12 Best Articles This Week for Writers 6/24/11

After the Sale

• The Making of a Book Trailer: Part I [Anna Staniszewski] Recipe for a book trailer: mood/tone, teaser, personality.
• Best of the Web Book Marketing Tips for the Week of June 13, 2011 [Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG] Need book promo ideas? Best marketing tips articles of last week.

Book Reviews

• Interview with Jill Alexander, Author of Paradise [THE BOOK BUTTERFLY] Interview with the LOVELY Jill Alexander about PARADISE.
• Tantalizing Future YA Releases! [/- LA FEMME READERS -/] Fifteen YA books you can look forward to reading.
• THIS is Why We Write... [Lisa and Laura Write] GREAT example of how important writing is and why it's worth all the pain.
• Book Review - Spellbound [Mundie Moms] SPELLBOUND is a perfect summer read.
• First Line Friday (1) [Katie's Book Blog] Some great first lines from YA books and an interting poll.

Contests & Giveaways

• Top Ten List with Lisa Desrochers & Signed Galley Giveaway for Original Sin! [THE BOOK BUTTERFLY] Want a signed galley of ORIGINAL SIN? Is hell gunning for your soul?
• SHATTER ME ARC CONTEST 2.0 [Grab a Pen] Enter by 6/26 to win an ARC of SHATTER ME.
• Fourth POSSESS ARC Giveaway! [Seanchai] Enter by 6/25 to win POSSESS ARC!
• GODS OF JUSTICE CONTEST [Paranormal Point of View] Chance to win a fantastic anthology including a GREAT story by @LisaGailGreen.
• Summer Middle Grade Reading: Four Giveaways [Novel Novice] Enter by 6/24 to win COSMIC, BILLIONAIRE'S CURSE, EMERALD CASKET, TOMORROW GIRLS, or DORK.

Craft of Writing

• Of Quirks and Characters [Magical Words] Characters must sometimes do the unexpected to be 3-D.
• Ask the editor: Trusting the reader [The Book Deal: A Publishing Blog for Writers and Book People] Let the story tell itself. Great examples of too much and too little telling from Alan Rinzler.
• Plot Questions [Brooklyn Arden] Editor Cheryl Klein lists twenty-three critical questions to ask yourself about your book.
• Writing Rules? What Writing Rules? [.W.I.P. It] Most readers don’t know the rules, but they recognise a good story.
• Making minor characters shine! [The League of Extraordinary Writers] Don't forget your minor characters--and be sure your readers can't forget them either.
• Too Much Beauty [The Literary Lab] Levels of beauty: linguistic, setting, emotional, etc. Do you limit contrast?
• The Bad Boy: Girls Really DO Like Them Best [Cheryl's Musings] Study proves we (and our readers) love bad boys, not the happy ones.
• Psychology of MRUs [The Character Therapist] The psychology and physiology behind motivation reaction units.
• Reflections on Romance in YA [Writer on the Side] The best YA romance love interests reveal mc character traits, hopes, and dreams.
• What Color Is Your Novel? [Words from the Woods] LOVE this! Quick think of one color for your ms. What is it?
• Your Plot Drags? Fix It. [Writing Fiction Right from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin] Five things to check if you want your novel to be a better read.
• What's it About? Better Queries Through Movie Trailers [The Other Side of the Story] Great trailers and queries show the characters and conflict, show the STORY.
• Threshold Guardians at the Forbidden Door [Harry Potter for Writers] Threshold guardians and forbidden doors are not just for fantasy!
• Creating a Diagonal World [Harry Potter for Writers] Five effective ways JKR deepens the worldbuilding in HP's 1st chapter.
• The Godric's Hollow of Backstory [Harry Potter for Writers] Dribble backstory into action as necessary, enticing nuggets.
• Hooking Your Characters [Harry Potter for Writers] Strong hooks make for memorable characters. How can you use them in your work?
• Characterization in The Boy Who Lived [Harry Potter for Writers] Five techniques JKR used for immediate characterization in HP's 1st chapter.
• How To Make 'Em Care [Paranormal Point of View] Three ways to hook readers on your main character.
• Dystopian Rites of Passage (Part 1) [The League of Extraordinary Writers] Do we like dystopian rites of passage because they mirror high school?
• The Perils of a Passive Protagonist [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] Choose characters who can take you into the thick of the action.
• Can Your Heroine Be Too Strong? [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] Great: Female Reader Dominance < Heroine Dominance < Hero Dominance
• Organizing Your Writing Project [The Blood-Red Pencil] YES! The more I use Scrivener, the more I agree with this post.
• Write Your Story Like a Top Chef and Achieve Unity of Opposites [San Diego Professional Writer's Group] A Food Network recipe for adding conflict to your ms.
• How Convenient! - Contrived Coincidences [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *]
• Where to find drama in your writing [James Killick's Blog] Growing conflict in between: six underutilized places you can build it.
• How Cliched Is Your Writing? Take the Test [Write It Sideways] Getting past the cliche in your own writing.
• The Importance of Focus [Let The Words Flow] Two critical questions to ask yourself in every scene you write.
• Building a Better Novel Premise [Adventures in Children's Publishing] What makes you want to reread a book and tell your friends about it?
• How to Frustrate Your Character in Every Scene [San Diego Professional Writer's Group] Meaty article about plot, character goals, conflict and frustration. Excellent.
• What Makes a Character Unlikable? [Jami Gold, Paranormal Author] Good post on analyzing what makes a character unlikeable and how to fix the problem.
• Three Dimensions of Character [Katie Ganshert] Your character needs all three dimensions: physical, backstory, and action.
• Off-Limits [StoryBug] Great exercise. Write about something your mc won't admit even to herself.
• Dialogue Disasters [*Lynnette Labelle* @Chatterbox Chitchat] Five ways to kill your dialogue.
• Key Ingredient to a Solid Plot [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *] Solid plots have one and only one dominant objective for the mc: the story question.
• Everything YOU Wanted to Know About CONFERENCES and the NY TRIP [Adventures in Agentland] Going to a conference? Great! But DON'T go to find an agent. DO go to hone your craft.
• Story vs. Craft [Rachelle Gardner] Writers must learn the craft and also write from their heart.
• Why writers give the best parties [Nail Your Novel] Party scenes can serve many purposes if they follow these rules. RSVP at @DirtyWhiteCandy
• Nancy Ellen Dodd Explains How to Write a Manuscript in 7 Stages [Creative Writing Ideas Blog] The seven stages of writing -- and reducing the editing process.
• Thought for the Day [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Don't use fancy email backgrounds when queryng.
• Character Quiz: Does Your Character Have Trust Issues? [The Character Therapist] Trust me: take this cool quiz from @jeanniecampbell to see if your characters have trust issues.
• That Pesky Exclamation Point!!! [Rachelle Gardner] Something in this sentence makes us look like amateurs!!! What is it?!?!
• How to Find Writer Resources – Guest: Elizabeth Spann Craig [Jami Gold, Paranormal Author] The how and why of @ElizabethSCraig's Writers Knowledge Base. Great resource!
• Resolution—Tying up the Ends [The Editor's Blog] Great --> What should/must you include in final pages? What should you skip?

Critiquing

• How to Take a Critique on the Chin [Notes from the Slushpile] Coping strategies for the face-to-face critique.

Inspiration

• What Makes A Book "Real"? [Between Fact and Fiction] What makes a book legitimate? Finishing it? Pubbing it? Reaching readers?
• Not Writing Enough? 5 Tips for Disorganized, Distracted Writers [Quips and Tips for Successful Writers] Need to up your productivity? Great tips to get more writing done.
• The Long and Short of It [Pimp My Novel]
• 4 Ways to Get Your Family to Support Your Writing Career [Author, Jody Hedlund] Want your family to respect your writing? Here's how to respect yourself.
• Write What You Know? Maybe Not [The Editor's Blog] If you write about your passions, your fervor shows in the stories you create. <3333 this post by @NovelEditor
• Write Your Truth [Rachelle Gardner] Love this post by @RachelleGardner: Be honest in your writing & you will eventually connect with readers.
• My real advice to new writers [Don't pet me, I'm writing] Enjoy your own goofy, hopeful, deliriously dopey moments as a new writer.
• How to Reap Benefits From the Painful Moments of Life [Author, Jody Hedlund] When we write, we pour out our hearts and souls; when we live, we fill our hearts back up.
• Tips for Writing Away from Home [Mystery Writing is Murder] Need to find ways to write while chauffering the kids this summer. Great tips.
• Friday Speak Out!: Being a Real Writer!, Guest Post by Rochelle Melander [WOW! Women On Writing Blog] All you need is twenty minutes and the desire to put words to paper no matter what.
• Guest Post: Janni Lee Simner on Writing Your Way [Cynsations] You can only write like yourself.

Issues, News, and Trends

• Harry Potter and the Deathly DRM [GalleyCat] JKR decides no DRM on Harry Potter books. Will use watermarks only.
• Read Faster with Spreeder [PWxyz] Need to get through the TRB pile faster? Try Spreeder!
• Word Count in an epub world [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] How much does paper cost drive word count? Does that change in eBooks?
• The Changing Publishing Landscape [Rachelle Gardner] Is timeliness vs. permanence going to drive the e-pub vs. print pub decision?
• BookCrossing: A Modern-Day Message In A Bottle For Readers! [Falling Leaflets] Global book library. I LOVE this idea!

Just for Smiles

• Friday Fun! [Rachelle Gardner] A perfect lesson in proofreading. Check it out.
• 12 Super Powers and Super Tools for Writers [Mystery Writing is Murder] Fun post! What writerly superpowers and devices do you wish you had?

Self-Editing

• Is your story worth saving? [Julie Musil] Do you have the patience, stamina & betas to 'rewrite until you get it right?'
• Five Openings to Avoid [Nathan Bransford, Author] Five cliche and/or problem novel openings to rewrite immediately.
• Commonly Confused Words [Rachelle Gardner] Writing basics: don't confuse these words. Especially in your query.
• "come on, baby, let's start new": on getting back together [The Intern]
• 10 Varieties of Syntax to Improve Your Writing [Daily Writing Tips] Syntax stuck and stale? Ten ways to say the same thing.
• En Dashes Clarify Compound Phrasal Adjectives [Daily Writing Tips] Do you know how to use an en dash?
• Levels of "Done-ness" [YA Muses] Five levels of finished to guage where your ms falls in the revision process.
• Final steps in getting submission-ready [Ara's Blog] Three ways to catch things in your ms you wouldn't catch in editing.
• 30 Blog Topics For Writers [WOW! Women On Writing Blog] Thirty ways to do something interesing on your writer's blog.

Social Media

• When Is the Best Time To Post on Twitter? [GalleyCat] Want to know when to tweet to reach more writers?
• Give a Dry Blog New Life–The Power of Themes [Kristen Lamb's Blog]

To Market

• Listen to Your Gut [QueryTracker.net] GREAT post about how to avoid signing with the wrong agent.
• What I Talk About When I Talk About Revisions [Glass Cases] Revision requests as extensions of the query process, and a test.
• How I Got My Agent: David Kazzie [Guide to Literary Agents] Unique approach to getting an agent!
• Meeting an Agent at a Conference [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Seven important tips for introducing yourself to an agent at a conference.
• PERFECT PITCH [Help! I Need a Publisher!] Pitch workshop and recipes for crafting the right pitch for your story.
• On Genre Blending [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Think of where your writing fits. Pick one and stick to it.
• Selling Yourself, and Selling Yourself Short [Jennifer Represents...] Turning your uncooked lump of Idea Dough into a Book Pie is not an agent's job.
• New Agent Alert: Stephanie Sun of Weed Literary [Guide to Literary Agents] Stephanie Sun is looking for commercial MG, YA, debut & upmarket fiction.
• ELEVATOR PITCH - THE VIDEO [Help! I Need a Publisher!] Going off to a conference? Watch this before you hit the elevator.
• JK Rowling's Harry Potter Announcement and Mid-month Agent Tweets! [Falling Leaflets] Best agent tweets of the week.
• Agent Spotlight: Mandy Hubbard [Literary Rambles] Agent Mandy Hubbard seeks MG/YA with heavy focus on romance, humor, or issues.

Other Weekly Round-Ups:

• Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest does a wonderful list of best tweets of the previous week. 
• Alice Pope does a Wednesday Tweet Roundup for the SCBWI Children's Market Blog.
• Northern Colorado Writers do This Week in the Writing World every Friday.
• Jennifer Roland does a Writing Roundup on Fridays.
• Ricki Schultz does an "In the Blogosphere" post on Fridays where she lists posts she's enjoyed during the week.
• Elizabeth Craig posts a weekly list of all her helpful Twitter posts.
• And don't forget to check  Nathan Bransford's blog later this morning for his weekly recap of publishing news and information.
• Saturday Link Party [Forever Young] Jessica rounds up fun and interesting links.
• Stina Linddenblatt does a Cool Links Friday. This week, she caught a lot I wish we had on ours. I know what I'm doing for the next few minutes!
• DuoLit does a weekly list of links with some emphasis on self-publishing and marketing.
• YA Highway's Friday Road Trip hits the high points of the publishing industry, writing craft, submissions process, and other fun stuff.
• Cynthia Leitich Smith at Cynsations does a Cynsational author and book news review.

Did we miss anything? Anyone? Please leave a comment!

Happy reading and joyous writing,

Martina, Marissa and Clara