Have a great weekend,
Martina
Book Reviews and Giveaways
- Do you look back fondly on discovering Harry Potter? She's writing for adults!
J.K. Rowling to Publish First Adult Novel - GalleyCat - Great interview with a 15-year-old debut novelist and a chance to win 2 great books!
UNDER THE NEVER SKY AND SAVING FORT SMOKY GIVEAWAY and ASK THE EXPERT INTERVIEW WITH TEEN AUTHOR JENNA GUSTAFSON - Three Middle Grade novels you and your kids will want to read.
Must Have Middle Grade Reads - Enter by 3/5 to win a copy of FIRELIGHT--and read this great interview with Sophie Jordan.
Interview and Giveaway: Sophie Jordan on Firelight and Vanish - Connecting to the power of bookclubs.
Book Clubs Matter: Guest post from She Reads: Melissa Hambrick
Craft
- Three steps to defining and using the mc's goal and the story objective to restructure your novel. Edit
I can (FINALLY!) announce my book deal! | Elizabeth May - Writing about a flood? Here's another brilliant, comprehensive post in the Weather Thesaurus.
Weather Thesaurus Entry: Flood - How many scenes are in your novel and how many do you need?
How Many Scenes Does Your Novel Need? - Three keys to bringing a fantasy world to life.
Guest Blog with Kenya Wright - How to Create a Well-imagined Fantasy World - The mc should discover information after the reader and other great insights on revelations in your ms.
Revelations and Reveals - how to surprise your reader - The emotional processing of rejection is a kind of grief.@jenunedited shares the stages.
Five Stages of Rejection - Live in the moment, make mistakes, and other great tips for writing a YA voice.
A Discussion on Voice in YA with Janice Hardy - Leave your readers dangling on your hook when you end a scene. via@KMWeiland
Don’t Tie Off Your Scenes With a Ribbon - When double negatives aren't necessarily wrong.
Don’t Be Negative About Negatives - The fifteen story beats of HEIST SOCIETY. Great post
Plot Busters – Heist Society break-down in 15 sentences! - Five ways to make sure you are writing your story the best way it can be written.
Writing the Right Story vs Writing the Story Right - Trying to decide if your prologue really is necessary? Here are seven reasons it might not be.
The Seven Deadly Sins of Prologues - Each word in your ms must serve a distinct purpose and ”sound” exactly right.
I Speech: Tapping into Your “Writer’s Ear” - One person’s dystopia is another person’s utopia--it's all in the POV.
Dystopia or Utopia? Sometimes, It's All in the Point of View - The two paragraph rule for your writers toolbox. Great post!
Can We Have Too Much Voice? - Eight tools Lauren Myracle used in SHINE and how to apply them yourself.
Writing lessons learned from SHINE - Think you know how to use quotation marks correctly? Have questions? Read this.
A Quiz About Quotation Marks - Wonder if you're starting in the right place? Where is the inciting incident?
How to Tell if Your Story Begins Too Soon - Four ways pantsers can get back on track when stuck in a story quagmire.
Writing by the Seat of Your Pants - Writing contest hosted by Lauren DeStefano . Enter by 3/7.
Fever by Lauren DeStefano Fan Fiction Writing Contest - Good example of simultaneous world-building and character-building.
Love Your Characters - Great writing contest with a great backstory behind it. Stop by and check it out before 2/29.
A Writing Contest For Your Best Experience EVER! - All Man vs. Society conflicts have a common element: changing the status quo. Excellent.
The Other Side of the Story: There is No Bad Guy: What to do When Your Antagonist Isn't a Villain - What real teens think about Valentine's Day (and the most envy-inducing gift).
YA Confidential: Tales from the Locker Room (And Other Stalk Worthy Places) - Using the lens of your secondary characters to add depth and perspective.
Giving Your Characters A Little Perspective
Inspiration and Smiles
- If you want to be a writer, stop looking for maps and start walking your own path.
A Moment Of Unsolicited Advice - Writing is magic, a living performance that surprises and awes the audience.
Writers Aren't Painters They're Magicians - Three things you know as a writer that connect you to the world.
3 Things Writers Know - Having a plant in your writing space can keep you grounded.
How Plants Can Help Your Writing! They can... I promise... - Great post with 25 rules for every writer to live by.
25 Things I Want To Say To So-Called “Aspiring” Writers - Great resources to help you get more creative.
Ten Obstacles to Creativity–and How to Overcome Them - Discovering new weapons in your writing arsenal through rejection.
Turning Point or Reversal? - Need a pick me up? Great story about perseverence and believing in your product.
60 rejection letters later... - Don't demean your own success by comparing yourself with other other authors.
The Indelibles: What is Success? - Admit it: you're procrastinating right now. 4 tips to stop procrastinating and start .
How to Stop Procrastinating and Start Writing
Issues, News, Trends, and Congratulations
- Congrats to all the finalists for the LA Times Book Prize, including @LibbaBray and @mstiefvater#books
2011 Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalists announced - What's the difference between a kindle and a book in school reading?
To Ban or Not to Ban: Kindle in the Classroom? - Why writers really need to know how to budget.
Writerly Economics | GENREALITY - The 4 major players in creating , and who is conspicuously absent. Day 2 of @wordforteen's YA lit class. Edit
WORD for Teens: Young Adult Literature: The Class (Day 2)
Social Media, Book Promotion, and Self-Publishing
- Want a book trailer? Here's how to make one.
How to Make Your Own Book Trailer - How to develop blog and website content optimized for the way readers read online.
5 Keys to Writing for an Online Audience - Five reasons you may not be getting as many comments on your blog as you used to.
Blog Commenting - Is It Going Extinct? - GREAT post on how to keep readers on your author site longer and bring them back for more.
Author Websites: Layering Yours With Sticky Extras - The marketing of your book isn't markedly different between indy/self pub and the big 6.
Susan Kaye Quinn, Young Adult Author: Sweat Equity in Book Publishing - Spend ninety percent of your time being a good social media citizen and ten percent on promotion.
The 90/10 promotion rule: what to do with the 10%? - Why genre will still play a role in how e-books are sold.
How Important is Genre in Today's World of E-Books? - What not to do when promoting your book release on Twitter.
Twitter Tips - Marketing your book for $200 and 20 hours.
YA Author Elana Johnson: The Basic Marketing Plan for Authors Who Have Bills to Pay Too
To Market
- Maria Lamda especially wants moving or hilarious YA/MG general, or women's fiction.
Agent Spotlight: Marie Lamba - Great collection of writerly, agent, and publishing tweets from the past week.
Field Trip Friday, Twitter Version: February 24, 2012 - FANTASTIC view of the agent's side of THE CALL. Questions you might be asked.
Questions You Might Be Asked When Offered Representation - An agent's perspective on realistic expectations for the slushpile, agent response, etc.
Ask an Agent - Part 5 - There are more publishers than ever and 5 other reasons it's a good time to write.
6 Reasons for Writers to Be Optimistic - Made a typo in your queryletter? Yes, avoid them. But it may not kill your chances.
Typos in Queries - Interested in writing Harlequin romance? Here's what they are looking for.
Writing For Harlequin - Things Scott Looks For In Submissions
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.
Happy reading and joyous writing,
Clara and Martina
I loved Janice Hardy's article on YA voice! Good stuff. Thanks for the linky list, gals! and have a great weekend. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great links, including my interview of Jenna, who is published at 15. So sorry for the death in your family.
ReplyDeleteAwesome links and much appreciated that you do this. Wow, my post is here! Thank you, ladies! It's exciting to be included with so many amazing bloggers on this equally incredible blog. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about the death in your family, Martina. Wishing you comfort and peace and safe travels.
Martina, I'm so sorry to hear about the death in your family :(
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for all the hard work you gals put into this post. And thanks so much for the mention!
I went straight to the links initially and missed the part about your family death, Martina. So sorry to hear that. Take care, and have safe travels. That's more important than a giveaway.
ReplyDeleteAppreciating the links again, more so realizing the loss you've experienced. Condolences during this tough time...
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about your loss. Thanks for the awesome job done here.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear of your loss - take care.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links - just got my computer back so I'll catch up on a few! :)
Oh Martina, I'm sorry for your loss. Sending hugs.
ReplyDeleteMartina, I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. Sending hugs and loving thoughts your way.
ReplyDelete