Blog posts for writers - Dec 31

14 Reasons Why Libraries are Writers’ Best Friends from Mystery Writing is Murder

Shakespeare - Father of Cliches? from Writer's Corner

The Pros and Cons of Having Your Own Website by Monica Valentinelli at SFWA

How do Agents Work? from Chip MacGregor

2009 Book Giveaway from Rants & Ramblings

Happy New Year, everyone!

Blog posts for writers - Dec 30

What makes it a thrill? from Hey, There's a Dead Guy in the Living Room

It’s What Your Characters Do That Defines Them from Wordplay

10 Solutions to the Most Common Writing Mistakes from AuthorCulture

7 Things I've Learned So Far, by Jessica Monday from Guide to Literary Agents

Don't Let Me Steal Your Dream from Rants & Ramblings

Blog posts for writers - Dec 29

Ask the editor: Help with transitions and bridges from the Book Deal

Sagging Middles Part Deux: Pick up the Pace from * Fiction Groupie *

Open the Phone Booth Door by Sharon Wildwind at POE'S DEADLY DAUGHTERS - character (and writing) behavior

Top nine character development tips of 2009 from Plot to Punctuation

HOW SMART ARE YOUR WRITING RESOLUTIONS? from Help! I need a Publisher!

Tunnel Vision from Mystery Writing is Murder - Tips for handling criticism and making it helpful

Responding to bad advice from Jordan McCollum

The tipple in Scotch Trifle from Scotland for the Senses - just plain YUMMY!

Blog posts for writers - Dec 28

Author Question: What Does It Mean That I'm in My Second Printing? from Editorial Ass

What is an Author Platform? from Guide to Literary Agents

Setting, Keeping, and Achieving Your Writing Goals in the New Year by Carolyn Kaufman at QueryTracker.net

Keep Your Day Job, Right? from The Other Side of the Story

The Unexpected from Mystery Writing is Murder

Dialogue Interruptus from The Blood-Red Pencil

Skip The Starting Line from the Literary Lab

Sub Ops from Paperback Writer - Ten Submission Opportunities for Writers

Red Tag Contest from Elana Johnson

Blog posts for writers - Dec 27

real fiction from brian's blog: writer talk

Crafting a Good Protagonist from Mystery Writing is Murder

When Characters Behave Out of Character also from Mystery Writing is Murder

11 Killer Chapter Breaks from Wordplay

Marky Marketing from The Other Side of the Story

Publishing Myths Contest! from Editorial Anonymous

Losing sight of what's important: Looking back, looking ahead and making changes in the New Year. from the Swivet

Blog posts for writers - Dec 24

Author websites that work from Jordan McCollum

How to Tell If Your Sales Rock... or Don't from Editorial Anonymous

Guest Post: A Writer's Space... Ideal vs. Reality by Christi Corbett, from Pimp My Novel

Doing That Author Thing from The Other Side of the Story

Peer Evaluation from Writer's Corner - a great checklist

Holiday BlogNog from Lisa Amowitz - Thank you for the award!

Blog posts for writers - Dec 22

Emotion postponement from edittorrent - grab your reader's emotions

Ask Daphne! About Querying a Series from KT Literary

Guest Post: Ideas That Sell Are Not Always Groundbreaking, by Lydia Sharp at Pimp My Novel

Two Non-English Languages from TalkToYoUniverse - great tip on world building

Untangling Story Knots in Six Steps by Therese Walsh at Writer Unboxed

Writing / Research Tip Tuesday from Literary Rambles

Blog posts for writers - Dec 21

What Does Your Character Want? from Mystery Writing is Murder

Seven Deadly Sins of Novel Writing, Part II from the Bookshelf Muse - Sin # 2: Counterfeit Characters

Stereotype as Filler from Gabrielle Edits

Guest Post: Books on Writing By Randy Susan Meyers, at Pimp My Novel

Speed Networking At Its Best! from QueryTracker.net blog

Drewlie & Julia: Or, The Case of the Alias'd Literary Agent, by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

Marvelous Monday: Holiday Giveaway!!!!! from Market My Words

Blog posts for writers - Dec 20

Tip of the Week from the Sharp Angle - about critiquing

Agents Old and Agents New from Editorial Anonymous

Footnotes: 5 Articles on Writing Those First Pages from Guide to Literary Agents

Technology and the Writer from Mystery Writing is Murder

Are Your Characters Talking Heads? from Wordplay

Blog posts for writers - Dec 19

Writers Killing off Their Characters . . . from Poe's Deadly Daughters

Creating Characters That Live from Author Culture - How do you turn boring characters into ones that readers will cry and laugh with throughout an entire story?

Villains are heroes too from Plot to Punctuation

Agents at a Conference Talk Queries, Short Stories, the State of the Industry & More from Guide to Literary Agents - lots of good info

Publishers desperately seeking insanely great debut novelists from the Book Deal

Gerund or Present Participle Phrase? from Step 1: Write, Edit, and Revise - clear explanations for clearer writing

5 Things That Make Me Stop Reading Websites & Blogs from Writer Unboxed - I strongly agree on all points!

Blog posts for writers - Dec 17

The Value, or Not, of Reviews from 5 Rivers Chapmanry

Agents who half-ass it from Behler Blog

People Read That? The About Me Section from Fiction Groupie

Agents Insider 411 from Market My Words - a few things to remember for AFTER you get an agent.

Worse Before It’s Better from Mystery Writing is Murder - about first drafts

All About Writing Contests from Nathan Bransford - read and understand the fine print.

Queries and Cover Letters from Elaine English

Sharing Your Writing... from Writer's Corner - first readers

Blog posts for writers - Dec 16

Website review for Deb Salisbury -- Jordan McCollum and Kathleen MacIver review my website

Conflicting Opinions from BookEnds, LLC - about agent's taste in queries

Buy My Hardcover, or I'll . . . . from Paperback Writer

Re-Write Wednesday: Take Two from The Other Side of the Story - Writing a sequel is hard.

Writing Sex Scenes Without Being Pornographic from the Sharp Angle

Best of the Blog 2009: Kiss of Death: The Renaissance Writer from Books & Such - about the writer of many genres

Blog posts for writers - Dec 15

Agents for Multiple Genres from BookEnds, LLC

Exclusives and Literary Agents from SFWA

I Don't Like You! - Creating Sympathetic Characters from Fiction Groupie

Are your characters falling through gaps in your writing? from Plot to Punctuation

The Point of "Point of View" from The Literary Lab

Your Words Are Dead to Me from The Other Side of the Story

WHY WRITERS MUST READ THE RIGHT STUFF from Help! I Need a Publisher!

Getting Finished with Getting Started from Poe's Deadly Daughters

Christine Fonseca is holding a comment contest on her blog in honor of the one year anniversary of her blog! ( via Lisa Amowitz ) - Win books!!!

Blog posts for writers - Dec 14

You've Decided to Try for Publication. Now What? from A Good Blog is Hard To Find

Negotiating Your Advance from BookEnds, LLC

Scene breaks and hand-offs from TalkToYoUniverse

When Unnamed Characters Speak from edittorrent

Don't Like it? Tough! from The Other Side of the Story - make life tough for your characters

Halfway point! from Gabrielle Edits - Open submisions at Dragon Moon Press reminder, with lots of good advice

Blog posts for writers - Dec 13

Fragments redux from edittorrent

Who is teaching this stuff? also from edittorrent, about trends in writing 'styles'

"A Joke Is An Epitaph To An Emotion" from Diamond–Yup, Like the Stone

Fantasy Writing Resources from About Writing – The Personal Blog of Pace J Miller, via Chandara Writes

The Day My Characters Started Talking to Me By Brad Parks, guest blogger, from Poe's Deadly Daughters

2010 LEAPFROG FICTION CONTEST ANNOUNCED - Leapfrog Press

Blog posts for writers - Dec 12

Revising a Novel from Vision: a Resource for Writers

A Quick Sentence Revision Tip: Subordinate "IT" from edittorrent

Book Club from Mystery Writing is Murder

Do you gotta have faith? from TalkToYoUniverse, about using religion in your worldbuilding

7 Reasons Fiction Writers Should Sell Nonfiction by Carol Ottolenghi, from SFWA

The Thingyness of Books: An Ode to Paper from the Alchemy of Writing

Blog posts for writers - Dec 11

Conference Suggestions from BookEnds, LLC

Is your planter box too small? from Behler Blog - about growth in your writing

Has anyone asked about the best way to get an agent yet? answered by author Martha Wells

Perfectionism—Resisting It from Mystery Writing is Murder - about self-editing

Self-Editing One Step at a Time: Read Your Manuscript Aloud from the Blood-Red Pencil

Thoughts on writing

I hate writing! (that's a lie...) from Revelations of a Smoothie Girl

It doesn’t get easier, but would we like it if it did? from The Magic District

A writer needs our help

Dr. Peter Watts, Canadian Science Fiction Writer, Arrested at US Border
via 5rivers News, Views and Points of Interest

Blog posts for writers - Dec 10

This was posted on J's site, but I need to record it from edittorrent - from Jordan McCollum, about POV

Your Character is Wrong from the Literary Lab

Editor Request from BookEnds, LLC - about requested material

Hudson Audio Publishing from Writer Beware Blogs!

A 19th-Century Mathematician Finally Proves Himself, by Laura Sydell of NPR
- about Charles Babbage's 'Difference Engine'
If you write Steampunk or Victorian historicals, this is a must-see article.

It didn't win, but I loved it most from Janet Reid - ROFL!!!
The Twelve Tips on Queries (to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas)

Blog posts for writers - Dec 9

Be Bold from Brian's Blog - writing a novel is all about choices

Guest Post: "The Wise of Being Funny" from edittorrent - about writing humor

Dishing Out Backstory in Digestible Bites from Fiction Groupie

Being Careful from Mystery Writing is Murder - about dialogue

How to revise your character arcs from Plot to Punctuation

Literary Darwinism: When do I give up on my book? from Behler Blog

Secret ailments from revision deadlines from Market My Words

Blog posts for writers - Dec 8

An Axe Is A Handy Tool from Diamond–Yup, Just Like the Stone - about editing your work

Terminator Offers Some Lessons for the Salvation of Your Novel from the Rejectionist

Fun things from edittorrent - about making your story fun

Lighting up your reader’s brain: Can neuroscience teach how to be a better writer?
from The Book Deal - an interview about the brain, with Livia Blackburne

Respecting Each Other from BookEnds, LLC - about working with an agent

Publicity Pogo from Behler Blog - lots of great tips from editor Lynn Price

December Book Giveaway! from Writer Musings

Blog posts for writers - Dec 7

Sharpening Those Verbs from Book View Cafe

Event sequence in scenes from edittorrent

Does your story carry a message? from TalkToYoUniverse, also about a writing tool: Patterns

How to revise your characters' physical attributes from Plot to Punctuation

Reality Check from Gabrielle Edits, about using real people in your stories

An agent's view on No Simultaneous Submissions by BookEnds, LLC

How Did We Get Here? from Dean Wesley Smith, about the agent relationship, via Bibliophile Stalker

How Do I Format My E-Query? from Literary Rambles

A contest

Words Move Me - Sony Reader Giveaway! from Rants and Ramblings

Blog posts for writers - Dec 6

Once I land an agent, how long does it take to land a book deal? from Ask a Literary Agent

Vanity "Experience" from edittorrent - what to put in your query

Ask the Editor: Tips for self-editing burnout from the Blood-Red Pencil

Contests - Win a book or twelve!

New Contest from Book View Cafe

Contest Alert! from Fiction Groupie

Blog posts for writers - Dec 4

Naming Characters from Mystery Writing is Murder

Likeable Characters from BookEnds, LLC

How to revise your characters' mannerisms from Plot to Punctuation

Self-Editing One Step at a Time: Fine-Tuning Sentence Structure from the Blood-Red Pencil

Holidays and Queries to Agents: 5 Perspectives from Guide to Literary Agents

HOW TO WRITE A QUERY LETTER from Jill Corcoran Books - many links!

The Fictional Dream from the Literary Lab

Blog posts for writers - Dec 3

What Can I Expect of My Agent? from Editorial Ass

Endings and Anarchy from edittorrent - long, but worth it!

Endings: How To Prevent Reader Rage from Fiction Groupie

A Sense of Place from Fire and Silk

A Glimpse Into the Edits of Dickens from Shooting Stars
They give a link to photos of Dickens' marked up originals!

Blog posts for writers - Dec 2

Nonfiction Proposals from BookEnds, LLC

Endings: Happily Ever After or Not So Much... from Fiction Groupie

Overdoing It from Mystery Writing is Murder

Heighten the Climax By Resolving Subplots from Suite 101.com

Get Nail Your Novel absolutely FREE! By Roz Morris, from Nail your Novel blog (dirtywhitecandy.com)

Formatting from the Blood-Red Pencil

Blurred Distinctions: Vanity Publishing vs. Self-Publishing from Writer Beware Blogs!

Castles and Daydreams... from Writer's Corner

A new way to procrastinate on revision from the Magic District
-- This one tickled my funny bone!

Blog posts for writers - Dec 1

Computer Tricks from edittorrent

7 Things I've Learned So Far, by Sunil Robert from Guide to Literary Agents

Pace from Mystery Writing is Murder

How to Start on the Wrong Foot - Part 2 from Elaine English

Transitions from the Literary Lab

How to Describe a Smell from WikiHow

Tips for Writers from Ben Bova