Link Feast Vol. 3

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.

On Writing

Ira Glass on Storytelling – What nobody tells the beginners…

Lynn Viehl’s freebies for writers. Just wow what great resources. Grab her novel writing diagrams and the workshops she’s sharing.

Beyond the Cliché: How To Create Characters That Fascinate by Becca Puglisi

Scene building 101 by Lynn Viehl

Find the right balance of dialogue and description at Write It Sideways

Shape up flabby writing by using stronger words at Write It Sideways

What makes a great villain? by Alexandra Sokoloff

How to find your story’s archetype and similar stories to study by Alexandra Sokoloff

Fairy tale structure by Alexandra Sokoloff

Lynn Viehl busts 4 first chapter mistakes

What tone does your first line set? Lynn Viehl

How to dissect a story by Laura Pauling

Plot Busters: Dissecting How To Train Your Dragon (the movie) by Laura Pauling. Serious spoiler warning. Don’t read if you haven’t seen the movie and want to do so without knowing things in advance.

Three stages of research by Laura Pauling

How to find rather than make writing time by Jessica Strawser at Writer’s Digest

Stacy Green sheds light on the difference between suspense novels and thrillers

Rhian Bowley shares some do’s and dont’s on writing sci-fi and fantasy. This line made me laugh: “Don’t be a [literary] snob, be a slut.”

12 myths about being a writer by Anne R. Allen

Brilliant post from Rob Preece about writing male and female characters: Women are from Venus and men are annoying

Laura Paulig shares her revision method

Janice Hardy’s tips on staying organized during revision

 

Writer Wellness

Kick the sugar crack habit by Sandra Brougher

How to make the Chocolate Diet work by K.B. Owen

 

Your Author Platform

Identify your novel’s genre by Rachelle Gardner

Are you riding waves or creating them? by Jonathan Mead

Will you like my books? by Emily Casey (a useful excercise for all writers)

11 keys to Self Publishing success by Bob Mayer

Choosing the right pen name by Talli Roland

11 things I wish someone had told me about blogging by Victoria Mixon

12 things that will kill your blog post every time by SEOmoz

Clear phlegm from your blog posts by Carol Tice

How to pick the right stock photo for your blog posts by Caitlin Muir at Author Media

April Platform Challenge: Day 7 by Robert Lee Brewer (How to add Share Buttons to your blog)

12 steps to blog tour success by Joel Friedlander

What authors and publishers can learn from the Hunger Games movie marketing campaign by Rachel Stark

Social Media (Facebook special)

6 reasons authors should love Facebook Timeline by Lisa Hall-Wilson

How to set up Facebook timeline by BookBaby

Facebook Timeline Mashup by Lisa Hall-Wilson

How to increase your readership by using Facebook Timeline by BookBaby

How to set up an author page at Facebook by BookBaby

Jenny Hansen gives a primer on recent Triberr changes

 

Collected Wisdom

Gene Lempp’s Blog Treasures (April 7th)

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig (April 8th)

Writing on the Ether by Porter Anderson (April 7th)

Fill me in Friday by Roni Loren (April 6th)

Kait Nolan’s link mashup (April 3rd)

 

Deep Stuff

Could you be an evil person? by Marcy Kennedy

Superheroes and ethics

Heroine Quest, or The Fairytale Problem by A.C. Wise (lack of proactivity in story heroines)

Are you wearing the Orc mask or the Marilyn mask? by Lisa Hall-Wilson

13 characteristics of children from emotionally barren families by Louise Behiel

 

Fun Stuff

If baby animals make you go aww, this Pinterest board is for you.

Hilarious plot fixes by Lynn Viehl

Back to the 80s with Shah Warton

Game of Thrones, Season 2’s first episode is out. Warning: Spoilers

Ten Things Generated by Online Generators by Lynn Viehl (comes with links to the generators so you can have your own fun)

Weird Name Generator by Lynn Viehl (she has gotten story ideas out of these)

Jeri Westerson talks about her Medieval Noir novel Troubled Bones (Medieval Noir is such a cool concept that I was instantly sold)

 

P.S. I just realized I didn’t include any male hotness this week. Please fill the vacuum by sharing your favourite links (male related or anything else) in the comments 🙂

Link Feast Vol. 2

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.

 

On Writing

Pantsing writer Gini Koch shares her writing process.

Story Structure 101 – The Index Card Method by Alexandra Sokoloff

Diane Chamberlain’s photos of her index card wall

Story Elements Checklist by Alexandra Sokoloff (seriously, I could have filled this post with just her stuff)

Hence, I highly recommend Alexandra Sokoloff’s Screenwriting Tricks For Authors (Kindle version) that costs only 2,99$. It’s a collection of her blog posts and has a huge page count. Some information is repeated but all of it is good. There are also lots of examples from movies.

Are you asking and answering the right story questions? by Janice Hardy

13 screenwriting tips from Sherlock Holmes (the first movie)

10 tips to bypass cliche and melodrama by Peter Selgin

3 ways to keep the book’s tone consistent by Brian A. Klems

Anger: 5 Shades of Seeing Red by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Naming your characters by Carra Copelin

Finding your writing style by Brad Beauregard

How to build your support network by Cathy at Rock Your Writing

Marcy Kennedy nails down one of the most important themes of The Hunger Games.

 

Your Author Platform

We read (insert your name here) because… by Larry Brooks

April Platform Challenge by Robert Lee Brewer (Define yourself. Who you are now, what are you currently doing and have done)

22 Ways To Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a Clue (fun infograph)

5 Ways To Write A Blog Post Without A Number In It’s Title by Judy Dunn

Goodreads Advertising results and tips by Lindsay Buroker

Why won’t men read books written by women? by Tess Gerritsen

 Gender issues in publishing. Using initials as a female thriller author by Joanna Penn

If you are a woman, have you ever considered using your initials instead of your first name?

 

Social Media – Pinterest special

13 Pinterest Things Writers Should Know by Rachelle Gardner (she was sceptic at first)

Marcia Richards gives 16 reasons why Pinterest is worth your time.

10 Tips For Authors Using Pinterest by Rachelle Gardner

Mom Creative’s 10 Tips For Using Pinterest Well

Facts & figures about how popular Pinterest really is & how to get your Pin It button for your browser

Copyblogger’s advice on Pinterest

What do you think of Pinterest? If you’re there, please share your user name in the comments and I’ll follow you 🙂 You can find my Pinterest boards here.

 

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures  (31st of March) by Gene Lempp

Twitterific (1st of April) by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writing on the Ether (29th of March) by Porter Anderson (Pottermore is the big topic this time)

Advice for writers by Robert Lee Brewer

Jenny Hansen’s CrackleSauce, links that rocked her March

 

Fun Stuff

Best April Fool’s Day Hoaxes by Colin Falconer

 If famous authors had written Twilight

Boyfriend of a week: Alexander Skarsgard/Eric Northman by Roni Loren

Chrush of the month: Chris Hemsworth/Thor by Tameri Etherton

Link Feast Vol. 1

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about the craft and marketing our work. Enjoy the posts I’ve hoarded, some older, some recent.

 

On Writing

Larry Brooks gives analogies for each of the Six Core Competencies that a good writer must master.

Agent Rachelle Gardner explains what is a High Concept book idea.

Chuck Wendig and 25 Things Writers Should Know About Theme.

Super agent Donald Maas speaks about warming up to a characer.

Save your book’s sagging middle and blow up sh*t.

How To Make Small Time Blocks Work For You?

Succesful freelance writer Carol Tice busts common fears: 10 Reasons Why You Can’t Make Living Writing.

Fill Your Creative Well by Joy Held at Writer Wellness.

10 Signs You’re Not In The Zone by Elspeth Antonelli

Publisher Michael Hyatt shows how he uses Evernote to manage his writing and life. Index of 12 how to articles.

Jenny Hansen recommends great writing books.

 

Your Author Platform

What’s Your Niche As A Writer?

How is book promotion like sex? The player might get laid once but the nice guy/gal could get a relationship.

50 Simple Ways To Build Your Platform, 5 minutes A Day.

 

Social Media

“Blogging is a demo tape of our artist’s voice.” -Kristen Lamb

Take a trip back in time machine with Kristen Lamb to get More Blogging Cowbell.

How To Write A Blog Post in 70 Minutes Or Less by Michael Hyatt.

Strategic Tweeting For Writers by Alan Rinzler

Why Internet Is a Trap? And how sci-fi author Juliette Wade deals with it.

 

Collected Wisdom

Gene Lempp’s marvelous Blog Treasures (March 24) Varied selection of excellent links.

Twitterific (March 25) by Elizabeth S. Craig. Lots of great links. Take a look at the listed blog titles. I’ve learned something about writing magnetic headlines by writing down the ones that grabbed my attention.

Writing on the Ether (March 15) & (March 22) by Porter Anderson. The place to go for publishing news.

 

Fun Stuff

Jenny Hansen spills the beans on her family’s almost X-rated garage sale.

Beautiful photos of magical places in Pinterest.

No self-respecting mash-up is perfect without a dash of Monty Python. The Black Knight.

Heartthrob Candy. Yum, beefcake 😉