Obviously, I missed ALL the Google reading while I was gone. I've MISSED reading all those fabulous posts. Clara Kensie was fabulous keeping up for us, so here's a round-up of her posts. Please drop her some comments and appreciation!
Happy heatwave! (Can you believe this weather? AAACK! It SNOWED on me in Denali on Monday and now it's 110 degrees in Virginia.)
Martina
After the Sale
- Writers: six things NOT to do during TV and radio interviews [Time to Write] Interview coming up? Six survival tips you need to read.
- It's a deal! Teri Terry and Slated find a home with Orchard Books [Notes from the Slushpile] Congrats, Teri Terry on your three book deal with Orchard Books!
- Attention All Writers [Mundie Moms] Two amazing writing contest opportunities!
- Pitch Contest [Kristin Miller, Literary Agent] Got a 140-character pitch? Wow! Now you can pitch to Kristin Miller, 7/12 at Love YA. YA/MG only.
- Recommending Wildefire (With an ARC Giveaway) [Carolina Valdez Miller] Enter by 7/7 to win ARC of WILDEFIRE by Karsten Knight.
- When a Supporting Character Tries To Take Over [Paranormal Point of View] Words of advice for the runaways in your ms, and a chance to win ORIGINAL SIN.
- Four teens judge your story . . . with three editing prizes up for grab! [Brenda Drake Writes . . .] Great contest and critique op with @CAMarshall and three teen judges.
- Website + Teaser = Giveaway FUN [Some Things I Think...] Fun giveaway from @KMWalton1 -- guess the location of the photo.
- Freedom Giveaway Hop: Win an ARC of Hourglass by Myra McEntire! [THE BOOK BUTTERFLY] Enter by 7/7 to win HOURGLASS by @MyraMcEntire.
- Busta Mood: Using the Emotional State of Your Characters to Craft Better Scenes [The Other Side of the Story] Strong emotions make for great scenes, especially if you find ways to heighten those emotions.
- How Books Work: The Hunger Games (Part 2) [The Intern] Hunger Game qualities you can apply to your manuscript to make it more addictive.
- 45 more flaws that expose your lack of storytelling experience, part 1 [Show Some Character!] Bathroom mirror descriptions, wakeup openings, & 7 more ways to show you're a rookie.
- Get Your Dialogue Off the Cuff Instead of On the Nose [San Diego Professional Writer's Group] Dialogue with no hidden subtleness deflates the dramatic tension. Excellent post by Tim Kane.
- Can Your Character Change? [GENREALITY] Key to a great protag: show how she changes throughout the story.
- How Books Work: The Hunger Games (Part 1) [The Intern] Why Hunger Games is such an addictive read: a must-read analysis by @InternSpills. Repeat: a must-read.
- Conflict Is Key [Babbles from Scott Eagan] On conflict: too little is boring. Too much isn't worth the effort to untangle.
- 5 Creative Flaws That Will Expose Your Lack of Storytelling Experience [storyfix.com] Want to show everyone you're an inexperienced writer? Just do these 5 things.
- Building Coherent Scene Transitions [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] How to make smooth transitions from scene to scene.
- Top 15 Books On Writing [Magical Words] .@MagicalWords lists his 15 favorite books on writing. How many of them have you read?
- When readers trust an author [Julie Musil] Why we love Jodi Picoult & what writers can learn from her.
- 7 Distraction-Free Writing Environments for Authors [www.publetariat.com] Easily distracted? Try these distraction-free writing programs.
- Write What They Don’t Know: Manipulating Your Reader for Better Plots [The Other Side of the Story] Are you manipulating your plot for the best impact or just showing it unfolding? Excellent post by @Janice_Hardy.
- Tuesday Ten: Character Quirks [Cheryl's Musings] How Dungeons & Dragons helped @CherylRWrites create well-rounded characters. We love her list of quirks!
- Performing Plot CPR [Julie Musil] .@JulieMusil's plot spreadsheet will help you evaluate each scene with clarity & focus.
- Stephen King On Writing [Some Things I Think...] Our love will never die for Stephen King's ON WRITING, & neither will @KMWalton1's. Here are her reasons why.
- Performing open-heart surgery on a scene [James Killick's Blog] Purpose. Context. Action. Situation. Does each scene in your book have these 4 elements?
- Move Along: Fixing Problem Pacing [The Other Side of the Story] Print-worthy checklist of pacing problems & how to solve them.
- My Wrap-Up of Outlining [Mystery Writing is Murder] The pros and cons of outlining, from a panster who tried to be a plotter.
- Aaaaand, Action! How to write it well [Julie Musil] .@LisaGailGreen on how to write action scenes that will get your readers' hearts pumping.
- Enhancing Dialogue [Writing Fiction Right from novelist Gail Gaymer Martin] Dialogue becomes real when your characters speak as real people do. Some great tips on enhancing dialogue.
- Pumping Up the Plot: 6 Vital Signs of a Healthy Plot [Beyond The Margins] A list for those struggling to plot & to make sure it will go the distance.
- Page Critique Thursday: Avoiding Being Writerly [Nathan Bransford, Author] The difference between writing and being writerly.
- Forget Everyone Else [BookEnds, LLC — A Literary Agency] Don't write for others. Write for the good of the book. This short post by @BookendsJessica gave me chills. Loved.
- You Have To Hook Us [Babbles from Scott Eagan] "The opening pages of a story are beyond crucial for the success of a book."
- Voice Tips from the Pros [The Bookshelf Muse] Voice! How to nail it. Bookmark-worthy article by @AngelaAckerman.
- Guest Author K.A. Stewart: Enhancing Your Descriptions [The Other Side of the Story] Descriptions: use details that evoke the mood or forshadow events. By K.A. Stewart
- Developing Characters: Profiling, Archetypes, Myers-Briggs [GENREALITY] Develop your characters with FBI profiling methods or Myers-Briggs templates.
- Setting Thesaurus Entry: GLOBAL WARMING (Futuristic) [The Bookshelf Muse] Excellent new entry for the setting thesaurus.
- 10 Tips For Building Your Writing Checklist [Guide to Literary Agents] Ten ways to focus your writing from Mark Charan Newton.
- Researching Your Story – A Four-Step Strategy [Let The Words Flow] Four streamlined steps to researching your new ms.
- Testing the Idea–Is It Strong Enough to Make a Novel? [Kristen Lamb's Blog] Your idea is great, but is it strong enough for a novel?
- Tips for Writers—The Down and Dirty [The Editor's Blog] 60+ tips on craft, submitting, editing & more. Love this one: Write fiction others want to read.
- Dealing with critique feedback [Writer Unboxed] How to decide which critique feedback to use & which to toss.
- Critique Speak [The Blood-Red Pencil] Why don't critiquers say what they mean, like editors do? Interesting post on critique-speak
- How to write critiques that don't kill [James Killick's Blog] How to write well-written & penetrating critiques & not be hated by the writer afterward.
- Death by Critique - 6 Tips on How To Avoid It [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *] Are your critique partners doing more harm than good?
- Patience, Young Writers [Shannon Whitney Messenger] Writers, don't spend time waiting. Sage advice from @SW_Messenger
- The Comparison Trap [The Kill Zone] "Comparison is death to a writer. Don't look up or donw. Look at the page in front of you & nail it."
- Words of Hope [Literary Rambles] Need inspiration? Read these Words of Hope by Ira Glass. chillsvia @Casey_McCormick, found
- Keeping the Vision in Revision [Beyond The Margins] How to pump yourself up to start tackling that overwhelming task: revisions.
- Five Reasons Why Your Writing Matters (Even if No-One Will Take You Seriously) [Daily Writing Tips] Ever want to unplug that computer & never write again? DON'T. Your writing matters.
- Why non-writers stay non-writers (the 10 steps of execution) [Time to Write] 10 things writers do that separate them from wannabes.
- The Myth of Having More Time Someday [Author, Jody Hedlund] When we say we don’t have time for writing, we’re usually just making an excuse.
- 9 Reasons Not to Stop Yourself from Starting [Confident Writing] What IS the point of writing? Here's 9 of them, by @joannapaterson.
- The Worst Reasons to Become a Novelist [Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels, comic books and graphic novels] Why do you want to be an author? Hopefully for none of the reasons stated in this post by Superhero Nation.
- Guest Post: Rotten Rejections [Pimp My Novel] Chances of a debut novel to be published: 1 in 15,625. Interesting stats on rejections from @PimpMyNovel
- Why Small Ebook Presses are Thriving And How You Could Join Them [The Creative Penn] Publishing may be in crisis, but small digital-only & digital-first publishers are flourishing.
- How Flexible Are You? [Author, Jody Hedlund] A writer who isn't willing to change along with the industry is likely to be left far behind.
- When friendships change [Behler Blog] Is your relationship with your manuscript no longer healthy? How to know if your ms just can't be saved
- How Fast Do You Have To Write to Build a Successful Career? [* Roni Loren - Fiction Groupie *] Are you a slow writer? Better pick up the pace. @RoniLoren tells you why, and how.
- The Importance of Punctuation [Words and Such] Think the comma's not important? Check this sign out and smile.
- 1(900) HLP-D-CRZY [YA Muses] Pep talks, ego strokes, & support for neurotic authors: 1(900)HLP-D-CRZY.
- Want a tip for fine-tuning your writing craft? [Cambria Dillon] Fine-tune your writing by checking out Margie Lawson's deep editing analysis series.
- 8 Steps to More Concise Writing [Daily Writing Tips] Are you wordy? Here are eight quick tips to trim back all but the good stuff.
- When to Capitalize Words for Compass Points [Daily Writing Tips] Should you capitalize the name of a region? A direction on a map?
- 5 Reasons Why Your Online Marketing Doesn’t Work [Writer Unboxed] Online marketing not working for you? Here's why.
- Are You Writing? [A Newbie's Guide to Publishing] Every minute you spend here is a minute you aren't writing: an epic fail on your part. Excellent point
- Twitterific [Mystery Writing is Murder] Lots of Twitterific links this week. Compiled by @elizabethscraig
- Google+: Should Writers Sign Up? My Recommendation: YES! [Writer Unboxed] Do you REALLY need to add Google+ to your list of social networks? If you're a writer, YES.
- Field Trip Friday, Twitter Version: July 15, 2011 [Kate Hart] Kate Hart's roundup of writerly & agent-y tweets, all of which will make you think. Or smile. :-)
- 10 Tips for Blogging Awesomeness–Blog Housekeeping [Kristen Lamb's Blog] Is a blog part of your platform? Make sure you're following these tips from guru @KristenLambTX.
- Getting Short Story Credits is Getting Easier (Sort Of) [Writer Unboxed] Looking for writing credits? Short story submissions are getting easier.
- If You Want To Be A Better Writer, Take The Time To Learn [Babbles from Scott Eagan] No rush: Don't suck all the joy out of writing by submitting while you're still learning.
- Spot the Deliberate Mistakes [Hey, There's A Dead Guy in the Living Room] You know better than to make these query/ms mistakes...don't you?
- (title unknown) [Getting Past the Gatekeeper] The Agency Gatekeeper shares her query notes & stats from a day's slushpile.
- Indie, Big Six, or Small Press Publishing: Why Not Try All Three? [Anne R. Allen's Blog] Analysis of publishing
- WHAT MAKES A BOOK SELL+WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR updated July 2011 [Jill Corcoran Books] Think your fab blog & 1000 twitter followers will impress editors? Nope. @JillCorcoran on what really makes makes a book sell.
- First Things First [Rachelle Gardner] Newbies, it's fun to learn about publishing & build a platform, but it's more important to focus on your craft.
- How to Write a Terrific Author Bio [Rachelle Gardner] Writing your bio can be difficult. Here's some tips to help
- What Is YOUR Story? Why Is THIS ONE Unique? [Babbles from Scott Eagan] If your story sounds like something else you've read, everyone else has read it too. What makes yours unique?
- Do Publishers Market Books? [Rachelle Gardner] The full story on publisher sales teams and marketing depts and how they help promote your ms.
- Have you met my interns yet? Here’s your chance. [Red Sofa Literary] Meeet the two new interns at Red Sofa Literary.
- Agent Spotlight: Miriam Kriss [Literary Rambles] Agent Miriam Kriss loves YA, modern UF, romance, and other commercial fiction.
- Agent News And Advice~ Mid-Month Tweets [Falling Leaflets] .@JessLeeLawson collected the latest agent news & advice, tweeted by the agents themselves.
- 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.
Happy reading and joyous writing,
Martina, Marissa and Clara
Glad you had a great trip. Sounds like fun. And good for you staying off the blogs.
ReplyDeleteGreat links as usual. Thanks for doing this.
This crazy heat lately has been making me wish for a little snow fall! Glad you had a great time in Alaska - thanks for the round up! :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome back!! I won't see you in LA, but I'll live vicariously through Lisa and Leslie :D
ReplyDeleteClara, THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK! (Yes, I screamed that!)
Thanks for the mention! Y'all do such a thorough round up!
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