Inspired Links – July 4, 2011
In my "Inspired Links" feature, I provide links and brief descriptions of thought-provoking articles. I hope you enjoy these little treasures 
I've got some catching up to do … I haven't had time to compile an "Inspired Links" post in quite some time so I have a lot of excellent links to sift through. I won't give them all to you in one gigantic post, though, I'll try to bring everybody up to date slowly. Although some of the links that are included in this issue are up to six weeks old, the timing of the post is not critical – it's the content that's important.
- In the vast sea of traditional versus self-publishing posts and articles recently, a post by Jane Friedman entitled "The 'Self Pub is Crap' Debate" is the most even-handed. The post and the resulting comments are definitely worth a read, as is her follow-up post "8 Things Readers Want from Self-Published Authors."
- If you enjoy fine literature for its ability to string together beautiful words, then this post over at Writer Unboxed will make you giggle: "Just Call it Freaking 'Green' Already" by Keith Cronin. We've all read things that seem to go a bit over the top in terms of word choice – join the "anti-verdancy" movement.
- Followers of my blog and my Twitter will know that I'm a big fan of Joanna Penn of "The Creative Penn." I have learned so much from her blog and her podcasts. This interview of Joanna by Dan Blank of "We Grow Media" provides an interesting perspective on Joanna's platform and her use of social media. I also recently listened to Joanna's podcast "Researching Your Novel and Experiences in Publishing With Warren Fahy" which had some terrific insights.
- With my interest in writing historical fiction at some point, this post "The Only Thing New: Writing Historicals" jumped out at me. It provides a wonderful overview of some key points to consider when writing historical fiction. It's a post by K.B. Owen for Teri Long's blog "The Art and Craft of Writing Creatively."
- And in a somewhat similar vein, this essay "Caught Telling Fiction" by Jessica Francis Kane from "The Morning News" is a fascinating look at the intersection between fiction and nonfiction. This is of particular interest to me because I am often inspired by real life events and then struggle how to walk that line between fiction and nonfiction.
If you're wondering about my methodology for choosing links for inclusion in this post, rest assured there isn't one. It's just a collection of things that I found interesting and I thought you might too. Please let me know what you think!
