Quick housekeeping items, the winner of last week's THE CANDIDATES by Inara Scott is Samantha Bousquet. This week's giveaway is:
My Beating Teenage Heart by C.K. Kelly Martin
Breckon Cody's on the edge. He's being ripped apart by grief so intense it literally hurts to breathe. On the surface, Breckon is trying to hold it together for his family and his girlfriend, but underneath he's barely hanging on.
Even though she didn't know him in life, Ashlyn sees Breckon's pain, and she's determined to find a way help him. As her own distressing memories emerge from the darkness, she struggles to communicate with the boy who can't see her, but whose life is suddenly intertwined with hers. In alternating voices of the main characters, My Beating Teenage Heart paints a devastatingly vivid picture of both the heartbreak and the promise of teenage life—a life Ashlyn would do anything to recover and Breckon seems desperate to destroy—and will appeal to fans of Sarah Dessen, John Green, and David Levithan.
Clara's Favorites
- Having dreams vs. having goals. Lovely & inspiring post by @writetisideways
Dreamers Vs. Goalers: Writers Need to Be Both - We try to keep our writing weaknesses hidden, but there's a benefit to admitting them.
What Writing Skill Do You Suck At? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author - To write better descriptions, try something that forces you to observe: drawing. Brilliant!
If you want to write better descriptions, try this - Time to Write - @marilynbrant on making the setting of your novel pertinent to your character growth.
Writer Unboxed » A Summer in Europe: Finding Meaning in Florence - Everything that goes into a story should be designed to affect the reader’s experience. Excellent! by Carrie Vaugh at Genreality
Earning Your Readers’ Tears | GENREALITY - Why the All is Lost Moment should be as low as possible, & how to do it. Love this!
* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *: How Low Can You Go? The Important All Is Lost Moment - Wow. Fanstastic checklist for the end of your novel (or any manuscript!).
» 23 Inevitable Questions to Ask Yourself at the End of NaNoWriMo | A. Victoria Mixon, Editor - Why books make the perfect holiday gift!
Five Reasons to Give Books this Holiday - Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room - Keep readers turning the page by creating & heightening suspense. Part 1 of 41 tips from Ian Irvine at Ripping Ozzie Reads.
Ian Irvine Reveals 41 Ways to Keep Readers Turning the Page! - Yuvi Zalkow made Clara literally LOL with his hilarious (& useful!) video on fresh ways to look at your writing.
Writer Unboxed » Fresh Ways To Look At Your Crappy Writing
Martina's Favorites
- Great idea! Saturday. Bookstore. You and your kid.
Saturday Is 'Take Your Child to a Bookstore' Day - Write the way only you can write.
WOW Wednesday: Leah Cypess on The Only Way to Write - Awesome list of online learning and educational tools.
Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero: Top 100 Sites of 2011 - EXCELLENT look at individual goals, group goals, and series goals.
Reading Between the Wines Book Club: Journey of a Debut Author Blog Tour w/Joan Swan (Guest Post & Giveaway) - Want to find some AMAZING writing blogs? Check these nominations and propose your own.
Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog: 6th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest | Write to Done - Where do you come down on serial commas?
5 Tips for Cleaning Up Your Writing Right Now - So many great writing quotes. I love #75.
The 90 Top Secrets of Bestselling Authors | WritersDigest.com - Rejection as a numbers game.
Fiction Factor - Dealing With Rejection - Excellent perspective on leading your reader through your ms.
PW Creighton: Writing Files: Leading Lines - Love this! Justification why you DESERVE to write.
10 reasons why pursuing your creative work is actually highly productive (+ not selfish or self-indulgent) | Justine Musk - Who knew there was any mystery in pen and ink after 5000 years?
Physics of writing is derived at last - physicsworld.com - Four options for getting your story planned.
4 Steps For Organizing Plot Ideas Into a Novel - The library perspective on e-books: playing with someone else's ball on the playground.
Bookoisseur - @QueryShark mascerates an actual query with her usual concise insight.
Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Can you find all ten mistakes?
Book Reviews and Giveaways
- @LeahCypess NIGHTSPELL gets an awesome review. Enter for chance to win!
The Book Cellar: Nightspell Tour: Review + Giveaway - UNTRACEABLE by SR Johannes: a YA adventure with depth and great character development! reviewed by @PJ_Hoover
ROOTS IN MYTH: UNTRACEABLE by S. R. Johannes - Interesting exercise for YA writers, and a .
Reading Teen: Second Hand Saturday: A Book A Week Giveaway 11/26/11 - Umberto Eco's THE PRAGUE CEMETERY is now available in U.S. Can't wait to read!
"Literature is a perverse game." - An Interview With Umberto Eco | Dale Estey | Blog Post | Red Room
Craft of Writing
- To write better descriptions, try something that forces you to observe: drawing. Brilliant!Write
If you want to write better descriptions, try this - Time to Write - @marilynbrant on making the setting of your novel pertinent to your character growth.Unboxed
Writer Unboxed » A Summer in Europe: Finding Meaning in Florence - Write the way only you can write.
WOW Wednesday: Leah Cypess on The Only Way to Write - 12 tips to bust writer's block.
Writer’s Block: The 12-Step Cure - Looking for a critique partner? 4 places to look.
Oasis for YA: Writer's Wednesday: Where in the World are Crit Partners? - 20 tips to writing a first line that hooks, plus excellent examples.
Artzicarol Ramblings: HOOK: The First Line - EXCELLENT look at individual goals, group goals, and series goals.
Reading Between the Wines Book Club: Journey of a Debut Author Blog Tour w/Joan Swan (Guest Post and Giveaway) - Where do you come down on serial commas?
5 Tips for Cleaning Up Your Writing Right Now - Excellent perspective on leading your reader through your ms.@RavenRequiem13#amwriting
PW Creighton: Writing Files: Leading Lines - Everything that goes into a story should be designed to affect the reader’s experience. Excellent! by Carrie Vaugh at Genreality
Earning Your Readers’ Tears | GENREALITY - Why the All is Lost Moment should be as low as possible, and how to do it. Love this!@RoniLoren
* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *: How Low Can You Go? The Important All Is Lost Moment by Sierra Godfrey - Every novel needs tension. How to pump it up.
Tension - Wow. Fanstastic checklist for the end of your novel (or any manuscript!).
» 23 Inevitable Questions to Ask Yourself at the End of NaNoWriMo | A. Victoria Mixon, Editor - Let your 1st draft sit for a few weeks before revising: 5 reasons why.
Finishing your draft? Don’t open it again until Christmas - Four options for getting your story planned.
4 Steps For Organizing Plot Ideas Into a Novel - More than forty basic tips for getting that first draft done.
Creative Writing For Dummies Cheat Sheet - For Dummies - Good writing tips, including one reason why you can be grateful to write and have a day job.
» 8 Writing Tips from Flannery O’Connor - World of Psychology - Yoda and Gandalf. The Bookshelf Muse on Wise characters: the positives, the negatives, and the cliches.
The Bookshelf Muse: Character Trait Entry: Wise - Keep readers turning the page by creating and heightening suspense. Part 1 of 41 tips from Ian Irvine at Ripping Ozzie Reads.
Ian Irvine Reveals 41 Ways to Keep Readers Turning the Page! - 5 tips to avoid online distractions so you can get back to writing.
5 Online Distraction-Busters for Writers - Great post --> how not to have a bad voice.
Write Like a Pro! A Free Online Writing Workshop: What Is Voice—And How Do I Get It? - Have you given enough set up to make your story believable?
QueryTracker.net: Believability or Bust - Fun and TRUE tips for all fiction writers.
Top 5 Writing Tips from the Grinch - Fivet techiques to use your protag's dead or absent parents to enhance your story.
Disney Parents: Dead Mothers and Absent Fathers | Fantasy Faction - Very cool! The Life Cycle of a Book site shows how the development stages of a book begin and end with the author.
The Official SCBWI Blog: Life Cycle of a Book - a very cool resource - Flawed characters make for fascinating fiction. How to do it right.
Perfect Characters Need Flaws | The Editor's Blog - What the Grinch can teach you about writing (This post totally rocks).
Top 5 Writing Tips from the Grinch - Dead/absent parents are common in the fantasy genre. How to use them to deepen your story.
Disney Parents: Dead Mothers and Absent Fathers | Fantasy Faction
Inspiration
- So many great writing quotes. I love #75. :D@WritersDigest
The 90 Top Secrets of Bestselling Authors | WritersDigest.com - Love this! Justification why you DESERVE to write. :D
10 reasons why pursuing your creative work is actually highly productive (+ not selfish or self-indulgent) | Justine Musk - Want extra time for writing? Here's some ways to find it.
Simplify Your Life – 7 Really Quick Ways To Make Your Life So Much Simpler » Jan Malloch - Capturing and capitalizing on that creative inspiration.
WOW! Women On Writing Blog: Friday Speak Out!: Habits that Lead to Creative Writing Discoveries, Guest Post by Shyxter Tagapulot - Balancing young children with writing time.
Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook - Creativity Blog - The Art of Finding Time (To Write, of Course!)
Issues, News, Trends and Congrats
- Great idea! Saturday. Bookstore. You and your kid.
Saturday Is 'Take Your Child to a Bookstore' Day - Who knew there was any mystery in pen and ink after 5000 years?
Physics of writing is derived at last - physicsworld.com - The library perspective on e-books: playing with someone else's ball on the playground.
Bookoisseur - Anne McCaffrey's death is a true loss to fiction, to writers, and to fans.
Anne McCaffrey, ‘Dragonriders’ Author, Dies at 85 - Haven't we already established that lending is GOOD for business?
Penguin Restores E-Book Access Amidst Amazon Negotiations
Promotion and Self-publishing
- Tips for improving your speaking abilities at book events and more...Editoriginally shared this post:Publishing Insiders Wrap-Up: Speaker Tips for Authors - Author Marketing Experts, Inc.
- How to keep your book sales up long after the release date.Author, Jody Hedlund: How To Prolong Your Book’s Exposure
- What do you think of Penguin's new self-pub services?
The JVNLA Authors Daily - "Choices. For the first time, we authors have them." Barry Eisler's insights on the digital age of publishing.Unboxed
Writer Unboxed » The Critical Aspects of Digital Publishing
Social Media
- Awesome list of online learning and educational tools.@ReadingSeed
Technology Tidbits: Thoughts of a Cyber Hero: Top 100 Sites of 2011 - Want to find some AMAZING writing blogs? Check these nominations and propose your own.
Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog: 6th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest | Write to Done - Some excellent sites on this list!
The Best Literary Fiction Blogs and Websites | Jane Friedman - Some good (and not obvious) tips to make the most of online time.
5 Online Distraction-Busters for Writers - Great links to book marketing tips
Best of the Web Book Marketing Tips for the Week of November 21, 2011 - Author Marketing Experts, Inc. - Putting “my brand” at the center of your writing career sucks all the air from your creative process.@JaneFriedman
Platform and Social Media Must Not Be Your Center | Jane Friedman
To Market
- Interesting take on the slush pile and its evolution.
Anne R. Allen's Blog: Confessions of a Big Six Editor: The Triumph of the Slush Pile - Rejection as a numbers game.
Fiction Factor - Dealing With Rejection - Cool! Angry Robot's new YA imprint will focus on fantasy, SF, supernatural, and horror.
Angry Robot launches new YA imprint - Inkygirl: Guide For Kidlit/YA Writers and Artists - Inkygirl: An Illustrated Guide For Those Who Write and Draw For Young People - Thewriter's ability to revise may be the biggest and most important issue between writer and agent.
Kidlit.com · Some Thoughts on Revision - Mystery agent is taking one-sentence pitches 12/1/11 at Operation Awesome! 1st 50 entries only, so be ready!
Operation Awesome: Heads Up - Mystery Agent Heading Your Way! - Good writing tips, including one reason why you can be grateful to write and have a day job.
» 8 Writing Tips from Flannery O’Connor - World of Psychology - How to distinguish a good rejection from a bad one, and how to turn them around.
Ten Ways To Make Rejection Work For You (Not Against You) - @QueryShark mascerates an actual query with her usual concise insight.
Janet Reid, Literary Agent: Can you find all ten mistakes?
Other Weekly Round-Ups:
- Cynthia Leitich Smith at Cynsationsdoes a Cynsational author, craft, and book news review.
- Elizabeth Craig posts a comprehensive weekly list of all her helpful Twitter posts.
- Stina Lindenblatt does a fabulous Cool Links Friday post every week.
- YA Highway's Friday Road Trip hits the high points of the publishing industry, writing craft, submissions process, and other fun stuff.
- @KateHart's favorite writerly tweets of the week are always full of awesome.
Kate Hart: Field Trip Friday, Twitter Version: November 25, 2011
Happy reading and joyous writing,
Clara and Martina
To win the copy of My Beating Teenage Heart by C. K. Kelly Martin, please complete the form below:
The weekend promises to be busy but I've just got to carve out some time to check some of these links! So many have caught my eye and are must-reads. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to go into these links once I'm done writing this comment.
ReplyDeleteOh, and here's my own round-up: http://youngaspiringwriter.blogspot.com/2011/12/weekly-round-up-12211.html
Thanks for including Writers In The Storm's post from Jody Hedlund in your mashup! What a great list of links. :-)
ReplyDeleteUntraceable was everywhere this week. Thanks again for the great links!
ReplyDeleteMY BEATING TEENAGE HEART sounds intriguing! Makes me very curious to read it. Thanks for the usual great links!! (and for including mine *grin*)
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading My Beating Teenage Heart. THANKS!
ReplyDeleteSuch terrific links this week! I like that today is Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day! That's a cool thing to celebrate. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone! Glad you enjoyed the links. I'm excited to read MY BEATING TEENAGE HEART too!
ReplyDelete~Clara