how to write Archives - Reetta Raitanen's Blog

Link Feast For Writers, vol 52

Hello dear readers, this Link Feast’s alive. It’s alive!

I’m sorry for neglecting you. Work has been crazy since I shifted departments. Excuses, schmexcuses but I will get bi-weekly steady again.

I’ve been sitting on these links for a while so it’s time to push this baby out into the world. Luckily the best writing advice and good blog posts in general don’t have an expiration date.

But if you want the freshest writing tips, I recommend you to check out the other link mash-ups in the Collected Wisdom section.

Next Link Feast coming up in two weeks on Sunday. Wrote that down to my calendar even. Or I will when I find it under all the crap 😛 House work hasn’t exactly been steady either.

Anyway, enjoy the links. And please leave a comment 🙂

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

How to Create a Three-Phase Writing Ritual by Debra Eve

On Writing

Learning From the Masters by Gabriela Pereira (the 4 types of books writers should read)

168 Hours: Time and Productivity #1 by Gene Lempp

Time Managament Tip: “Yes Makes Less” by Jenny Hansen

What’s on Your “Why To Do It” List? by Carleen Brice

Dreaming Big by Sharon Bially

10 Steps to Finding Your Writing Voice by Jeff Goins

When Nothing Goes Right, Go Left by Robin LaFevers

Fear: The Uninvited Guest by Robin LaFevers

Writing Is Magic by Kristan Hoffman

How to Be an Author 24/7 by Bill Ferris

Fifty Lessons From Fifty Shades of Grey – Part I (Writer Unboxed)

Fifty Lessons From Fifty Shades of Grey – Part II (Writer Unboxed)

Fifty Lessons From Fifty Shades of Grey – Part III (Writer Unboxed)

Drive, Don’t Chase by Jael McHenry (On following writing trends)

Levels of Conflict by John Vorhaus

4 Big Pitfalls in Story Opening by K.M. Weiland

The First Ten Pages of a Sceenplay by Erik Bork (totally applicable to the first chapter of a novel)

Adapting Screenplay Structure to Genre Novels by James Preston

Avoiding Boring Character Biographies by David Corbett

5 Reasons Why Han Solo Is the Most Realistic Person in Star Wars by Ryan Britt and Emily Asher-Perrin

Clothing Your Characters by Liz Michalski

Letting Your Characters Go by Juliet Marillier

Baby Got Back…. Story by Tiffany Reisz

Doing Research by D.B. Jackson

4 Steps to Successful Revisions by Cathy Yardley

Self-Editing For Everyone, Part 4: The Weakeners by Bridget McKenna

Cliffhangers and Book Series by Kristi Cook

Blind Spots and Obsessions in Historical Fiction: What Were They Thinking? by Dave King

Book Marketing & Blogging

5 ways to write a blow-your-mind manifesto by Alexandra Franzen

What are you about? What’s the theme of your life? Make me care. Nay, inspire me.

Marketing: Finding and Selling to Non-Book Book Audiences by Peter McCarthy

The Importance of Knowing Our Audience by Elizabeth S. Craig

Release Activities For the Reluctant Promoter by Elizabeth S. Craig

Don’t know what to blog about? 88 pieces of fill-in-the-blank inspiration by Alexandra Franzen

The Shy Writer’s Cocktail Party Survival Guide by Anne Greenwood Brown

Traditional Publishing

5 Reasons to Turn to Traditional Publishers Rather Than Self-Publish by Meg Waite Clayton

5 Essential Elements For Pitching Romance by Marcy Kennedy

How to Maintain a Healthy Author/Agent Relationship by Elizabeth Weed

Social Media

Twitter: A Dangerous Sense of Entitlement by Annie Neugebauer

3 Tips on Cleaning Up Your Twitter Account by Jenny Hansen

What If You Hate Facebook? Are You DOOMED? by Lisa Hall-Wilson

The B.A.R.F. Score: How To Know if Social Media is Working For You by Dan Blank

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Must-Read Monday by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

100 Questions to Inspire Rapid Self-Discovery by Alexandra Franzen

I Did Not Marry My One True Love by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Insomnia, Wizard Vans, and Why Modern Women Read “50 Shades of Grey” by Kristen Lamb

Fun Stuff

10 Funniest Lines in all of Star Wars (According to me) by Ryan Britt

He’s That Bad and That Likeable: Pitch Black by Theresa Delucci

The Chronicles of Riddick: What Happens When You Let Vin Diesel Be Your Dungeon Master by Theresa Delucci

Weird Reality: Reality TV Aimed At Your Inner Geek by Shoshana Kessock

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Sep 19, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 4 comments

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 50

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about writing and marketing our books. Here are some of the best links I’ve found in the past weeks. Enjoy!
If You Have Time For Only One Thing

How to Get a Book Published: A Step-by-Step Guide by Anne R. Allen

On Writing

10 Ways for an ADD Writer to be OOH! SHINY!…Productive by Kristen Lamb

Career Lessons From Susan Boyle’s Success by Penelope Trunk

Daniel Day-Lewis’ 4 Tips for Writers Who Aspire to Greatness by Jon Morrow

Organization: Why Scrivener Is a Great Writing Tool by Randy Ingermansson (scroll down a bit for the good stuff)

The Three Phases of the Storytelling Process by Larry Brooks

8 Promises You’re Making To Readers – And Then Breaking by K.M. Weiland

The Stuff of Legends – Creating a Character Apocalypse by Kristen Lamb

How to Base a Character On Someone Else’s by Victoria Grefer

How to Write Better Heroes and Villains: Archetypes by Victoria Lynn Schmidt

9 Tips For Creating a Great Antagonist by Debra Vega

Writers, Know Your Archetypes: The Trickster by Debra Vega

The Single Largest Cause of Writer’s Block – Might Not Be What You Believe by Kristen Lamb

It’s Not “What.” It’s “How” by Larry Brooks

A Pantser’s Guide to Beat Sheets by Jami Gold

8 Things You Need to Know About Character Arcs by Debra Vega

Pacing by Ann Voss Peterson

How to Include the Five Senses Without Falling into the Telling Trap by Marcy Kennedy

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Editing Experience by Cressida Downing

Most Common Mistakes: Do’s and Dont’s Of Dialects by K.M. Weiland

The Fantasy Novelist’s Exam by David J. Parker

5 1/2 Steps For Making Feedback Work For Us by Jami Gold

Book Marketing

Seeking the Perfect Book Title by Debra Vega

Book Series: Should We Include a Teaser Excerpt? by Jami Gold

Maven, Connector, or Salesperson: What’s Your Archetype? by Charlie Gilkey

Indie Life: Taking Advantage of the Impulse Purchase by Laura Pauling (why do readers buy your book?)

101 Quick Actions You Can Take Today to Build the Writer Platform of Your Dreams by Kimberley Grabas

11 Must Have Elements For Your Author Website by Kimberley Grabas

How to Launch a Book in 3 Steps by Nick Thacker

How to Market a Book and Strengthen Your Author Platform with Goodreads by Kimberley Grabas

How an Introvert Became a Promoter by Kourtney Heintz

The Introvert’s Guide to Making Great Connections by Les McKeown

(Self-)Publishing

Fearless Pitching, Part 1 by Laura Drake

Fearless Pitching, Part 2 by Laura Drake

The Business Rusch: Dreams and Bestsellers by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Does Free Still Work? by C.J. Lyons

An Interview With ‘the Sluts’ by Larry Brooks (collaboration can really pay off)

Blogging

Does Google Know Your Wrote That? by Randy Ingermansson (scroll down a bit to get to this piece of gold article)

Why Authors Should Be “Selfish” Bloggers: And How To Be One by Victoria Grefer

Fix a Mess of a Multi-Topic Blog by Natalie Webb

5 Signs You’re Having a Blog Identity Crisis and 8 Ways to Fix It by Roni Loren

8 Under-Used Blog Post Structures to Try Today – And 24 Inspiring Examples by Ali Luke

Content Marketing Zen: The 5-Step Process to Creating Remarkable Content by Gregory Ciotti

13 Blog Post Blunders You Should Avoid (And What to Do Instead) by Kimberley Grabas

8 Steps to Create Visually Appealing Blog Posts by Rebecca Belliston

Should We Use a Blog Commenting System? by Jami Gold

Social Media

Facing a Social Media Apocalypse? Sometimes We Need to Mend the Hearts We Hurt by Kristen Lamb

Social Media Strategies and Decisions by Laura Pauling

Slack, Fake and Egocentric Followers: How to Spot Them by Cate Russell-Cole

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Monday Must Reads by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

Build a Small Fire and Sit Close To It by Charlie Gilkey

What’s The Best Advice Your Elders Ever Gave You? by Jenny Hansen

50+ Better Questions To Ask Than How To Be More Productive by Charlie Gilkey

Fun Stuff

10 Sources That Inspired Game of Thrones’ Dark Storytelling by Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders

What if The Simpsons was invaded by characters from Game of Thrones? by Meredith Woerner

All the Books Getting Turned Into Movies and TV Shows Over the Next Year by Meredith Woerner

15 Book Series To Read If You Enjoyed “The Hunger Games” by Arielle Calderon and Natalie Morin

30 Most Hilarious Auto Correct Struggles Ever by Jessica Misener

Nerd Nirvana: Top 10 Nerdiest Cities in America by Amanda Kooser

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Aug 4, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 1 comment

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 49 – Setting Special

Here’s your round of writing, book marketing and other interesting links. My apologies for missing weeks. I’ve been really busy with work and family.

Next Link Feast is due in two weeks, on Friday 21st of July. Because of work schedules I’m moving Link Feasts permanently for later weekday.

Enjoy the links. And please leave a comment. I’d love to hear what kind of links would be most useful to you right now 🙂

On Writing

Why Good Writers Sometimes Give Bad Advice? by Lisa Cron

To get the answers we need, we must ask the Right Questions by Jennette M. Powell

Authors: How Are You Backing Up Your Manuscripts and Business Files? by D.D. Scott

The Weirdest Story Ideas Come From Your Own Obsessions by Kelly Link

Pinterest: The Ultimate Writing Excercise by Shannon at DuoLit

Write Your Novel Step by Step by Melanie Anne Phillips

10 Traits of Great Protagonists by Janice Hardy

How to Prevent Predictable Plots by Noelle Sterne

Families: Google+ Worldbuilding Hangout by Juliette Wade

Why the Hero’s Journey Is a Tourist Trap by Lisa Cron

Figuring Out Your Story’s Turning Points by Jenny Hansen

How to Structure Your Story, Part 11: The Spiritual Crisis by Matt Bird

How to Structure Your Story, Part 12: Proactive Pursuit of the True Goal by Matt Bird

How to Structure Your Story, Part 13: The Timeline Is Unexpectedly Moved Up by Matt Bird

Setpiece Scenes: The Unlimited Production Budget by Alexandra Sokoloff

The 7 Essential Questions of Plot – Do You Ask Them? by Jenny Hansen

10 Things Your Opening Chapter Should Do: A Check-List for Self-Editing by Anne R. Allen

Once More With Feeling by Shannon Donnelly

“Deepening” In to a Scene of Oppression by Juliette Wade

Make It Stick: The Art of Chapter Ending by Tiffany Reisz

Different Voices In Your Narrative by Juliette Wade

How to Write Characters Who Don’t Sound Like You by Janice Hardy

4 Most Common Mistakes Fiction Editors See by Victoria Mixon

How I Self-Edit My Novels: 15 Steps From First Draft to Publication by K.M. Weiland

Using a Critique Checklist, or, How Not To Look Like a Twit by Becca Puglisi

Create a Style Sheet For Your Manuscript by Rachelle Gardner

Should Authors Write Bad Book Reviews by Kristen Lamb

Is It Fair For Authors to Review Other Authors: Do We Ruin the Magic? by Kristen Lamb

Settings and World Building

10 Questions to Ask When Choosing Your Setting by Janice Hardy

Setting Your Tale – Part 1 by David Farland

Persistent World, Persistent Characters by David Farland

How Real Do You Want Your World to Be? by David Farland

Your Setting as a Petri Dish by David Farland

Resonance in Settings by David Farland

World Building Tips Learned at Louvre by Janice Hardy

Tips For Shared Worlds and Collaboration Between Independent Authors by Charlotte E. English

Book Marketing & Social Media

Writers: 5 Tips on How to Identify Your Target Audience by Colby Marshall

Tweeting Is Not a Marketing Strategy by Dan Blank

10 Free (or Mostly Free) Book Launch Strategies by Chris Robley

Reach New Readers With The Magic Of Audiobooks by Wolf Pascoe

7 Ways Authors Waste Time “Building Platform” on Social Media by Anne R. Allen

What Is Your Strategy For Social Media Intimacy? by Srinivas Rao

25 Tweet Ideas To Help Authors Fight Follower Fatigue by Toni at DuoLit

5 Ways to Use Pinterest For Book Promotion by Shannon at DuoLit

Getting the Most Out of Triberr as Authors by Kenra Daniels

(Self-)Publishing

Murder Most Foul by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The New World of Publishing: Stop Submitting Manuscripts to Traditional Publishers by Dean Wesley Smith

The Stages of an Indie Writer by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

How to Survive and Thrive as an Indie Author by Karen Woodward

Writing on the Ether: Faster, Authors, Faster! by Porter Anderson

Blogging

8 Ways Blog Writing Is Unique by Mark Schaefer

Six Steps to a Stress-Free Blogging Habit by Skellie at DailyBloggingTips

3 Ways to Blogging Success by Joel Friedlander

How to Write Your Best Post Ever, Part 1: Planning by Vinita Zutshi

How to Write Your Best Post Ever, Part 3: Editing by Vinita Zutshi

The Brain-Dead Simple But Effective Way To Become a Better Writer by Greg Digneo

5 Ways to Bond With Your Audience by Henneke Duistermaat

Why You Shouldn’t Create a Newsletter (and What to Do Instead) by Jon Morrow

How to Add a Click to Tweet to Your Blog Posts by Caitlin Muir

5 New Ways to Think About Guest Posting by Annabel Candy

How to Use Google+ To Easily Record a Video Blog by Marcy Kennedy

How to Read More Blogs In Less Time by Rachelle Gardner

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writer Resources by Gene Lempp

Monday Must Reads by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

5 Life-Saving Facts About Blood Clots by Jenny Hansen

5 Simple Behaviours That Help Prevent Blood Clots by Jenny Hansen

Do You Need a Judgement Day Bucket List? by Jenny Hansen

The Truth About Why You Aren’t Learning Anything in Your Online Classes by Tea Silvestre

25 Things to Know About Sexism and Misogyny in Writing & Publishing by Chuck Wendig

Boudicca: An Archetype For the Ages by C.P.D. Harris

Introduction to the Green Beret Survival Guide and Why You Need It by Bob Mayer (a must read for anyone interested in Post Apocalyptic books)

Fun Stuff

An Earnest Attempt to Make You Feel Good Avout Game of Thrones Again by Leah Schnelbach

Movie Review: Man of Steel by Melinda VanLone

No, Man of Steel’s Superman Is Not Your Superman. And That’s Okay by Emily Asher-Perrin

The Great Fantasy Novel Nomination: The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett by Myke Cole (having just read the first three books of the series, I had to share this. Impressive fantasy)

Fiction Affliction: June Releases in Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For June by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: June Releases in Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Jul 8, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 1 comment

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 46

Here’s your bi-weekly round of writing, book marketing and otherwise interesting links. My apologies for skipping last week and not hitting Wednesday. I’m still not entirely adjusted to the new schedule thanks to the day job.

Next Link Feast is due in two weeks, on Wednesday 8th of May.

Please leave a comment and tell me what kind of links would be useful to you. Is there an area of writing you’re struggling with right now?

On Writing

How to Create and Maintain the Habit of Writing by Karen Woodward

How To Not Write Crap by Karen Woodward

5 Tips to Help You Make Your Deadline by Liza Palmer

The Biggest Problem With Writing Advice by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

Confessions of a Converted Structuralist – Or How I Realized the Error of My Ways by Veronica Sicoe

Wisdom for Writers From Steve Jobs (Yes, THAT Steve Jobs) by Tiffany Reisz

Dean Wesley Smith Writes a Novel in 10 Days by Karen Woodward

The Writing Life: Knowing When To Say No And When To Say Yes by Roni Loren

Writing for Inspiration by David Farland

Characters & Plotting

Mysterious Characters and the Search of “Who Am I?” by David Farland

Rich Character Voices by David Farland

What Downton Abbey Can Teach Us About Tension by Janice Hardy

What Slush Pile Readers Look For In a Novel by Karen Woodward

The Most Important Thing at the Start of Your Novel by David Farland

The Strange: How to Hook A Reader’s Interest by Karen Woodward

Ooh, plot device! by Susan Bischoff (Act 1 done right)

Fixing a Scene by Jenny Hansen

Plot Fixer: Weak Black Moment and The End Does Not Satisfy by Kara Lennox

Great Fiction Goes For the Guts by Kristen Lamb

Triggers and Taboos in Fiction by Veronica Sicoe

Scenes, Dialogue and Other Goodness

How to Set the Tone and Mood In Your Scenes by Janice Hardy

The End Game by Joe Moore

Les Edgerton Shows How to Write Amazing Dialogue – Part 1

Les Edgerton Shows How to Write Amazing Dialogue – Part 2: An Excercise

Les Edgerton & Two Tips to Take Your Dialogue to a Whole New Level – Part 3

Body Language Cues to Emotion by Joanna Waugh

Speaking of Revising by Nicole L. Reber

5 Common Problems In Your Young Adult Manuscript by Kristi Cook

Do We Expect Too Much Realism In Our Manuscript? by Janice Hardy

Love and Romance: Do You Believe in Magic? by Susan Bischoff

Utopia and Dystopia – The Many Faces of the Future by Veronica Sicoe

5 Writing Lessons I Learned From Being an Editor by Emily Wenstrom

Larry Brooks on the Structure of Short Stories by Karen Woodward

How to Write a Short Story by James Scott Bell

Three Tips For Being a Better Beta Reader by Jami Gold

How to Choose the Right Conference by Gabriela Pereira

Book Marketing

The Myth About Introverts and Extroverts – Could You Be an Ambivert? by Kristen Lamb

When Titles Go Bad by P.J. Parrish

How Fiction Authors Can Steal Marketing Ideas From Their Non-Fiction Friends by Toni at DuoLit

Book Marketing Using Paid Promotion: Targeted Email Lists by Joanna Penn

Secrets of Copywriting: The Power of a Strong Value Proposition by Pete Sandeen

How to Get Honest Book Reviews by Karen Woodward

10 Book Club Tips by Dina Santorelli

(Self-)Publishing

Help! I’m Published and I Can’t Get Up by James Scott Bell

How Self-Publishing Has Changed the Industry by Clare Langley-Hawthorne

Answers to 14 Questions You’re Too Afraid to Ask Literary Agents by Barbara Poelle

Real Life Diagnostics: A Look at a Middle Grade Query Letter by Janice Hardy

Kris Rusch Says: Don’t Accept A Book Advance Of Less Than $100,000 by Karen Woodward

Self-Publishing Goals: Increase Your Income Streams by D.D. Scott

Self-Publishing Grabs Huge Market Share From Traditional Publishers by David Gaughran

Blogging

4 Ways Blogging Will Make You a Better Writer by Dan Blank

Sacred Cow-Tipping – Why Writers Blogging About Writing Is Bad by Kristen Lamb

An Open Letter to All the Bloggers Cluttering the Web with Forgettable Content by Mark Hermann

How to Make Sure You Never Run Out of Blog Post Ideas Again by Beth Hayden

How to Dominate Your Niche by Brian Clark

7 Lessons to Improve Your Author Website (or, Learn from My FAIL!) by Toni at DuoLit

Creating a Reader Friendly Website by Ellen M. Gregg

10 Important Questions You Should Ask a Website Company Before Buying a New Website by Caitlin Muir

WordPress Is Being Attacked: 3 Precautions You Can Take by Amy Lynn Andrews

How to Find Images For Your Blog With Photo Pin by Amy Lynn Andrews

Social Media

How to Set Up a Professional Twitter Profile by Shaney Lee

Did Facebook Change Something? 5 Tips For Page Owners to ‘It’s All Good’ by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Pinterest For Authors in 10 Steps by Amanda June Hagarty

5 Pinterest Tricks For Indie Authors (Wise Ink)

Collected Wisdom

Writer Resources by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

The Parental Paradox & Caterpillar Conundrum—How I Grew Up to Be THAT Mom by Kristen Lamb

I, Antagonist, part 1: The Procrastination by Susan Bischoff

How to Be More Productive By Limiting Open Browser Tabs by Amy Lynn Andrews

Why Daily Learning Beats the Gobble Gobble Learning by Sean D’Souza

The Perfect Health Regimen That Only an Absolute Dictator Could Impose by Esther Inglis-Arkell

Your Approach to Mistakes Defines Your Success by Penelope Trunk

Men and Women and the Real Workplace Revolution by Penelope Trunk

Fun Stuff

*squee* Thor: The Dark World trailer

X Is For X-Chromosome: 18 Interesting Facts About Women by Jenny Hansen

12 Phrases That Are Never a Good Sign For Hero’s Survival by Charlie Jane Anders

Little Girl Superheroes by Susanna Polo

10 Heroes Who Got More Interesting After Being Gender Swapped by Charlie Jane Anders

The Ultimate Guide to This Summer’s Science Fiction and Fantasy TV by Meredith Woerner

NYPD 2095 – The Best Police Protection Money Can Buy (12:21 min long short video)

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Apr 28, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 5 comments

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 40

This week’s Link Feast comes on Thursday since my and my kids have been sick as dogs for the past week. I haven’t been able to start compiling the old links I promised. But I hope you don’t mind mostly fresh links instead 🙂

I was surprised by how fast I could whip this up. Having a steady system, and no time to get side tracked and get perfectionist helped.

If you have a preference of what kind of links would be useful to you right now, please let me to know in the comments.

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

Book Marketing for Shy Authors by Laura Pepper Wu

On Writing

Redefining the Writing Conference by Kristen Lamb (Join the first WANACon)

6 Steps to Launching a Dream by Andy Traub

Who’s On Your Team? by Jael McHenry

What to Do When Our Families Don’t Support Our Writing by Jody Hedlund

Creating Your Literary Ecosystem: The 10 Elements of a Successful Writing Career by Chris Robley

How To Write More And Create A Daily Writing Habit (4:55 min video) by Joanna Penn

“Do a Costanza” with Your Book’s Competition by Lynne Klippel (Do some comparative analysis before committing to writing the book. You need a fresh angle to the genre/plot/type.)

Sacred Silence – Why You and Your Book Require It by Lynne Klippel

Success: Is It Happening to You, Only You Don’t Realize It by Angela Ackerman

Lessons Learned From the Original Star Wars Trilogy to Up Your Writing Game by Lydia Sharp

The Football of Story by Art Holcomb

Authors vs. Characters: Can Our Morals Be Different by Jami Gold

3 Things You Need to Know Before Writing a Female Protagonist by Veronica Sicoe

Character Development – Distinguishing Secondary Characters From Each Others by Elizabeth S. Craig

Sleeps With Monsters: Where Are the Older Women? by Liz Bourke

How to Use Stereotypes In Your Writing by Veronica Sicoe

Key Story Elements: Opening Image by Alexandra Sokoloff

The Man (Or Woman) In the Mirror by Donald Maass

The Rule of Three by Alexandra Sokoloff