Elizabeth Spann Craig's Blog, page 71
November 3, 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.
Business / Miscellaneous
Despite the Odds, a New Independent Bookstore Opens in Paris: ‘ICI’: @oliviasnaije
Taking Care of Business: The Writer’s Edition: @writersstation @WriterUnboxed
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
London Book Fair and the Publishers Association Plan a Third Inclusivity Conference: @Porter_Anderson @LondonBookFair @ThatKerryHudson
Gearing Up for Getting Out: The Conference Experience: @DavidCorbett_CA
Sharjah’s Professional Publishing Program: ‘Livelihoods Are at Stake’: @pubperspectives @Porter_Anderson
The UK’s National Book Awards Announce Shopping Season Shortlists: @Porter_Anderson @natbookawards @ZoeTheBall
Stressing Local Publishers’ Importance at Sharjah: Setzer, Al Hammadi: @Porter_Anderson
Conferences and Events / NaNoWriMo
7 Self-Care Tips for Surviving @NaNoWriMo by Erin Townsend
Writing – How to Get Ready for @NaNoWriMo & Why: @DebbieYoungBN @IndieAuthorALLI
The Way to Really Get Ready for NaNoWriMo: @LiveWriteThrive
5 Tips for NaNoWriMo Success: @KelsieEngen
National Novel Writing Month: NaNo 101: The Basics for First-Time Wrimos: @NaNoWriMo
Top 6 Tips for NaNoWriMo: @PaulaSMunier @CareerAuthors
Your Quintessential NaNoWriMo Prep Guide (With Freebies and Resource Lists): @shaylaleeraquel
6 Scary-Good Tricks to Help You Write a Book in a Month: @NinaAmir @NaNoWriMo
National Novel Writing Month — To Research or Not to Research: by Jill Shirley @NaNoWriMo
Plotting tips for writers in time for @NaNoWriMo :
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
The Debut Novelist’s Guide to Battling Imposter Syndrome: @treebirds @lithub
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
31 Horrifying Writing Prompts to Help You Scare the Bejesus out of Yourself This Halloween: @HughesAuthor
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
Find New Books Based on Where They’re Set With This Tool: @Emily @lifehacker
On Plath’s Birthday: 10 of the Best Sylvia Plath Poems Everyone Should Read: @InterestingLit
9 Novels in Which Houses Have a Life of Their Own: by Melanie Hobson @lithub
Rediscover Your Avid Inner Reader: @JennyHansenCA
8 Great Science Fiction Reads for the Techno-Skeptic: @mattstaggs @unboundworlds
Asimov’s Guide To Shakespeare Exists, and You Need It: @galaxyalex @tordotcom
The Race Against Time Thriller: @StephofLegends
Some Like It Dark: Terror in Translation: @_heathercleary
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
What Do You Want to Write But Haven’t Yet? @JamiGold
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
Nobody Told Me That Writing and Parenting Are (Basically) The Same: @misshellinga @NaNoWriMo
Author Mindset: Your Road Map To Winning Creative Battles: @thecreativepenn @timgrahl
When the Wreckage Is in the Writer: On Creating Death and Disaster: @EthanChatagnier @The_Millions
How to Reboot Personally or Professionally: @WriteOnOnline
How to Use Your Favorite Books to Determine Your Future: @colleen_m_story
8 Moments When You Swear You’ll Never Write Again: @IndieReader
How to Tell Your Truth as a Biracial Writer and Why It’s Vital: @adibkhorram @SignatureReads
Title Your Inspirational Memoir With Our Handy Chart (Humor): @ElectricLit
The 5 Ghosts that Haunt Writers and How to Bust ‘Em: @colleen_m_story
Inside the Mind of an Author Writing a Book: @joebunting
Genres / Horror
20 Essential Crime and Horror Crossovers: @GiveMeYourTeeth @CrimeReads
How To Write Bloodcurdling Horror: Your Halloween Starter Kit: @Bang2write
Secrets of the Horror Genre: by Rachelle Ramirez @StoryGrid
13 Must-Read Books for Aspiring Horror Writers: @ReedsyHQ
17 Ways To Write A Terrifyingly Good Horror Story: @woodwardkaren
“The Serial Killer is Our Great Modern Demon”: by Darryl Jones @CrimeReads
Inspiration for Horror Writers and the Macabrely-Minded: @kirabutler
Genres / Mystery
When One of Your Mystery Series is More Popular Than Others: @mkinberg
Stephen King: Crime Writer: @GiveMeYourTeeth @CrimeReads
Consumer Protection as an Element in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Non-Fiction
How To Find The Story In Your Non-fiction Project: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks
Promo / Blogging
The Basics of Successful Blogging: @EdieMelson
Less Common Interview Questions for Blog Author Interviews: @ZoeMMcCarthy
9 Scariest Things About Blogging: @EdieMelson
Promo / Book Reviews
How to Ethically Get the Reviews You Want: @WritersConnect3 @TheIWSG
Promo / Miscellaneous
Book release checklist: @jodimeadows
Promo / Social Media Tips
Are You Ready to Add More Social Media to Your Platform? @EJWenstrom @DIYMFA
Writers: 3 Tips for Better Promo on Goodreads from @ChrysFey :
25 Tips for Posting on Social Media: @CaballoFrances
Publishing / Miscellaneous
How Do We Measure Commercial Success in Books? by Richard Charkin @pubperspectives
New Blake Freeman Johnson Media: ‘An Original Cyber Publishing Concept’: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Sample Permissions Letter: by Stephanie Chandler @NonfictionAssoc
Publishing / News / Amazon
“The arrival of ‘Warmer’—7 new works of short fiction on …climate change—signals Amazon Original Stories’ interest in social relevance and speed to market”: @Porter_Anderson @AmazonPub
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Industry Notes: Publishing Scotland’s Translation Fund; Switzerland’s Peter Lang: @Porter_Anderson @PeterLangGroup
PRH Takes Majority Stake in Brazil’s Grupo Companhia das Letras: @Porter_Anderson @penguinrandom
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
Proofreading designed page proofs: @LouiseHarnby
A Tip for Twitter Pitches: Have a Manuscript Ready: @Janet_Reid
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
Get a publishing deal by avoiding these common book proposal mistakes: @GhostwriterJG @sandrabeckwith
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Rejections
Writers Dish on Rejection: @pubcoach
Publishing / Process / Translation
Ottaway Winner: Chad Post on Translation’s ‘Expanding Audience’: @Porter_Anderson @chadwpost
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Find Empathy in Your Openings: @KayKeppler
Does This Opening Bore or Interest You to Read More? @TigerXGlobal
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
9 Best Enemy Duos Who Just Care About Each Other So Much (But Will Never Tell): @use_theforce_em @tordotcom
Writing Great Villains: Tips: @evans_writer @RMFWriters
Create Killer Twists: Learn How to Redeem Your Villain: @sacha_black
Writing Craft / Characters / Arc
How to Build a Character Arc: @CherylProWriter
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
The Opposite is Possible Theory of Character Development: @DIYMFA
Finding Your Character’s Blind Spot: @diannmills @WriterUnboxed
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
How to approach writing a villain protagonist? @GoIntoTheStory
Heroic Traits and Their Faults: from Clever Girl Helps
Writing Craft / Endings
Cliffhangers: Is the Suspense Worth It? by Katherine Marciniak @PassiveVoiceBlg
Writing Craft / Flashback and Back Story
The Brilliance of Backstory Slip-Ins: @MargieLawson
Writing Craft / Lessons from Books and Film
6 Things Writers Can Learn From The Handmaid’s Tale: @Bang2write
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
How to Make Stories Allegorical: @AJHumpage
Deconstructing Best Sellers in Your Niche Genre: @LiveWriteThrive
When to Use Summary to Move Your Story Along: @writingthrulife
3 Tips for Writing a Story That’s Better Than Its Flaws: @KMWeiland
Are We All Gaslighters? @sarah_zettel @CrimeReads
Promise Fresh Perspective to Readers: @kcraftwriter
Writing Craft / POV
Choosing POV for a Story: @plotlinehotline
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Writers, we are doing it backwards: @speechwriterguy
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
A Primer on Cults for Writers: by Ban @mythicscribes
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
5 Tips for Writing Group Success: @LMacNaughton
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
When to Leave Out the ‘That’: @KAServian1 @RomanceUniv
Beyond the Easy Gesture in Fiction: @LindaKSienkwicz
Writing Craft / World-Building
World Building with the Celestial Objects of our Solar System: @MelanieMarttila @DIYMFA
Writing Tools / Apps
How to View Multiple Documents At Once In Scrivener: @kristen_kieffer
How to Format an Ebook in Scrivener 3: @KristinaAuthor
Writing Tools / Books
10 Books to help you feel like a real writer when you’re discouraged: @JanetBoyer @annerallen
Writing Tools / Resources
A New Character Name Generator: The Ultimate Bank of 1,000,000+ Names: @ReedsyHQ
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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November 1, 2018
Delivering Scares in Cozies and Other Genres
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Hope everyone had a good Halloween. Apparently I still have scary stuff on the brain. :)
The subjective nature of fear:
I’m not usually a fan of being terrified when I read or watch something. And I think I have a very low-threshold in terms of what’s scary. I recommended the first “Halloween” movie to my father last month (he’d never seen it). He was glad he watched it because he now understands a lot of pop-culture references. But he didn’t think it was scary . . . and the film scared me to death. I think the scariest moment was at the very beginning of the movie when two girls were walking home from school in broad daylight and one of them, and the viewer, sees a creepy man wearing a mask by a row of bushes. It bothered me because it came out of nowhere: it wasn’t even nighttime. And it took place in a public (which I equate to safe) location.
My high school senior daughter had to watch “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” last week at a school film club for extra credit for a sociology class (I know, I was baffled, too, ha). Before she left, I warned her that it was very scary. She came back to tell me that it wasn’t scary . . . it was disturbing.
So I struck out twice on what was scary. To two different generations.
Knowing reader expectations for what’s scary in your genre:
I don’t think it matters too much that I’m such a chicken when it comes to scary books and movies. That’s because I understand that I’m on the same wavelength with my readers. Once when I was writing a book for the Memphis Barbeque series and scared myself in the process (the only time I’ve done this except when writing my zombie book). I immediately realized the scene was too dark and needed to be toned down.
For cozies, I think the expectation is more for tension than fear. Cozies are generally an escape. Tense moments are fine. But too much darkness and drawn-out scares are probably more fitting for other genres. Of course writers can write however they want…but to be more of a commercial match for the audience, it’s a good idea to keep reader expectations in mind.
The premise of cozies is “the killer among us.” That, to me, is scary enough. Unlike some genres, the cozy mystery presents the murderer as someone in our neighborhood, our family, our quilt guild, our church.
Maybe you write for a genre that has some latitude with its scares. For further reading on delivering fright, read:
“How to Tell Scary Stories, from the Co-Creator of ‘American Horror Story‘ : 8 tips from Brad Falchuk via Joe Berkowitz
“Writing Scary Scenes”: tips from writer Rayne Hall
“How to Write a Scary Scene“: by Susan Dennard
How tolerant are you of being scared? How scary are your books?
Delivering Genre-Appropriate Scares to Your Readers:
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Photo credit: Pensiero on Visual hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
The post Delivering Scares in Cozies and Other Genres appeared first on Elizabeth Spann Craig.
October 28, 2018
3 More Things You Should Do on Goodreads
by Chrys Fey, @ChrysFey
Back in June Elizabeth graciously had me as a guest on her wonderful blog for 3 Things You’re Probably Not Doing on Goodreads that You Should. Shortly after that post went live, I thought of 3 more things you could do on Goodreads and wanted to do a follow-up post here. So, are you ready for 3 additional tips that are easy to do and can be beneficial to you and your books?
Well, here they are!
Upload YouTube Videos
Do you create videos about your books for a YouTube channel? Have you ever done a recorded reading or a book trailer? Great! Now you can post those to Goodreads.
Step 1: All you need is the full URL to the video on YouTube. Copy it and head over to your Goodreads profile.
Step 2: On the left side of your profile, beneath your followers, you’ll see a section for videos. Click “add new.”
Step 3: On the page that pops up, paste the full YouTube URL for the video into the spot asking for the “Video URL.”
Step 4: Insert a title and description.
Step 5: Fill out tags, using commas to separate them. You could use your author name, your book’s title, your series’ title, your characters’ names, and keywords that you’d use to describe your book’s genre/category on Amazon.
Other Tag Ideas: reading, author reading, book trailer, book series, readers.
You can even use popular hashtags from Instagram and Twitter for books and readers, but without the actual hashtag symbol. Ex: bibliophiles, bookworm
Step 6: Choose the type of video. Your options are: trailer, interview, reading, speech, and other.
Step 7: Select which one of your books the video is about.
Step 8: Click “save.”
Now your video is up for Goodreads members to view. Not only will it be on your profile in the sidebar, but also on your book’s Goodreads page as a bonus for readers. Only two videos are visible at a time, but all can be found by clicking “see more.” When you view all videos. there’s a counter that shows the number of views of your videos have received.
See: 10 Things You Can Do on Your Author YouTube Channel
Add Your Series’ Book Titles to Book Descriptions
This is a tip I also recommend for all of the description sections for books on Amazon. If you have a series/trilogy, add the list of book titles for that series/trilogy in the description of each book’s Goodreads page below the blurb.
For example:
Series Name:
Book 1 Title
Book 2 Title
Book 3 Title
This is great for readers who stumble upon your book or stop in to check it out. By putting this list beneath the blurb, you are helping readers who may want to know the order of books. As a reader, I know it can be a pain to discover the order of books. And as an author, it’s free advertising.
TIP: You can also ask Goodreads Librarians to create a series page so that on your profile there will be a section titled “Series by (Author Name).” The name of your series will be accompanied with the cover images of your books and an average rating. Readers can then click on it to see the order of books and a few details about each book. But you have to join the Goodreads Librarians group first, which is as easy as clicking a button.
Create Your Own Quotes
Scroll down on your Goodreads profile to the quote section beneath your recent updates. This is where you’ll find quotes you might’ve liked on Goodreads. If it’s empty, that just means you haven’t liked any quotes yet. But you can now! And you can make your own.
Click “Quotes by [Your Author Name.]” You’ll be taken to a new page. In the upper right-hand corner, click “Add A Quote.” Then you can fill in a quote, choose which book it comes from, and add tags (keywords).
Is there a bit of dialogue one of your characters says that reveals emotion, characterization, or hints at the plotline? What about narrative? Did you write a nice descriptive paragraph that stuns you with how good it is? Take those lines from your book and turn them into quotes. When you do, they will show up on your profile and on your book’s page where readers can like them and have them displayed in their favorite quotes section. And when they do that, their friends could see those quotes, too, and become intrigued. That’s what we want, right? Of course, it is!
With these 3 extra tips, I hope you’ve found ways to spice up your Goodreads profile and book pages, especially if you don’t usually use or go to Goodreads. Now is the time to take action and full advantage of this great platform.
Share: Your Goodreads tips.
For more information like this check out:
Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication by Chrys Fey
BIO: Chrys Fey is the author of Write with Fey: 10 Sparks to Guide You from Idea to Publication. Catch the sparks you need to write, edit, publish, and market your book! From writing your novel to prepping for publication and beyond, you’ll find sparks on every page, including 100 bonus marketing tips. Fey is an editor for Dancing Lemur Press and runs the Insecure Writer’s Support Group’s Goodreads book club. She is also the author of the Disaster Crimes series. Visit her blog, Write with Fey, for more tips. @ChrysFey www.ChrysFey.com
Writers: 3 Tips for Better Promo on Goodreads from @ChrysFey :
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October 27, 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.
Business / Miscellaneous
It’s Time For Your Fall Platform Inventory: @cksyme
How to successfully pitch The New York Times (or anyone else): @TimHerrera @nytimes
How Star Wars writer Chuck Wendig’s tweets got him fired by Marvel: @ChuckWendig @comicriffs
How Being an Opportunist Helps Build Your Writing Career: @WendyHJones @IndieAuthorALLI
Business Musings: Barnes & Noble: @KristineRusch
Chasing Book Trends … or Not: by Dana Isaacson @CareerAuthors
Doubling Down On What You Love And Opportunities When Publishing Wide: @thecreativepenn
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Frankfurter Buchmesse Film Awards, Goethe-Institut’s Uwe Johnson Series: @Porter_Anderson @Book_Fair @GI_NewYork
US National Endowment for the Arts’ ‘Big Read’ Program Adds New Books: @Porter_Anderson @NEABigRead
The UK’s Inaugural Women Poets’ Prize Shortlists Nine Writers: @Porter_Anderson @B_Littlefair @HRHopkins @alice_hiller @jennaclake @PoeticJemz @clairecollison1
Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018: “Energy was high, deals were plentiful, and business was serious”: @Porter_Anderson @LenaStjernstrom @Amy_Joyner @MagalieSFSG @annasolerpont
Sharjah’s 2018 Professional Program Features More Than 350 Rights Trading Participants: @Porter_Anderson
Rights Roundup: A Post-Frankfurt Look at a Range of Titles and Rights Sales: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
AAP Opens 2019 PROSE Awards to Entries; National Book Awards Host Is Nick Offerman: @Porter_Anderson @Nick_Offerman @nationalbook
Author Benyamin’s ‘Jasmine Days’ Wins Inaugural JCB Prize for Literature in India: @Porter_Anderson @TheJCBPrize @juggernautbooks
Conferences and Events / NaNoWriMo
The October Panic: @cathychall @womenonwriting
Eight Reasons to Participate In NaNoWriMo: @kristen_kieffer
Reasons to Skip NaNoWriMo: @the_writing_pal
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
Cozy British Mysteries—How They’ve Inspired 1 Writer: @VClinebarton @WomenWriters
The Heart to Start Your Creative Journey: @kadavy @JeffGoins
6 Ways Creative Writing Prompts Can Move You Toward Your Goal: @cathysbaker @EdieMelson
Move Past a Creative Rut: @DanBlank
How to Get Ideas for Your Writing: @Wordstrumpet
In Case of Inspiration Emergency: Revisit Your Childhood Favorites: @NaNoWriMo
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Quotes
Quotes on Writing: Everyone from Alexander Pope to Eeyore: @BE_Sanderson
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
8 Totally Eighties Horror & Science Fiction Books: @mattstaggs @unboundworlds
Finding Books to Read and Tracking Our Reading as Writers:
Five Books That Give Voice To Artificial Intelligence: @tansyrr @enoughsnark @tordotcom
Reading as a Writer: Shifting from Private to Public:
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Seven Life Lessons Learned From Tracking Time: @sowulwords @DIYMFA
How to Find Time to Write When You’re a Caregiver: @colleen_m_story
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
Help for Being Stuck: @DonMaass
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
Pick One Thing – How and Why to Have a Singular Focus: @kikimojo
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
11 Ways for Writers to Sleep Better at Night: @TCKPublishing
25 Truths About the Work of Writing: @theladygreer @WriterUnboxed
12 Quotes About Procrastination: @TomBlunt @SignatureReads
How Long Should It Take to Write a Book? @MerilynSimonds @JaneFriedman
5 Reasons This Is The Best Time To Be A Creator: @sara_crawford @thecreativepenn
The myth of the reclusive author: @GuardianBooks
Get More Done with a Plan: @jillkemerer
The In-Between Stages of Writing: @NataliaSylv @WriterUnboxed
How to Adjust Your Writing Process and Embrace Your Writing Season: @weems503
Why Every Writer Should Have a Dog: @CameronShenassa @ElectricLit
Genres / Fantasy
A Fantasy Geek’s Guide to YouTube: Weapons and Warfare: @RMarpole @FantasyFaction
Bullet Journaling as a Fantasy Writer: @jennlyonsauthor @tordotcom
Genres / Historical
How to Write Historical Fiction That Comes Alive: @JimmyWriter @CareerAuthors
Genres / Horror
How to Create a Monster That Terrifies Your Readers: @sarahstypos
Genres / Miscellaneous
Top 10 Elements of Gothic Literature: @InvaluableLive
Genres / Mystery
How to Write Mystery: 6 Ways to Create Suspense: @nownovel
Disappearances as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Picture Books
Advice For Young Writers from a Picture Book Author and Illustrator: @inkyelbows @BlushingFawn @a_offermann
Genres / Science Fiction
What Makes the Monstrous? @pauljessup
Doing the Math: Aliens and Advanced Tech in Science Fiction: @jamesdnicoll @tordotcom
Genres / Screenwriting
Breaking the 4th Wall in Scene Description: @GoIntoTheStory
Screenwriting: The Ultimate Story Checklist: Selma: @CockeyedCaravan
Screenwriting: “I Don’t Know Anyone in Hollywood” – 5 Ways to Network as an Outsider: @dougeboch
Five Ways Aspiring Screenwriters Can Get an Agent’s Attention: @mhfilmz @hopeclark
Screenwriting: Manufacturing a Bigger Midpoint Disaster in “Selma”: @CockeyedCaravan
Promo / Blogging
Tips for Better Blog Posts: @writing_tips
Promo / Crowdfunding
Seven Keys To Crowdfunding on GoFundMe: @madeleinedodge @BookBaby
Promo / Metadata
Nailing Your Metadata: Categories: by Vincent B. Davis @A3writers
Promo / Miscellaneous
7 Ways to Turbocharge Your Ebook Marketing: @markcoker @WritersDigest
Your Book’s Unique Selling Proposition Begins with You: @PaulaSMunier
Promo / Speaking
How Writers Can Overcome Their Fear of Public Speaking: @BetsyGFasbinder @JaneFriedman
7 Presentation Tips for Speaking Online in a Virtual World: @gigirosenberg
Promo / Video
5 Things to Do Before Releasing a YouTube Video: by Mella Music
Promo / Websites
10 Ways to Build Traffic to Your Author Website or Blog: @JaneFriedman
Publishing / Miscellaneous
How to Publish Regularly, Even If You Lack Writing Confidence: @soniasimone @copyblogger
PEN America Sues Donald Trump: ‘Standing Up to These Encroachments’ @Porter_Anderson @PENamerican
Readers Begin Voting Today on SyFy Pilots of @wattpad’s ‘Expiration Date’ : @Porter_Anderson @AshleighGardner
Changing The Book Format Game: Augmented Reality, Gameified Books, and More: @helpfulsnowman @LitReactor
HarperCollins Launches YA Novel on Snapchat: @HarperCollins @emkantor
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Gaël Faye: Rap Artist to Bestselling Author in France: @oliviasnaije @GaelFaye @pubperspectives
Industry Notes: Elsevier Contributes Book Aid’s Millionth Volume, Simon & Schuster Restructures Touchstone: @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
If You Know How to Date, You Know How to Find a Literary Agent: by Jennifer Baker @ElectricLit
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Book Cover Typography: Book Cover Fonts and More: @DaveChesson
Publishing / Process / Translation
Chinese bot translates 300-page book from English to Chinese in 30 seconds with 95% accuracy: @TNPS10
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Character Development: Recognizing a Flat Character: from Writing Questions Answered
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Referee: @beccapuglisi
Writing Craft / Conflict
5 Conflict-making Choices Characters Can Make: @FaeRowen
Writing Craft / Diversity
5 Harmful Representations of Disability and What to Try Instead: @writing_alchemy @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Drafts
Why You Should Finish Your First Draft As Quickly As Possible: @FredBobJohn
When is my story finished? @mrushingwalker @StoryGrid
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Another 3 Writing Myths You Should Feel Free To Ignore: by Rebecca Langley @standoutbooks
7 Clever Strategies for Harnessing Coincidences in Fiction: @readstevenjames
How to Give Your Readers Unforgettable Moments: @jamesscottbell
Writing Craft / POV
Tips for Multiple Viewpoint Characters: @SnowflakeGuy
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Outlining
How to outline a book without killing the fun of writing it: @Roz_Morris
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Using the Foolscap to Draft Your Next Novel: @winteralley @StoryGrid
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept
5 Reasons Why Your Story Idea Doesn’t Stand Out: @LA_Screenwriter
6 More Creative Ways to Strengthen Your Story Idea: @joslynchase_ @write_practice
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
10 Kinds of Critique Groups that Can Drive you Batty: @annerallen @TheIWSG
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
How to Make Your Descriptions Less Boring: by Bucket Siler
400+ Words to Describe Hands: A Word List for Writers: @KathySteinemann
Writing Craft / Tropes
5 Ways to Subvert Character Clichés and Archetypes: by Casimir Stone @ReedsyHQ @nownovel
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
The Power of a Single Word. 4 Tips for Stronger Writing: @KathySteinemann @annerallen
Writing Tools / Apps
How to Work Within The Scrivener Interface: @kristen_kieffer
Uncategorized
Publisher Hodder & Stoughton Marks a Century and a Half of Books: @rogertagholm @pubperspectives
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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October 25, 2018
Reading as a Writer: Shifting from Private to Public
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
For a long time, I avoided Goodreads altogether. It’s the kind of place that makes me uncomfortable as a writer and so I figured I shouldn’t be on the site at all.
But I’ve found that I can completely avoid my own books on Goodreads as long as I don’t deliberately look them up. And Goodreads has a lot to offer for readers.
I decided at first that I didn’t particularly want to share what I wrote as my author profile on the site. That’s mostly because I didn’t want to say if I didn’t enjoy a book…as Elizabeth S. Craig, Writer. And I didn’t necessarily want to share what I liked, either and have it be a public endorsement. Mainly what I wanted was a place to track my books, authors I enjoyed, and my reading life and find recommendations. So I set up an anonymous account there.
As time went on, I began to feel a little more comfortable about sharing what I was reading. And I’m not sure why: I’m a horrid reviewer (better at book blurbs). It started with my inclusion of what I was reading in my reader newsletter that goes out when I have a release. I found that when I wrote a few short sentences about several recently-read books, I had a very positive reader response. Readers were actually emailing me back about what they were reading, too.
Then BookBub started a recommendation program where they emailed readers your book picks…a nice way to keep in readers’ minds in the interim between books. As long as the reviews I wrote were short, they were fine. :)
Finally, I’ve just started posting some of what I’m reading on my author profile on Goodreads (either books that I’ve just finished and enjoyed, or books that I’m pretty sure I can give a positive review).
I only mention books that I’ve enjoyed. That’s just my own rule of thumb. I want to help my readers discover books that I think they’ll like.
Because so many readers have asked me in the past to recommend other cozy series to them, I also feel the need in my newsletter and on BookBub to explain that the titles I’m recommending are not cozies. I usually can’t read books in my genre while I’m writing them and considering the fact that I’m always in the process of writing a cozy, I rarely read them.
In a lot of ways, and in case you couldn’t tell from this post, reading as an author is a little awkward. But it’s becoming more comfortable for me.
For ideas on what to read, check out the Reading as Writers category on the free Writerskb.com.
For further reading on being a reader and a writer, see:
5 Tips for Reading as a Writer by Andi Cumbo-Floyd
Is it Fair for Authors to Review Other Authors? By Kristen Lamb
3 Reading Tips for Writers from Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers
As a writer, do you publicly share what you’re reading and how you like it? Do you ever give books negative reviews?
Thoughts on the Public Nature of Reading as a Writer:
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October 21, 2018
Entertainment as Inspiration: Books
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve made a point to more than double the amount of reading this year than the year before. As with my consumption of film, music, and TV, I’ve tried to expand into new genres as a reader, hoping to better-inform my writing.
This has been made easier, once again, by keeping up with a TBR list (to be read) and by tracking what I’m reading.
Finding books to read:
I get a good number of suggestions from friends (both online and in person). But I’ve also found these things useful:
Goodreads. It’s not nearly as scary as a reader as it is for a writer. Here I track what I read, make private notes on the stories, and rate them to remind myself how I enjoyed them. I also follow reviewers whose tastes overlap with my own. Or sometimes I end up in a sort of rabbit hole of recommendations there.
Book challenges. This has been a useful way to branch into other genres. This year I’ve used Book Riot’s Read Harder challenge and I’ve taken some of the suggestions in this post of from Katie McLain.
Newsletters. I have found good recommendations for (mostly) nonfiction from Austin Kleon‘s newsletter and the Farnum Street newsletter.
Website: I’ve discovered lots of good books through Largehearted Boy’s year-end compilation of best books lists.
Tracking Reading
I’m doing my tracking through Goodreads (not my author profile there). This way I can make private notes on various books, remind myself how I liked it, and find out from Goodreads when authors I enjoy have new or upcoming releases.
How do you find what you read? Do you keep track of it?
Finding Books to Read and Tracking Our Reading:
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October 20, 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.
Business / Miscellaneous
The importance of backing up your work: @hmgardner @TheIWSG
How to Get a Good Author Photo — And Why You Need One: @BrynDonovan
How to protect your book’s confidentiality (video) : @pubcoach
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
5 Things to Remember When Running Writing Workshops: by Sophie-Louise Hyde @writingcookbook
Frankfurter Buchmesse 2018 Records a Mild Increase in Attendance: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Aleida and Jan Assmann Presented with German Book Trade Peace Prize in Frankfurt: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
FutureBook Awards 2018 Shortlists Announced at Frankfurt: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Northern Ireland’s Anna Burns Wins 2018 Man Booker Prize for Fiction: @ManBookerPrize @Porter_Anderson
Conferences and Events / NaNoWriMo
How NaNoWriMo Destroyed My Project: from Ellie Writes Stories
The Nonfiction Writer’s Guide to National Novel Writing Month: @WriteNowCoach
NaNoWriMo 2018: How to FINALLY Write Your 30-Day Novel: @ReedsyHQ
7 Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo Right Now: @EmmanuelNataf @ReedsyHQ
4 Speedy Strategies to Boost Your NaNoWriMo Word Count: @Magic_Violinist @write_practice
How to Prepare for NaNoWriMo: @shaelinbishop @ReedsyHQ
Outline Your Novel for NaNoWriMo: @LiveWriteThrive
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
How to Know if You Should Write a Book: @JeffGoins
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
TV and Film as Inspiration: Finding What’s Good:
Entertainment as Inspiration: Music:
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
12 Alternate History Fiction Books to Read Now: @Keith_Rice1 @SignatureReads
Have We Ever Had Enough Time to Read? by Christina Lupton @lithub
9 Terrifying Tales You Won’t Find in the Horror Section: by Stubby the Rocket @tordotcom
Messed-Up Things You Missed About Your Favorite Children’s Books: @ahoffkosik @ElectricLit
Top 10 cliques in fiction: by Kelleigh Greenberg-Jephcott @GuardianBooks
Learning to Write by Reading: @writing_tips
The 8 Most Hellish Schools in Fiction: @erinkbart @ElectricLit
8 Books to Read Based on Your Favorite TV Shows: @tolaniherself @OffTheShelf
Spookiest Fictional Libraries: @5minlib
Five Military Science Fiction Books of Magic, Mutations, and War: @mattstaggs @unboundworlds
10 Novels of Our Bio-Hacked, Transhuman, Gene-Spliced Future: @mattstaggs @unboundworlds
Creativity and Inspiration / Miscellaneous
Can Creativity Pass Through Generations via DNA? @SueColetta1
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Six steps to increase your writing productivity every day: by Jen Glantz @TheWriterMag
Writing is Work, and You Need to Make Time for It: by Karen White @SignatureReads
Write Whenever You Can, Not When You Think You Should: @BE_Sanderson
The Usefulness of Lists for Your Writing: @Wordstrumpet
Making Time to Write – Should You Keep Writing Office Hours? @JanalynVoigt
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writing Quickly
3 Tricks to Instantly Increase Your Writing Speed: @SaffronBryant @pbackwriter
Creativity and Inspiration / Success
How to Write a Bestseller (and Why That Doesn’t Mean What You Think It Does): @JeffGoins
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
10 Important Things Life Has Taught 1 Writer So Far: @colleen_m_story
Giving Ourselves Permission to Write: @KerrySchafer @WomenWriters
What Playing Pickleball Taught Me About Writing: @christophpaul_ @LitReactor
6 Basic Truths About Writing: @LiveReadLA @scriptmag
The Key to Reducing Stress is Solving the Problem: @TCKPublishing
7 Tips for Working (aka Writing) From Home: @RachVD @IndieReader
Lessons to Learn From Writing Mistakes & Failures: @EdieMelson
Bullet Journaling for Writers: @EdieMelson
One Writer’s Journey of Writing and Autoimmune Disease: @CharBlackwell @WomenWriters
5 Tips on Writing Through a Difficult Time: by Nicole Pyles @womenonwriting
Writing, Politics, and the Fuzzy Grey Line Between: @JoEberhardt @WriterUnboxed
Resting From Your Labors: @writingthrulife
Genres / Fantasy
How to Map a Fantasy World: @IzykStewart @tordotcom
Five Ways Gods and the Afterlife Change a Fantasy Setting: by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
20 Things to Consider When Building Fantasy Worlds: @seesarawrite @WritersDigest
The Fantasy Character Arc: by A. Howitt @mythicscribes
Elements of Fantasy: Owls: by Janie Bill @FantasyFaction
Genres / Historical
Fact vs. Fiction in Historical Novels (Podcast): @rebeccabehrens @DIYMFA
5 Ways to Create Immersive Setting in Historical Fiction: by Jacquelin Cangro @DIYMFA
Genres / Memoir
Marketing a Memoir: 5 Crucial Things to Consider: @Bookgal
Genres / Mystery
Crime Writing: 6 Ways to Help Your Make-Believe Evidence Collection More Believable: @LeeLofland
Family Similarities in Mannerisms and Attitudes as an Element in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Young Narrators of Crime: @CazziF @CrimeReads
Do Inmates Have Access to Crime Novels? @mollsotov89 @CrimeReads
Alternative Schools as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Genres / Poetry
How to Publish a Poem: 3 Ways to Become a Published Poet: @TCKPublishing
Promo / Ads
Using Amazon Marketing System for increased book sales (video): @ExtremelyAvg @katbiggie @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Metadata
Metadata and pricing your book (video): @rcutlerSpark @IngramSpark @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Miscellaneous
Your Advance Reader Copy: 6 Tech Tools for Sharing ARCs: @carlaking @BookWorksNYC
Sample Marketing Timeline for Launching a New Book: @DianaUrban @BookBub
How to Sell Books to Someone Other Than Your Mom: @DavidHSafford @write_practice
A Marketing Exercise That is a Must for Your Critique Group: @Margo_L_Dill @womenonwriting
Writing Character Interviews for Promotions: @ZoeMMcCarthy
7 Book Marketing Tips for Writers: @EdieMelson
Promo / Social Media Tips
5 Easy Steps to Make a Great YouTube Thumbnail: @mellamusic
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Serial Box Gets the Jump on Halloween Friday With a Free ‘Exquisite Corpse’ Series: @Porter_Anderson @serialboxpub
Publishing / News / Data
August Sales Increases for Trade Publishers: Audiobooks Gain, Ebooks Steady: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Frankfurter Buchmesse and LIMA Open New Partnership During Book Fair: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The Book Market in India: A Report from Nitasha Devasar: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
At Frankfurt: The #OnTheSamePage Human Rights Project Rolls Out: @Porter_Anderson @I_Serageldin
‘Words Without Borders’ October: India’s Dalit Literature in Hindi: @Porter_Anderson @wwborders
Arctic Circle Publishing: Inhabit Media Makes Its Frankfurt Debut: @CarlaJDouglas @pubperspectives
Sci-Fi, Women Leading Audiobook Consumption in Canada: @Porter_Anderson @BookNet_Canada
Amazon finally adds 5 Indian languages to KDP for ebook self-publishers. POD still not an option: @TNPS10
More IPA Election Results; McIntosh Combines Crown and Random House: @pubperspectives @Porter_Anderson
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing
5 Stages of Preparing to Publish: @bookmarketing
How to Write a Book Proposal: Including a Template, Samples, and Instructions: @TCKPublishing
Publishing / Process / Book Design
Is social media influencing book cover design? by Holly Connolly @GuardianBooks
Publishing / Process / Distribution
Distribution: Should You Go Wide or Narrow? @DaveChesson @beccapuglisi
Publishing / Process / Self-Publishing
The Self-Publishing Path: It’s Often Anything But “Self”: @JaneFriedman @WritersDigest
Publishing / Process / Translation
Ticket to Bologna: Daniel Hahn Announces Editors’ Translation Trip: @Porter_Anderson @danielhahn02
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Finding Sentences to Start a Story: 7 Methods: @nownovel
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
9 Ways to Keep Your Character From Being Boring: @_HannahHeath
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Recruiter: @AngelaAckerman
How Do I Portray a Smart Character? by Oren Ashkenazi @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Characters / Protagonists
Four Secrets to Making Unlikable Characters Work: @p2p_editor
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
Why Appreciating Your Theme Will Improve Your Writing: by Robert Wood @standoutbooks
Tips for Using Symbolism: @writingandsuch
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
Writing Rules to Ignore: by P.J. Parrish @killzoneauthors
Love as a Subplot: @janetlaneauthor @RMFWriters
4 Stages of Writing Practice–Where We Are Strong and Where We Can Fall Down: @writeabook
5 Ways Dramatic Techniques Can Transform Your Fiction Writing: @juleshorne @IndieAuthorALLI
Is There an Optimum Chapter Length? by Betty Kelly Sargent @BookWorksNYC
Are You Holding Out on Your Readers? @p2p_editor
How to Write About Negative Leads: @jamesscottbell @killzoneauthors
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Tips for Writing Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: @storiesnspoons @VictoriaGHowell
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Beats
Writing Beats for Better Stories: @Lindasclare
Writing Craft / Revision
3 Simple Tweaks to Improve Your Writing: @annkroeker
Writing Craft / Scenes
Tips for Writing a Good Scene: @jesslourey
Writing Craft / Series
What if Your Best Book Comes Last in the Series? @SnowflakeGuy
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
How To Use Trigger Words When You Write: @Writers_Write
Writing Tools / Apps
Ten Reasons to Write Your Novel in Scrivener: @kristen_kieffer
13 Free Tools for Authors That Take the Pain out of Self-Publishing: @DaveChesson @WritetoDone
Writing Tools / Miscellaneous
Tools for the Visual-Spatial Writer (and the Rest of Us): by Barbara Linn Probst @beccapuglisi
Uncategorized
Is the future female? Fixing sci-fi’s women problem: @mollyflatt @GuardianBooks
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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October 18, 2018
Entertainment as Inspiration: Music
by Elizabeth Spann Craig, @elizabethscraig
For years I’ve disputed the fact that music has any sort of influence on my writing at all. I think this is because, when I write, I can only listen to lyric-free songs (New Age, Jazz, Classical) or else it creates a disruption. Plus, I’m not usually directly inspired by music in terms of the music informing a work (with the possible exception of my Rage to Refuge book). For artists who have been and their musical recommendations, see Roz Morris’s excellent blog, The Undercover Soundtrack.
I don’t think I really realized how much music helps me. As with television and film, seeing/hearing other artist’s creativity helps motivate me and fills my creative well. I also think that writing with music in the background (even with all the specifications that I put on the music) helps me write at a faster clip.
I ran into a problem more than a year ago, however, where I felt as if everything I was listening to was stale. I think it was more that I was stale. I needed to broaden the repertoire of what I was listening to. I was in a rut.
Fortunately, there are plenty of options now. Growing up, the only music I listened to was whatever was on a record or (later) a CD we had, or whatever was playing on the radio.
Now there are lots of streaming options.
As an Amazon Prime customer, I use their music option every day. They have playlists, stations, and individual songs and artists to listen to. They have lots of tunes for me to write to, and I’ve discovered new songs and artists by listening to stations and playlists featuring music I’m unfamiliar with. I’m using the service that comes free with Prime.
My kids (21 and 17) recommended Spotify to me. Again, I’ve opted for the free service and just deal with the ads. I was a little lost there at first, but then found a few cool public playlists…one of them the New York Times playlist. It has a variety of different kinds of music and I’ve made lots of interesting discoveries there. The Rolling Stones playlist of the 500 best songs is also excellent.
Pandora is another option. This was the first streaming service that I used, years ago. I don’t listen to it quite as much anymore with the other options available, but it’s still worth a try. Again, I’m a fan of free. :)
Finding Recommendations:
I subscribe (one of apparently 55,000+) to writer and artist Austin Kleon’s free weekly newsletter. His focus is the creative life. As he puts it: “Every week I send out a list of 10 things I think are worth sharing — new art, writing, and interesting links straight to your inbox.” Some of his ’10 things’ are music playlists or spotlights on musicians. I’ve added several of his Spotify recommendations to my music library there.
But most of what I discover I do so through listening to stations and playlists by musicians I’m unfamiliar with. This is the serendipitous approach, but has worked well for me so far. Although in many ways I think music transcends age, some of the stuff I’d have enjoyed in the past totally eludes me now. But I find even more music that suits my tastes by being bold with experimenting.
I’m definitely still fine-tuning this process and I’d love to hear from others how they discover music and keep out of ruts. How do you do it?
Entertainment as Inspiration: Music:
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October 14, 2018
Entertainment as Inspiration: TV and Films
by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I’ve written before about being intentional about free time. By doing a little planning ahead, I feel a lot more relaxed and recharged. Instead of looking for something good to read or good to watch (and sometimes failing or running out of the precious free time in the process), I’ve carefully built up a list of things I want to read and watch.
That worked so well that I’ve made another discovery in the process. By being intentional about what I read, watch, and listen to, I’ve been able to broaden what I’m consuming and help inform my writing in the process.
I’ve made a conscious effort to expand what I’m consuming into new genres, international films, translations, and different types of music to write or read to. In return, I’ve had a real rush of creativity and new ideas (or even new ways to approach older series).
With that being said, I thought I’d run a short series on finding and tracking media. Today I’m covering what I use for film and television. Friday, I’ll cover music. Monday, I’ll cover books.
Sources:
For many years I told people that I didn’t really watch television. This was true–because I wasn’t a fan of sitcoms or reality television or whatever else happened to be running on TV at the time. But curating and watching good shows and films on demand is so much better–you know you’re getting something good (and you can determine later whether it’s to your taste or not). It also amuses me to call it ‘television.’ I don’t think we even have a true TV in our house anymore…only monitors.
I’ve developed something of a system for discovery. Again, the idea is to pick something that’s well-reviewed, but perhaps not something that I’d ordinarily watch (and definitely not something that I have watched).
Worth mentioning is the fact that we’re basically unplugged from cable at our house (we have a very basic program). Instead, we watch on demand: using Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, PBS (we’re donors and can use their ‘passport‘), and Sling (yes, this is still cheaper than satellite and cable here, ha!) You can also find many movies and shows through your local library. I’m a fan of Ann Cleeves as a reader and when browsing my library’s offerings in her series, I found the television series based on her books. I could watch the shows free through the library via Hoopla.
Lists of well-rated content to stream:
Digital Trends updates their list of top Netflix picks monthly.
Collider does the same.
For a wider range, look for highly-rated foreign films and shows (sometimes I’ll pull up older articles on the topic and just add the shows that aren’t currently available for streaming on my watchlist for later).
Helpful articles for foreign films are:
Jane Friedman in her Electric Speed newsletter (I subscribe to this free, semi-monthly email…her archives are here) recently recommended using the New York Times ‘Watching.’ I created an account there. By looking up and marking (by clicking a heart) my favorite shows and films, the site came up with recommendations (and told me where to stream them). By clicking the bookmark icon, I developed a watchlist.
Also, the more good content that you watch on Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hulu, the more good content that their algorithm pulls up for you as recommendations. I’ve gotten some great, tailored recs from all of the streaming services.
Tracking what we watch:
Maybe this isn’t as important to everyone else, but my memory is terrible. When I can’t remember what I’ve watched (or listened to or read), it keeps me from finding more things that I’d like. Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t think the streaming services do a great job of helping me track. And having a bunch of stuff on my watchlist that I’ve already watched (unless it’s a series in progress), isn’t helpful, either.
So far, the most helpful thing I’ve found is the above-mentioned NYT Watching.
Do you watch much television or films? How do you find what you want to watch? Do you track it?
TV and Film as Inspiration: Finding What's Good:
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October 13, 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.
New Stuff
Free: The online Indie Novelist Summit October 17-21. Experts include Joanna Penn, James Scott Bell, and Janice Hardy.
Business / Miscellaneous
Max Boot’s ‘Corrosion of Conservatism’: A ‘Big Book’ for WW Norton at Frankfurt: @Porter_Anderson @MaxBoot
Tips for Avoiding Awkward Author Photos: @IndieReader
Readers Don’t Care Who Publishes Your Book: @writeabook
Frankfurt: Self-Censorship and Morality in Publishing Today: @rogertagholm @FabricePiault @arpitayodapress
Conferences and Events / Miscellaneous
Wattpad Announces 600 New 2018 Watty Awards in 10 Languages: @Porter_Anderson
Inger-Maria Mahlke Wins the 2018 German Book Prize: @HannahSJohnson @pubperspectives
How to Create an Unforgettable Author Visit: @erikaliodice @WriterUnboxed
US National Book Awards Finalists: This Year Including Translations: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Conferences and Events / NaNoWriMo
Top Resources for NaNoWriMo Preparation: @the_writing_pal
To Nano or Not To Nano: @JennyHansenCA
Creativity and Inspiration / First Novels
Tips for Writing Your First Book: @TCKPublishing
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration
5 Reasons to Use Pictures as Writing Prompts: @sarahstypos
Cross-Pollinating Our Work: @cleemckenzie @TheIWSG
The Mysteries of Creativity and Meditation: @barbaraoneal @WriterUnboxed
Writing Prompts: 60 Ideas You Can Use Today: @Carlton_Mukasa
Creativity and Inspiration / Inspiration / Reading as Writers
7 Books We Wish We Could Read Again for the First Time: @Keith_Rice1 @SignatureReads
Urban Fantasy Noir: 7 Urban Fantasy Crime Novels With Dark Sensibilities: @Richard_Kadrey @CrimeReads
10 Favorite Moments from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: @EmmanuelNataf @ReedsyHQ
Six Literary Visions of the Future: @cloudy_vision @tordotcom
Prepping for NaNo? 15 Books for the Writing Life: @HachetteUS @KateHarveston @jessicaesquire
9 Best Novels About Films: @TobiasCarroll @SignatureReads
10 Little-Known Children’s Books by Famous Writers: @knownemily @lithub
The Real Reason The Sorting Hat Placed Albus Potter in Slytherin House: @use_theforce_em @tordotcom
Creativity and Inspiration / Motivation
Writing Shouldn’t Be Its Own Reward: @RosanneBane
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Fitting in Writing
Too Much To Do? How To Re-Focus Your Writing Priorities: @thecreativepenn
Creativity and Inspiration / Productivity / Writer’s Block
How To Beat Writer’s Block in 30 Minutes: @NatRusso
Creativity and Inspiration / Writing Life
From Chester Himes to Judy Blume, 10 Writers and Their Cats: @alistasi @lithub
How Can We Write in Today’s Troubling World? @p2p_editor
If You Want to be a Writer, You Need to be Fearless: Here’s Why: @CVDalcher @SignatureReads
Confessions from a Weary Writer: @jmunroemartin @WriterUnboxed
3 Ways to Tell if a Manuscript Is Worth Going Back to: @Janice_Hardy
When Abandoning Your Novel Makes Sense: @bclaypolewhite @WomenWriters
Genres / Memoir
Making the Case for the Surreal Memoir: @TobiasCarroll @lithub
Why should you write a Memoir? Memoir writers weigh in: @CalebPirtle
Why You Should Write Your Memoir — Even If You Don’t Plan to Publish It: @writingthrulife
Genres / Mystery
Crime Writing: The One-Plus Rule: Fight Fair, Or Fight To Win? @LeeLofland
A hundred years on from Agatha Christie’s first novel, crime fiction is going cozy again: by Sarah Hughes @GuardianBooks
Writing the Cozy Mystery: Series Tropes and Rituals:
Tense Home v. School Relationships as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Gap Years as Elements in Crime Fiction: @mkinberg
Crime Fiction: Using Domestic Scenes to Contrast With Tension: @mkinberg
Genres / Poetry
10 Reasons Storytellers Should Dabble in Poetry: @WritingForward
Marketing Poetry and How to Find More Readers: @Bookgal
Genres / Science Fiction
Drug Development for Writers: @DanKoboldt
Genres / Screenwriting
9 Ways To Write Strong Screenplay Hooks: by Dan Hoffmann @CreativeScreen
Genres / Short Stories
How to format your short story manuscript for the best chance of publication: @NathanielTower
Promo / Blogging
How and Why to Cite Stock Photos When Blogging: @writingsolo
Promo / Book Reviews
Tips for Quoting From Reviews: by Big Al @IndiesUnlimited
Promo / Connecting with Readers
3 Steps to Finding Target Readers (Video): @SmartAuthors @IndieAuthorALLI
Promo / Metadata
How to Submit Your Author News to Newsletters: by Ann Meier
Promo / Miscellaneous
How to Keep Your Book Promotion Going Strong for Years: @AnjaliMDuva @sharonbially
Promo / Platforms
3 Proven Ways To Boost Your Author Profile: @DaveChesson
Promo / Social Media Tips
Is Building a Social Media Platform Worth the Effort? @EdieMelson
How 1 Writer Uses Social Media As An Author: @jules_writes
6 Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid: @davidjohn_wyatt @kikolani
How to effectively use Facebook Groups as an Author (Video): @LPOBryan @IndieAuthorALLI
Publishing / Miscellaneous
Why Does the US Change British Titles? @TerenaBell @GuardianBooks
Interview with Kobo’s Pieter Swinkels: ““We fail as an industry to create readers for our content.”: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
The 12 Best and Worst Things That Can Happen After Your Freelance Article Is Accepted: @Susanshapironet @WritersDigest
How (Not) To Start a Publishing Company: by Richard Charkin @pubperspectives
“Author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (on) the strength of literature and women”: by Roger Tagholm @pubperspectives
“Publishing Experts (on) Revenue Models…and the Need to Better Understand Consumers”: @Porter_Anderson @MarkPiesing
Writing for Magazines: The How-To Article and Querying it: by Deborah Lyn Stanley
Hugo Setzer, Bodour Al Qasimi, Confirmed at Frankfurt for IPA Leadership: @Porter_Anderson @HugoSetzer @Bodour
How to Make an Audiobook: A Guide to Self Publishing Audiobooks: @TCKPublishing
Publishing / News / International Publishing
Penguin Random House Opening Southeast Asia Operation Based in Singapore: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
At Frankfurt’s ‘The Markets’ Conference: Pablo Laurino of Argentina’s https://t.co/1xgCklUkaP: @Porter_Anderson @laurinop @pubperspectives
Tuesday Rights Buzz from the Frankfurt’s Literary Agents Center: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives
Women Should Be Seen AND Heard: Women Writers from Asia Pacific: @oliviasnaije @pubperspectives
Macmillan CEO John Sargent answers questions from journalists on ‘Fire and Fury,’ Rowohlt, More: @Porter_Anderson @pubperspectives
Publishing / Options / Traditional Publishing / Querying
Tips for the Query Process: @atrueblood5
Publishing / Process / Book Design
How to Sell Books by Optimizing Your Book Cover Design: by Joslyn Chase @write_practice
Writing Craft / Beginnings
Ins and Outs: Opening and Closing Images: @SPressfield
5 Ways to Give Your Character a Memorable Entrance: @dougeboch
Writing Craft / Characters / Antagonists
How to Write an Antagonist That Everyone Loves — And Why You Should: @melissafreyauth
Writing Craft / Characters / Development
Writing Extraordinary Characters: @Lindasclare
Characters and Craft: Learning To Leave Yourself Behind: @AnneLParrish @WomenWriters
Occupation Thesaurus Entry: Locksmith: @beccapuglisi
5 Ways to Use the Enneagram to Write Better Characters: @KMWeiland
Writing Craft / Characters / Supporting Characters
Why Comic Relief Characters Often Don’t Make Good Main Characters: @VictoriaGHowell
Writing Craft / Common Mistakes
Why a Well-Written Novel Can Still Stink: @Janice_Hardy
Does Your Story Have a Solid Foundation? @SueColetta1
Writing Craft / Dialogue
The Ins and Outs of Internal Dialogue: @LoriAnnFreeland
Writing Craft / Literary Devices
Three Ways of Revising (or Avoiding) Preachy Themes in Your Story: @SaraL_Writer @DIYMFA
Writing Craft / Miscellaneous
10 Exercises to Become a Better Writer: @ReedsyHQ
A Warm-Up Exercise for Writers: @jamesagard
Put Some Snap in Your Style: @jamesscottbell
Writing Exercises for Stretching Your Style: by T.L. Bodine
Writing Craft / POV
Plot, PoV and Agenda. Or: Is This Your Story to Tell? @sona_c
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Naming
Tips for Choosing Names: @PhilAthans
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Plotting
Manchester by the Sea: Using Story Grid: by Leslie Watts @StoryGrid
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Research
Writer @kaath09 on the Research Rabbit Hole:
Writing Craft / Pre-Writing / Story Concept
Five Reasons Not to Write a Persecution Flip Story: by Dave Lerner @mythcreants
Writing Craft / Punctuation and Grammar
Don’t Forget the Basics: Punctuation: @AndreaMerrell
Writing Craft / Revision
How to Identify and Cut Your Story’s Filler: @kristen_kieffer
Writing Craft / Revisions / Critiques
Writing Groups Might Be Terrible, But You Probably Need One: @AnneHawley @rsmonterusso
How to Handle a Difficult Critique: by Linda Wilson
Writing Craft / Series
8 Things Learned Writing a Sequel: by A. E. Lowan @mythicscribes
Writing Craft / Settings and Description
How to Choose Setting with a Purpose: @LiveWriteThrive
Writing Craft / Synopses
3 Story Uses for a Synopsis: @KerryGans
How to Write a Novel Synopsis: @Kid_Lit
Writing Craft / Tension
Creating Tension Between the Lines: @jamesscottbell @killzoneauthors
Writing Craft / Word Crafting
500+ Ways to Describe Body Build and Physique: @KathySteinemann
Writing Craft / World-Building
Build a World, Hook a Reader: @msheatherwebb @WriterUnboxed
Writing Tools / Apps
3 Ways to Search in Scrivener 3: @Gwen_Hernandez
Getting Your Word Counts to Match in Scrivener: @aprildavila
Organizing Scrivener to Plot Your Novel (Video): @AllanLMann @IndieAuthorALLI
Writing Tools / Thesauri
How to use the Thesaurus Properly: @SeptCFawkes
The top writing links from last week are on Twitterific:
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