15 Best Articles! This Week for Writers 9/3/2010

Inspiration

• SHOULD I HAVE HEARD OF YOU? asks Amanda Craig [Help! I Need a Publisher!] Don't let your feet get too far from the ground.
• Must A Novelist Begin With Short Stories? [Advanced Fiction Writing Blog] If you want to write novels, write novels.
• 20 Things that Doubt Will Do, and 3 Things It Can’t [Confident Writing] A short chapter from Writing Down the Bones. Excellent.
• How I Found My Agent by Sarah Page [Literary Rambles] Research. Revise. Revivify. And congrats to @NatalieFischer and Sarah Page.
• Time Management Tip [Inkygirl.com: Daily Diversions For Writers - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi] It's about MAKING time to write. Love InkyGirl!
• Jennifer Belle: "Write What You Want to Write" [mediabistro.com: GalleyCat] Start in the middle of your novel to sink into the characters faster.
• WRITER WEDNESDAY: Avoiding pitfalls [Oasis for YA] Unplug to reconnect with your story.
• But I want to be a writer now! [Supernatural Summer] Great post from Kim Harrison about career paths.
• 10 Ways to Finish that Danged First Draft [It's a Mystery] Good tips. And ultimately, just keep going.
• 5 Things Television Teaches Writers [Guide to Literary Agents] Our favorite: A Break From Writing Is Not a Waste Of Time.
• Edit Your Novel; Edit Your Life [Quarter Life Crisis: Taking a Year Off] Approaching life like a revision.
• Learning From the Masters [QueryTracker.net] Four tips to help turn reading into active learning.
• 7 Things I’ve Learned So Far, by Victoria Ceretto-Slotto [Guide to Literary Agents] Wonderful tips on getting organized, maintaining professionalism, and writing.
• Measuring Success [iggi & gabi] Break abstract goals into concrete goals for DIY MFA month and get your writing moving.
• Project to Published: Helpful Tips about Getting Past Writers Block [Emma Michaels] Practical tips for re-awakening the writer in you.
• What’s Your Specialty? [Mystery Writing is Murder] Playing to our strengths as writers.
• Working in Small Steps But Seeing the Big Picture [Author, Jody Hedlund] Writing lessons from Legos.
• Talent is for Cheats – the 3 things a writer really needs [James Killick's Blog] Create, craft, critique - that's all you need. Agree?

Craft of Writing

• Authentic Details Reflect Ultimate Transformation [Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers] Close look at the objects in your character's life.
• Which is Best: First or Third Person Point of View? [Write It Sideways] 'You should use whatever point of view and whatever tense helps you tell your story in the best possible way.'
• Symbolism Thesaurus Entry: Illness [The Bookshelf Muse] 'Let the story's tone decide if one strong symbol or several smaller ones work the best.'
• The Pernicious Momentum of First Ideas [Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent] First ideas are dangerous.
• How to organize a writing retreat [Megan Crewe - another world, not quite ours] Fantastic advice for getting away and writing!
• T3 - Stages of Change: Action [The Character Therapist] 'This stage will require the most emotional, mental, and physical effort of your character.'
• Writing About People We Know [Mystery Writing is Murder] Should you base characters on yourself, or someone you know?
• Stories That Cross Borders and Boundaries [Ingrid's Notes] Getting multicultural literature right.
• 10 Book Writing Tips From Published Book Authors and Freelancers [Quips and Tips for Successful Writers] Excellent advice. Plus a tiara.
• The Accidental Author: Lessons Learned From Writing A Children’s Book [The Creative Penn] Ask what a child would think of your concept.
• The Inner Journey [Writer Unboxed] A journey can’t matter until the mc matters. 12 q's your mc should answer differently at 4 points in the novel.
• Tip Thursday (A day early)-- Children's Writing [Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My!] 17 tips to take you from idea to sub.
• Writing Lessons from a Mannequin [Words from the Woods] Four tips to bring your characters to life.
• Step Off the Gas [The Blood-Red Pencil] Slowing down your pay-out scene.
• Finding The Perfect Title For Your Novel [Advanced Fiction Writing Blog] Write the perfect novel, then worry about the title later.
• Chapters and Scenes [Kidlit.com] Length, pacing, timing, content are all part of the deliberate decisions you must make.
• Describing a Character's Physical Features [The Sharp Angle] Excellent article with examples.
• Overarching Tension [Plot Whisperer for Writers and Readers] Release as much of the overarching tension in your personal story as you can while you systematically build up the story tension.
• Setting Thesaurus Entry: Bookstore [The Bookshelf Muse] These are a few of our favorite things!
• Mature Voice for the YA Market [Kidlit.com] An MC with a sarcastic voice isn't enough to carry the plot.
• Find Your Plot Fridays: Parts is Parts [The Other Side of the Story] Outlining the major moments of your story.
• The Plot That Swam Away [The Blood-Red Pencil] Your protag can't turn away from their goal. So what can they do?
• How To Title Your Story – Or Not [Magical Words] A crash course on the influence of a title and crafting your own.

Self-Editing

• Does Your Novel Suffer From Flat Writing? [www.publetariat.com] If it doesn't "wow" you when you read it, you have a problem.
• Character Motivation [Words from the Woods] Every move a character makes must have a reason. If not, revise.
• EDITING FOR TOUGHIES [Help! I Need a Publisher!] 'Go edit. Cut. Add. Check.'
• More Rewriting: The Subplot Pass [Alexandra Sokoloff] Deepen your story by checking each subplot arc.
• Lovin' the em dash--I just can't stop using it [Sisters in Scribe] When an em dash is appropriate.
• Should You Edit As You Go? [Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors] Edit as you go, or after the first draft? The pros and cons of both.
• Sentence Strengthening Saturday [YA Highway] Spotting and cleaning up adverbs and adjectives.
• The First Five Pages [Bekah's Stories] Eight things to include in the crucial first five. Good checklist!
• Self Editing Tips – 1# – Turf the Non Descript. [Write Anything] Replace weak adjectives with specific descriptions.

Critiquing

• Crit Groups v. Beta Readers: What Works For You? [* Fiction Groupie *] Something I've been thinking about too.
• From the Vault: Critical response [Dystel & Goderich Literary Management] Agents (and editors) don't succeed unless their authors do. Listen to criticism with a professional ear; no manuscript is ever perfect.
• Why Writers Need Community [iggi & gabi] There's comfort in numbers.
• Beta Readers Meets Lord of the Rings and Makes a Duff plug!!!! [GotYA] Fun perspective on critique groups and partners.
• Creative Tension and Sharing Our Work--Is It Time or Is It Premature? [How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book] The difference between writing coaches, writing partners & writing groups.

Contests

• September Debut Contest!! [Personal Demons] Win The DUFF and Personal Demons!
• Infinite Days: If You Lived Forever Contest [Novel Novice] Enter by writing about a period of time in history you'd like to witness.
• CONTEST [Ramblings of a Drifting Mind] Win a copy of Cinders!
• NERDS: M IS FOR MAMA'S BOY ARC Giveaway [ROOTS IN MYTH] Contest runs until the 10th!
• Win a SIGNED paperback of Meridian by Amber Kizer! [THE BOOK BUTTERFLY] Enter by September 16th!
• Interview with Evie from PARANORMALCY [Paranormal Point of View] Come enter for a chance to win a copy of the book!
• Wind Warrior Blog Tour Giveaway [Candace's Book Blog] Huge giveaway closes September 30th.
• Half Moon Tour [Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My!] Scavenger hunt and prizes!
• "Waiting On" Wednesday + Contest [In Bed With Books] Win a Barnes & Noble gift card!
• Paranormalcy Giveaway!!! [Reading, Writing and Waiting] Contest ends September 17th!
• Contest: Win a Nevermore Prize Pack by Kelly Creagh [THE BOOK BUTTERFLY] Comment with your favorite Edgar Allan Poe poem or story to win.
• A New Contest: win a query or one-page critique from Snarky! [Getting Past the Gatekeeper] Write a rejection letter for Twilight, or an all-purpose rejection letter for Snarky Agent Man.
• Win a Signed copy of RADIANCE!!!! [Tales from the Real OC (Really!)] Contest closes September 3rd!
• Giveaway: Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin [Finding My Muse] Contest sponsored by Confessions of a Bookaholic.
• Guest Post + Giveaway: Jess C. Scott (YA Book - The Intern) [/- LA FEMME READERS -/] September 17th is the cut-off to enter!
• Feel me up Friday Awards: Shes a fainter [The Misadventures In Candyland] Four great books are up for grabs!

To Market

• Agent posts [Buffy's write zone] A round-up of the recent posts on what agents do, like, hate, offer and more.
• Agent Spotlight: Caitlin Blasdell [Literary Rambles] She's looking for young adult and middle grade.
• Successful Queries: Agent Meredith Kaffel and ''Shadow Hills'' [Guide to Literary Agents] Read the query letter behind the awesome book Shadow Hills.
• The Almost Risk Free Route To Self-Publishing Your Book [BubbleCow] Digital publishing offers new perspective.
• Self-Published Authors Should Band Together [There Are No Rules] Interesting interview with author and publisher Eric Hammel.
• The Agent Story--PART 3 [Invincible Summer] Great story about Suzie Townsend and finding the right agent fit.
• CIP: What It Means, How to Read It, Who Should Get It [www.publetariat.com] If you're self-publishing, read this.
• The downside of dream agents [Don't pet me, I'm writing] Prioritizing your query roster and finding someone who believes in you.
• The Publisher You Want May Not Be The One For You [Babbles from Scott Eagan] Are your voice, paragraph structure, dialogue, character development etc. what they publish?
• Tip Tuesday #52 [Literary Rambles] Pitch to agents the first day of a conference.
• What High Concept Means [Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent] Embrace it. Editors are demanding it, even for literary novels.
• Editors Do the Darndest Things [Jennifer Represents...] But they mostly have good manners and don't pee on the rugs.
• Interview with agent Natalie Fischer [Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My!] She's looking for children’s literature (from picture book-YA/Teen).
• New Agent Alert: Kerry Sparks of Levine Greenberg Literary Agency [Guide to Literary Agents] She seeks YA and MG fiction (not paranormal), commercial and literary, and the occasional PB.
• Twenty Questions to Ask Before Submitting Your Story [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] Paulo Campos provides an excellent list of questions no writer should miss.
• On Queries, Part 2 [The Sharp Angle] Wonderful post on common problems with queries.
• From Your House to My House: Editors Discuss What Makes Them Choose Your book [Ingrid's Notes] Recap from the panel at SCBWI-LA. Lots of good information if you missed it!
• Guest Blog: E-Publishing Myths and Advantages from Author Christine Bell [* Fiction Groupie *] Myths and commonly offered advice that Author Christine Bell thinks you should ignore and why.
• Approaching a Major Publisher [Writers in the Sky E-zine] Is your voice set enough to survive the exposure? Or are you looking for help?
• What Does an Agent Do? [Chip MacGregor .com] An agent shares what you can expect, and what they expect of you.
• Summer’s over, now it’s time to find an agent – Your Query Submission Checklist [Red Sofa Literary] Checklist for query process. Note: process includes revising, reresearching, submitting elsewhere. Rinse, repeat.

After the Sale

• Secrets to Author Promotion [QueryTracker.net] What can you do for your audience? Sell it person to person.

Book Reviews

• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare: Review [Myra McEntire] A review and Intro to Steampunk 101 all rolled into one. Fantastic.
• Funny Books Featuring Multicultural Protagonists [Mitali's Fire Escape] Mitali put out a tweet asking for kid/yalit and here are the responses.
• Vote for the Teens Top Ten of 2010 at ALA! [Novel Novice] YALSO voting for the top ten is open. Vote then discuss what you think.
• Fall 2010 Children's Announcements [www.publishersweekly.com] Alphabetical listings of fall children’s books plus children's ebook market and more.
• Hannah [WORD for Teens] A point for writers about connecting to your character's feelings.
• Book Review: Dark of the Moon [Breaking the Bookshelf] Interesting point for writers about revealing character in a series. Read between the lines.
• Review of: Firelight [Young Adult Books Reviewed] A resoundingly positive review makes this book worth a look.
• Introducing First Page Panda [Anna Staniszewski] Awesome now website for author promotion and finding new reading material!

Twitter, Blogging & Social Media

• SCBWI Illustration Mentees Blog Launched [Inkygirl.com: Daily Diversions For Writers - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi] Go check it out!
• 30 Days of Online Branding Advice from Seesmic's Loic Le Meur [ReadWriteWeb] 'The importance of establishing a brand across the vast array of social networks.'
• Steve Jobs Counts 35 Million eBook Downloads [mediabistro.com: GalleyCat] And that's just for iTunes users.
• 23 (More) Websites that Make Your Writing Stronger [Write It Sideways] Excellent sites!
• The Give and Take of Social Media [.W.I.P. It] Balancing promotion and interaction in social media.
• New RSS Feed Options At Feedburner [www.publetariat.com] Your blog delivered to your readers' mailboxes.
• WHY NOT TRY SLOW BLOGGING? [Anne R. Allen's Blog] Nothing replaces writing, not even blogging.
• TWITTER FOR AUTHORS - PART 3: TWEETING IN THE VOID [Help! I Need a Publisher!] Using TweetDeck, gaining followership, and what to tweet.
• Little Fish in a Big Pond: Understanding, Accepting and Learning to Love Your Small Blog [Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG] The benefits of having a small blog.
• Using Facebook to Amplify Your Reach (and Not Annoy People) [Writer Unboxed] Seasoned FB user or not, everyone should read this post.

Issues & Trends

• The other comparison: ebook royalties versus ebook self-publishing [The Shatzkin Files] Smashwords DRM stance, royalties by market, and more.
• Readying For A Writer's Conference [Lisa Cooper Writes] Sound advice for going in prepared.
• SCBWI's Tomie dePaola Illustration Award Becomes Permanent [Alice Pope's SCBWI Children's Market Blog] Deadline to enter is December 15, 2010.
• Pubmission: Connecting Writers and Publishers With Ease [WOW! Women On Writing Blog] Intriguing idea for replacing the slushpile. What do you think?
• Your Brain on Computers - Digital Devices Deprive Brain of Needed Downtime - NYTimes.com [New York Times] Overstimulation prevents learning. (Via Jeff Hirsch)
• Does a book's popularity guarantee its movie's success? [Jacket Copy] Sometimes, it's the writing stupid.
• Borders Reduces E-reader to $99 [PWxyz] Once upon a time in a galaxy far, far away...
• Text Recognition Tools For Dummies [mediabistro.com: GalleyCat] Great info on OCR technology for writers.
• To Endorse or Not to Endorse [Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent] Read the manuscript and genuinely love it before giving it your stamp of approval.
• Barnes & Noble to Shutter Upper West Side Superstore in NYC [mediabistro.com: GalleyCat] 'What goes around comes around.' Are Mom & Pop stores celebrating?
• Picking your battles [Dystel & Goderich Literary Management] Another opinion on the novels the NY Times chooses to review.
• Can Bears Save Books? [PWxyz] Borders is "redefining the bookstore" with help from Build-a-Bear.
• The Value of Negative Reviews [PWxyz] As a writer, do you dare write a negative review? Should you?
• Adventures in Agentland: #queries [adventuresinagentland.blogspot.com]
• Round 1: Random House [Pimp My Novel] You're still going to want someone on your side to edit, format, and sell your book.
• In Defense of Grown Women Reading Y.A. Literature - Lemondrop.com [www.lemondrop.com] Why do we read it? Why do we write it?
• Interview about reviews [edittorrent] Huff post piece on gender bias and lack of reviews for commercial vs. literary fiction. Agree? Disagree?
• Killing 'em Softly - or Not [Supernatural Underground] What happens when a series character gets the ax?
• New Thriller Sells More E-Books Than Hardcovers - Digits - WSJ [blogs.wsj.com] I'D KNOW YOU ANYWHERE sold 739 more e-books in 1st 5 days.
• Violence in Children's Literature [Confessions of a Wandering Heart] Suzie Townsend weighs in on the Mockingjay debate. Non-gratuitous violence in modern lit teaches, reflects YA knowledge, and prepares kids for the world they face.
• Leo Hunter Lands Book Deal at 6-Years-Old [mediabistro.com: GalleyCat] This is NOT a joke!
• Wattpad Global Ebook Metrics Report, Q2 2010 [www.publetariat.com] See how ebooks are really being read.

Congrats

• Wow. Just, wow. [Kiersten Writes] PARANORMALCY optioned by Adler Pictures and Reverie Entertainment.
• Ellen Hopkins gets a two-book adult deal.
• Justine Larbalestier's novel LIAR won the WA Premier's Award for Best Young Adult Novel of 2009.
• Debbie Ridpath Ohi (@InkyElbows) for her
  selection to illustrate a new picture book by Michael Ian Black.

Just for Smiles

• Things That Make Me Snarf - Confessions of a Serial Vampire Dater [Carrie Harris] Can't keep your hands off a vampire?
• Poetry Slam: Me, Edward Cullen, Myself and My Existence [Girl In Between] Hysterical!
• Poetry Slam: My name is Bella Swan and I am shit in every way [Girl In Between] Who wouldn't like this?
• HOW TO WRITE A NOVEL [Grab a Pen] Way too funny to miss!
• Catchy Concepts in Kids’ Books [PWxyz] Covers to laugh for.
• Literary Modern Love [mediabistro.com: GalleyCat] 'Between the Covers: A Matchmaking Service for Book Lovers.'
• Fun Fact Friday: The Habits, Rituals, & Routines of 32 Famous Writers! [Wavy Lines] Authors who wrote in the tub, in elevators, or lying down.
• Could you be suffering from Post-Panem Depression? [Novel Novice] Symptoms and recommended treatment plan.

 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