Link Feast Archives - Reetta Raitanen's Blog

Link Feast For Writers, vol 52

Hello dear readers, this Link Feast’s alive. It’s alive!

I’m sorry for neglecting you. Work has been crazy since I shifted departments. Excuses, schmexcuses but I will get bi-weekly steady again.

I’ve been sitting on these links for a while so it’s time to push this baby out into the world. Luckily the best writing advice and good blog posts in general don’t have an expiration date.

But if you want the freshest writing tips, I recommend you to check out the other link mash-ups in the Collected Wisdom section.

Next Link Feast coming up in two weeks on Sunday. Wrote that down to my calendar even. Or I will when I find it under all the crap 😛 House work hasn’t exactly been steady either.

Anyway, enjoy the links. And please leave a comment 🙂

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

How to Create a Three-Phase Writing Ritual by Debra Eve

On Writing

Learning From the Masters by Gabriela Pereira (the 4 types of books writers should read)

168 Hours: Time and Productivity #1 by Gene Lempp

Time Managament Tip: “Yes Makes Less” by Jenny Hansen

What’s on Your “Why To Do It” List? by Carleen Brice

Dreaming Big by Sharon Bially

10 Steps to Finding Your Writing Voice by Jeff Goins

When Nothing Goes Right, Go Left by Robin LaFevers

Fear: The Uninvited Guest by Robin LaFevers

Writing Is Magic by Kristan Hoffman

How to Be an Author 24/7 by Bill Ferris

Fifty Lessons From Fifty Shades of Grey – Part I (Writer Unboxed)

Fifty Lessons From Fifty Shades of Grey – Part II (Writer Unboxed)

Fifty Lessons From Fifty Shades of Grey – Part III (Writer Unboxed)

Drive, Don’t Chase by Jael McHenry (On following writing trends)

Levels of Conflict by John Vorhaus

4 Big Pitfalls in Story Opening by K.M. Weiland

The First Ten Pages of a Sceenplay by Erik Bork (totally applicable to the first chapter of a novel)

Adapting Screenplay Structure to Genre Novels by James Preston

Avoiding Boring Character Biographies by David Corbett

5 Reasons Why Han Solo Is the Most Realistic Person in Star Wars by Ryan Britt and Emily Asher-Perrin

Clothing Your Characters by Liz Michalski

Letting Your Characters Go by Juliet Marillier

Baby Got Back…. Story by Tiffany Reisz

Doing Research by D.B. Jackson

4 Steps to Successful Revisions by Cathy Yardley

Self-Editing For Everyone, Part 4: The Weakeners by Bridget McKenna

Cliffhangers and Book Series by Kristi Cook

Blind Spots and Obsessions in Historical Fiction: What Were They Thinking? by Dave King

Book Marketing & Blogging

5 ways to write a blow-your-mind manifesto by Alexandra Franzen

What are you about? What’s the theme of your life? Make me care. Nay, inspire me.

Marketing: Finding and Selling to Non-Book Book Audiences by Peter McCarthy

The Importance of Knowing Our Audience by Elizabeth S. Craig

Release Activities For the Reluctant Promoter by Elizabeth S. Craig

Don’t know what to blog about? 88 pieces of fill-in-the-blank inspiration by Alexandra Franzen

The Shy Writer’s Cocktail Party Survival Guide by Anne Greenwood Brown

Traditional Publishing

5 Reasons to Turn to Traditional Publishers Rather Than Self-Publish by Meg Waite Clayton

5 Essential Elements For Pitching Romance by Marcy Kennedy

How to Maintain a Healthy Author/Agent Relationship by Elizabeth Weed

Social Media

Twitter: A Dangerous Sense of Entitlement by Annie Neugebauer

3 Tips on Cleaning Up Your Twitter Account by Jenny Hansen

What If You Hate Facebook? Are You DOOMED? by Lisa Hall-Wilson

The B.A.R.F. Score: How To Know if Social Media is Working For You by Dan Blank

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Must-Read Monday by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

100 Questions to Inspire Rapid Self-Discovery by Alexandra Franzen

I Did Not Marry My One True Love by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Insomnia, Wizard Vans, and Why Modern Women Read “50 Shades of Grey” by Kristen Lamb

Fun Stuff

10 Funniest Lines in all of Star Wars (According to me) by Ryan Britt

He’s That Bad and That Likeable: Pitch Black by Theresa Delucci

The Chronicles of Riddick: What Happens When You Let Vin Diesel Be Your Dungeon Master by Theresa Delucci

Weird Reality: Reality TV Aimed At Your Inner Geek by Shoshana Kessock

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Sep 19, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 4 comments

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 50

Writing blogs are a great way to learn about writing and marketing our books. Here are some of the best links I’ve found in the past weeks. Enjoy!
If You Have Time For Only One Thing

How to Get a Book Published: A Step-by-Step Guide by Anne R. Allen

On Writing

10 Ways for an ADD Writer to be OOH! SHINY!…Productive by Kristen Lamb

Career Lessons From Susan Boyle’s Success by Penelope Trunk

Daniel Day-Lewis’ 4 Tips for Writers Who Aspire to Greatness by Jon Morrow

Organization: Why Scrivener Is a Great Writing Tool by Randy Ingermansson (scroll down a bit for the good stuff)

The Three Phases of the Storytelling Process by Larry Brooks

8 Promises You’re Making To Readers – And Then Breaking by K.M. Weiland

The Stuff of Legends – Creating a Character Apocalypse by Kristen Lamb

How to Base a Character On Someone Else’s by Victoria Grefer

How to Write Better Heroes and Villains: Archetypes by Victoria Lynn Schmidt

9 Tips For Creating a Great Antagonist by Debra Vega

Writers, Know Your Archetypes: The Trickster by Debra Vega

The Single Largest Cause of Writer’s Block – Might Not Be What You Believe by Kristen Lamb

It’s Not “What.” It’s “How” by Larry Brooks

A Pantser’s Guide to Beat Sheets by Jami Gold

8 Things You Need to Know About Character Arcs by Debra Vega

Pacing by Ann Voss Peterson

How to Include the Five Senses Without Falling into the Telling Trap by Marcy Kennedy

5 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Editing Experience by Cressida Downing

Most Common Mistakes: Do’s and Dont’s Of Dialects by K.M. Weiland

The Fantasy Novelist’s Exam by David J. Parker

5 1/2 Steps For Making Feedback Work For Us by Jami Gold

Book Marketing

Seeking the Perfect Book Title by Debra Vega

Book Series: Should We Include a Teaser Excerpt? by Jami Gold

Maven, Connector, or Salesperson: What’s Your Archetype? by Charlie Gilkey

Indie Life: Taking Advantage of the Impulse Purchase by Laura Pauling (why do readers buy your book?)

101 Quick Actions You Can Take Today to Build the Writer Platform of Your Dreams by Kimberley Grabas

11 Must Have Elements For Your Author Website by Kimberley Grabas

How to Launch a Book in 3 Steps by Nick Thacker

How to Market a Book and Strengthen Your Author Platform with Goodreads by Kimberley Grabas

How an Introvert Became a Promoter by Kourtney Heintz

The Introvert’s Guide to Making Great Connections by Les McKeown

(Self-)Publishing

Fearless Pitching, Part 1 by Laura Drake

Fearless Pitching, Part 2 by Laura Drake

The Business Rusch: Dreams and Bestsellers by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Does Free Still Work? by C.J. Lyons

An Interview With ‘the Sluts’ by Larry Brooks (collaboration can really pay off)

Blogging

Does Google Know Your Wrote That? by Randy Ingermansson (scroll down a bit to get to this piece of gold article)

Why Authors Should Be “Selfish” Bloggers: And How To Be One by Victoria Grefer

Fix a Mess of a Multi-Topic Blog by Natalie Webb

5 Signs You’re Having a Blog Identity Crisis and 8 Ways to Fix It by Roni Loren

8 Under-Used Blog Post Structures to Try Today – And 24 Inspiring Examples by Ali Luke

Content Marketing Zen: The 5-Step Process to Creating Remarkable Content by Gregory Ciotti

13 Blog Post Blunders You Should Avoid (And What to Do Instead) by Kimberley Grabas

8 Steps to Create Visually Appealing Blog Posts by Rebecca Belliston

Should We Use a Blog Commenting System? by Jami Gold

Social Media

Facing a Social Media Apocalypse? Sometimes We Need to Mend the Hearts We Hurt by Kristen Lamb

Social Media Strategies and Decisions by Laura Pauling

Slack, Fake and Egocentric Followers: How to Spot Them by Cate Russell-Cole

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Monday Must Reads by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

Build a Small Fire and Sit Close To It by Charlie Gilkey

What’s The Best Advice Your Elders Ever Gave You? by Jenny Hansen

50+ Better Questions To Ask Than How To Be More Productive by Charlie Gilkey

Fun Stuff

10 Sources That Inspired Game of Thrones’ Dark Storytelling by Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders

What if The Simpsons was invaded by characters from Game of Thrones? by Meredith Woerner

All the Books Getting Turned Into Movies and TV Shows Over the Next Year by Meredith Woerner

15 Book Series To Read If You Enjoyed “The Hunger Games” by Arielle Calderon and Natalie Morin

30 Most Hilarious Auto Correct Struggles Ever by Jessica Misener

Nerd Nirvana: Top 10 Nerdiest Cities in America by Amanda Kooser

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Aug 4, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 1 comment

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 49 – Setting Special

Here’s your round of writing, book marketing and other interesting links. My apologies for missing weeks. I’ve been really busy with work and family.

Next Link Feast is due in two weeks, on Friday 21st of July. Because of work schedules I’m moving Link Feasts permanently for later weekday.

Enjoy the links. And please leave a comment. I’d love to hear what kind of links would be most useful to you right now 🙂

On Writing

Why Good Writers Sometimes Give Bad Advice? by Lisa Cron

To get the answers we need, we must ask the Right Questions by Jennette M. Powell

Authors: How Are You Backing Up Your Manuscripts and Business Files? by D.D. Scott

The Weirdest Story Ideas Come From Your Own Obsessions by Kelly Link

Pinterest: The Ultimate Writing Excercise by Shannon at DuoLit

Write Your Novel Step by Step by Melanie Anne Phillips

10 Traits of Great Protagonists by Janice Hardy

How to Prevent Predictable Plots by Noelle Sterne

Families: Google+ Worldbuilding Hangout by Juliette Wade

Why the Hero’s Journey Is a Tourist Trap by Lisa Cron

Figuring Out Your Story’s Turning Points by Jenny Hansen

How to Structure Your Story, Part 11: The Spiritual Crisis by Matt Bird

How to Structure Your Story, Part 12: Proactive Pursuit of the True Goal by Matt Bird

How to Structure Your Story, Part 13: The Timeline Is Unexpectedly Moved Up by Matt Bird

Setpiece Scenes: The Unlimited Production Budget by Alexandra Sokoloff

The 7 Essential Questions of Plot – Do You Ask Them? by Jenny Hansen

10 Things Your Opening Chapter Should Do: A Check-List for Self-Editing by Anne R. Allen

Once More With Feeling by Shannon Donnelly

“Deepening” In to a Scene of Oppression by Juliette Wade

Make It Stick: The Art of Chapter Ending by Tiffany Reisz

Different Voices In Your Narrative by Juliette Wade

How to Write Characters Who Don’t Sound Like You by Janice Hardy

4 Most Common Mistakes Fiction Editors See by Victoria Mixon

How I Self-Edit My Novels: 15 Steps From First Draft to Publication by K.M. Weiland

Using a Critique Checklist, or, How Not To Look Like a Twit by Becca Puglisi

Create a Style Sheet For Your Manuscript by Rachelle Gardner

Should Authors Write Bad Book Reviews by Kristen Lamb

Is It Fair For Authors to Review Other Authors: Do We Ruin the Magic? by Kristen Lamb

Settings and World Building

10 Questions to Ask When Choosing Your Setting by Janice Hardy

Setting Your Tale – Part 1 by David Farland

Persistent World, Persistent Characters by David Farland

How Real Do You Want Your World to Be? by David Farland

Your Setting as a Petri Dish by David Farland

Resonance in Settings by David Farland

World Building Tips Learned at Louvre by Janice Hardy

Tips For Shared Worlds and Collaboration Between Independent Authors by Charlotte E. English

Book Marketing & Social Media

Writers: 5 Tips on How to Identify Your Target Audience by Colby Marshall

Tweeting Is Not a Marketing Strategy by Dan Blank

10 Free (or Mostly Free) Book Launch Strategies by Chris Robley

Reach New Readers With The Magic Of Audiobooks by Wolf Pascoe

7 Ways Authors Waste Time “Building Platform” on Social Media by Anne R. Allen

What Is Your Strategy For Social Media Intimacy? by Srinivas Rao

25 Tweet Ideas To Help Authors Fight Follower Fatigue by Toni at DuoLit

5 Ways to Use Pinterest For Book Promotion by Shannon at DuoLit

Getting the Most Out of Triberr as Authors by Kenra Daniels

(Self-)Publishing

Murder Most Foul by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The New World of Publishing: Stop Submitting Manuscripts to Traditional Publishers by Dean Wesley Smith

The Stages of an Indie Writer by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

How to Survive and Thrive as an Indie Author by Karen Woodward

Writing on the Ether: Faster, Authors, Faster! by Porter Anderson

Blogging

8 Ways Blog Writing Is Unique by Mark Schaefer

Six Steps to a Stress-Free Blogging Habit by Skellie at DailyBloggingTips

3 Ways to Blogging Success by Joel Friedlander

How to Write Your Best Post Ever, Part 1: Planning by Vinita Zutshi

How to Write Your Best Post Ever, Part 3: Editing by Vinita Zutshi

The Brain-Dead Simple But Effective Way To Become a Better Writer by Greg Digneo

5 Ways to Bond With Your Audience by Henneke Duistermaat

Why You Shouldn’t Create a Newsletter (and What to Do Instead) by Jon Morrow

How to Add a Click to Tweet to Your Blog Posts by Caitlin Muir

5 New Ways to Think About Guest Posting by Annabel Candy

How to Use Google+ To Easily Record a Video Blog by Marcy Kennedy

How to Read More Blogs In Less Time by Rachelle Gardner

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writer Resources by Gene Lempp

Monday Must Reads by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

5 Life-Saving Facts About Blood Clots by Jenny Hansen

5 Simple Behaviours That Help Prevent Blood Clots by Jenny Hansen

Do You Need a Judgement Day Bucket List? by Jenny Hansen

The Truth About Why You Aren’t Learning Anything in Your Online Classes by Tea Silvestre

25 Things to Know About Sexism and Misogyny in Writing & Publishing by Chuck Wendig

Boudicca: An Archetype For the Ages by C.P.D. Harris

Introduction to the Green Beret Survival Guide and Why You Need It by Bob Mayer (a must read for anyone interested in Post Apocalyptic books)

Fun Stuff

An Earnest Attempt to Make You Feel Good Avout Game of Thrones Again by Leah Schnelbach

Movie Review: Man of Steel by Melinda VanLone

No, Man of Steel’s Superman Is Not Your Superman. And That’s Okay by Emily Asher-Perrin

The Great Fantasy Novel Nomination: The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett by Myke Cole (having just read the first three books of the series, I had to share this. Impressive fantasy)

Fiction Affliction: June Releases in Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For June by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: June Releases in Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Jul 8, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 1 comment

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 47 – Motivation Special

I was supposed to post these Links two weeks ago. My apologies. All work and no play makes Reetta a dull girl. I haven’t had the energy to even read lately and I love reading more than anything. Today I had a free day and it’s amazing what few hours of uninterrupted me time does for you.

I dubbed this the Motivation Special because that’s the theme of many links this round. I’d love to hear in the comments how you keep motivated?

Marcy wished for tips on how indie authors can get book reviews and endorsement blurbs. I’ll dig up some related links next week. Meanwhile, do you have advice for Marcy?

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

How Practicing My Pitch Helped Me Write a Better Book by Kathleen Pooler

You can do this pitch thing even if you’re going to self-publish. Just answer some core questions about your book and see if your answers thrill your beta readers and editors.

On Writing

Never, Never, Never Lose Your Work by Rachelle Gardner

Gut Check: How Bad Do You Want It? by Toni at DuoLit

What’s Your Excuse? by C.J. Lyons

Eight Ways Writing a Novel Is Like Becoming a Parent by Ali Luke

6 Tips on How to Read Critically by Karen Woodward

3 Steps To Better Prose by Karen Woodward (Excercise)

I Quit! by Talli Roland

When Is It Time To Quit On Our Dreams? by Marcy Kennedy

Minimizing Risk as a Writer – A Guide For the Risk-Averse by Elizabeth S. Craig

Hiring an Editor – Yay or Nay? by Janice Hardy

The Craft of Writing