21 Best Articles This Week for Writers 7/23/2010

Here's what's new around the blogosphere this week. There was certainly a lot of it, which means there must be a lot that we missed. If you have good news or a great link to share, please put it in the comments!

Inspiration

• Growing as a Writer [Enter the Between] Contests are a great way to learn about your manuscript, grow yourself as a writer, and steel yourself for the submission process.
• How to write all the time – Part 2 [James Killick] How to write in your sleep -- or virtually anywhere.
• Thanksgiving in July [Julie Musil]  Good reminder to think about all the good things. And the turkey photo at the top? Gotta love it.
• Do you believe? [White Platonic Dreams] Writing as a leap of faith. You'll smile as you read this.
• 6 Personality Types Who Will Succeed as Writers [A. Victoria Mixon, Editor] Check the blocks. Lots of truth in here. How do you stack up?
• Aspiring Writer’s Checklist [Ripping Ozzie Reads] Post this by your computer. Twenty tips to help you on your journey.
• The Learning Curve That Never Ends [CBA Ramblings] Rachelle offers practical advice on when the unthinkable happens.
• 5 Self-Defeating Recession Behaviors [The Blood-Red Pencil] Are you guilty of any of these? Fear not. Great tips for overcoming our self-defeating attitudes.
• How I Got My Agent: Teddy Wayne [Guide to Literary Agents] Inspiration en route to publication.
• Five Self-defeating Recession Behaviors  [Blood Red Pencil] Are you guilty of any of these things in your rush to publication?
• Five things I didn’t know until I got published .[An Awfully Big Blog Adventure] Funny, sad, and even poignant notes about being.
• A writers journey [Genreality] Finding the right story and idea is slower than pouring words on a page.
• On Rejection  [Writer Unboxed] Decline to be rejected. Look at it as an opportunity to grow.
• The Allure of Steampunk  [Ripping Ozzie Reads] A guide to the steamy, seedy, brilliant and magical world.
• Who Deserves the Titles of Writer & Author? [Jody Hedlund] Are you a writer, an author, or both?
• 52 Qualities of the Prosperous Writer: Number Twenty-Nine [The Sharp Angle] Diamonds are forever. The internet... well, it can be, too!
• RTW:My Best Posts [Kaitin Ward] 3 passionate posts from one of the YA Hwy bunch.
• 4Ways To Not Reek Of Desperation [Twist Image] Publish. Read. Community. Lead. 4 Tips to get you motivated, engaged, and more publishable.
• TheBoy Problem [Weronika Janczuk] Commentary & link for topic of boys in YA and MG.
• Whoops!There It Is [The Other Side of the Story] You don't have to be perfect in your submission, you just have to be professional. Mistakes to stress over and avoid. (And what NOT to worry about.)
• Are You Writing, Or Talking About Writing? [Writer Unboxed]  Firing up your word processor and finding the courage to fill that vast, cold, white void is writing. Anything less is masturbation.
• How Should We Write Across Cultures? [Mitali Perkins] Cross cultures boldly, but humbly. More from Mitali’s YARN interview.
• Learning to Love What You Write [Sisters in Scribe] Trust that if you put passion into your work, other people will connect with it. Write the best book YOU can.
• Guest Blogger: Jim Warner-Rejection Blues: Part 1 [QueryTracker ] Keep your chin up and learn to take the hits.
• Guest Blogger: Jim Warner-Rejection Blues: Part 2 [QueryTracker ] Hone your prose with the sense of inadequacy that comes from rejection. It will make your novel better, and you’ll regain a sense of control. Use a setback as a tool to improve your craft.
• The Familiar -v- The Forest Of New Ideas [Isabella Morgan] Which kind of book idea do YOU have? Scary and alive with possibility? Or controlled and familiar?
• One of the Best Things about Writing Fiction [Tom Franklin] Have a character who hang glides? Trying it is tax deductible. But why not try something you've always wanted to do--before your characters do it?

The Craft of Writing

• yWriter Outlining Software in Action [Wordplay] K.M. Weiland videos her WIP in yWriter to illustrate how it works
• Ten Things My MFA Program Taught Me NOT To Do [Writer's Digest via @YAHighway] My favorites? 1) Play it safe, and 2) Assume that just because one person hates your writing and the other person loves your writing that your writing is “confusing” or “conflicted.” Number 2 is a great reminder that you want people to think and talk about your work!
• Career Killers: Speed Writing [Books and Such Literary Agency via @InkyElbows] Excellent advice about why it pays to slow down.
• Career Killers: Sloppiness [Books and Such Literary Agency] You may hear that grammar and spelling are the  province of copyeditors, but the truth is that the more a publisher has to do on your manuscript, the less likely you are to get a second book deal.
• The Dark Side to Your Novel's Hero [C. Patrick Schulze] Take your hero's finest characteristic and turn.
• Emotional Truth--What You're After in Your Book, After...[How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book] "The art of emotional truth is a bit less predictable.  It comes out when the writer is willing to face the edge of her own life."
• Why Your Character’s Motive Matters [Wordplay] Why your character does something matters to your readers, and it's necessary if you want them to stay engaged and connected.
• Five Epiphanies in Children's Literature [An Awfully Big Blog Adventure] An infrequently tackled topic, with five great examples.Four Steps for Organizing Plot Ideas into a Novel [Jody Hedlund] 1) EstablishSet Pieces, 2) Develop a Three-Stand Conflict, 3) Jot down short chapter-by-chapteroutline, and 4) Plan scenes.
• Nine Expert Tips for Better Writing [LifeHack via @JaneFriedman] Seth Simmondswith some simple solutions to grow  your skills and confidence.
• Creating Believable Worlds [Writer Musings]Take time to build the detail and rules into your fantasy world up front.
• Keeping current in YA [Genreality] "Understandingwhat is important to teens NOW is understanding what is important to teens STILL."
• Convincing First Person Narrative [Ripping Ozzie Reads]The how and why of FP POV. Think gatekeeper of knowledge and the controller of suspense." Love that phrase!
• Deep Point of View [Ripping Ozzie Reads] "You need to know your characters. Know theirbackground, know their motivation and their secret fears, interview them and letthem answer the question in First Person."
• Flashbacks or Non-linear Story Telling [Ripping Ozzie Reads] Backstory can add powerful dimensions to turning points and characterization--but you have to use it properly. Here's a handy primer.
• On Being a Banshee [YA Highway] Great voice analogy between writing and singing.
• Top Tip 2: Vary Sentence Structure [Nicola Morgan] Mix up your sentence noun/adjective/ sequences and subject/verb structures in concurrent sentences.
• Setting Up and Winding Down  [The Other Side of the Story] Setting consistency and growth
• How A Scene Is Like A Joke [Julie Bush] Scene in 3 acts: 1)Goal 2)Reversal 3)Redirection
• World-Building From The Inside Out [Julie Bush] Your story's world reflects your characters point of view and that world changes with the character arc.
• Six Tips for Writing Dialogue [It’s a Mystery] Pauses, rhythm, starting in the middle. Great tips!
• Effective Character Description [The Sharp Angle] Make your characters stand out by making them unusual.
• The Three Dimensional Character in Novels [C. Patrick Schulze] Great: 1)Observations, 2)Backstory, and 3)Action/outlook through MC's POV.
• Cause and Effect in Plot [Plot Whisperer] Organically drive your scenes with cause and effect.
• Symbolism Thesaurus Superstitions and Signs: Bad Luck [The Bookshelf Muse] Great examples of things to include in your story. 
• WritingExercise [Evil Editor] OOOH! Evil Editor does opening lines. This should be fun to watch!
• By the seat of your pants [Tawna Fenske] Are you a plotter or a pantster? Tips to make it either one work for you.
• 8 Tips Actors can give Writers [Lyndar Young] Don't overdramatise, show emotion, be professional and be thick-skinned. Plus more. Good stuff!
• Lit Agent Peter McGuigan: 'It's a Great Time to Be a Writer [GalleyCat] It's great if you have a clever idea, but you either have to be the person to write that book, or you need to become that person.
• Show So You Don't Have To Tell [Literary Lab] Is showing versus telling a gimick or lazy solution?
• The Spaces In Between [ ] A study in the contrasts, necessary and not, that a writer must understand.
• Project! The Art of Voice in Fiction [Novel Matters] Details are an automatic voice all in themselves
• Guest Blogger: Erin Healy [Rachelle Gardner] The connection between author and reader is the superglue of storytelling.
• Guest Post: Marilee Brothers On Being the Conduit [YA Highway] Author's perspective on writing a series and listening to your MC.
• Withholding for suspense [Edit Torrent] The prize isn't that revelation of what the secret is, rather the ever-deepening mystery.

Self-Editing

• Before You Submit [The Kill Zone] Nine tips that will immediately improve your manuscript.
• Can a Writer Salvage Early Manuscripts? [Jody Hedlund] Any novel is salvageable -- given work and dedication. You just have to love it enough to think it's worthwhile.
• When Plots Go Astray [The Other Side of the Story] Great questions to ask yourself while plotting. Solid, actionable informationon how to add complications without including fluff.
• Finding Tips on Self-Editing at The Blood-Red Pencil [The Blood-Red Pencil] Twelve great articles on different aspects of self-editing.
• Finding Your Voice [The Blood-Red Pencil] "Writers...read differently than non-writers... we absorb what we consider “good” writing. Good writers are readers. And we learn by reading. And, over time, we develop our own voice, a lot of it based on what we consider wonderful writing."
• Agents' Chapter 1 Pet Peeves [Guide to Literary Agents via @MichelleHodkin] Thanks Michele for the reminder on this oldie but still-completely-valie goodie!
• More Agents' Chapter 1 Pet Peeves [Guide to Literary Agents via @MichelleHodkin] More cliches and turn-offs by agent. Yes, Chuck names names!
• Self-Editing for Fiction Writers [WOW! Women on Writing] Great points about balance, show & tell, breadcrumb trails of backstory and more.
• How It Feels To Finish The First Draft Of Your First Draft [The Creative Penn]  Congrats, Joanna! And such a smart approach to draft 2.
• Get out of your own way] [My Place by The Sea] Despite all the how-to books, all the conferences, workshops, classes, tapes, etc., when all is said and done, YOU have to write YOUR story.
• Getting the most out of a rewrite: Tips for authors [The Book Deal] An editors perspective on why and how to rewrite.
• How you find out all the ways you screwed your book up [Personal Demons] Nice overview of the journey from draft to arc.
• Beach Towels and Manuscript Revision [Words from the Woods] Manuscripts must be read and reread. They must be checked for plot and character development, not just typos. And in between edits, they need time to dry.
• Ain’t Got Good Grammar? [Advanced Fiction Writing] Editors say ‘yes’ for  your strengths and ‘no’ because of your weaknesses.
• The Importance of Self-Editing [Writer Beware Blogs] Learn to love this tedious task.
• Why Have Beta Readers  [L.M. Preston] Great discussion about the importance of beta readers.
• Writer's Wednesday: Grammar Nut [Oasis for YA] Three great grammar tips you should know.
• Overwriting [Janet Reid Literary] Examples and why wordiness in your query means an instant rejection.
• Re-Write Wednesday: To the Dump, To the Dump [Story Flip] Nice post on infodump and how to make it work for your story.
• Secrets to Fix Your Novel's Plot [C. Patrick Schulze] Conflict, motivation, twists.... Lots of good tips!
• Dialogue tags [Dark Angel] Clean up your dialogue and make it flow more naturally
• Weeding Your Manuscript [Novel Matters] Excellent examples of wordiness. Plus a tip: read with an accent to slow yourself down and really see what’s on the page.

Critiquing

• The Query "Critters" [Weronika Janczuk] Free critique for your query letter!

To Market

• The Synopsis. Yikes! [Enter the Between] Good breakdown of that dreaded beast.
• Query Recap & Query Announcement [BookEnds, LLC] The agency is closing for  ubmissions until Labor Day, but if you have an offer in which you want her to participate, send it and be sure to use the word OFFER in the subject line.
• Breaking All the Rules [Bent on Books] You have to know the rules to break them, but sometimes--according to agent Jenny Bent--breaking them just works.
• Intern Tips: Week #8 [A Trip Down Publishing Lane] More lips from the intern at Elaine . English.
• Publishing Interviews: Sara Kendall, Nancy Coffey... [YA Highway] Greatinterview. I especially like the part about line edits making the novel come togetherfollowing a round or three of bigger edits. Sounds like a great agency!
• Query Red Flags [BookEnds, LLC] Laughing. Seriously. Do people really put this stuff in query letters?
• Lit Agent BJ Robbins Wants "Something Slightly Quirky... [MediaBistro] Find out what she wants in a query letter.
• Intern Tips Week #7 [Publishing Way] Sammy Bina is an intern at the Elaine P. English agency. Her tips come from things she sees in the slushpile, and they are both simple and direct. Don't miss this! 
• Being Trendy [The Other Side of the Story (Thanks, Natalie!)] Great points about writing what you love, regardless of trends, but putting some thought into your choices before you start. 
• Why Writers Wait [Stet] How to make productive use of your post-submission waiting time.
• How to Submit a Manuscript Revision [Agency Gatekeeper] What to do if you make changes while an agent already has your your full or partial.
• Mythbusting 101 [Jennifer Represents] Literary agent Jennifer Laughran answers a whole host of questions she was asked at a conference.
• SCBWI TEAM BLOG Pre-conference Interview: Jennifer Hunt [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog] Terrific interview with an editor who will run two break-out sessions in LA.
• How to Write a Great Query Letter [Noah Lukeman] eBook with lots of in-depth advice.
• Pitching to Agents [QueryTracker Blog] With conference season upon us, we thought this was worth a repeat.
• Why-y-y-y [GotYA] Using Who, What, When, Where, and How to turn your rejections into success.
• Tracking and Capturing a Literary Agent. [WOW! Women on Writing] Lots of good tips, and a class starting 8/2.
• Guest Blog: Verbal Pitches [Justine Dell] The elevator pitch, the movie/book comparison and more.
• Mythbusting 101 [Jennifer Represents] Jennifer Laughran debunks a lot of the excuses writers give themselves when those rejections come rolling in.
• Age Ain't Nothin' But a Number [Glass Cases] Don't apologize for being young in your query letter!
• The intangibles in weighing publishing offers [Dystel & Godderich] The big publisher isn't always the right publisher.
• Shopping for Agents Online [Words from the Woods ] Free information is at our fingertips and should make targeted queries the rule, rather than the exception.
• Submitting New Projects? Show Me Growth! [Babbles from Scott Eagen] Important, seldom seen advice. Read this!
• Pre-conference Interview: Jennifer Hunt [SCBWI TEAM BLOG] Little, Brown editor will offer 2 breakout sessions.
• New Agent Alert: Naomi Hackenberg of The Elaine English Agency [Guide to Literary Agents] Looking for YA fiction with strong writing, voice.
• Working a Writers Conference Part II: Getting the Most Out of Your Money an Time [Genreality] It's all about the people. Be brave.
• Super-Powered Book Proposals Secret #1: There Is No Try. Do. [Writer’s Digest: No Rules] Knock 'em dead with your kick-ass book proposal!
• Querying for a Series [Linn Prentis Literary]  How to do it without scaring the pants off the agent.
• The Thing About Names [BookEnds Literary] Have two last names? Consider a pen name.
• SpeedDating with Agents [Publishers Weekly] Wish SCBWI would do this!
• A Much Needed Pick Me Up [Renee Mercado] On conquering the slush pile, being on sub, and having  a great agent. Plus an excerpt from her manuscript.

After the Sale

• Web Presence Checklist [Self-Publishing Review] Website, blog, author email & signature, announcing on forums and mailing lists, social networking, author pages, title information submission, book reviews, contributed articles, contests, book trailers, paid advertisements, merchandise.... And you thought the hard work was done when you sold the book?
• How to Impress Booksellers [Galley Cat] Check #waystoimpressbooksellers Tweeps!
• Publishing Insiders Wrap-Up: Why Some Authors Fail [Author Marketing Experts] Successful authors are open, hardworking, and willing to do something writing-related 7 days a week.

Congratulations

• Melissa Marr Lands Deal for YA Trilogy [GalleyCat] Great news for Melissa Marr @Melissa_Marr fans!
• Gretchen McNeil [@Zerbineta] and Ginger Clark @GingerClark of Curtis Brown for the sale of BANISH to Balzer & Bray.
• Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest runner up Alex Lidell for the sale of SERVICE TO THE CROWN to Dial.
• Megan Crewe and Josh Adams at Adams Literary for the sale of THE WAY WE FALL to Disney-Hyperion.

Contests

• NIGHTSHADE T-shirt Design Contest [Emily's Reading Room] Win an awesome ARC in a creative way!
• Contest Ten [Paperback Writer] Grants, contests, and prizes-oh, my!
• HALO and PARANORMALCY addition to my giveaway!!! [Alexandra Shostak] Dark Fantasy contest til 7/27. Clockwork Angel,  Halo, Paranormalcy, White Cat and more…
• Summer Saradise 7 ARC giveaway!! [Babbling Flow] @saramcclung - runs 7/20 - 8/6 Paranormalcy, Clockwork Angel, Firelight, Halo, Personal Demons, The Replacement & Torment.
• GUARDIAN OF THE GATE ARC Giveaway [PJ Hoover] Ends at midnight, Friday, July 23.
• BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS ARC Giveaway [PJ Hoover] Enter by July 30 at midnight.
• WHERE THE TRUTH LIES ARC Giveaway [PJ Hoover] Runs through Friday July 30th.
• Would You Like to Win Some ARCS? [Finding My Muse] Win amazing ARCs! @cvaldezmiller generously gives them away. 
• I Have a Shiny New ARC [Kiersten Writes] Enter by 7/24 for Paranormalcy, Matched, Firelight, Before I Fall and more…

Trends and Issues

• SELF-PUBLISHING: Maybe You're Not So Vain After All? [Anne R. Allen] A who's who of who's self-pubbing or going there. And some possible reasons why.
• The Myth of the Evil Editor [Writer Beware!] "There are many reasons to self-publish. Fear of editors should not be one of them."
• Jeff Bezos: "Kindle Format Has Now Overtaken the Hardcover  [Galley Cat] Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcovers.
• This Week in Publishing: Bits and Bites for July 10 [Author Marketing Experts] Google Editions, Books-A-Million's new e-bookstore, an more.
• Are You Ready to PubIt!? [LL Book Review] Your book in B&N this summer? What do you think?
• Publishing Is the New Literacy: 3 Things Writers Must .[There Are No Rules]  “Publishing may be easier and open to everyone,  but it's not necessarily easier to compete or get the attention of influential people, or even everyday readers. It still takes effort, creativity, and persistence. You have to operate at a sophisticated level. ...It’s a time to experiment, and a time to fail.”
• You can’t take it with you…or can you? [Dystel & Godderich] Digitize your library. Invention scans 15 pg/hr. Would you use it? Or would you spend the $$$ for the ebook?

Twitter, Blogging, and Social Media

• How To Use Social Media without Letting It Eat Up Writing Time [Jody Hedlund] 1) Look at it as part of the job description, 2) Set boundaries so it doesn't take over, and 3) Maximize the time you put into social media.
• Twitter Chats for Writers [InkyGirl] What they are, where and when to find them, and how not to break the rules.
• Are You Talking About Me? [The Other Side of the Story] Are you following etiquette for blogging?
• Utilizing Twitter For Conversations and Information [Blogussion] Twitter- oh, the possibilities!
• Twitter Tutorial Take 2 [Heather's Odyssey] C'mon, you know you want to take the plunge and tweet already!
• Top 10 Secrets of a Super Blogger [Author Marketing Experts] Thinking about taking the plunge and creating a platform?
• How To Give Your Visitors More [Blogussion] Keep 'em coming back for more.
• How to Back Up Your Blog and Save Content [Guide to Literary Agents] Wordpress, LiveJournal, and Blogger instructions.

Just for Smiles

• All Writers Need Plot [Plot Whisperer] Reminders on plot, joy, and the memo you missed.
• Countdown to the SCBWI Convention [InkyGirl] Don't miss this if you're going to SCBWI-LA--or any conference.
• Reason #1412 Why I Need to Move to NYC [Frenetic Reader] It could only happen there -- and in the library, no less.
• Old Spice Guy [Mary Brebner] The story behind the twitter request, and thevideo--bare chest, low-slung towel and all.
• Classical Conditioning, OR, Stupid Smart [Heart on a Wire] You just have to read this. It made me snarf my tea. 
• The Publishing Channel's Sweet New Fall Schedule! [YA Highway] The trash shows writers secretly crave. Dust off smile for this one, you're going to need it.
• Cartoon 689 [Evil Editor] This cartoon is wicked good! Click on the link. Come on. I dare you.
• The Creative Process in Cartoon Form [Virus Comix via @FigmentFiction] A maze of creative pitfalls--pretty much like getting your novel published.
• 7 Things I've Learned So Far (a satire) [Guide to Literary Agents ]Too funny to pass up.
• The "I Write Like" Man [Anne R. Allen] You write like... if translated into Russian.The story about the “evaluation” tool everyone’s talking about.
• Querypolitan Presents: THE FIVE STAGES OF QUERYING   [Grab a Pen] Querying your first-novel. Dead on. And so funny.
• The First Pages Your First Pages Should Look Like. [Michelle Hodkin] I laughed so hard I peed in my Ann Taylor jeans.
• The Publishing Channel's Sweet New Fall Schedule! [YA Highway] The trash shows writers secretly crave. Dust off your smile. This is a great post.
• The Man Your Man Could Smell Like [T.H. Mafi] Leave it to @thmafi to merge the Old Spice guy and writing.

Other Weekly Round-Ups:

• Favorite Tweets for Writers This Week [All About Writing] Nicole Humphrey Cook's round-up of writing tweets.
• Jane Friedman of Writer's Digest also 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 stumbled across during the week.
• Elizabeth Craig has started posting 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