how to write Archives - Page 2 of 3 - Reetta Raitanen's Blog

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

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Dec 12, 2012 in Writer Wednesday | 10 comments

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 30

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

The Business Rusch: Agents and Money by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (what an eye opener)

On Writing

NaNo Check-In: Lessons From the Halfway Point by Jami Gold

Slow Writer Reformed: It Can Be Done by Roni Loren

7 Habits of Highly Profilic Writers by Henri Junttila

4 Options For Improving Your Fiction by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

How to Prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome by Dr. Rita Hancock

NaNoWriMo Kernel Idea Examples by Bob Mayer

Writing Starts With “I Want” by Kim Harrison

Why Stories Should Never Begin at the Beginning by Chuck Wendig

Donald Maass Talks About How to Make Your Readers Care About Your Characters by Karen Woodward

Five Common First Chapter Mistakes by Jody Hedlund

Revealing Your Novel’s Theme by Rachel Larow

Bringing the Theater to Your Writing by Evie Manieri

Too Smart? Intelligence in Romance Novels by Heather Massey

3 Types of Humor: Getting Them on the Page by Charlotte Carter

A Cauldron of Spooky Words for Your Halloween by Sharla Rae (how did I miss this one?)

Red Hair Is Not As Uncommon As You Think – 25 Repeated YA Cliches (PDF) by Joëlle Anthony

The New Red-Haired Best Friend (Updated List of Most Used Things in YA) by Joëlle Anthony

Reading Your Work: Pre and Post Editing by The Edit Dude at WG2E

Career Turning Points: Read 200 Books in Your Genre by Joëlle Anthony

Career Turning Points: Finally Call Yourself a Writer by Stephanie Burgis

Career Turning Points: No More Trend Chasing by Eric Luper

An Unorthodox Method to Developing a Wicked Vocabulary by Demian Farnworth

8 Tips For a Great Conference Experience by Janice Hardy

25 Things Writers Should Know About Conferences and Conventions by Chuck Wendig

Your Author Platform

eBook or Print: When Do You Buy One Over the Other by Roni Loren

Three Game Changers to Launch Your Career by C.J. Lyons

What Does Your Online Activity Say About You? by Rachelle Gardner

A 3-Step Way to Becoming a Celebrity Author by John Yeoman

Spacing Releases to Keep Readers Hooked by Elizabeth S. Craig

Book Titles: The Resonance Is All by Barry Eisler

Titles Part 2: Acquired Resonance by Barry Eisler

Why Ignoring Offline Promotion Is a Bad Idea (and 9 Ideas to Get Your Started) by Toni at Duolit

Observations From Running a Free Book Sale by Elizabeth S. Craig

How an Enterprising Author Sold a Million Self-Published Books by Mark McGuinness (she’s C.J. Lyons, a writer of excellent thrillers with heart)

Blogging

Possibly the Best Blogging Tip Ever by Rachelle Gardner

13 Types of Author Blogs: Pros and Cons by Veronica Sicoe

Branding Your Blog: You Make a Promise With Your Every Post by Julie Cottineau

Cheat Sheet to Hypnotic Storytelling by Demian Farnworth

Key To Consistent Blogging Success: How to Find Your Voice by Bill Zipp

What 8 Best Selling Magazines Can Teach You About Irrestistible Content by Demian Farnworth

Which magazine is the best match for your blogging style? Grab a copy and see what you can learn.

5 Steps to Creating an Everlasting Gopstopper of Traffic by Jon Morrow

10 Ways to Beat Online Obscurity by Demian Farnworth

5 Tips to Make Your Blog Posts More Shareable by Andrew K. Kirk

How to Install Google Analytics by Amy Lynn Andrews

Social Media

10 Strategies to Keep You Afloat in the Treacherous Social Media Waters by Janalyn Voight

Avoid the Twitter Timesuck: Twitter Less Than 10 Minutes a Day by Laura Pepper Wu

It’s a Brave New World by Diana Beebe (be careful about what you share)

Lexi Ryan on Using Facebook to Increase eBook Sales

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

100 Best Ways to Becoming a Better Writer by Demian Farnworth

The Path to Mastery by Robert Greene

Bullying: The New Dynamic by Lisa Hall-Wilson

High School Halls: What If High School Sucks by Julie Glover

Fun Stuff

Your Sex Life Is Boring and Every Animal on Earth is Laughing About It by Robert T. Gonzales (hilarious video)

Designing From Bones – Evil For a Reason: Morgana and Mordred by Gene Lempp

All Hobbit Trailers Stitched Together in Chronological Order by Meredith Woerner (over 7 minutes of Hobbit)

7 Norse Myths We Wouldn’t Have Without Snorri by Nancy Marie Brown

He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My (Half) Brother: Ill-Considered Family Members in SFF by Emily Asher-Perrin

Movie Review: Skyfall Unquestioningly Belongs to Dame Judi Dench by Charlie Jane Anders (Spoiler alert)

Fantasy Novels That Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity by Charlie Jane Anders

Alternative History’s Distortive Mirror by Aidan Harte

10 Must Books to Read to Understand the History of Earth by Annalee Newitz

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Nov 22, 2012 in Writer Wednesday | 8 comments

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 28

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

The White Queen Age: Why Are We Running as Fast as We Can to Stay in the Same Place? by Anne R. Allen

On Writing

A Resource For Readers and Writers: The Literature Map by L.B. Gale

Strategies To Make You Finish That Bloody Novel by Charlie Jane Anders

5 Ways To Get Your First Draft Material Out Of Your Head And Onto The Page by Joanna Penn

“Creativity emerges. Ideas emerge. Original thought emerges.

Something happens – but only if you trust emergence.”

– Joanna Penn

Six Tests of a Solid Story Premise and Eight Ways to Write One by Martina Boone

Are You Writing the Right Book? 5 Ways To Find Out by Karen Woodward

What’s At Stake? How Do You Make Your Readers Care About Your Story by Janice Hardy

How To Get Your Readers To Identify With Your Characters by Karen Woodward

Character Introductions by Alexandra Sokoloff

Putting the “Boo” In Your Book by Michael J. Scott

Elements of Act Three, Part 3: Elevate Your Ending by Alexandra Sokoloff

How I Write a Scene by Joanna Penn

Writer Strong: Is Your Dialog Doing Double Duty? by Shannon Donnelly

How To Write Dialogue Unique To Your Characters by Marcy Kennedy

6 Ways To Develop Your Voice by Marcy Kennedy

5 Must Checks in Book Revisions by Lori Devoti

One Simple and Incredibly Painful Way To Fix Your Novel Draft by Charlie Jane Anders

Manuscript Revisions: Exposition and Incluing by Veronica Sicoe (nope, not including. Read and find out.)

Edit Out The Weak Words by Victoria Reese

How To Publish Your Book – Procrastination Flowchart by Zachary Petitt

5 Questions To Ask When Choosing an Online Writing Course by Krissy Brady

Non-Fiction to Inspire Your (SF) Writing (Mary Roach Edition) by Anassa at Specnology (all about cadavers, sex, paranormal and space)

Why I Read YA by Janine Ballard (great analysis of why YA has become so popular)

How To Write a High Quality eBook in 30 Days by Ali Luke

Shorter Novels in the Digital Age? by Elizabeth S. Craig

Does Size Really Matter? – Fantasy Short Stories by Victoria Hooper

Your Author Platform

How To Really Support the Work of Someone You Respect by Dan Blank

How To Fascinate Others… And Why Authors Should Take Note by Jeannie Campbell

Are Writers Too Insulated From Their Readers? by Mike Duran

How To Get Your Book Noticed In Today’s Changing Market Place by Stina Lindenblatt

12 Days of Book Sales: A Dozen Holiday Promotion Ideas by Toni at DuoLit

3 Social Media Myths That Can Cripple Our Author Platform by Kristen Lamb

3 Ways To Boost Your Newsletter This November by Nathan Exley

Does Amazon KDP Select Drive Away True Fans? by Karen Woodward

10 Best Stock Art Sites to Get Photos and Illustrations For Your Book Cover by Kristen Eckstein

Blogging

How To Find the Perfect Niche Audience For Your Blog by Nick Thacker

Why Your Blog Needs To Be Your 2nd Priority by Stanford at Pushing Social

Cowboy Macaroni and Divorcing Witches: The Changing Face of Blogging by Judy Lee Dunn

Tell Stories No One Can Steal by Joey Strawn

3 Unexpected Ways To Quickly Find Your Next Blog Post Idea (Writing Happiness)

100 Blog Post Ideas (Turn Your Brainstorming to Auto Pilot) by Sean at The Digital Writer

What Makes a Great Blog Post (Infographic) by Sarah Arrow

5 Tips to Speed Up Your Writing and Skyrocket Your Quality by Danny Iny

How To Run a Blog Series and Get More Subscribers by Annabel Candy

How To Edit Your Blog Post In 5 Easy Steps by Marya Jan

Finding Timely Images For Topical Posts by Sarah Arrow

Social Media

The Minimalist Guide to Social Media by Toni from Duolit

How To Make Sure You Don’t Miss Facebook Updates by Amy Lynn Andrews

How To Use Google+ As an Author Platform by Maria Peagler

Collected Wisdom

Blog Treasures by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

7 Days of Paying Attention To Your Spouse by Lisa Hall-Wilson

9 Love Lessons From Jane Austen by Rebecca M. Smith

Urban Fantasy As a Window Into Society by Anassa at Specnology

A Girl’s Journey to the Underworld (The Big Idea: Catherynne M. Valente)

Fun Stuff

A Bunch of Hilarious Drunk Texts

9 Reasons To Elect a Supervillain President by Lauren Davis

Hugo Nominated Short Story: Amaryllis by Carrie Vaughn (Beautiful story. Carrie Vaughn is one of my favourite authors)

50 Rules to Follow If I End Up In an Urban Fantasy Novel by Anassa at Specnology

Fiction Affliction: November Releases in Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Top 20 Most Annoying Book Reviewer Cliches by Michelle Kerns

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Nov 8, 2012 in Writer Wednesday | 10 comments

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 27

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

The Best Way To Build a Writer’s Platform Is To Write by Karen Woodward

On Writing

Pantsers, Plotters – And Puzzlers by Ruth Nestvold

6 NaNoWriMo Tips by Jenny Hansen

How To Write a Novel In a Month by James Scott Bell

NaNoWriMo: How To Reach Your Daily Wordcount by Karen Woodward

Put Time On Your Side by C.J. Lyons (new program to help you meet your wordcount)

5 Ways To Make Your Novel High Concept by Dalya Moon

Structure Part 7: Genre Matters by Kristen Lamb

9 Tips For Creating a Compelling Novel by Jody Hedlund

NaNoWriMo Prep: Thematic Image Systems by Alexandra Sokoloff

ABC Character by Lynn Viehl (quick prep technique for NaNoWriMo)

From Idea To Fully Viable Story Plan in One Blog Post by Larry Brooks

How Much Worldbuilding Before You Write by Juliette Wade

Orson Scott Card & the MICE Quotient: How to Structure Your Story by Karen Woodward

Donald Maass’ The Inner Journey Lecture Notes by Karen Woodward

My Favorite Points of View by Bill Hopkins

Structure Part 8: Balancing the Scenes That Make Up Your Novel by Kristen Lamb

Making a Scene: Using Conflicts and Setbacks To Create Narrative Drive by Karen Woodward

Create Vivid Images To Bring Your Novel To Life by Darcy Pattison

Does Your Dialogue Deserve to Exist? by Marcy Kennedy

Chapter Breaks: Where They Should Go by Karen Woodward

Manuscript Revisions – Keep the Promises You Made To Your Readers by Veronica Sicoe

Manuscript Revisions – Is This a Scene? by Veronica Sicoe

Is Genre Dying? by Marcy Kennedy

A Successful Author Builds a Team by Dan Blank

Your Author Platform

Tips For Building Your Personal Brand by Penelope Trunk

Find What Works To Build Your Platform by Laura Howard

How Authors Can Reach Readers Without Self-Promotion by Orna Ross

Is Your Author Website Doing Its Job? 6 Things To Check by Laura Pepper Wu

How To Create Your Own Marketing Team by Rachelle Gardner

Do You Have a Launch Team? (Take a page from Rachelle Gardner’s book)

5 Ways To Build Buzz For Your Next Book by Chelsea Cameron

Tips For Gathering Reviews: A Guide For Indie Authors by DuoLit (5:55 mins long video)

3 Reasons Why Coercing Readers Into Newsletter Subscriptions Is a Bad Idea by Roni Loren

Unconventional Marketing: Three Unique Ways To Promote Your Books by Ryan Casey (One of these is something I would have never thought of)

5 Youtube Promotion Tips for Authors by Chris Robley

7 Reasons Why Your Book Should Also Be an Audio Book by Thomas Umstattd

The Click Moment: Embracing Randomness For Writers by Joanna Penn

Building a Writer Platform: How Much Is Enough by Chuck Sambuchino

(Note: It will likely take at least a year of dedicated work and a few books behind you to reach the lowest of these milestones. See these as long-term goals, not as something you compare yourself to when you’re just starting out)

Are Self-Published Books the New Query Letter by Erin Kern

Ruth Harris Reports: Editors and Editing Part 4

Self-Published Authors: Reach New Readers With New Genres, Story Elements and Categories by D.D. Scott

Self Publishing On the Wrong Side of the Atlantic by Catherine Ryan Howard

Book Review Blogs That Accept Self-Published Work by Karen Woodward

Who Is Reading the 99c Books? by Catherine Ryan Howard

Blogging

Should All Authors Blog? by Rachelle Gardner

How To Blog Smarter (And Get More Readers) by Shannon at Duolit

7 Blogging Tips For Authors by Chris Robley

50 Things To Blog About When You Have Writer’s Block by Caitlin Muir

How To Use Headlines To Get To “One Thought” by Sean D’Souza