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)
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
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
Link Feast vol. 59
Welcome to Link Feast. Hopefully this week’s offering nourishes your mind and endless curiosity. Next Link Feast shall be posted on Sunday 26th of May (in 3 weeks).
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
Business Musings: Critical Voice by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
On Writing
Business Musings: Fun by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
https://kriswrites.com/2019/04/10/business-musings-fun/
Look After Yourself: Self-Care For Writers by Ellen Bard
Writing Prompts: Helpful? Or a Waste of Time? by Savannah Gordova
https://jamigold.com/2019/04/writing-prompts-helpful-or-a-waste-of-time-guest-savannah-cordova/
Revise vs. Start New: Which Is Better For the Learning Curve by Jami Gold
50 Romance Plot Ideas by Bryn Donovan
Hobbies For Romance Heroines by Laura Diaz de Arce
https://bookriot.com/2019/04/22/hobbies-for-romance-heroines/
Writing Realistic Teenagers in YA by Jodi Turchin
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/04/writing-realistic-teenagers-in-ya.html
How to Write a Travel Story by Chris Winkle
Six Types of Turning Points For Climaxes by Chris Winkle
Five Tricks to Invigorate Your Ending by Chris Winkle
https://mythcreants.com/blog/five-tricks-to-invigorate-your-ending/
The Legacy of Character in Avenger’s Endgame by Chuck Wendig (beware the spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie yet)
6 Tips on Making Similar Scenes Feel Different by Janice Hardy
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2014/01/6-tips-on-making-similar-scenes-feel.html
Let’s Talk About Sex Scenes in Fiction, Baby by Dana Staves
https://bookriot.com/2019/04/24/sex-scenes-in-fiction/
How to Pitch Your Book For TV and Film with DJ Williams by Joanna Penn
Ritas So White… Again by Jessica Pryde (Ritas are the yearly Romance genre Awards)
https://bookriot.com/2019/03/25/ritas-so-white-again/
On Writing Flash Fiction (500 -1500 word long short stories)
Why write flash fiction?
- You can practice quickly beginnings, middles and endings – lots of them and different variations
- You can test story ideas, different styles, genres and voices
- You learn how to write lean and to edit ruthlessly
- You can put together an anthology of short stories fast (and self-publish it)
- Flash fiction is fun content to share with your readers on your blog or newsletter
13 Tips For Writing Flash Fiction by Denise Ganley
http://flashfictiononline.com/main/2015/04/thirteen-tips-for-writing-flash-fiction/
21 Flash Fiction Stories to Read While You Wait Anywhere by Corin Balkovek
https://bookriot.com/2018/06/18/flash-fiction-stories/
Words in your pocket: How to write flash fiction by David Gaffney
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/may/14/how-to-write-flash-fiction
3 Things You Need to Know to Write Great Flash Fiction by Ben Wolf
How to Write Flash Fiction: 15 Short Story Cliches That Need to Die
How to Write Flash Fiction: 15 Short Story Cliches That Need To Die
Free flash fiction stories to read
https://flashfictionmagazine.com/
Book Marketing, Agents & Blogging
5 Unfair Advantages of an Author Platform by Tim Grahl (what book marketing can do at it’s best for your book’s success)
11 Authors Discuss the Road to Getting a Literary Agent by Stephanie Elliot
What’s Your Non-Fiction Voice by Jami Gold
25 Ideas For Your Author Blog by Bryn Donovan
http://blog.janicehardy.com/2019/03/25-ideas-for-your-author-blog.html
Deep Stuff
From Gloom to Gratitude: 8 Skills to Cultivate Joy by Allison Aubrey
Here’s a way better question to ask yourself than “What do I want” by Mark Manson
Four Ways to Figure Out What You Really Want to Do With Your Life by Thorin Klosowski
https://lifehacker.com/four-ways-to-figure-out-what-you-really-want-to-do-with-513095544
The Art of Blooming Late by Kevin Evers
https://hbr.org/2019/05/the-art-of-blooming-late
10 Practical Answers to 10 Powerful Questions by Darius Foroux
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/10-practical-answers-to-10-powerful-questions
The History of the Influencer From Shakespeare to Instagram by Laurence Scott
There Are No True Rebels by JoAnn Greco
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/there-are-no-true-rebels
Fun Stuff
Game of Phones hotline (hilarious video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4-R3JvGdJs&feature=youtu.be
The Most Marvelous Moments in the MCU by Stubby the Rocket
https://www.tor.com/2019/04/25/the-most-marvelous-moments-in-the-mcu/
Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor!) Insult Each Others For 5 Minutes Straight by ToolFab Staff
https://toofab.com/2019/04/25/chris-hemsworth-scarlett-johansson-playground-insults-endgame/
Scifi & Fantasy Recommendations Based on Your Favourite SFF Heroine by Jessie Mihalik
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Recommendations Based on Your Favorite SFF Heroine
Spring 2019’s Must Read Scifi & Fantasy Reads by Myfanwy Collins
https://www.bookish.com/articles/must-read-sci-fi-fantasy-spring-2019/
Spring 2019’s Must Read Romance Novels According to Romance Authors by The Bookish Editors
2019’s Must-Read Romance Novels According to Romance Authors
5 Witchy Books For Fans of Baba Yaga by Ann Foster
https://bookriot.com/2019/03/28/baba-yaga-books/
Since all of those 5 recommendations above are from a white, Western point of view, here are some more diverse fantasy recommendations:
Literal Black Girl Magic: Books With Witches, Orisha and More by Mya Nunnally
https://bookriot.com/2018/09/20/black-girl-magic-books/
And then some cheery book recommendations, dystopias 😀
The World Is Falling Apart: Timely Dystopias That Reflect Our Fears by Steph Auteri
https://bookriot.com/2019/04/18/timely-dystopias/
Crime Fiction’s New Favourite Private Eyes by Matthew Turbeville
https://bookriot.com/2019/04/24/crime-fictions-new-favorite-private-eyes/
Diplomats and Aliens: Why You Should Pair Spy Novels With Science Fiction by Arkady Martine
https://www.bookish.com/articles/arkady-martine-diplomats-and-aliens/
Seeing Like a State: Arkady Martine’s Favourite Books About the Mechanisms of Government by Arkady Martine
Seeing Like A State: Arkady Martine’s Favorite Books About the Mechanisms of Government
About Reetta
I'm a Finnish fantasy / urban fantasy writer who loves reading, roleplaying and all things medieval. 
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