Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Current links for writers - June 26

You know, someone has to die . . . when swords are involved. at Brenda Drake Writes . . .

Matching Books to Readers by Chris Dolley at Book View Cafe

You and the beginnings of your manuscript are standing in Grand Central by Getting Past the Gatekeeper

From another post by Getting Past the Gatekeeper (in the middle of an unflatterering review: PPW)

I confess we change our reading styles a bit--that is, the slush pile trains us. We read more for rhythm, word choice, energy, tone, feeling, voice, unusual sentence construction (you've no idea how many writers pick one simple sentence and repeat it. And repeat it. And repeat it), and not quite so much for comprehension. I've certainly lost details of how things happen or why--even in manuscripts I've liked very much. Why? Because my focus is elsewhere. I'll pick up, of course, on things the average reader would get--but I'm not circling motifs, tracking coincidences, or going beyond the text, as I would with a work I was reading purely for me.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Current links for writers - June 24



Many thanks to Elizabeth Arroyo at Chandara Writes for this blog award!

Hurray for all supportive commenters!

I'd like to pass it on to DaniSue at Revelations of a Smoothie Girl


Passive voice = Passive scene? at edittorrent

So You Want To Commit Novel: #4 Characters by Phyllis Irene Radford at Book View Cafe

SUSPENDING DISBELIEF at Help! I Need a Publisher!

The Best Techniques Are The Simplest Ones by JC Hutchins at Writer Unboxed

Talk About the Money at Pub Rants

Advance! (Retreat?) at Pimp My Novel

INSPIRATIONAL

Split the Seams... at the Literary Lab

Real or Imagined? at Book Dreaming

The World in Miniature: The Book Gardener at The Alchemy of Writing

CONTESTS

Advice from one YA Rebel to another! at Market My Words

Volitional Ten - Ten Things I've Resolved to Do at Paperback Writer

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Monday, June 21, 2010

Current links for writers - June 21

Word Tools at Book Dreaming

Stimulus First, Then Reaction at Kidlit.com

Interfering Characters at Mystery Writing is Murder

Inherent Contradictions in Character at TalkToYoUniverse

How Story Structure Can Help You Both Before and After You Write Your Novel at The Sharp Angle

Medical Mondays: BBQ Ribs at The Word is My Oyster

Cool Gen Ten at Paperback Writer - Ten Things About Online Generators

Writing Nowadays–Taxing Writers by Steven Harper Piziks at Book View Cafe

10 Errors that Drive Me Crazy at Chip's Blog

You're making me CRAZY here! by Janet Reid - more query woes

Blogging 201 by Elana Johnson

Peeps Aren’t Only for Easter by Jan O'Hara at Writer Unboxed

Crocodiles Smile When They Dance at The Alchemy of Writing

CONTESTS

CRASHERS contest! at Janet Reid's blog

More BEA Bonanza.... at Market My Words

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Current links for writers - June 17

8 Places to Find Inspiration by A. Victoria Mixon

Is Quirky a Good Thing? at Editorial Anonymous

Author Tip #7: Creating Voice at Linn Prentis Literary

Did You Hear That? at The Other Side of the Story

So Much Blood by Elizabeth Zelvin at POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS

How Does Social Networking Work for You at BookEnds - interesting feedback in the comments

Let’s talk about marketing for a moment. at Written in Blood

Collaborating, Co-authoring, and Ghosting at Chip's Blog

Someone at the conference this weekend asked me the worst times to send material. at Getting Past the Gatekeeper

Good News/Bad News at Rants & Ramblings - Guest blogger: Jody Hedlund

Lie Down With Dogs, Get Up With Fleas by Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware

CONTESTS

Win Kirsten Miller's Eternal Ones - Signed! at Market My Words

Contest for Readers via Writer Unboxed

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Current links for writers - June 15

Christie Craig on Writing Advice at BookEnds - Five Pieces of Well-Meaning Writing Advice That I’m Glad I Didn’t Take

A Mer-Bear Guest Blog: The "YA" Query at Confessions of a Wandering Heart - Do you write YA?

Flawed at Mystery Writing is Murder

Tuesday Tunes - Separation Anxiety at the Sharp Angle

Deep POV: Three mistakes and how to fix them, Part I by Kathryn Craft at The Blood-Red Pencil

Tip Tuesday #41 at Literary Rambles - a great idea for keeping track of subplots

Keep Your Middle From Sagging by scott g.f.bailey at the Literary Lab

Story Twist and Shout at The Other Side of the Story

Agents Are Not Just Gatekeepers by Nathan Bransford

Differing Advice on Signing with an Agent at Rants & Ramblings

CONGRATULATIONS!

Insane Good Fortune: First Print Run for Gnomes Jumps to 35K by Chuck Sambuchino

CONTESTS

Countdown by Deborah Wiles + Contest at Book Dreaming

And the Winner of the Agent Pitch Contest is... at Market My Words - two new prizes

Blog Contest Link at Shooting Stars

Monday, June 14, 2010

Current links for writers - June 14

Do You Know What Your Characters Want? by Linda Yezak at AuthorCulture

How to portray an inspiring leader at Plot to Punctuation

Names have meaning by Juliette Wade at TalkToYoUniverse

Thinking Outside the Character Sheet by Angela Ackerman at The Bookshelf Muse

Is there any other kind of disease that could be misconstrued as Alzheimer's? by Lydia Kang at The Word is My Oyster

More on endings... by E. Arroyo at Chandara Writes

This or That? by Janice Hardy at The Other Side of the Story - don't limit your options

Sex on the Blog by editor Betsy Dornbusch at Stephen Parrish's Blog - great advice (but not much about sex. ;)

Creating Your Author/Book Website: The Why by Carolyn Kaufman at Archetype Writing

Author Tip #6: 2, 3, 4, 5 at Linn Prentis Literary - LOL, but good advice

How to Grab an Agent's Attention in a Query by Suzette Saxton at QueryTracker

Dealing with Contradictory Feedback at Rants & Ramblings

Writing in 140: Finding Desire to Write by Shon Bacon at The Blood-Red Pencil

CONTEST

Can't Miss New Contest! by Renae Mercado at The Siren's Song - win an ARC of Immortal Beloved by Cate Tiernan

CONTESTS plus a FREE ONLINE WRITERS' CONFERENCE!

WriteOnCon - The Big Reveal! by Casey McCormick at Literary Rambles

WriteOnCon: The Mother Of All Pay It Forward Events at Elana Johnson's blog

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Current links for writers - June 12

The Hidden Need Triplet at Amy Deardon -- This post blew my socks off! What do you think?

Genre - Magical Realism at The Blood-Red Pencil

THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE ABOUT BEING A WRITER by E.J. Copperman at POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS

C'mon THINK! by Janet Reid - about formating your query

CONTEST

A Contest Announcement at Mystery Writing is Murder

Current links for writers - June 11

Can the Good guys be too good? at A little bit of...

Villain Love at Shooting Stars

kill your darlings at brian's blog: writer talk

On opening pages.... by Author/Agent Mandy Hubbard via QueryTracker

Enough with the Eyebrows: Showing Emotion at * Fiction Groupie *

Writer's Block analysis at edittorrent - tips for a cure

While U Wait: Connect with Colleagues at Books & Such

Ahh summer at Behler Blog - the video made me laugh

CONTESTS

#MyDeathday at Upstart Crow

Successful Queries: Agent Rebecca Strauss and ''Stay'' by Allie Larkin at Guide to Literary Agents

Monday, June 7, 2010

Current links for writers - June 7

Mental Health Monday–Anti-depressants: Are They Dull? at Diamond–Yup, Like the Stone

Medical Mondays: The Secret Blood Club at The Word is My Oyster

Unreliable Impressions at Mystery Writing is Murder

Know Thy Character Ten at Paperback Writer - Ten Things to Help with Developing Characterizations

Real Life Diagnostics: Show vs. Tell, Part Two at The Other Side of the Story

6 Keys to Revising Your Fiction at Guide to Literary Agents

subtract until you get the sum by Jael McHenry at Writer Unboxed - about loglines

Writing Nowadays–Who You Know by Steven Harper Piziks at Book View Cafe

Your Agent’s Editorial Ideas at Kidlit.com

Author Tip #5: The Imagination is Vast...The Query is Not at Linn Prentis Literary - The test query is toooo funny! What do you think?

CONTESTS

It's time for the Agent Pitch Contest! at Market My Words

Royal Blood - Review & Giveaway at Written in Blood

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Current links for writers - June 5 - part 2

Welcoming summer at Culzean Castle at Scotland for the Senses - pure inspiration

Writing Through the Block at Mystery Writing is Murder

letters from the query wars 6/4/2010 at Et in arcaedia, ego.

Great posts from edittorrent:

Over the Top

Motif in Query Letters

Tales from the Slush Pile

Paragraph starts in the synopsis

CONTEST

Another Fantastic Giveaway. via Adventures In Writing

Current links for writers - June 5

REALLY, ACTUALLY, ABSOLUTELY, ADVERBS ARE MUCH MALIGNED at Help! I Need a Publisher!

Literary Devices Part 2: Chekhov's Gun at The Word is My Oyster

Conscious Creativity <-- Oxymoron? at Writer's Corner

Reassessing Your Trajectory at TalkToYoUniverse

Ellery Adams on Establishing an Online Presence at BookEnds

Friday Fricassee at Miss Snark's First Victim - how do you explain what you do?

Resources for Agents at A little bit of... - great sites for info about agents

On Becoming an Agent at Kidlit.com

Are you difficult? at Behler Blog

Our Changing World: Whom Are Publishers Cutting? at Books & Such

Retro, Baby, Retro at Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency

CONTESTS

Win ARCS. via Adventures In Writing

BEA Bonanza - Day 4 Agent Pitch Contest! at Market My Words

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Current links for writers - June 3

Why you suck but I don't. at Plot to Punctuation

She's buying what!? at Revelations of a Smoothie Girl - I love the way writers think!

Nominalization and Why You Should (Usually) Avoid It at Nick Daws' blog, via TalkToYoUniverse

Oh, the Irony at The Other Side of the Story

15 Things Your Characters Should Never Do from A. Victoria Mixon

Clusters at Book Dreaming - organizing your story thoughts

So You Want To Commit Novel: #2 by Phyllis Irene Radford at Book View Cafe - writing a synopsis

CONTESTS

Day 3 BEA Bonanza: Be Jealous. Be Very Very Jealous. at Market My Words - win an ARC of THE DUFF

SUMMER ACE/ROC Giveaway at Dear Author

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Current links for writers - June 2



Thank you to Cheree Smith of Justified Lunacy
She handed me the Beautiful Blogger Award.
Too Cool!


Throw Yourself In at Book Dreaming

Is it "said David" or "David said"? at TalkToYoUniverse

Invisible Tension by Donald Maass at Writer Unboxed

When You Wish Books Had Montages at Mystery Writing is Murder

Have you seen this website? at Hair Dye & Samurai - a new (to me) YA book site. Nice!

Re-Write Wednesday: Pile On at The Other Side of the Story

When You're Weary by Suzette Saxton at QueryTracker

Hairy Query Theory at Wylie-Merrick Literary Agency

Newer vs. Established Agents at Kidlit.com

How the Intern Reads Your Proposal at BookEnds

Our Changing World: More About Editors at Books & Such

Copyright Protection Service: Another One You Don't Need at Writer Beware

CONTESTS

The One-Sentence Summary at Rants & Ramblings

Our Second Annual Contest: Notes From Underground at The Literary Lab