Writing Post Round-Up - Week of April 14-20, 2013

Writing post round-up time!

It’s a rather short list this week – I had less time for reading, apparently.

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2013/04/tax-free-ten.html

                We begin this week with one of Lynn Viehl’s lists of ten.  This is a list of ten programs – some freeware and some with free trials – for writing related tasks (some less directly related than others).  I haven’t tried any of them out yet, but I’m particularly excited about Pro Frequency’s Names List.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/03/27/20693/

                Of course we writer types need lots of details to give authenticity and interest to our stories.  This post talks about cultivating the observer to build a ready store of things from life we can use in our writing.

http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2013/04/writers-monday-alert-how-to-feel-energized-for-your-writing-session.html

                Writers everywhere seem to be inextricably linked with coffee.  I’ve recently mostly given up caffeine, as it has a detrimental effect on my sleep cycle.  To be honest, I’m feeling a little insecure in my writerness – lacking as I do both coffee and a cat. J  If you happen to be like me, and are looking for a non-caffeinated pick-me-up, perhaps this will help you.  (Note: I haven’t actually tried this yet)

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/04/05/so-you-want-to-find-an-agent/

                It’s always nice to get advice on finding an agent from an actual agent.  Here is the first in a series of posts for Writer Unboxed from agent Elizabeth Weed.    It looks like this is going to be a very useful series!

http://sweatercursed.blogspot.com/p/writers-resources.html

                This is not a blog post per se, but rather a lovely list of resources put together by Leanne Dyck.  I haven’t had a chance to explore very many of them yet, but it looks like there’s some great stuff here!

http://litreactor.com/columns/talk-it-out-how-to-punctuate-dialogue-in-your-prose

                Here is a little refresher on how to punctuate dialog.  I think I have a pretty good handle on that, generally, but I’ve also been recently made aware of some of my other punctuation and grammatical transgressions, so it’s probably good to double-check. 

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/writing/online-writer-in-residence/blog/558/

                And lastly, a fun article about reading and not insisting that only one kind of book is worthwhile.  I don’t agree with all of his points, but I do think the more people who read, the better off we all are.  And as the author points out, shaming people for what they choose to read is counterproductive. 

Note: this is a list of blog posts and articles on writing that I collect weekly.  Inclusion on this list does not necessarily mean it was published this week, just that I read it this week and thought it was cool, interesting, and/or useful.