Link Feast For Writers, vol. 16
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.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing:
Interview with Les Edgerton by Richard Godwin (best questions & answers I’ve ever read)
(Thanks for the link, Jenny Hansen!)
On Writing
5 Reasons Why Writers Get Bad Advice by Lisa Cron
Mind Your 4Ps and Qs: One Approach to Writing the Character and Plot-Driven Novel by John H. Ritter
5 Tricks To Adapting A Well Known Story For Fiction by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
5 Ways Writing A Novel Is Like A Bread Pudding (plus 2 recipes) by Kristin Nador
Write A Novel Easily Using The Snowflake Method (Bubble Cow)
Thriller Writing Made Easy: 4 Steps To Starting A Thriller (Writer’s Digest) [works for any genre & pantsers too]
Two Magic Words: “What If” by Joe Moore
10 Possible Reasons Why Your Script (or Story) Is Boring by Carson Reeves
Using Tarot In Writing by Raeyn Barclay
Creating Your Hero’s Journey With Tarot Cards by Raelyn Barclay
Designing From Bones: The First Passion of Story by Gene Lempp (what was the first moment when you fell in love with your genre?)
How To Grab The Reader’s Brain by Lisa Cron
The Reader Must Want To Know What Happens Next by Lisa Cron
What Winter’s Bone (Great Movie) And True Grit (Sucked) Are Sorely Missing by Lisa Cron
Character Voices Shouldn’t Sound Like Yours by Beth Hill
Essential Scene Elements Worksheets by Jami Gold (Word & Excel versions)
The Inciting Incident (Good Seed IV) by Donald Maass
Before You Type The End: Creating Emotional Resonance In Your Books by Karen Schravemade
5 Romance Writing Tips by Sarah MacLean
Rehearsal Notes For Your Rough Draft by Angie Dicken
Do I Have To Kill My Darlings? 5 Self-Editing Steps You Should Take Before An Editor Or Agent (Wise Ink)
7 Ways You Give Away Your Power – And How To Avoid It by Rachelle Gardner
Writers & Writer-Adjacent People: The Hermit Myth by Fabio Bueno
Traveling Tips & Doo-Dads For Writers by August McLaughlin
3 Reasons To Read Lisa Cron’s Wired For Story by Suzannah Winsdor Freeman
Movie Review: Prometheus by Carson Reeves (he reads movie scripts as a profession)
Your Author Platform
Authors: Stop Promoting To Other Writers by April Hamilton
Readers Face The Slush Pile: A Few Hard Truths by Roni Loren (what causes reader cynicism and how to get around it)
When Building A Significant Social Media Following May Not Work by J. Steve Miller
How Much Does Self-Publishing Cost by Toni at DuoLit
5 Ways To Save Money In Self-Publishing (And NOT Compromise Quality) (Wise Ink)
Splurge & Save: How To Be A Thrifty Indie Writer by Shannon at DuoLit
Who Understands Story Better: Writers Or The Marketers? by Lisa Cron
Michael Hyatt’s Lessons From “Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World” by Ali Luke
Marketing Essentials Every Writer Should Know by Zachary Petit
Marketing For New Authors by Jillian Dodd
5 Ways To Market Your Book by Angela Ackerman
Amazon For Dummies (Like Me) – Liking & Tagging Explained by Derek Blass
Tips For A Successful Kickstarter Campaign by Jason Stratford
Making Full Use Of Goodreads by Lia Kays
Top 10 Awards For Indie Authors (Wise Ink)
Blogging
Using Visualization To Write Great Hooks by Nathan Kash
7 Book Writing Tricks That Work For Blogs (Wise Ink)
3 Simple Strategies That Add Value To Your Blog by Frank Dickinson
The Art (And Science) Of Neck-Snapping Headlines by Adam Costa
Speedy Blog Writing by Tom Ewer
5 Steps To Telling Engaging Stories On Your Blog by Judy Lee Dunn
The Secret Of Writing Funny by Annie Binns
Is This The Perfect Blog Post? [Infograph] by Jason Keath
How Formulas Can Make You A Better Blogger (Blog World)
7 Keys To Scoring Bestselling Author Interviews by Suzannah Windsor Freeman
10 Reasons I Won’t Leave A Comment On Your Blog by Judy Lee Dunn
Does Blogging Jack Up Your Schedules? Schedule Your Posts Ahead by Jenny Hansen
How To Schedule Posts Effectively (Blog World)
Want 1000 Blog Subscribers? Just ‘Invent’ Them by Judy Lee Dunn
How To Attract More Readers With SEO by Jodi Aman
Cheat Sheet For Optimizing Your WordPress Blog For Search Engines – Without Cheating by Neil Patel
How To Link To a PDF In a WordPress Post by Beth Hayden
Scribe – A Search Engine Tool For WordPress by Beth Hayden (this is not free but the A-List Bloggers use it)
Social Media
How Much Time Do Authors Need To Spend Time On Social Media Sites & Blogging by D.D. Scott
A Social Media Survival Guide by Jenn Reese
Everything I Need To Know About Twitter I Learned From Hospice by Piper Bayard
How To Succeed On Twitter by Molly Greene
Strategies For Effective Tweeting (Buddy Media)
How To Write Effective Tweets by Rebecca Berto
31 Twitter Hashtags For The Indie Author (Wise Ink)
10 Twitter Lists For Writers To Follow (Wise Ink)
Great Automated Twitter Support Tools by Molly Greene
(Tweet automating can be done well but you need to know what you’re doing. Read the next Kristen Lamb post to avoid fubars)
Hash Tags – The Trouble with Twitter Tribbles by Kristen Lamb
Twitter Follower Maintenance by Paul Dorset
Pinterest Alert: The New Pin Scam To Avoid by Kristin Nador
Pinterest Marketing Guide by Beth Hayden (PDF)
7 Ways To Sell More Books With Pinterest by Beth Hayden
9 Ways To Go Viral on Pinterest and Get an Avalanche of Traffic (Boost Blog Traffic)
Sticky Pinterest Marketing by Beth Hayden
Facebook For Authors: Setting Up An Author Page, Part 1 by Chris Robley
Facebook For Authors: Setting Up An Author Page, Part 2 by Chris Robley
7 Things Chris Brogan Taught Me About Google+ and Why It Matters by Carol Tice
Collected Wisdom
Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp (July 15)
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig (July 15)
Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (July 14)
9 Killer Resources Of Weekly Writing Links by Kristin Nador (July 10)
Writing on the Ether by Porter Anderson (July 12)
Deep Stuff
The Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways To Succesfully Ingrain a Behaviour by Leo Baubata
What Multitasking Does To Our Brain by Leo Widrich
Sleeps With Monsters: Endurance & Persuation – Traits of the Heroine by Liz Bourke
Outside-of-the-Box Books For Writers by Kathy Steffen
Why Is It Hard To Make Friends Over 30? by Alex Williams (New York Times)
Individualism In Overdrive by Frank Bruni (New York Times)
How To Raise Creative Kids by Toby Neal
How To Talk To Little Girls by Lisa Bloom (Huffington Post)
Fun Stuff
Which famous writer do you write like?
Down And Dirty Hot Dudes by Catie Rhodes
Top 10 Archers In Fiction (Fantasy Faction)
Underground New York Public Library (interesting way to discover new books)
What To Expect When You’re Expecting An Extra Hunger Games Movie by Bridget McGovern (tor.com)
Breaking Down The Wall: Immortal Monday by Debra Kristi
The 4 Questions Everyone Asks At Conventions by Steven Padnick (tor.com)
Five Fabulous Female Fantasy Forces by Rajan Khanna
Link Feast For Writers Vol. 11
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 (Character Special)
Drop The Drama Bomb by Mario Acevendo at Writers In The Storm
Spice Up Your Writing With Optimal Learning Styles by Jan O’Hara at Writer Unboxed
Ask Your Character: Why Do You Matter? by Donald Maass at Writer Unboxed
Depth of Character by Donald Maass at Writer Unboxed
First Impressions by Diana Peterfreund
Giving Your Character A Unique Voice (Film Script Writing)
5 Tests To See If Character’s Voice Is Working by Christopher Boone
What Makes A Female Character Strong by Jami Gold
10 Antagonist No No’s by Lynn Viehl
16 Villain Archetypes by Tami Cowden
Top 10 Mentor Characters by Alexandra Sokoloff
Where Are All The Female Mentor Characters by Stella Carter at Jezebel
How To Kill Characterization (at Drying Ink)
Myers-Briggs As A Tool For Authors by Fae Rowen
Chinese Element Personality Types For Fun & Writing by Fae Rowen
Creating Character Depth With Astrological Signs by C.J. Winters
Character Trading Cards by Lynn Viehl
Using Tarot For Creative Writing by Janet Boyer
10 Easy Ways to Improve Your Dialogue by Ali Luke at Write To Done
Create a Rough Sketch Of Your Work In Progress (diymfa.com)
12 Ways To Create Suspense by Gail Carson Levine
What Everyone Knows & Team Mundane by Catherynne M. Valente
Practical Writing Tips From 22 Brilliant Authors (scroll down to get the advice. My favourite bit was: “Write the first chapter LAST”)
Writing Quickly: A Secret Strategy by Ava Jae
Trend Tracking Versus Jumping by Lynn Viehl
Write Books That Change Lives by Ingrid Sundberg
Book Series Sell by agent Rusell Galen
Do You Read Like A Reader Or A Writer by Janice Hardy
Fighting Writer Fatique by Lynn Viehl
Your Author Platform
How Much Interaction Should Writers Have With Their Readers by Jody Hedlund
Hustling: How To Spread Word About Your Book by Chris Guillebeau
Convention Schmoozing 101 by Mary Robinette Kowal
How To Write Free Content That Gets You An Avalanche Of Traffic by Danny Iny
How To Keep Your Book Talk Fresh by Roz Morris
3 Selling Tactics From The Internet Marketing Gurus by Lindsay Buroker
89 Book Marketing Ideas (Author Media)
How To Launch A Book Without Losing Your Mind by Elizabeth S. Craig
Blogging
How Long Does It Take To Get Blog Readers? by Nina Amir
Top 10 Blog Traffic Killers by Michael Hyatt
How To Get Better Results With List Posts (Pushing Social)
3 Guaranteed Ways To Get Your Blog Post Read (Pushing Social)
Put Some Thought Into Your Blog Comments: No Vanilla Adjectives Please by Susie Lindau (check out the comments too)
How To Write A Good Blog Comment by Nathan Bradsford
Find Your Blog’s Unique Voice by Jeff Goins at ProBlogger
How To Promote Your Blog Like The Big Guys by Leo Baubata
How To Get Serious About Promoting Your Blog (Pushing Social)
Launching A Successful Blog Tour by Alan Rinzler
Hosting Your Own WordPress Website by Melinda Van Lone
Must Have WordPress Plug-ins by Annabel Candy
If I Started Blogging Today, I Would… by Annette Gendler
The New Style Of Blog Writing by Mary Jaksch
Shakespeare on Blogging by Leanne Shirtliffe
How To Figure Out What Content People Want (at Social Triggers)
Social Media
8 Ways To Grow Your Social Media Footprint by Jenny Hansen
Why Authors Tweet (NYTimes)
Twitter Success Tricks from @thewritermama
Content Creator’s Twitter Evolution (Writer’s Digest)
Control Your Social Media So It Doesn’t Control You by Elizabeth S. Craig
Triberr Review: Useful Tool Or Shiny Toy? by Linda Adams
Tumblr For Writers by Ava Jae
Collected Wisdom
Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp (June 2)
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig (June 3)
Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas (June 1)
Writing on the Ether by Porter Anderson (May 31)
Deep Stuff
What’s the First Thing You Do When You Open The Computer? by Seth Godin
Expand Your Circles by Amber West
Email Sanity: How To Clear Your Inbox When You’re Drowning at Zen Habits
Cinderella Ate My Daughter: The Princess Culture by Margot Magowan
Fun Stuff
Male & Female Eye Candy (collection of actor photos)
FictFact – Track Your Favorite Book Series
Bookmarks From Hell by Lynn Viehl
10 Signs You’ve Attended Too Many Writing Workshops by Lynn Viehl
The Vampire Smythe (short story by Lynn Viehl)
Dark & Devastating Secrets (shot, funny story by Lynn Viehl)
Armor-ella (short fairytale retelling by Holly Lisle)
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