Link Feast vol 66. – The Best Writing and Book Marketing Advice
IHarnessing Your Passion to Strengthen Your Stories by Chris Winkle
On Writing
Reading Challenge: Overcome the Algorithms by Jami Gold
Making Time to Write by Elaine Viets
Stretch Your Style by James Scott Bell
Writing a Genre That’s New to You by Greer Mcallister
12 Things to Do When the Words Just Won’t Come by
How to Write Faster by Shaelin Bishop
What the Last Jedi [movie] Can Teach You About Writing by Eric Pierce
https://writingcooperative.com/the-last-jedi-can-teach-you-about-writing-bba4be994879
Rolling the Dice: 5 Ways D&D and “Critical Role” Made Me a Better Storyteller by Angela Mitchell
Five Promises You Make to the Reader by Shannon Dittemore
Where Do Character Strengths Come From by Becca Puglisi
How Can We Make Our Protagonist More Proactive by Jami Gold
Let Your Characters Tell the Story by Eldred “Bob” Bird
Ten Easy Jokes For Your Dialogue by Chris Winkle
To Absent Friends by Dave King (how to balance multiple characters’ point of views into the plot)
How to Tell a Story Within a Story by Oren Ashkenazi
Hopepunk is all about weaponized optimism by Aja Romano
https://www.vox.com/2018/12/27/18137571/what-is-hopepunk-noblebright-grimdark
N.K. Jemisin’s Dream Worlds by Raffi Khatchadourian (an interview with the fantasy writer who has won 3 Hugo Awards in row, the only one ever to do so)
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/01/27/nk-jemisins-dream-worlds
On Writing Book Series & World Building for Book Series
Why Writing In a Series Will Make You More Money As a Writer by Joanna Penn
Choosing a Follow Up Strategy For a Popular Story by Bunny at Mythcreants
Six Common Problems With Long Series by Oren Ashkenazi
Six Tips For Sequels by Oren Ashkenazi
Seven Signs a Sequel Will Be Bad by Oren Ashkenazi
Five Ridiculous Organizations From Popular Stories by Oren Ashkenazi (this is a common issue in series if the same organization remains the villain for longer than one season / over many books)
How to Build a World For Anthology Stories by Oren Ashkenazi
Book Publishing & The Writing Community
Business Musings: Fear and Publishing by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (What expectations are barriers to you self-publishing your book? Might some of them be myths?)
The Decline of Mainstream Fiction by Anne R. Allen
Business Musings: The Future of Audio 2019 by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
The RWA Implosion: How Could the Problems Be Fixed by Jami Gold
Lack of DEI and the RITAs by Kharma Kelley (how RWA ended up here)
https://medium.com/@kharmakelley/how-a-dei-advocate-case-studies-the-ritas-7a8faa9a1079
Book Marketing
Don’t Advertise, PADvertise: Catch Readers With Their Pants Down by Kristen Lamb
No one knows what will work by Dan Blank
https://wegrowmedia.com/no-one-knows-what-will-work/
Business Musings: Book Birth Days by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (the Myth of a Book Launch making or breaking a book)
5 Adjectives That Don’t Sell a Book To Me by Nicola Alter
5 Adjectives That Sell a Book To Me by Nicola Alter
7 Expert Tricks to Improve Your Author Newsletter by David Gaughran
Things That Happen When You Stop Chasing Social Media by Alythia Brown
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2020/01/things-that-happen-when-you-stop.html
How to Market a Book on Amazon: 7 Easy Steps by Penny Sansevieri
Deep Stuff
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Orgasm by Mary Roach (TED Talk)
We Expect Too Much From Our Romantic Partners by Olga Khazan
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/we-expect-too-much-from-our-romantic-partners
How to help a friend through a tough time, according to a clinical psychologist by Kathryn Gordon
https://www.vox.com/first-person/2019/12/10/21003228/how-to-help-a-friend
Three Theories For Why You Have No Time by Derek Thompson
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/12/why-you-never-have-time/603937/
Fun Stuff
The Best “Toss a Coin To Your Witcher” Song Covers by Zoe Rosensweig
https://screenrant.com/witcher-toss-coin-song-covers-best/
40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World by The Shifter
Clever Life Hacks to Simplify Your World by The Shifter
The 25 Most Anticipated Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2020 by Stubby the Rocket
Movies We’re Looking Forward to in 2020 by Stubby the Rocket
Link Feast vol. 65 – Writing & Book Marketing Tips
IEpisode 80: Workshop: Setting Writing Goals for the New Year by Holly Lisle and Rebecca Galardo
(The episode is over an hour long so you might not have time to listen to it right now. In that case, take a look at the worksheet. You can grog it even without listening to the episode. The episode is really worth listening too.)
The link to the worksheet (click)
On Writing
Writer Resolution 2020: Write With a Knife to Your Black, the Cliff’s Edge at Your Feet by Chuck Wendig
Happy New Year! Welcome to a Blank Page by Jami Gold
Five Tactics to Battle Impostor Syndrome by Helen J. Darling
Un-Con Redux: Operation Phoenix by Donald Maass (how to reinvent yourself as a writer)
Pre-Publishing: Developing the 5 P’s by Janet Grant
Business Musings: Habits (A Process Blog) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (how our false beliefs and invisible scripts about our capabilities can limit us)
What Can Our Reading Choices Tell About Our Writing by Jami Gold
How I Went From Writing 2,000 Words a Day to 10,000 Words a Day by Rachel Aaron
http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-i-went-from-writing-2000-words-day.html
How to Develop High Concept Book Ideas to Find More Success With Your Writing by Robert Lee Brewer
Six Ways to Add Novelty to Your Story by Chris Winkle
How to Choose the Right Antagonist For Any Type of Story by K.M. Weiland
Rian Johnson’s Looper and the Art of the Supervillain by Leah Schnelbach
SFF Needs More Incompetent Autocrats By James Davis Nicholl
The Best Employees Are Not the Agreeable Ones, According to Adam Grant by Oliver Staley (Is your character a giver or a taker? Is he/she agreeable or disagreeable?)
How to Navigate Editorial Feedback and Revise Your WIP by Tiffany Yates Martin
The Craft of the Short Story by Anthea Lawson Sharp
12 Lessons Learned From Writing Short by John Peragine
On Tackling Controversial Topics
Why Social Justice Is Intrinsic to Storytelling by Chris Winkle
Five Tips For Telling Stories of Resistance by Oren Ashkenazi
Sex Rape Tropes and How to Replace Them by Chris Winkle
Understanding Appropriative Worldbuilding by Chris Winkle
Six Tips For Taking Inspiration From History by Oren Ashkenazi
Publishing Paths & Book Marketing
What Path Should a Writer Take in 2020 by James Scott Bell
The Key to Long Term Success As a Writer With Kevin J. Anderson by Joanna Penn
Be the Gateway by Dan Blank
Are You Working On the Right Thing? By Tim Grahl
How to Promote Your Book Before It’s Published by Julia Hansen
Which Paid Marketing Works (and Doesn’t Work) For Books by Rachel Aaron
http://thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com/2017/01/which-paid-marketing-works-and-doesnt.html
The Writing World
Why Does the RWA (Romance Writers of America) Implosion Matter to All Writers by Jami Gold
Where Does RWA Go From Here? By Sarah at Smart Bitches Trashy Books (she asks the important question of who the organization really serves)
Romance Wranglers of America by Chuck Tingle (a humorous take on the RWA mess): https://www.romancewritersofamerica.com/#
Deep Stuff
How to Recover From Reader’s Block by James Davis Nicoll (a serious problem in my books)
Glass half full: how I learned to be an optimist in a week by Tim Dowling
The Lie of Little Women by Sophie Gilbert (the real life of Louisa May Alcott, what she really thought of this book, also stuff about the movie adaptations)
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/the-lie-of-little-women
How to Break Up With Your Bad Habits by Judson Brewer
https://hbr.org/2019/12/how-to-break-up-with-your-bad-habits
Fun Stuff
Hot Dudes Reading at Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/hotdudesreading/
No easy mark: Female bodybuilder, 82, clobbers intruder (Boston.com crime news)
https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2019/11/25/no-easy-mark-female-bodybuilder-82-clobbers-intruder
7 Quirky and Whimsical Books Like Good Omens by Andy Winder
https://bookriot.com/2019/08/14/books-like-good-omens/
16 Fantasy Authors Like Neil Gaiman by Annika Barranti Klein
https://bookriot.com/2019/11/20/authors-like-neil-gaiman/
Tor.com Reviewers’ Choice: The Best Books of 2019
Some of Our Favourite Movies of 2019 by Stubby the Rocket
26 Nerdy Things That Brought Us Joy in 2019 by Stubby the Rocket
10 Great Monsters of the Week Episodes From Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Kiersten White
(Almost) Every Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movie Adaptation In the Works Right Now by Stubby the Rocket
(I was most excited about Kushiel’s Dart fantasy series being optioned. Holding my fingers crossed that it will end up in the screen as a movie or in the TV. Is there a book you want to see as a movie or TV series? Do share in the comments.)
Link Feast vol 64 – Helpful Writing Tips
NIf You Have Time For Only One Link
How to Know Which Parts of Your Story Readers Will Like Best (It Isn’t Always What You Think) by K.M. Weiland
On Writing Partners, Teams and Big Casts
How to Create Powerful Character Combos by Chris Winkle
18 Ways for Protagonists to Contribute by Chris Winkle
Five Underused Character Archetypes by Chris Winkle
Head, Heart, Gut (aka How to Create a Polarized Ensemble) – a collection of posts by Matt Bird, really worth checking out
http://www.secretsofstory.com/2017/05/head-heart-gut-aka-how-to-create.html
Creating a Polarized Ensemble, Part 1: The Pros and Cons of Polarization by Matt Bird (the first post of the series)
http://www.secretsofstory.com/2012/10/creating-polarized-ensemble-part-1-pros.html
On Writing
What Keeps You From Success? Are You a Prisoner of Unexamined Beliefs? by Anne R. Allen
How to Find Your Writing Purpose by Leanne Sowul
Resistance Wakes Up With Me by Steven Pressfield
Writing Tips: 6 Ways to Give Perfectionism the Boot by T. Thorn Coyle
A Prayer to the Muse by Steven Pressfield
For National Novel Writing Month, Two Vital Reminders by Chuck Wendig
3 Ways to Keep Writing When Times Are Tough by Chandler Bolt
When Your Writing Dreams Change by Julie Glover
The Benefits of Writing a Novel “Just For Fun” by Janice Hardy
How to Build a Long Term Writing Career by James Scott Bell
NaNoWriMo is coming… Are You Ready? By Jami Gold (how much do we need to prep for NaNo + resource links)
How Predictable Should a Story Be? By Chris Winkle
Five Archetypes That Can Steal the Hero’s Spotlight by Oren Ashkenazi
The Villain Has No Empathy by Steven Pressfield
The Villain Never Says He’s Sorry by Steven Pressfied
Six Ways to Make Your Villains Likable by Chris Winkle (what if the villain said he’s sorry. Or is he just sorry [not sorry]…)
Scene Layering With an Example by Rebecca Zanetti
Wow Your Fantasy Reader – 10 Tips For Writing Wonder by Yours Truly
Representing People of Color in Fantasy When Their Country/Continent Doesn’t Exist by Mod Lesya
10 Steps to Writing a Novella by Delilah S. Dawson
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2013/04/guest-author-delilah-s-dawson-10-steps.html
Book Marketing
Do I Need a Platform and If So, How High? by Anne Greenwood Brown
Book Blog Reviews and Bookstagram: How Influencers Help Authors Reach Agents, Publishers and Readers by Julie Valerie
Authors! Refresh, Rehab, Repair and Renovate: How to Rejuvenate Your Backlist by Ruth Harris
Deep Stuff
We Are the Weirdos, Mister: Power, Rage and Teenage Witches by Kate Racculia
If You Master This Listening Technique, You’ll Hear What People Don’t Say Out Loud by Cathy Salit
Fun Stuff
Episode 70: 2nd Annual Halloween Special Listener Edition – Part One (30 Halloween themed 500 word Flash Fiction stories read out loud)
Episode 71: 2nd Annual Halloween Special Listener Edition – Part Two (30 more Halloween themed 500 word Flash Fiction stories read out loud. My story, The Midnight Gamble, is read starting at 2:02:17)
Why I’m a horrible person by Ristay (a hilarious webcomic)
All the New Fantasy Books Coming Out in November at Tor.com
All the New YA SFF Books Coming Out in November at Tor.com
November’s New Releases by Amanda at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (mostly romance book recs)
The Midnight Gamble – A Halloween Flash Fiction Story
“Ten minutes to midnight”, the dealer reminds me.
A warning. At midnight the doors will close and if I’m still here, I will be trapped in this cursed place until next Halloween.
A calculated risk. Now is the time for the game I came here to win. “Deal me one more hand.”
“Sir, you have already lost your soul and your firstborn. What more do you have to offer to the house?”
“Call me Michael.”
“Michael”, she agrees with impatience. My heart sings at hearing my name again from her lips. “Your bet, please.”
“My creativity, my Muse. I’m a writer.”
She closes her eyes and seems to confer with the house through the twisted connection I’m here to end.
“The house accepts. And your prize?”
“You, Miriel, with your memories intact. And all the claims of this place and all connections to it severed.”
She blinks in surprise and opens her mouth but no sound comes out. Then the power takes her over again, and she shivers and whispers. “The house accepts.”
“Then deal.”
And she does. Her hands are steady even though she refuses to meet my eyes.
She reveals her hand, one card at a time. Ten of Hearts, Knight of Hearts, Queen of Hearts, King of Hearts. Sweat beads on my forehead and my hands tremble. Her last card, Three of Spades.
And I have a pair of Nines.
I won. I fucking won.
“Mikey”, she breathes and finally looks at me. A smile blooms on her face, and she is radiant, more beautiful than ever. She remembers. She’s my Miri again.
A deep gong sounds. And again at steady intervals. Fuck. It’s almost midnight. I grab her hand and we run for the door like our lives depend on it. The house trembles like the earth is shaking but our momentum keeps us upright.
We rush through the door and halfway to the gate. Only then I dare to look behind me. The house is there one moment, then it blinks away. It’s over. We’re safe.
Miri stops us and pulls my head down for a desperate kiss. I crush her to me and never intend to let go.
I hold and hold until she finally pulls away.
“I love an idiot”, she groans. “Your soul, Mikey. You should have left me there.”
“Never. I love you, baby.”
“You promised away our firstborn”, her voice breaks. “The whole reason why…”
“I’m so sorry”, I say quietly. “We will find a way.”
“No! No. It isn’t meant to be. We get your soul back, and that’s it.”
“New try next year?”, I ask, only half joking.
She gives me a withering glare. “Don’t be a total dumbass. But we’ll find a way.”
I take her hand. We walk away, together, and right this moment all is well in the world.
Thank you for reading. And Happy Halloween!
If you want to hear the story read out loud, listen to Rebecca Galardo’s and Holly Lisle’s Halloween episode for their podcast Alone In the Room With Invisible People. My story starts at 2:02:17. I highly recommend you to listen the other stories too. They’re stellar.
I’d love to hear from you in the comments. What did you think of the story? And how are you spending your Halloween? Do you dress up? What has been your favourite Halloween costume?
Link Feast vol 63 – Writing Links
C
Cersei, Voldemort, Hannibal Lecter, Saruman, Joker… We love to hate a good villain.
Since it’s almost Halloween, this Link Feast has a special section about writing villains and monsters.
Drop a comment below and share who are your favourite bad guys and critters from books, films and TV.
If You Have Time For Only One Link
The Bodies of the Girls Who Made Me: On Fanfic and Storytelling by Seanan McGuire
On Writing Villains & Monsters
The Brain Behind the Story: The Big Boss Troublemaker (BBT) by Kristen Lamb
Scaredy-Pants! 4 Breeches – er – BREACHES That Elicit Fear in Your Characters by Bonnie Randall
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/10/scaredy-pants-4-breeches-er-breaches.html
Five Tropes That Make a Villain Look Incompetent by Oren Ashkenazi
How to Plot a Mystery, Part 5: Figure Out What Went Wrong by Matt Bird
www.secretsofstory.com/2017/02/how-to-plot-mystery-part-5-figure-out.html
Storyteller’s Rulebook: The Mastermind Exception by Matt Bird
http://www.secretsofstory.com/2011/01/storytellers-rulebook-63-but-there-are.html
When to Narrate a Villain’s Point of View by Chris Winkle
Writing Monsters: What Makes a Monster Scary? by Philip Athans
5 Frankenstein Inspired Stories That Recontextualize the Monster by Natalie Zutter
The Evolution of Dragons in Western Literature: A History by Yvonne Shiau
On Writing
Author Mindset: 4 Practices For Overcoming Self-Doubt by Philip Kenney
Writing Boldly, Without Fear by Heather Webb
Writers: How to Ditch Distraction and Focus by Rochelle Melander
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/10/writers-how-to-ditch-distraction-and.html
The Books That Get People Talking by Kathleen McCleary
Confession of a Lapsed Reader by Sarah McCoy
How Is Our Protagonist Challenged to Improve? (& a Worksheet) by Jami Gold
Analysis: Carnival Row Shows Us the Damage a Reveal Can Do by Chris Winkle
Five Reasons Stories Have Slow Openings and How to Fix Them by Oren Ashkenazi
Romance Beats vs. 12 Stages of Intimacy by Jami Gold
How to Describe Your Main Character by James Scott Bell
Seven Common Causes of Reader Confusion by Chris Winkle
How to Train Your Editor Brain by Tiffany Yates Martin
Professional Romance Novelists Can Write 3000 Words a Day. Here’s How They Do It by Thu-Huong Ha
Caveat 1: Writing is a marathon, not a sprint. If you just bought your first running shoes, you should not compare your output to authors who have been at it for years. Set a writing goal you can fairly easily beat so you are always writing to success. When hitting that goal gets easy, slowly increase your aim.
Caveat 2: Romance novels tend to have very clear story beats and structures. If you are writing something longer and a genre not so clearly defined, do expect more meandering and need to pause and figure out where your story is going.
Caveat 3: Many of the most recent super productive self-pub wonders reach their astonishing word counts by dictating their stories instead of writing them.
How Publishing Business Works, Being a Business-Minded Author & Book Marketing
Current Trends in Book Publishing by Jane Friedman
Business Musings: The Three Kinds of Writers (Rethinking the Writing Business Part 14) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Business Musings: But I Can’t Afford…. (Rethinking the Writing Business Part 15) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
(How to make sure your author business stays healthy, and to not overspend on business ventures that you don’t crucially need. How to analyse the costs and benefits.)
From Indie Author to Creative Empire With Michael Anderle by Joanna Penn
(Michael has been doing for years the kind of licensing Kris Rusch is talking about in her blog series)
He Has Come to Solve Your Plot Problems by James Scott Bell (now here’s how you puff your own book in an entertaining way)
Influencer Outreach 101: How to Get Other People to Promote Your Book by Tim Grahl
Deep Stuff
How to Automate a Habit and Never Think About It Again by James Clear
These Poverty Fighting Startups Are Slaying Silicon Valley’s Sacred Cows by Ciara Byrne
Japan’s most remote onsen (hot spring) by Lily Crossley-Baxter
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20191015-japans-most-remote-onsen
Fun Stuff
The Rec League: Books For Your Inner Goth by Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
Beyond Frankenstein: 7 Contemporary Monster Books Written by Women by Mallory O’Meara
About Reetta
I'm a Finnish fantasy / urban fantasy writer who loves reading, roleplaying and all things medieval. 
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