writing Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Reetta Raitanen's Blog

The Green Beret Survival Guide by Bob Mayer (some really useful questions to ponder if you live in an earthquake area – or write Post-Apocalyptic novels)

Fun Stuff

The Blacksmith Duel by Jim Paw-Paw Wilson

10 Dinosaur Myths That Need to Go Extinct by Brian Switek

Immortal Monday: Hades, God of the Underworld by Debra Kristi

The Day Thor Came To Visit by Kristy K. James

Fiction Affliction: April Releases In Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For April by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: April Releases in Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

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

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 44

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.

And tune in for the next Link Feast, coming out in two weeks.

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

The Art of Asking: For Creative Writers and Storytellers by Chuck Wendig

(This is worth your 15 minutes. I promise. Watch the talk.)

On Writing

What Lights Your Creative Spirit on Fire? by Jenny Hansen

Inspiration Hunting in the Publishing World by Sonali Dev

What Kind of an Author Do You Want to Be? by David Farland

How to Write Better, Faster & Easier by Matching Your Writing Process With the Way You Think by Don Fry

Why Some Books Are Harder to Write Than Others by Janice Hardy

The Faster I Write, the Better the Book? by Roni Loren

Be a Copycat by Keith Cronin

The Play’s the Thing by Robin LaFevers

Setting – The First, Most Crucial Choice for your Career AND your Character by Blythe Gifford

How to Use Your Logline, Tagline and Pitch to Write a Stronger Story by Marcy Kennedy

Characters

Creating Characters – What You Really Need by David Farland

Creating Characters – What You Really Need, Part 2 by David Farland

What Your Character Really Needs – The Central Question by David Farland

How to Create a Compelling Character: Contrast Their Outer and Inner Lives by Matt Bird

Know More Than You Show, Part 1: Characters by Matt Bird

Writing From an Authentic Teen Viewpoint by Lydia Sharp

The Hero’s Journey – My Pros and Cons by Veronica Sicoe

Rich Relationships by Donald Maass

Choose Wisely: Metaphors In Character by Jael McHenry

Plotting etc.

Know More Than You Show, Part 2: Plot by Matt Bird

Every Scene Needs It’s Own Hero by Matt Bird

Where Should a Second Chapter Start? by Beth Hill

Stressed-Out Characters – Just the Way We Want Them by Diane Krause

Why Serious Books Need Humor and Levity to Work by Sarah Skilton

Handling Cliffhanger Endings With Multiple POVs by Janice Hardy

The Clock Is Ticking – 5 Tips For Tighter, Cleaner Writing by Kristen Lamb

Know More Than You Show, Conclusion: Theme by Matt Bird

When You Really, Really Care by Dave King

The Battle of Science and Magic, Part One – Particles and Pixie Dust by Victoria Hooper

Be Your Own Book Doctor by Janice Hardy

The 7 Deadly Sins of Self-Editing by Janice Gable Bashman & Kathryn Craft

Cynicism Is Never Romantic With Handsome Hansel

Playing the Short Game: Why Short Fiction? by Douglas Smith

Book Marketing

Focusing on the Writing First by Elizabeth S. Craig

Measure Your (Self-)Publishing Competence by Joel Friedlander

(Awesome breakdown of 6 Core Skills all writers need)

Tactics vs. Strategy by C.J. Lyons

The ABCs of Voice Values: Part 2 (H-P) by Abby Kerr

The ABCs of Voice Values, Part 3 (Q-Z) by Abby Kerr

8 Book Marketing Tasks To Tackle BEFORE Your Book Is Published by Toni at DuoLit

3 Ways to Build Meaningful Connections to Move Your Writing Career Forward by Monica Carter Tagore

It’s Write O’Clock: Do You Know Who Your Contacts Are? by Susan Spann

Book Promotion Advice From Popular Indie Fantasy Author Joseph Lallo

Why I Cut My Email List In Half by C.J. Lyons

How to Book Your Own Virtual Book Tour by Chris Robley

When Visibility Doesn’t Lead to Book Sales by Genevieve Pearson

(Self-)Publishing

The #1 Reason for #QueryFails – How to Avoid Automatic Rejection from a Reviewer, Agent, Editor or Blogger by Anne R. Allen

Querying? Think Outside the Box to Get Noticed by LynDee Walker

Turn One Agent’s No Into Another Agent’s Yes by Wendy Burt-Thomas

The Business Rusch: The Bad Book by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (reader & editor preferences)

What Does the Future Look Like For Traditional Publishers and What Does That Mean For Self-Published Authors? by D.D. Scott

Go-To List for Helpful Indie Resources (The Writer’s Guide to Publishing)

The Business Rusch: Binge Reading by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

The Frontiers of Publishing by Jason Dyck

Book Promotion – What’s Working at Amazon in 2013 by Lindsay Buroker

Blogging

Do Authors Need a Website and Blog? by Jami Gold

To Blog Or Not To Blog, That Is Jane Friedman’s Question by Karen Woodward

What Should an Author Website Include by Jami Gold

Which Content-Marketing Tasks Can Wait Until After Your Site Launches? by Amy Harrison

How to Build an Online Marketing Audience of People You Don’t Know by Manon Eileen

How Authors Can Survive the Death of Google Reader by Caitlin Muir

5 Lessons Cat Videos Can Teach Us About Blissfully Mindless Content by Marie Rotter

3 Criticial Thigs to Remember About Guest Posting by Danny Iny

Social Media

Wonder Twin Powers…ACTIVATE! Introverts & Extroverts Unite by Kristen Lamb

7 Ways Buffer Will Change Your (Social Media) Life by Shannon at DuoLit

Can Social Media Tools Make Us a Social Tool? by Kristen Lamb

Twitter: My 5 Unshakable Beliefs by Ann Neugebauer

Collected Wisdom

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Friday Features by Yesenia Vargas

Deep Stuff

How to Tell if You’re Really Overloaded (and What to Do About It) by Mark McGuinness

Is It Better to Be a Good Person or a Great One? by Mary Kennedy

Enough Feisty Princesses: Disney Needs an Introverted Heroine by Lindsay Lowe

Will Old People Take Over the World by George Dvorsky

Fun Stuff

The Funniest Amazon Review I’ve Seen This Month by Jenny Hansen

5 Shockingly Advanced Ancient Buildings That Shouldn’t Exist by Eric Yosomono

The 21 Happiest Objects of All Time by Jessica Misener

Fiction Affliction: March Releases in Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: March Releases in Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For March by Suzanne Johnson

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Mar 23, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 3 comments

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 Clichés 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

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Mar 7, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 10 comments

Link Feast For Writers, vol. 42

This batch of links comes on Thursday again. I made this edition a little thicker as I will be on a blogging hiatus next week. Hubby is on a vacation so we’ll have family time.

Enjoy the links! Until March.

If You Have Time For Only One Thing

Create Your Personal Vision – You Can Do It If You Can See It by Cigdem Kobu

On Writing

Be the Watchdog For Your Own Rights by Susan Spann

The Most Important Quality in Best-Selling Authors by Jody Hedlund

Making Writing Resolutions That Stick by Gabriela Pereira

Turning Those Writing Resolutions Into Reality by Gabriela Pereira

The Hardest Writerly Truth of Them All by Chuck Wendig

How to Stick to Your Goals by Veronica Sicoe

Yoga For Writers by Raima Larter

Prewriting: The Trick to Preventing Writer’s Block by David Farland

Write In the Flush of the Moment to Free Up Flow by Sam Horn

How to Increase Concentration – The 5 Key Steps by Sulagna Dasgupta

Make Your Own MFA in Creative Writing: How to Build a DIY Creative Writing Curriculum by Chris Robley

8 Tips From Chuck Wendig on How to Read Like a Writer by Karen Woodward

Beyond the Basics: 5 Ways to Take Your Writing Further by Joanna Penn

How Do You Know Your Writing Is Getting Better? by Janice Hardy

Words From George R.R. Martin by Aderyn Wood

Analyzing What to Write by David Farland

Analyzing Your Novel’s Audience by David Farland (that elusive High Concept)

Audience Analysis, Part 2 by David Farland

Do We Stick With a Genre or Write What We Feel? by Julia Robb

Fate Core and Creation of Magical Worlds by Karen Woodward

On Writing the Non-Western Fantasy Setting by Miriam Forster

Writing Race in YA by Nicola K. Richardson

How to Raise the Stakes in Your First 50 Pages of Your Novel by Jeff Gerke

Can Story Themes Help Pantsers Write? by Jami Gold

Three Ways to Ground Readers In Your World by Janice Hardy

Spinach Scenes (And How to Deal With Them) by Leila Austin

Five Ways to Create Context In Your Story by Dr. John Yeoman

Voice Tips From Pros by Becca Puglisi

How to Revise For a Stronger Theme by Jami Gold

3 Ways to Compress Your Story Like Les Misérables by Joe Bunting

What Makes a Romance Novel Truly Romantic by Jody Hedlund

The Pride and Prejudice Beat Sheet by Marilyn Brant

Writing Historicals – How Accurate Must You Be? by Anne Cleeland

Writing a Feel Good Story by Karen Woodward

Writing Warm and Fuzzy by David Farland

Testosterone Fueled Fiction by David Farland

How to Write Short Story Characters by Karen Woodward

6 Ways to Stand Out At a Writer’s Conference by Barbara Santos

Book Marketing

Author Platform Starter Kit (72 page long PDF) by Dan Blank (AWESOME resource)

You, amplified (a poem about marketing) by Colleen Wainwright

Designing a Brand That Works – 6 Key Elements by Tea Silvestre

11 Tips For Creating a Remarkable Brand by Tea Silvestre

6 Places to Look Outside Your Business Niche for Creative Inspiration (& 3 Places Never To Look) by Abby Kerr

5 Goldenly Creative Ways to Tell Your Brand Story by Tea Silvestre

Taking Responsibility For Your Marketing Plan by David Farland

Building a Platform vs. Promoting a Book by Rachelle Gardner

Bigger Bang For Your Marketing Bucks by Tea Silvestre

Are You Neglecting This Important Book Sales Tool? 5 Steps to a Great Blurbs by Mark Edwards

10 Ways Proven to Draw Readers to Your Novel’s Website by Thomas Ummstattd

The Cheese Factor: Keep the “Cheesiness” Out of Your Author Website by Kerry Lonsdale

Build Your Mailing List! 5 Ideas That Really Work by Toni Tesori of DuoLit

Email Marketing For Authors: 6 Articles by Chris Robley

Teaching Your Fans to Shout Out For You by David Farland

Getting Book Reviews: Hit Me With Your Best Pitch by Kelly Jensen

How to Take a Good Author Photo by Chris Robley

5 Tips to Improve Your Amazon Author Central Page by Cat Rambo

Life in an Ottoman Harem by Colin Falconer (This is one of the most interesting book promotion posts I’ve ever seen. A great story)

(Self-)Publishing

Think Like a Publisher 2013: Return on Investment by Dean Wesley Smith

Are Self-Pub Books the New Slush Pile? by Rachelle Gardner

Query Letters: Author Meagan Spooner and Agent Josh Adams discuss SKYLARK by Stephanie Kuehn

Ebook Parts by J.A. Konrath

Using a Variety of eBook Price Points to Build an Indie ePublishing Empire by D.D. Scott

2013 YA Cover Trends, Part 1 by Kelly Jensen

2013 YA Cover Trends by Kelly Jensen

2013 YA Cover Trends, Part 3 by Kelly Jensen

Blogging

How to Find Your Message and Stand Out by Justin Dixon

Blog For Your Right People by Abby Kerr

17 Ways to Turn Your Blog Readers Into Loyal Fans by Tea Silvestre

7 Surprising Things About Blogging by Victoria Mixon

Blogging Tips: 3 Fast Fixes by Angela Ackerman

The Science of Storytelling: 6 Ways to Write More Persuasive Stories by Gregory Ciotti

How Do You Feel About Re-Posting Old Blog Posts? by Janice Hardy

Social Media

Where’s the Line Between Spamming and Sharing by Jami Gold

The Brave New World of Social Media – Love Never Needs Updating by Kristen Lamb

12 Social Media Mistakes For Authors to Avoid by Anne R. Allen

Quick-Start Pinterest Tips by Stormy Sweitzer

Books, Reading and Pinterest by Kelly Jensen

YA Authors on Pinterest by Kristen Hubbard

LinkedIn—Making The Most of Your Six Seconds by Jenny Hansen

Collected Wisdom

Writing Resources by Gene Lempp

Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig

Deep Stuff

Date a Girl Who Reads by Rosemarie Urquico (I’ll definately give this spiel to my kids when they’re older 🙂 )

Why Do We Read? by David Farland

How to Be Creative When Your Brain Doesn’t Want to Play by Gary Korisko

The Story of a Boy Who Went to Prison by Shannon Lell

Beauty of a Woman Blogfest: Do Breasts Define the Female? by Jenny Hansen

Beauty of a Woman Blogfest: What Would You Trade to Look Young Forever by Marcy Kennedy

An 18-Minute Plan Managing Your Day by Peter Bregman

18 Minutes Free Resources by Peter Bregman

Smile At Your Unfinished List by Jonathan Mead

Fun Stuff

The Best Stuff Revealed in the Game of Thrones Season 2 Blu-Ray Set by Chris Lough

“As You Wish…” Eight Unabashedly Romantic SF/F Love Stories by Ryan Britt and Emily Asher-Perrin

The 5 Soapiest Romances in the Star Wars Expanded Universe by Natalie Zutter

Explore a Living Map of Ankh-Morpork by Stubby the Rocket

10 SFF Book Series So Addictive Tou Never Want Them to End by Charlie Jane Anders

10 Fantasy Book Series That Could Replace Harry Potter at the Movies by Charlie Jane Anders

2012 Nebula Award Finalists Announced (Tor.com)

Portrait of Lisane da Patagnia by Rachel Swirsky (Nebula Award Nominated Short Story)

Fiction Affliction: February Releases In Urban Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: February Releases in Fantasy by Suzanne Johnson

Fiction Affliction: Genre Benders For February by Suzanne Johnson

Creating a Sub-Genre by Accident: Georgette Heyer’s The Corinthian by Mari Ness

Posted by Reetta Raitanen on Feb 22, 2013 in Writer Wednesday | 3 comments

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