Link Feast, vol 61 – A Buffet of Juicy Writing Advice
IThe Anti-Arc by Donald Maass
On Writing
Writing’s Secret Formula: How to Write Stories That Matter by Daryl Rothman
https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/how-to-write-stories-that-matter/#
Business Musings: Expect Failure by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (You fail by not trying and failing. We fail forward to success, and learn along the way)
In Six Words, These Writers Tell You an Entire Story by Sara Roncero-Menendez
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/six-word-story_n_5332833
How Do You Visualize Stories by Emily Asher-Perrin
A Practical Way to Overcome Imposter Syndrome by Darious Foroux
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/a-practical-way-to-overcome-imposter-syndrome
A Pessimist’s Collection of (Inspiring) Writing Quotes by Julie Glover
Displeasure Reading by Dave King
Narratology, Or Why We Need Stories to Make Sense by Arkady Martine (a bit academic but has an important message that explains why people have wildly different beliefs that fit their personal experiences and world views)
How to Develop High-Concept Book Ideas to Find More Success With Your Writing by Robert Lee Brewer
Write Better: The 7 Qualities of High Concept Stories by Jeff Lyons
The Making of a Hero or Heroine by Donald Maass
Characters: Audiences Read Stories, but Great Stories Read the Audience by Kristen Lamb
Motive: The Key to Writing Stories Readers Can’t Put Down by Kristen Lamb
Why Your Character (And You) Should Be Expert In Something by Alyssa Hollingsworth
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/09/why-your-character-and-you-should-be.html
Are You the One? Exploring the Chosen One Trope in SFF by Katy Rose Pool
9 Characters I Love Because They Are Hurting (And So Am I) by Emily Asher-Perrin
The Good Guy/Bad Guy Myth by Catherine Nichols
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-good-guy-bad-guy-myth
When the Ends Justify the Means: Five Villains Who See Themselves as Heroes by Jeff Lyons
Finding Your Story’s Theme by Jenny Hansen
Fate Versus Free-Will: Using Theme to Leverage Revision by Vaughn Roycroft
The Challenge of Sensational Story Openings by Peter Selgin
Don’t Be Afraid to Go There In Your Writing by James Scott Bell
Maybe No One Will Notice by Julie Carrick Dalton
“Showing” Through Exposition: A Study by Kathryn Craft
Effective Repetition In Writing As Demonstrated by A Song of Fire and Ice by Gavin Hurley
How and Why I Use Online Alpha Readers While Writing Novels by Mary Robinette Kowal (She shares her super simple ABCD feedback format)
How to Give Useful Criticism by Jim Dempsey
Tolkien’s Elves: Married with Eldar Children by Jeff LaSala (explores one aspect of the culture building of THE master, Tolkien)
Could Multimedia Storytelling Work For You? by Anna Thu Nguyenova (shorter format, especially works for YA audiences)
Book Marketing & Your Publishing Path
The Business Rusch: What Is Discoverability? by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
https://kriswrites.com/2014/08/07/business-musings-what-is-discoverability-discoverability-part-oooops-i-left-this-out/
The Business Rusch: Word of Mouth by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
https://kriswrites.com/2013/05/22/the-business-rusch-word-of-mouth/
The Business Rusch: The Helpful Reader (Discoverability 2) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (more advice about Word of Mouth)
https://kriswrites.com/2013/11/27/the-business-rusch-the-helpful-reader-discoverability-part-two/
The Business Rusch: Marketing and Readers by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (the different kind of reader types)
https://kriswrites.com/2014/01/29/the-business-rusch-marketing-and-readers-discoverability-part-who-knows/
The Business Rusch: Surprise! by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (and how it relates to discoverability and book marketing)
https://kriswrites.com/2014/03/31/the-business-rusch-surprise-discoverability-part-what-the/
The Business Rusch: What Kind of Writer Are You? by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (and how does this affect your marketing)
https://kriswrites.com/2014/08/09/business-musings-what-kind-of-writer-are-you/#sthash.N4jpOdPn.dpbs
The Business Rusch: Branding (Discoverability 6) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
https://kriswrites.com/2014/01/08/the-business-rusch-branding-discoverability-part-6-2/
I Hate Self-Promotion by Tim Grahl
https://booklaunch.com/authors-and-self-promotion/
How to Be a Professional Author And Not Die Screaming and Starving In a Lightless Abyss by Chuck Wendig (Survival guide for a Traditionally Published Author and how the biz works)
Here’s the Pitch – It’s a Hit! Crafting Your Novel’s Pitch Line by Janice Hardy
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2011/10/heres-pitchits-hit-crafting-your-novels.html
(Even if you self-publish, this is handy knowledge. You can use the pitch as your back cover blurb. And when you have a pitchline, you never draw a blank and give a boring or rambling answer when someone asks you what your book is about)
How Literary Agents Agree and Differ: Lessons From the Annual Writer’s Digest Conference by Robert Lee Brewer
How to Write Successful Query Letters For Any Genre of Writing by Robert Lee Brewer
How to Hook a Literary Agent to Represent Your Writing and Get Published by Robert Lee Brewer
Evan Winter Explains How His Self-Published Book Was Picked Up by Orbit Books by Stubby the Rocket
Writers on Show: Publicity and the Introvert by Juliet Marillier
Deep Stuff
The Problem With the Hack Culture by Brad Stulberg
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-problem-with-hack-culture
“It’s not that some of these ideas aren’t important. Diets. Routines. Habits. Exercises. They all matter, but the context is what we miss. We are seeking the silver bullet when the reality is we need to nail the basics before we even consider the final 2 percent.”
“The only shortcut is hacking it every day.” -Ryan Holiday
The Scientist Persuading Terrorists to Spill Their Secrets by Ian Leslie
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-scientists-persuading-terrorists-to-spill-their-secrets
(Rapport is the key. Put your own ego aside. A must read for every mystery writer, gives great insight on how police interviews really work. A useful read for anyone on how to get your message through in a conversation with a person you really disagree with… like your teenager who comes home late)
Fun Stuff
“That’s My Secret Cap. I’m Always Angry” Why I Love Prickly Heroines by Adele Buck
Dive Into October’s Harvest of New Sci-fi and Fantasy Books by Cheryl Eddy
https://io9.gizmodo.com/dive-into-octobers-harvest-of-new-sci-fi-and-fantasy-bo-1838191367
The Crack Squad of Librarians Who Track Down Half Forgotten Books by Jessica Leigh Hester
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-crack-squad-of-librarians-who-track-down-half-forgotten-books
About Reetta
I'm a Finnish fantasy / urban fantasy writer who loves reading, roleplaying and all things medieval. 
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