawthorne @killzoneauthors
How to Nail the First Three Pages: @LisaCron

Writing Craft / Characters / Arc

5 Stops on Your Protagonist’s Inner Journey: @DorianCirrone

Writing Craft / Characters / Development

Character Development: Occupation Thesaurus Entry: General Contractor: @beccapuglisi
How To Build A Rocking Character Profile: @ReedsyHQ @TheIWSG

Writing Craft / Characters / Emotion

How to Write Grieving Characters: by Whitney Carter

Writing Craft / Common Mistakes

Six Characters Siloed Into a Separate Story: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
3 Tips for Improving Show, Don’t Tell: @KMWeiland

Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film

Writing Lessons from Movies: The Godfather: @VictoriaGHowell
3 Things Learned from Anne of Green Gables: @byStevenRamirez

Writing Craft / Miscellaneous

Dialogue Isn’t Everything (How to Keep Your Characters Busy): @FinishedPages @womenonwriting
What You Need to Know About Internalization: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Pacing

Pacing in Writing: 10 Ways to Keep Readers Hooked: @ReedsyHQ

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming

How to Come up with Great Titles: @SeptCFawkes

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting

Using the Snowflake Method to Write a Novel: @ReedsyHQ
8 Questions to Help Plot Your Story: @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research

8 Tips for Writing Characters with OCD: @_HannahHeath
How To Make The Most Of Your Research Trip: by Paige Duke @standoutbooks

Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar

Tricky and Confusing Words: @AndreaMerrell
Commonly Misused Words: @AlyConnerBrown @Janice_Hardy

Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques

5 Benefits of Tough Feedback: @jcwalton24 @DIYMFA

Writing Craft / Scenes

Deciding Whether or Not to Keep a Scene: @burke_writer @killzoneauthors

Writing Craft / Series / Series Bible

Writing a Series? Keep a Notebook: @NanReinhardt @RomanceUniv

Writing Craft / Settings and Description

Transitions in Seasons and How it Relates to Writing: @ShelleyWidhalm

Writing Craft / Word Crafting

Word Choice and Writing Style: by Julianne Johnson
How to Cherish Language: @KMWeiland

Writing Tools / Resources

10 Chromebook Shortkeys for Writers: @WordDreams
I’ve finished my manuscript! What now? 16 ultimate resources to make good decisions about your book: @Roz_Morris

The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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Published on December 01, 2018 21:02

November 25, 2018

Developing a Cozy Series: Hook

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

It’s been a long time since I developed a new cozy mystery series. Long enough so that I tried to remember exactly how I’d gone about it the last couple of times. I ended up not being able to reconstruct my process from the other times, so I started out with a blank slate. For posterity’s sake, in case I need to reference this in the future, myself, I thought I’d share what I’ve done (so far) this time. Today I’m covering the series hook (also known as a theme) and then on Friday I’ll talk about my considerations setting up sleuth, sidekick, and other basics.

For the cozy mystery, the hook is pretty important. It’s actually important enough for me to have considered it the very first time. Did I want animal themed books? Craft themed? Occupation themed? The first thing I did was to visit a fantastic cozy mystery resource: https://www.cozy-mystery.com . There is a page on the site that lists cozies by theme. There I reviewed all of the different options that others had used. It may be different for you, but I felt very little need to be ultra-different from everyone else. I wasn’t looking for a really unusual hook, mostly because I wanted something that I could feel very comfortable writing.

If you are interested in something fun and different, there are a slew of different examples on the page to get your brain thinking. There are cruise ship mysteries, sleuths as dancers, golfing cozies, and candle-making cozies. By far, the most popular hook categories (to the extent that they have their own BISAC categories at retailers) are craft and hobby cozies, culinary-themed cozies, and cozies featuring cats and dogs.

First, I made a list of all the possibilities that I found the most appealing to me. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from writing cozy series is that they can continue on for years and years. Readers are incredibly loyal to cozy characters. It’s important to choose a hook that appeals not just to the reader but to you, too. You’re going to be spending a lot of time in that story world.

Next, I jotted down pros and cons of all of the potential hooks. For instance, I thought a bed and breakfast series would be fun from the aspect of having different characters coming through and from the aspect that the setting could be very appealing. The cons though? Wouldn’t the police be shutting down the B&B if it ended up being a hotspot for murder? And shouldn’t the owner be spending most of her time at the location? How would I make it work?

The next considerations were tied together. How much research would this concept take and how much time did I have? This may be part of the appeal of writing culinary or pet-themed cozies…it really doesn’t take much research. I knew if I picked something like genealogy or flower shops that I would be doing more research than if I’d picked something I knew more about. I’ve put in likely 100 hours or more of research on quilting for the Southern Quilting Mysteries since I’m not crafty: those are hours going to quilt shows and shops, talking with quilters, reading websites, learning more about quilt guild activities, and watching quilters work on YouTube. The time I spent was very rewarding to me and it was important that I got it right. But I know that writing three series simultaneously means that I don’t really have the time to spend in a lot of research.

Keeping all of this in mind, I chose to go with a library theme and have my sleuth work as a librarian. I grew up in a library and my family was always either on the board or involved with Friends of the Library, or both. I still did a lot of set-up research, but not nearly as much as was needed for my quilting series (or, actually, for my Memphis Barbeque series, either). And…readers like books and libraries. :)

This post is intended mainly for cozy writers because of the special emphasis the genre puts on hook, but many of these considerations are important for writers of other genres, as well.

For further reading, see writer Janice Hardy’s post “5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Character’s Career.”

If you’re a cozy writer, how have you picked your hook? For other genres, how important is your protagonist’s occupation or hobby?

And quick note that I’m taking a long weekend this weekend and another short blog break since I’ll have limited access to Wifi. Twitterific will run this Sunday (but no posts this Friday or Monday). I’ll be back with a post on cozy series development on Friday, December 7th. Thanks!

Developing a Cozy Series: The Series Hook:
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Photo credit: Onasill ~ Bill Badzo on VisualHunt.com / CC BY-NC-SA

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Published on November 25, 2018 21:02