Link Feast For Writers, vol. 33 – Theme Special
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.
This week there is a special category for links about theme. According to writing teacher Larry Brooks (Storyfixer), theme is one of the six core competencies writers need to master to succeed.
“Theme is how a story touches you. What and how it causes you to think about. How the story mirrors and/or comments upon real life. Theme says something worth saying, even when it’s obvious.” – Larry Brooks
Read on to find out how you can discover the theme of your book.
If You Have Time For Only One Thing
A Gift Created From Your Writer’s Heart by Kathy Steffen
On Writing
From Debut to Multi-Published: What I Have Learned In My First Year as a Published Author by Roni Loren
Measuring Success by Gabriela Pereira (thank you for the link, Gene Lempp)
How to Write Every Day – In Theory by Matt Bird
How to Write When You Don’t Want To by Ava Jae
Love Lists by Stephanie Perkins
10 Writing (and Life) Lessons I Learned From My Dog by Jenny Hansen
8 Signs That You Were Meant to Be a Writer by Henri Junttila
Is Every Hero a Luke or a Han? by Matt Bird
Heroes Should Run Into Unexpected Antagonism by Matt Bird
12 Tips on How To Write Antagonists by Karen Woodward
Writing Male and Female PoV by Rayne Hall
Kick Start Your Story With These Questions by Joe Moore
Key Story Elements: Lessons From the Nightmare Before Christmas Musical by Alexandra Sokoloff
Love Thy Neighbor by Donald Maass
Plot Fixer # 9 Plots That Rely On Coincidence and Contrivance by Kara Lennox
Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before You Write a Scene. Any Scene by Larry Brooks
Learn to Pace Yourself by Jennifer Rush
Connie Willis and 11 Ways to Write Great Dialogue by Karen Woodward
Spicing Up a Story with Similes and Metaphors by Jody Hedlund
A Simple Approach to Revisions by Cathy Yardley
Cutting the Fat From Your WIP by Gina Conroy
Freelance Editing: How to Hire an Editor For Your Book or Query Letter by Chuck Sambuchino
How to Survive a Critique by Marcy Kennedy
The Dark Art Of Critiquing, Part 1: What Makes A Story Good? by Karen Woodward
The Dark Art of Critiquing, Part 2: Formulating A Critique by Karen Woodward
How Do We Handle Rejection and Keep On Pressing by Kristen Lamb
Lessons From the Godfather on Sticking to Your Creative Vision by Dan Blank
Do You Read Like a Reader or a Writer? by Janice Hardy
Short Story Structures – Several Ways of Structuring Short Fiction by Karen Woodward
Lamp Lighters and Seed Sowers: Tomorrow’s YA by Beth Kephart (books that have meaning will be remembered)
Top 10 YA Tropes by A. E. Rought
Dear Agent — Write the Letter That Sells Your Book by Nicola Morgan
Theme Special
Do Stories Need a Theme? by Jami Gold
25 Things Writers Should Know About Theme by Chuck Wendig
Theme Me Up: How to Develop Your Theme by Janice Hardy
Theme Simplified by Larry Brooks
Beyond Good vs. Sucky: Theme by Matt Bird
Theme = Good vs. Good by Matt Bird
Audiences Are More Interested in Ethics Than Morals by Matt Bird
Dare to Confront the Great Hypocrisy by Matt Bird
Nothing Is Wrong Until You Make It Wrong by Matt Bird
Thematic Image Systems by Alexandra Sokoloff
Visual Image Systems by Alexandra Sokoloff
Visual Storytelling – Part 1 by Alexandra Sokoloff
Hand-Me-Down People – Writing and Activism by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff
(What makes you really angry? What kind of a story could you write about it?)
Book Marketing
Why Marketing on the Power of Cool Just Isn’t Cutting It Anymore by Abby Kerr
The Art of Creating an Authentic Belief System (Otherwise Known as a ‘Brand’) For Fans, Friends + Followers by Justine Musk
Your Legacy is Written in the Thoughts, Attitudes and Actions of Others by Dan Blank
How to Keep Your Audience Interested by Writing Long-Term Story Arcs by Georgina Laidlaw
Copywriting And Making Money As A Writer With Mindy McHorse by Joanna Penn
How to Storyboard a Book For Marketing Purposes by Bob Mayer
Are Book Trailers Dead? by Laura Drake
5 Most Persuasive Words in the English Language by Gregory Ciotti
(Self-)Publishing
Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing? Which is the Right First Step for YOU? Win a Free Book to Help You Decide by Anne R. Allen
The New World of Publishing: How to Get Started Selling Fiction in 2013 by Dean Wesley Smith
Writing on the Ether: Top Literary Agents Talk Author Management at FutureBook by Porter Anderson
Indie Publishing in 2013: Why We Can’t Party Like It’s 2009 by Anne R. Allen
Making Money From Indie Publishing – A Guide For the Hopeful, the Optimistic and the Doomed by Sarah A. Hoyt
All Six Mega-publishers Can Merge, and They Still Won’t Win Amazon’s Game by Sarah Lacy
Why It’s Time For More Transparency in Publishing by Joanna Penn
Blogging
The Zen of Slow Blogging by Kristin Nador
How to Keep Your Right Readers Addicted to Your Blog (And You) by Justine Musk
Tap User Psychology to Build a Community Around Your Blog by Richard Millington
Blog Titles That Get Clicked by Kenra Daniels
Write Better Headlines With This 7 Step Google Reader Experiment by Demian Farnworth
How to Write a Mind Blowing Headline For Twitter So People Read Your Blog by Jeff Bullas
5 WordPress Mistakes Even Experts Can Make by Sherice Jacob
Make Money Blogging: The Provocative History of Professional Blogging by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant
Social Media
25 Ways to Make Social Media Work For You by Kathy Temean
How Can We Brag Without It Killing Our Online Credibility by Kristen Lamb
Social Media Scrooge by Talli Roland (Annoying practices)
How to Get Targeted Twitter Followers by Jeff Bullas
Hashtags Galore by Stacy Green
The State of Facebook: What’s Working Now? by Andrea Vahl
12 Ways to Optimize Your Facebook Marketing During the Holidays by Mari Smith
How to Verify Your Website on Pinterest and Why You Should Do It by Tehmina Zaman
5 Tips For Creating Pinterest Images People Love To Share by Mitt Ray
Goodreads Ad Campaigns… Should You Take the Plunge? by Monica Davis
Collected Wisdom
Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas
Deep Stuff
Motivation Like You’ve Never Seen It Before by Jenny Hansen
How To Put Fear in the Back Seat by James Chartrand
Give Yourself Permission to Be Happy by Lyn Midnight
10 New Year’s Resolutions For Writers by Keith Cronin
8 Ways Goofing Off Can Make You More Productive
The Secret Power of Introverts by Jenna Goudreau
Networking For Introverts by Meghan Casserly
Which Writers Are Asking the Hard Questions Today? by Eric Christensen (great SFF recommendations that are fun and make you think)
Fun Stuff
10 Most Unlikely Things Influeced by J.R.R. Tolkien by Amanda Yesilbas and Charlie Jane Anders
Top 10 Most Anticipated Fantasy Books of 2013 by Marc Aplin at Fantasy Faction
Season of Superstition: The Lost Rituals of Christmas by Erin McKean
Theories of Santa Claus by Anissa at Specnology
A Writer’s Night Before Christmas (poem)
16 Holiday Themed SFF Short Stories by Bryan Thomas Schmidt
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About Reetta
I'm a Finnish fantasy / urban fantasy writer who loves reading, roleplaying and all things medieval. 
Wow, Reetta, HOURS of great reading here! Before I got started doing that, I wanted to thank you for including Writers in the Storm!
Happy Holidays!
Thanks, Laura! Writers in the Storm is one of the best collaborative writing blogs.
Reetta, if I could clear my slate for a whole afternoon and evening, I would pour myself a glass of wine and go through all the Link Feasts I’ve missed! I think you’ve got the equivalent of an MFA in Writing here. Thanks for the hard work.
Debra Eve recently posted..Late Bloomer, Long Tail 3: Heart Work
Wow, thanks. That’s a huge compliment. In my opinion the best thing about link mashups is being able to pick and choose the links you need right then. It’s impossible to read all the good blog posts there are no matter how fun it would be.
Reetta, your link feasts are definitely feasts. Loved Kathy Steffen’s post about DIY gifts from a writer’s heart. I’ll have to spend some time reading through these.
Thanks, Lynette. Kathy Steffen’s article about DIY gifts made me to slap my forehead. Why didn’t I come to think of it myself.
What an amazing Feast, Reetta! I can’t seem to stop opening tabs…this is right up my alley. Curses on you for my 12 open windows! And thanks for much for including me in this fantastic mashup. 🙂
Jenny Hansen recently posted..10 Writing (and Life) Lessons I Learned From My Dog
Nothing makes me happier than to hear that the links were interesting 🙂 Thanks for reading, Jenny.
Thanks for this wonderful batch of links, Reetta. I’m going to push quickly through my day so I can sit down and savor them. You do such a great job of finding helpful and encouraging information for writers and bloggers. Thanks for the shout-out as well. I feel honored to be included.
Kristin Nador recently posted..Write Anywhere #57
Thank you, Kristin. I love it that you’ve adopted a slow blogging strategy. It gives us others courage to kick back a little too 🙂