Link Feast For Writers, vol. 43

This week’s Link Feast got a tad bloated since I wanted to make this one to be special. It will be the last Link Feast for a while.

I got a full time job. So until I get used to the vastly diminished free time and balancing work and family, my blogging is pretty much on hold. I might be able to whip up some partially written posts but I make no promises when.

Meanwhile, enjoy the link collections of Elizabeth S. Craig, Gene Lempp and Yesenia Vargas. And write. And then write some more 🙂

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

Be the Gatekeeper of Your Mind by Rachelle Gardner

 

On Writing

How To Push Past The Bullshit And Write That Goddamn Novel: A Very Simple No-Fuckery Writing Plan To Get Shit Done by Chuck Wendig

The Forrest Gump Guide to Writing That Bites Readers in the Buttocks by Jon Morrow

How Badly Do You Want the Dream? by Kristen Lamb

7 Things Confident Writers Don’t Do by Kristen Lamb

Enemies of the Art, Part 8 – Being a Starter, Not a Finisher by Kristen Lamb

To Find Success, Learn to Embrace the Meantime by Kristen Lamb

Defining Yourself as a Writer by David Farland

The Appeal to “Intellect” in Fiction by David Farland

How to Work on More Than One Book At a Time by James Scott Bell

8 Books For Writers by Raima Larter

A 12-Step Checklist For a “Sexy” Synopsis by Shannon Donnelly

 

Concept

Good to Great: Nail a Better Concept to Empower Your Story by Larry Brooks

“Side Effects” (Deconstruction 1) – The True Concept by Larry Brooks

“Side Effects” (Deconstruction #2) – Putting Concept to Work In the Narrative… Even Before You Write It by Larry Brooks

 

Characters

Three Questions to Get to the Heart of Your Story by Janice Hardy

Dig Deep Into Character by Kathy Steffen

Why Character Arcs (and Growth) Make Readers Care by Janice Hardy

Strong Character Voices by David Farland

Cultural Guilt by David Farland

How to Get Out of Your Character’s Way by Amy Sue Nathan

Dealing With a Large Cast of Characters by David Farland

 

Plotting

Plot, Story and Tension by Karen Woodward

Writing and the Monomyth, Part 1 by Karen Woodward

Writing and the Monomyth, Part 2 by Karen Woodward

4 Steps of Organizing Plot Ideas Into a Novel by Jody Hedlund

Visual Methods of Writing by Robert Ferrigno

Worksheets For the Breakout Novelist by Donald Maass

Storyteller’s Rulebook: Move Up the Timeline by Matt Bird

Putting Emotional Twists In Your Tales by David Farland

How to Write a Scene in 11 Steps [Infographic] by Jason Boog

 

Compelling Writing

Making the Pages Cry by Becca Puglisi

Immerse the Reader in Your World and Never Let Them Up For Air by Kristen Lamb

Those So-Called ClichĂŠs by David Farland

 

Revising

How To Karate Your Novel And Edit That Motherfucker Hard: A No-Foolin’ Fix-That-Shit Editing Plan To Finish The Goddamn Job by Chuck Wendig

Edit Your Shit: Editing For Content by Chuck Wendig

Self-Editing 101 – 13 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Opening Chapter by Anne R. Allen

Avoid Reader Confusion by Elizabeth S. Craig

Telling Yourself to Show: How to Identify Flat Scenes by Janice Hardy

What Is Your Stylistic Device? by Patience Bloom

10 Proofreading Tips For Self-Publishers by Anna Lewis

 

Genres

Sleeps With Monsters: Epic Fantasy Is Crushingly Conservative? by Liz Bourke

What Is Gaslight Fantasy? by Terri Windling

Dystopian Round Table: The Appeal of Dystopian Fiction by John Joseph Adams

Teens and Dystopias by Scott Westerfield

 

Book Marketing

What’s Going On with Readers Today? Goodreads Finds Out

5 Essential Skills For Today’s Online Marketer by Chris Brogan

Building an Author Brand by Ali Cross (IndieReCon)

The ABCs of Voice Values: Learn to “Read” Your Brand & Your Right People (Part 1, A-G) by Abby Kerr

Marketing Plans Made Easy by S.R. Johannes (IndieReCon)

Insert Brilliant Category Romance Title Here! by Patience Bloom

10 Ways to Make Your Cover Stand Out in the Crowd by Alicia Kat Dillman (IndieReCon)

Creative Book Launches That Command Attention by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi (IndieReCon)

Money Matters Most in Book Marketing by Rob Eagar

Top 10 Tips: How to Create an Effective Author Website by Malle Vallik

E.C. Myers: Reading Between the Lines (this is one of the juiciest bios & author introductions I’ve ever seen)

12 Steps to Blog Tour Success by Joel Friedlander (IndieReCon)

Why Non-Fiction Books Are the New Ultimate Business Card by Ryan Holiday

 

(Self-)Publishing

The Financial Reality of a (Trad Published) Genre Novelist by Jason Boog

The Death of Publishing by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

How Have Things Changed In the Last 3 Years in Indie Publishing by Bob Mayer

Interview with Jane Friedman (The State of Publishing and All Kind of Great Writing Tips) by Jerry Waxler

Lessons Learned and Tips From Indie Authors by Ali Cross (IndieReCon)

Top 10 Tips For Successful Self-Publishing by Barbara Freethy (IndieReCon)

Measuring Success by Susan Kaye Quinn (IndieReCon)

Partnering With an Agent by Steena Holmes (IndieReCon)

Amazon’s Bestselling Author Theresa Ragan Treats You to the Steps She Took to Self-Publish

Building a Best-Selling Publishing Team by Miral Sattar of BiblioCrunch (IndieReCon)

The Recipe For Indie Success: Advice From 4 Successful Authors by Shannon at DuoLit

Joe Konrath Talks About How to Sell Books on Amazon by Karen Woodward

Breaking Into International Markets by Orna Ross of ALLi (IndieReCon)

Amazon’s Recommendation Engine Trumps the Competition by David Gaughran

The Shocking Truth: Book Buyers Have Minds of Their Own Chris McVeigh

Here’s the Problem With Book Publishers’ Discovery Problem by Laura Hazard Owen

(Fascinating insight on how super readers – most writers, I suspect – can understand how the average readers discover and select books. An average reader being someone who only reads 6 books / year)

What Aren’t Bookstores Doing? by Jenn Northington

 

Blogging

Why Do We Blog? by Molly Greene

Is Blogging Still Essential to a Fiction Writer’s Platform by Mike Duran

What the Heck Do I Blog About? Blogging Ideas For Fiction Authors Stuck In a Rut by Laura Pepper Wu

Make Your Blog the Event of the Year (And Have People Clamor to Attend) by Tea Silvestre

Get It Done: 7 Tips for Writing When You Don’t Have Enough Time by Tea Silvestre

 

Social Media

9 Tips For Making Online Friends by Jami Gold

Build Your Online Writing Community by Gabriela Pereira

Resolve to Tweet Better in 2013 by Nina Badzin

How I Got a Six-Figure Twitter Following (and Why It Doesn’t Matter) by Jane Friedman

0 – 4000 In a Snap – How to Build a Quality Twitter Following Fast by Molly Greene

Twitter Basics – The Proper Care and Feeding of Hashtags by Marcy Kennedy

Facebook: Should We Use a Profile Or a Page by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Facebook Tricks For Better Engagement by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Top 5 Mistakes Writers Make On Facebook and How to Avoid Them by Lisa Hall-Wilson

The Weird Thing About Facebook: Status Updates Are the Most Memorable Writing You Do by Jennifer Miller

It’s Not You Facebook, It’s Me — Okay, It’s Partly You: Why I Unfriended Almost Everyone by Matthew Ingram

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Must Read Monday: The Happiness Project by Roni Loren

15 Ways to Rock Your Sister’s World by Jenny Hansen

Women in Media: Why Our Stories Count by August McLaughlin

2 Critical Myths That Separate Top Performers From Ordinary People by Ramit Sethi (This is a sales page. But you can ignore that and focus on the meat, the myths. And yet, if you have sales pages, are yours this convincing?)

 

Fun Stuff

How Game of Thrones Season 3 Will Split A Storm of Swords by Chris Lough

‘Hunger Games’ Success Proves Dystopia Is the New Supernatural by Brooke Tarnoff

F*ck Year Warrior Women Picture Blog

Are You Ready to Have Kids? This Quiz Should Tell You by Little White Lion (thanks for this funny link, Jenny Hansen)

Writer Horoscopes Monopoly Style by Donna Gambale

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 39

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.

Note: Starting from next week, I’ll gather together all the links from the previous Feasts. So for few weeks, you can expect old links that are the best advice I’ve ever read about the topic.

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

58 Tips for Transforming Your Blog and Dazzling Your Readers by Marya Jan

 

On Writing

Amazon Bestselling Author Theresa Ragan says: “Write!”

Enemies of ther Art, Part 2: Psychic Vampires by Kristen Lamb

Enemies of the Art, Part 3: F.E.A.R. by Kristen Lamb

9 Tips For Finishing That Novel by Anna Staniszewski

Super Hero Nation’s Writing Post Index (dozens of excellent posts)

Make Your Writer’s Bookshelf Work For You by Jenny Hansen

How Much Do You Understand About Your Writing Process by Janice Hardy

3 Vs of Fiction: Vision by Darcy Pattison

3 Vs of Fiction: Voice by Darcy Pattison

3 Vs of Fiction: Vulnerability by Darcy Pattison

Beware the Under-Cooked Story Concept by Larry Brooks

Michael Hauge On How to Summarize Your Novel by Karen Woodward

Do You Like a Little Contradiction In Your Characters? by Jen Kirchner

Help With Character Development by Elizabeth S. Craig (great links)

What Nashville Can Teach Us About Character Archetypes by Janice Hardy

Aliette de Bodard on On Worldbuilding, Patchwork and Filing off Serial Numbers

Managing Story Conflict by Stavros Halvatzis

How to Write Powerful Endings by Stavros Halvatzis

An Easy Fix For a Tighter Point of View by Janice Hardy

Four Techniques to Show Rather Than Tell by Marcy Kennedy

Lessons From Oleander – Beware of Premature Editing by Kristen Lamb

Now You Can Revise, Part 4: Add More “I Understand You” Moments by Matt Bird

Now You Can Revise, Part 5: Set Up Your Pay-Offs Better by Matt Bird

Feedback on a Works in Progress: When, How Often, How by Darcy Pattison

Time Saving Tip When Writing a Book Series by Elizabeth S. Craig
Book Marketing

Different, Because (The Story of Telling)

A + B = You (The Secret Equation Every Author Needs to Know) by Shannon at DuoLit

The 4 Elements of Voice {& Why You Should Notice Your Own & Other People’s} by Abby Kerr

Branding 101: Who Do You Want to Be? by Jami Gold

Marketing Strategies: Who You Know, What You’ll Do and How You Access Readers? by Darcy Pattison

Are You Targeting the Wrong Readers? 7 Tips to Fix the Problem by Gary Korisko

How to Make Your Message Stick (The Story of Telling)

How to Engage Your Reader by Matthew Turner

Don’t Lose Your New Year Momentum! 5 Ways to Keep Up Marketing Motivation by Toni at DuoLit

8 Things to Do Immediately After You Get a New Email Subscriber by Ramsay at Blog Tyrant

How to Enlist “Interns” for Free: Getting Friends and Family to Help You Promote Your Book by Chris Robley

What Makes a Good Book Trailer: Some Key Elements by Laura Pepper Wu

Authors – Thinking About Partnering Up?: How The Partners in ParanormYA Did It by Angela Brown and Gwen Gardner

Slow Media by Seth Godin

Getting Your Book’s Goodreads Reviews On Kobo by Tamara Ward

To Ad or Not To Ad? by C.J. Lyons
(Self-)Publishing

Tick Tock: Timelines In the Author Business Plan by Susan Spann

The Business Rusch: Found Information by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Business Rusch: Editorial Revisions by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

7 Step Writer’s Guide to Submitting Work to Publication by Chris Robley

10 Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Query Letter by Brian Klems

Long Tail, Part 2: Eschew Slock by Debra Eve (great videos by Stephen Pressfield and Shawn Coyne)

Attending Conferences and Conventions As an Indie Author by Lindsay Buroker

Two Year Self-Publishing Anniversary–Thoughts on the Past and What’s Going to Work in the Future by Lindsay Buroker

Susan Kaye Quinn’s Self-Pub Basics (Part Three of Four): Formatting, The Hard Way

 

Blogging

Behave… The Internet Never Forgets by Jami Gold

Blogging For Writers by Elizabeth S. Craig (Is it worth it?)

Blogging From A to Z by Melinda F. Emerson

Who’s Your Blog’s Ideal Reader? by Annabel Candy

How to Improve Your Blog by Refocusing by Bryan Allain

Finding and Communicating Your Value by Chris Garrett

11 Easy Ways to Get Hundreds of Great Blog Post Ideas by Annabel Candy

Checklist: 7 Things You Have to Do to Write Unforgettable Articles by Henri Junttila

The Power of Collaboration by Amy Lee Andrews

How to Get Facebook to Pull the Right Images from Your WordPress Blog by Amy Lynn Andrews

Social Media

Feeling Overwhelmed? Social Media Can Make Us Crazy–Part 1 by Kristen Lamb

Maximizing Facebook–What We Can Learn From Puppy Dog Eyes and LOL Cats by Lisa Hall-Wilson

3 Simple Ways to Engage On Your Author Facebook Page by Caitlin Muir

Facebook Magic, Part 2 ~ From FB Goddess, Lisa Hall-Wilson

12 Tips to Engage People on Twitter by Cindy King

How to Nurture Your Twitter Community by Laura Lee Walker

10 Types of Social Media Updates—How Many Are You Using? by Michael Hyatt

What to Tweet – And What Not by Michelle McNickle

9 Ways to Use Social Media to Launch a Book by Michael Stelzner


Collected Wisdom

Writing Resources: January 2013 by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig


Deep Stuff

What Does Your Behaviour Say About Who You Are? by Marcy Kennedy

“Better” Has No Finish Line – Lessons I’m Learning From Crossfit, Part 2 by Jenny Hansen

7 Principles to Live by in 2013 by Amy Lynn Andrews (these all really resonate with me)

The Question You Need to Ask Yourself by Justine Musk

How to Be a Visionary by Justine Musk

Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Who Served in the Military and How It Changed Their Work by Charlie Jane Anders

Why We Remember Young Adulthood Better Than Any Other Age? by Katy Waldman

 

Fun Stuff

Yet Another (Hilarious) Reason to Invest In an eReader by Jenny Hansen

Fiction Affliction: February Releases In Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For February by Suzanne Johnson

All the Game of Thrones Fan Theories You Absolutely Need to Know by Rock Bricken

111 Movie Sequels Currently In Works by Simon Brew

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 37

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

Embrace the Naked by Robin LaFevers

 

On Writing

What Is Your Goal As a Writer? by Laura Drake

The Ultimate Measure of Your Sucess by Mark McGuinness

13 Reasons to Keep Writing in 2013 by Jody Hedlund

3 Ways to Overcome Fear in 2013 by Shannon at DuoLit

Taking the Scary Out of Scrivener by Gwen Hernandez

Chuck Wendig On Writing: How He Writes a Book by Karen Woodward

5 Ways to Come Up With Great Story Ideas by Brian A. Klems

How to Strenghten a Story Idea by Roz Morris

Writing Your Obsessions by Cathy Marie Buchanan

9 Tips For Writing a Really Good Shitty First Draft by Lisa Cron

Connect With Readers’ Emotions: How to Make People Cry by Karen Woodward

Push Your Characters Into Interesting by Kathy Steffen

Using Public Domain Characters In Your Stories by Karen Woodward

The First 15 Minutes Project: Peter Parker In Spiderman by Matt Bird

The First 15 Minutes Project: Buffy the Vampire Slayer by Matt Bird

The First 250 Words of Your Manuscript by Janice Hardy

Writing Emotion: How Great Writers Do It by Kim Aippersbach

Four Ways to Pre Write Your Scenes by Janice Hardy

Should I Write That Potentially Controversial Scene? by Roni Loren

Foreshadowing & Chekhov’s Gun: Don’t Blow It by Kristen Lamb

Storyteller’s Rulebook: Don’t Make Them Say It by Matt Bird

Three Keys to Memorable Similes and Metaphors by Marcy Kennedy

How Chuck Wendig Edits a Novel by Chuck Wendig

The Finishing Touches by Jael McHenry

When Should You Stop Revising by Janice Hardy

11 Writerly Types to Avoid (Bluestocking)

 

Book Marketing

Book Marketing Predictions For 2013 by Thomas Umstaddt

How to Understand and Use Your Voice Values In Your Brand Today by Abby Kerr

Tips For Writing Back Cover Copy by Roz Morris

Approaching Promo in 2013 by Elizabeth S. Craig

Building Your Author Platform in 10 Hours a Week (Including Writing Time!) by Chris Robley

Divide and Conquer: Building an Author Platform by Proxy by Joanna Penn

Books Don’t Bomb, Authors Do by John Ward

5 Reasons It’s Hard to Market Indie Fiction and What to Do About It by Rachelle Ayala

I Wrote a Book But It Won’t Sell – What To Do? by Derek Haines

 

(Self-)Publishing

Introducing the Query/Blurb Exchange Club by Jami Gold

The Facts vs. the Story You Tell Yourself by Rachelle Gardner

Want Agents to Read Your Novel? Do This First by Suzannah Windsor Freeman

Agent Secrets – Do Writers Need an Agent in the New Publishing Paradigm? by Laurie McLean

Query Strategy – Narrow Focus or Scattergun? by Fae Rowen

Book Contract: What’s Negotiable and What’s Not by Brian A. Klems

5 Surprises About Self-Publishing by Jennie Nash

What Do Tradpubs Do… And Can You Do It? by Bufo Calvin

Susan Kaye Quinn’s Self-Pub Basics (Part One of Four): Where to Publish

Susan Kaye Quinn’s Self-Publish Basics (Part Two of Four): Formatting the Easy Way

Amazon’s Kindle Store – A Breakdown of Books by Category [Infographic] by Gary McLaren

 

Blogging

Blogging for Authors, and How a Banana Slicer Saved My Marriage by Kristen Lamb

8 Things Every Blogging Writer Should Know by Chuck Sambuchino

How to Get 80% of the Results With 20% of the Content by Chris Garrett

4 Steps to Better Blogging Time Management by Amy Lynn Andrews

How to Create a Total Content System by John Jantsch

50 Ways to Drive Massive Traffic to Your Blog by Cassie Boorns

Where Great Copywriting Does Not Come From by Abby Kerr

 

Social Media

How to Stay Connected When Your Number of Connections Grow by Pamela Slim

15 Common Twitter Questions Authors Ask by Caitlin Muir

What Do Your Facebook Interactions REALLY Say About You? by Jenny Hansen

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Curatives for judgement. (Please read before you interact with other humans) by Danielle La Porte

Five Geek Social Fallacies by Michael Suileabhain-Wilson

Don’t Be a Dreamer, Be a Planner by Penelope Trunk

Unravelling the Year Ahead by Susannah Conway (really useful workbook for looking ahead and back at 2012)

How to Do Your Own Annual Review by Chris Guillebeau (this is a piece of cake if you are ROWing)

 

Fun Stuff

6 Reasons Why Batman Is Both Perfect and Boring by Esther Inglis-Arkell

A Sample of George R.R. Martin’s Next aSoIaF Book, the Winds of Winter

Search Term Bingo: The Revengification by Chuck Wendig (his weirdness at its best, totally non PC)

2012 Debut Author Cover War (behold these awesome book covers)

A Free SFF Short Story Anthology: Some of the Best From Tor.com 2012

The 20 Most Beautiful Bookstores in the World by Emily Temple

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 36 – Fascinating Edition

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 whole category dedicated to Sally Hogshead’s book “How To Fascinate” and the seven triggers she describes. These triggers can be used to make anything fascinating, including your blog, your characters, first chapter and so on.

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

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

 

On Writing

The Secret to Finding Time to Write, Market, Promote and Still Have a Life by Jane Friedman

Talent Is Cheaper Than Table Salt by Kristen Lamb

Nine Good Gifts For the New Year by Juliet Marillier

12 Tips For Recovering From Writing Burnout by Jami Gold

Five Bits of Writing Advice by Diana Peterfreund

The Secret to Writing a First Novel by Julianna Baggott

The Starburst Method: Discovering Your Characters by Karen Woodward

Character Interview Questions That Really Matter by Juliette Wade

Psychoanalyzing Your Villain by Ryan Greenspan

Female Leads and Romances by Nicole Ciacchella

Gender in YA Books by Ilona Andrews

When Do You Start the Story? by Shannon Donnelly

The Starburst Method: Hero’s Journey, Part 1 by Karen Woodward

The Starburst Method: Hero’s Journey, Part 2 by Karen Woodward

Plot Fixer #10: A Loss of Focus by Kara Lennox (Great post about themes)

Must Every Scene Be Different? by Juliette Wade

Time Marches On: Dealing With the Passage of Time Between Scenes by Janice Hardy

How to Research an Ancient Society For Your Fiction by Laura Pauling

The Editorial Process by Steve Laube

One Simple Trick to Effective Self-Editing by Steph Auteri

Young Adult Predictions For 2013 by Kristi Cook

The “New Adult” Genre: Why Does It Exist? by Jami Gold

How to Create a Weekly Schedule With Google Calendar by Amy Lynn Andrews

 

Book Marketing

Don’t Make Your Book Launch Like a Trip to the Dentist by Dan Blank

Are You Selling Your Book to the Wrong Readers? by Shannon O’Neill

What’s a Niche Market and Where are They Hiding? by Victoria Noe

Which Comes First: Branding, Design or Copywriting? by Abby Kerr

Making Your Launch Day Count by Matthew Turner

What I Did to Launch My Book In Its First Seven Days (Wise Ink)

5 Things on the New Year’s “To-Do” List for Every Purpose-Driven Author (Wise Ink)

Book Promotion: What You Can Learn From Richard Branson’s One Track Mind by Steven Lewis

How to Find Out More About Your Readers Without Having to Ask by Steven Lewis

What To Do When Your Book Isn’t Selling by Rob Eagar

Online Book Reviews: Games People Play by Anne R. Allen (an eyeopening post)

 

How to Fascinate Others

[Hook your readers to your characters and your blog.]

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

Fascination Trigger #1: Power by Jeannie Campbell

Fascination Trigger #2: Passion by Jeannie Campbell

Fascination Trigger #3: Mystique by Jeannie Campbell

Fascination Trigger #4: Alarm by Jeannie Campbell

Fascination Trigger #5: Prestige by Jeannie Campbell

Fascination Trigger #6: Trust by Jeannie Campbell

Fascination Trigger #7: Rebellion by Jeannie Campbell

 

(Self-)Publishing

How Long Should You Try to Get Published? by Jane Friedman

Protecting Amazon From Itself by Sarah Hoyt

(If you have short stories for sale on Amazon that have been published previously elsewhere (especially if the anthology is still in print), this is a must read.)

How to Format Word Document For Amazon by Karen Woodward

 

Blogging

When Should I Launch My Author Website? by Thomas Umstattd

5 Days of PR For Bloggers – Day 1: Take Inventory and Set Goals by Cassie Boorns

5 Days of PR For Bloggers – Day 2: Write a Great Bio by Cassie Boorns

5 Days of PR For Bloggers – Day 3: Creating Content and Driving Traffic by Cassie Boorns

Five Kinds of Blog Posts Proven to Drive Traffic by Susan Johnston

Keeping Your Blog Focused by Kenra Daniels

5 Days of PR For Bloggers – Day 4: PR Tactics For Your Blog by Cassie Boorns

5 Tips For Maintaining Your Blogging Momentum by Susan Johnston

5 Tools to Keep Your Writing Fresh by Reena Cruz

Why Bloggers Think Your Pitch Sucks by Cassie Boorns

 

Social Media

Privacy and Social Media – How to Control Your Personal Information by Joanne Phillips

3 Tools to Help You Find the Best Time to Tweet by Caitlin Muir

3 Ways Authors Can Use Pinterest Guilt Free by Caitlin Muir

How to Save Copy of Your Pinterest Boards as a PDF by Cheryl Enlow

 

Collected Wisdom

Top 10 Writing Blogs For Writers 2012 – The Winners (Write to Done)

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

In Your Life’s Tag Cloud… Remember You by Angela Brown

The Beauty and the Beast of Optimism by Coleen Patrick

2013: The Year of Taking Control by Ramit Sethi

How to Build Resilience For the Year Ahead by Mark McGuinness

Relationship Advice – Why Won’t Anyone Be Honest With You? by Ramit Sethi (I love his tough love)

Would a Jedi Mind-Trick Work On You? by Lisa Hall-Wilson

 

Fun Stuff

You’re Not Really a Fan Unless You’re Wearing It On Your Underwear by Ellie Ann Soderstrom

Cover Posing For a Good Cause by Jim Hines (he mocks the silly Urban Fantasy & Fantasy female poses for charity)

77 Science Fiction and Fantasy Movies to Watch Out For In 2013 by Charlie Jane Anders

10 TV Cliffhangers That Make Great Series Finales by Charlie Jane Anders

Fiction Affliction: January Releases In Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: January Releases In Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: “Genre-Benders” For January by Suzanne Johnson

What Roleplaying Can Be Like (With 8 Fantasy Authors) by Brent Weeks [Might be gibberish to uninitated but I LOLed]

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 35

Happy New Year! I hope these links help to make year 2013 kickass for you. Enjoy.

 

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

Suicide, Shame and the Painful Truth About Accomplishing Your Goals by Jon Morrow

 

On Writing

How to Keep Production Going All Year by Dean Wesley Smith

Writing Five Minutes a Day by Alexandra Sokoloff

Should A Writer Let Her Reader’s Expectations Influence Her Artistic Judgement? by Karen Woodward

Logline Library (hundreds of movie loglines)

Losing My Religion: Misconceptions About Tone by Matt Bird

13 Ways to Create Compelling Characters by Justine Musk

Dangerously Genre Savvy Villains (TV Tropes, check out some of the examples)

Name That Character: Top 10 Tips (The Script Lab)

The Paradox by Donald Maass

Stephen King’s Magic: How To Write Compelling Characters & Great Openings by Karen Woodward

A Simple Way to Create Suspense by Lee Child

Act and Sequence Bridges by Alexandra Sokoloff

The Past Is a Foreign Country, So Learn the Language by Matt Bird

The Importance of Setting by Meredith Bond

Four Tips For Fixing the Infamous Info Dump by Jami Gold

How Many Drafts Does It Take to Write a Novel by Karen Woodward

10 Things I Know About How Writers Read by Jenny Hansen

YA Authors Are Creating a New Steamy Genre by Leslie Kaufman

Download and Study Award Nominated Screenplays

 

Book Marketing

Do You Have a Personal Platform Plan for 2013? by Michael Hyatt

Why Authors Must Build Direct Channels to Readers (Kindle Review)

Your Author Business Plan: Compare, Contrast and Conquer by Susan Spann

Feel Like You’re Running in Place? 4 Simple Ways to Track Your Book Marketing Process by Toni at DuoLit

25 Things I Learned From Doing Business in 2012 by Abby Kerr

Your Story Is Your Marketing Strategy by Vanessa Merit Nornberg

 

(Self-)Publishing

Writing and Publishing in 2013: How to Survive and Thrive, Part One by Karen Woodward

Writing and Publishing in 2013: How to Survive and Thrive, Part Two by Karen Woodward

What’s Ahead in 2013–Predictions for the Future of Publishing and Authors of the Digital Age by Kristen Lamb

Konrath’s Resolutions For Writers by J.A. Konrath (damn inspiring)

Kindleboards: How to Add Your Signature to Your Profile, Network and Other Tips by Laura Pepper Wu

 

Blogging

A Rant on Why I Disagree With So Many Blogging and Marketing Experts by Marcus Sheridan

How to Make Your Site the Destination For Your Market by Chris Garrett

7 Ways to Fascinate Your Readers and Build a Hugely Loyal Following by Henneke Duistermaat

How to Quit Publishing Bad Content by Sonia Simone

4 Tips For Writing a Blog Post Opening That Turns Heads by Tara Horner

How a Quick Analysis of Your Top Posts Can Improve Your Blogging Results Next Year by Michael Hyatt

8 Incredibly Simple Ways to to Get More People to Read Your Content by Pamela Wilson

How to Get 40 000 Readers Without Guest Blogging by Gregory Ciotti

Reblogging Etiquette by Marcy Kennedy

‘Tis the Season to Be Chaotic, Is Reblogging the Answer? by Jami Gold

How to Improve Your Website Trust Factor by Chris Garrett

 

Social Media

A Simple Cheat Sheet for Using Pinterest for Marketing [Infographic] by Pamela Vaughan

Pinterest Could Be the Ultimate Tool for Curating Content by Tami Smith

 

Collected Wisdom

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

 

Deep Stuff

Everyday Deeds That Keep the Darkness At Bay by Lisa Hall-Wilson

Mommy Quandrary: Teaching Faith When You’re Not Sure Where You Stand by Roni Loren

Urgency: The Natural Way to Prioritize by Mark Forster

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

Checklist of Rationality Habits by Anna Salamon (Myers-Briggs TJs do this naturally, we FPs need some help)

The Busy Trap by Tim Kreider

 

Fun Stuff

The Evil Overlord List (TV Tropes)

2012 Fiction Wrap Up From Tor.com (few dozen SFF short stories)

Roni Loren’s Unforgettable Reads of 2012

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