Writing Post Round Up – October

Since most of the posts I collected in October were for my NaNoWriMo edition, and I wasn’t very good about getting the round-up posted every week, I’m just going to do one post for the rest of the links I collected in October.  There’s not very many, but they’re all good.  I hope you enjoy them!

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/10-dos-donts-for-the-aspiring-novelist

There is so much good advice out there for writers that it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it.  That’s why I like this post.  It’s nice and succinct, but it covers the bases pretty well.  If you want one list of writerly advice to post by your desk and refer back to, this is a good one.

http://www.downthewriterspath.com/2013/10/nano-prep-countdown-to-nanowrimo/

Okay, one more NaNoWriMo post.  I must have collected this one after I posted the NaNoWriMo edition.  Anyway, this is a prep post, but even though NaNoWriMo has already launched this year, there’s still some good ideas in here – maybe you’ll find one that helps you push through if you’re running out of steam mid-month.  Or maybe you’re not even doing NaNoWriMo this year (or ever), but you’ll find a good tip or to for setting up your space, or embarking on some other kind of writing project.

http://penelopeloveslists.com/organize/i-need-to-stop-letting-perfect-be-the-enemy-of-good-or-why-penelope-came-back/

This is another one of those not-really-a-writing post links, but it resonated with me so much that I just had to share it.  Sometimes (often) I get paralyzed by the fear that I’m not good enough, that I won’t be able to do this wonderful thing I want to do exactly right.  Posts like this help me feel like I’m not alone.  If you struggle with perfectionism, maybe it will help you, too.

http://aroundofwordsin80days.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/the-lovely-chaos-of-writing-weaving-a-writing-life-by-shan-jeniah-burton/

This is one of the weekly inspirational / motivational posts from the ROW80 challenge – the writing challenge that knows you have a life.  A beautiful reminder that ALL the parts of our lives are important to our writing – not just the sitting down and putting words on the page part.

http://readjennymartin.com/2012/06/30/when-show-dont-tell-is-really-bad-advice/

 

An interesting take on the “show, don’t tell” chestnut of writing advice.  I think she makes some good points, although I also think a lot of the bad writing she mentions comes more from a misunderstanding of what “show, don’t tell” means, rather than from following the advice too closely.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/09/14/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-hashtag/

 

I am so Twitter illiterate.  I have an account (I actually used to have two – one from a work related “web 2.0” training, and a second I set up for my personal interests).  I occasionally log in and peruse my feed, and even less occasionally actually post a tweet, but I just haven’t really figured out how to use it to good advantage and what it’s all about.  One of the consistently confusing things for me is hashtags – I understand in general, that you can follow a trending topic, but figuring out how and when to apply one has been kind of a mystery.  If you also struggle with this aspect of Twitter, you may find this post helpful. 

http://writershelpingwriters.net/2013/10/website-tips-for-authors/

We’re told over and over as writers that we need to have a platform, an online presence to connect with readers, publishers, agents and other writers.  A good website can be a huge component of that.  Here are some great tips for putting one together.

That’s all I’ve got for now!  Due to NaNoWriMo, and some other things going on in my life, I’ve not had time to read as many blogs, and I’ve been struggling with actually getting this post up on a weekly basis.  For that reason, I’m thinking of making this a monthly feature, rather than a weekly one, at least for a while.   That idea literally just occurred to me this morning though, so I’m still mulling it over.  Stay tuned!  And happy writing!

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.

ROW Wednesday Check-In - Ugh

The title of this post pretty much describes how my writing has been going so far this round.  I'm in the middle of a giant sorting, organizing, moving project at home and it's taking up a ton of my time and energy right now.  It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't saved everything I've ever acquired in my 36 years of existence (okay, that's an exaggeration, but only a small one - I've been shredding bank statements from 1995 for a bank I haven't banked at for like 8 years!).  And letting go of things is hard.  Ugh.  So yeah, not a lot of writing going on. 

And I usually write on my lunch hour - which is generally a nice change of pace from my job and makes me feel refreshed and energized.  But right now, I'm so mentally and emotionally exhausted from going through all my stuff that all I want to do on my lunch hour is play Facebook games.

But... I am going to post this update, such as it is, and then go try to put in a couple hundred words on my CampNaNo project before I go back to work.

Goals:

1) 15,000 words for CampNaNo (July)

So far I have written a grand total of 603 words for CampNaNo.  I am so far behind.  I'm hoping I can grab a little time this weekend to catch up.

2) Visit and comment on at least 5 other ROW blogs per week
I visited (and commented) on a whole 4 blog posts by ROW bloggers this week (not all of them were ROW posts, but they were all by ROW folks).  I hope to do better this week.

3) Writing Post Round Up blog post on Sundays
This got posted!  It's a shorter list than I usually post, but I got it done (and I suppose shorter may actually be nicer for the poor souls who actually read it).



So it's not completely horrible, except for the CampNaNo goal, and I should even be able to meet that if I can get some good writing sessions in.  Things will get better when my living room isn't full of boxes anymore.  I hope you all had a better writing week than I did!  See you next week.

Writing Post Round Up - Week of Jun 9-15, 2013

So apparently posting on time for once is just too much awesome for me to handle, since for two weeks after that post, I didn’t post any links, and this post in the third week is late.

http://bookpregnant.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-road-to-publication-is-long-and.html

Sometimes I start to freak out about my writing progress.  It seems so slow, and sometimes it feels like everything I write sucks, and I have this string of unfinished things littering the path behind me, and OMG, why do I not have something ready for critiquing yet, let alone sending out to competitions or workshops or querying an agent?  This post kind of makes me feel better.  Writing takes time.  It takes different people different amounts of time.  Some (most?) authors have written more than one book before they sell their first one, and some take years polishing the one that finally sells.  It’s okay.  I am writing.  I will get there.

http://www.good.is/posts/secret-to-creativity-learning-how-to-say-no

Of course, part of taking that necessary time to learn the craft and write and polish and query, repeat, is learning to protect the writing time you have, and not let other people fill it up with stuff, even really cool or important stuff.  This post suggests that the secret to creativity is a really tiny little word (with big impact!).

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/05/27/may-2013/

Speaking of query letters (we weren’t? Well, I’m sure I used the word “query” up there somewhere), here’s a nice post on what to include in your bio section.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/05/13/rules-and-tools/

Writing rules.  Everybody has some, and they all seem to have exceptions.  Don’t write prologues, don’t use adverbs, don’t start with a dream, or with your character waking up, don’t start with dialogue – and so on, forever.  And I’m sure you can all think of at least one example where an author has broken every single one of them.  This post suggests we think of those “rules” more as tools in a toolbox – the right tool for the right task.

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2013/05/17-steps-to-reader-grabbing-title.html

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have issues coming up with titles.  Right now, I have one WIP that’s simply known as “Changeling” because that’s what it’s about.  It’s not a particularly evocative title, though, and I’ve never planned to use it for the finished project.  This post provides some great practical tips for coming up with a fitting title for your next work (or your current one, if it’s working-titled only, like mine).

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2013/05/writing-to-rule-of-three.html

An interesting guideline (ahem, what were we saying about rules earlier?) that might help iron out some problems with your manuscript.

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2013/06/story-improvement.html

This is a fascinating idea for character development.   It seems like it could really help a writer think out of the box, or nail down a character that’s just not quite working.  I may have to give it a try.  Have you ever tried something like this to help you with your characters?

http://www.salon.com/2013/04/04/hugh_howey_self_publishing_is_the_future_and_great_for_writers/

One opinion on the future of publishing, by Hugh Howey.  Personally, from what I’ve read, I believe traditional and self-publishing both still have pros and cons.  And as rapidly as everything is changing, in 5 years there may be some new model that no one has yet thought of.  But Howey makes some interesting points, and this is worth a read.

http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/04/04/self-publishing-is-the-blah-blah-and-floo-dee-doo-and-poop-noise/

Chuck Wendig’s response to Howey’s article.  Chuck has both traditionally and self-published work.

http://nailyournovel.wordpress.com/2013/06/09/which-choice-create-compelling-characters-by-giving-them-dilemmas/

A post on how to use choice to create compelling characters.  I found the example interesting – I’d never really thought of it that way before.

http://crimsonleague.com/2013/06/12/creative-writing-tip-going-deeper-in-your-fiction

Here are some tips for deepening your work.  These suggestions are intended to be used in the editing process, but if you’re one of those folks who does extensive planning and outlining before writing the first draft, I expect they could be good things to think about at that point also.

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2013/06/theres-no-such-thing-as-good-writing-craig-novas-radical-revising-process/276754/  

I don’t think this is a revising process I would want to use all the time, but it’s interesting to read about.  The idea of switching things up this way appeals to me, and I feel like even if you didn’t want to revise an entire book this way, it could be a useful technique to use on particular parts that aren’t working the way you want them to.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/05/15/six-core-issues-facing-writers-today/

This post is kind of long, but worth reading.  So much is in flux in the writing business these days; it’s good to have some guidance in trying to navigate it.  Of course, this is just one person’s opinion, but as he’s a consulting editor with many years of experience, it’s an opinion I plan to keep in my file.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/05/31/how-to-serve-and-swallow-criticism/

It should be part of any writer’s process (at least, a writer who at some point wants to get published) to have other people look at their work and provide feedback.  The people providing the feedback may vary depending on where you are in your writing journey, but these tips for how to give and receive feedback are probably applicable across the board.

http://www.lindasclare.com/2013/06/3-useful-additions-for-your-mystery.html

If you write mysteries (or just stories that have a mystery in them!), you might find these three tips helpful.  I know I’m going to look into using them in mine!

http://mythicscribes.com/plot/bracketology-for-story-plotting/

Here’s an interesting plotting tool.  Now, I’m not much of a sports fan, so it wouldn’t have occurred to me to use tournament brackets to plot out my novel, but I have to admit, I’m intrigued by the idea.

So that’s it for this week.  Sorry for my tardiness – I’ll try to do better this week.  Until next time, keep writing!

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.

Quick ROW Update

I'll make this quick, because it's late, and I don't have all that much to report anyway.  I was out of town most of the weekend, visiting my brother and his new house, as well as our parents, who came out to help him.  It was a nice visit, even though it was short, but I didn't get any writing done, or blogs posted this weekend.  C'est la vie.

On to the report:

1) Write 25,000 words
Since last Sunday, I've written only 1542 words, for a total of 17066 this round.  I was feeling pretty good about being on track for this goal last week, but my low word count this week makes me a little nervous.  But, there is still a month left of the challenge, and I only have 7934 words to go.  I can do this!

2) Post on Blog once a week - besides check-in posts
Not done.  I really should have done this Friday, since I knew I wouldn't have time to do it this weekend, but after a scramble to change plans (my parents were originally going to come up here for the weekend, but couldn't find a hotel due to the University graduation - it all worked out fine, because I wanted to see my brother and his new house anyway, and they got some more time to work on stuff, but ever shifting plans kind of exhaust me), and a really long week at work, I was pretty exhausted and just wanted to watch TV.  Then we went out for dinner and to see Iron Man 3 (which was awesome, by the way - more about that later).  Long story short - no blog post.

3) Write first draft of short story
I actually made some progress on this this week!  I pulled out the original idea (a 500 word thing I'd written for a writing prompt), read through it and started writing some new stuff.  I'm a little stuck now though.  I really loved the idea, and at the time I thought it was something I wanted to expand, but now that I've read through it again, I kind of like it as it is (with a little editing and polishing).  I'll keep playing with it a little to see if I can expand it, but I may end up leaving it as flash fiction and moving on to something else.

4) Make progress on Last Words
More on the ghostly research front.

So that's all folks.  I hope you all had a great week and made loads of progress on your goals!

ROW Check-In : Of Owls and Other Things

I'm not sure if I'm on time or a week late.  Last weekend was crazy busy, and I didn't get my check-in post up, so I decided that rather than posting late and continuing my perpetual cycle of lateness, I'd just wait for this Sunday and try to get back on track.

(This next part got longer than I planned, so if you're just looking for the ROW update, scroll down)

Last weekend was the first week for one of our farmers' markets here in Missoula, and my husband works with a guy who runs a booth with amazing breakfast burritos, so after my cycling class, we decided to go down and get one.  We didn't really end up buying much to take home - most of the produce is still of the type that you take home and plant in your own garden - but we had breakfast burritos, which were enormous and delicious, a fruit kabob, and fantastic donuts made with local ingredients.  After that, we walked downtown and got my husband a new wallet to replace his falling apart one, and up to the arts & crafts market to get some popcorn - kettle corn for him and huckleberry for me.  It was also one of the first nice days we'd had in a while, although it was windy, so it was pretty much a perfect morning.

I also did a bunch of laundry (why does laundry never end, anyway?) and dealt with a bunch of paperwork.  I can't seem to entirely conquer my packrat need to keep absolutely everything - though I am getting better at getting rid of some stuff - so I've started scanning things and shredding the originals.  At least it takes up less space in my house that way.

And Sunday evening, a friend and I went to see a rare Russian Teal that had apparently been blown off course, because it's really not supposed to be found in this area.  It was really far away from the pullout, and on private property, so we couldn't get close enough to take pictures, but some kind bird watchers let us look through their spotting scopes, so we at least got to see it.  After that, we decided we didn't want to go home yet because it was so nice outside, so we went down to Maclay Flats to walk along the paths there.  And we saw owls!  We were just walking along, and we heard this hooting, so we stopped to listen, and after determining the direction, left the path and tried to get closer.  And then of course, the sound stopped.  So we stood still and waited a while, but we didn't hear it again, so we went back to the path.  As soon as we got back, it started up again, so we walked back along the path in the other direction to see if we could see it around the curve.  Then we saw it take off, and it flew across the path and settled on a tree that was close enough for us to take pictures.  It was terribly exciting - I don't think I've ever seen a live owl before outside of the zoo.  Further on along the path, we saw another one, but the pictures aren't as good because he was backlit and further off the path.

So that's what I was doing last week instead of writing.  Honestly, if I don't write first thing in the morning on the weekends, it just doesn't get done.

And now for my ROW report:

1) Write 25,000 words

Since the last time I posted, I have written 6345 words for a total of 15524 this round.  Which is actually pretty awesome.  Even accounting for the fact that it's been two weeks since my last check-in post, that's more per week than I've written so far.  Yay!

2) Post on Blog once a week - besides check-in posts
My writing post round-up posts are up for both weeks, although I think it took me until Wednesday to post last week's.  This week's went up this morning.  Maybe one of these days I'll actually get the post up on Saturday, as planned.  But as I said, if I don't write first thing, it pretty much doesn't happen.

3) Write first draft of short story
No progress on this.  Maybe if I would start getting the blog post up on Saturdays, I wouldn't have to use my lunch hour writing time during the week for that and I would make some progress on the story.  This week.  Really.

4) Make progress on Last Words
Did some reading and note taking of the ghostly research variety.  I'm really hoping to capture that ghost story feeling with this project.

So that's it.  Happy writing, folks!

Late Check In

So I'm late checking in this week.  I had a pretty busy, but also really good weekend.  It was, however, largely filled with non-writing activities - and I am so tired now!  Please forgive me if this post seems a little disjointed.  I know I haven't been very good about responding to comments - I'm going to try to do better - but I want you all to know that I really appreciate your encouragement and support.  My foot is all better, and I've also recovered from the allergic reaction caused by the antibiotics.  Yay! 

Better than that, though, is that for the first time in months I actually feel motivated.  For the last three months or so, it has been like swimming uphill through molasses to do anything other than read a book or watch TV.  Even making plans to hang out with my friends has felt like work, nevermind tackling anything on my to do list.  But that's finally over.  I don't know how long it will last, but I'm going to enjoy it. :)

Without further ado, my updates:

1) Write 25,000 words
Since my last check-in, I have written 1619 words, for a total of 9179 so far this round.  I'm pretty pleased with this, although I haven't actually done the math to see if that's on track for hitting my target.

2) Post on Blog once a week - besides check-in posts
This didn't get done this week.  I have my list of links all ready to go - I just have to add commentary and post.  I'm not really unhappy about that - there were a lot of other things I got done this weekend that I've been putting off for a while, so missing a blog post doesn't feel like a big deal.  I'll probably have it up by tomorrow at the latest.

3) Write first draft of short story
I still haven't done any actual writing on this project, but I did spend a little time thinking about what I want to do with it.  The concept came from a writing prompt that turned out kind of cool, but I'm not sure how it ends or where exactly it's going.  I do have a couple more ideas though.

4) Make progress on Last Words
Most of my words this week were spent on getting to know my main character better.  This novel was my NaNoWriMo project last November, and although I did spend about a month plotting and figuring things out beforehand, it wasn't enough to make it through a whole book, and I ended up feeling like my main character was kind of flat.  So this week, I've been doing a lot of brainstorming about her background and what makes her tick, and also just writing random scenes from her life.  It's been kind of fun.

That's all folks!  I hope you're all having a great writing week so far!

Writing Post Round Up - Week of Apr 7-13, 2013

This post should have gone up on Saturday, but it didn’t.  So I give it to you now.  Enjoy!

http://wonkomance.com/2013/04/05/how-to-be-an-author/

                This is long, but good.  It’s kind of about platform, and all those things you “should” do as a professional author, but it’s more about choosing the things that will help you be a happy and productive writer.

http://bookpregnant.blogspot.com/2013/04/are-you-getting-off.html

                This one actually kind of goes along with the first link.  I love the internet.  I love reading blogs about writing, and hanging out in writers forums, and the fact that I can find almost anything with a Google search.  I enjoy following my favorite authors on Facebook (and also my friends, of course!).  But sometimes, information overload kicks in, and my head is all spinning around and I can’t think straight.  It’s exhausting.  I have to unplug for a while.  In fact, that’s probably the major cause of this post not going up on Saturday – I just DID NOT want to turn on my computer.  So yeah, this.

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/04/09/put-that-banjo-down/

                First of all, the title of this post just kind of cracks me up – and makes me want to go out and write a story that begins with the line “He put his banjo down…”  But it’s also an entertaining look at several common “beginning” pitfalls.

http://diymfa.com/writing/blogging

                And on the other side of the “unplugged” fence, here’s one author’s take on why writers should blog.

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2013/04/the-hours.html

                I’m always interested in the process of other writers.  Here’s a nice look at what one author does after coming to the end of a big deadline.  I think I’d like to adopt something similar (I’ve not had a professional writing deadline yet, but I sure wish I’d had some kind of routine like this to get me through the aftermath of my last finals week of grad school!).

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2013/03/be-your-own-book-doctor.html

                A great set of questions to ask yourself as you’re diving into revisions.

http://rebeccabelliston.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/mbm-premise-vs-plot-by-janice-hardy/

                Here is good post to help you figure out whether your latest idea has a plot or just a premise.  I love Janice’s posts, because she always has such clear examples.  The actual post begins with the green text, after the author intro and a list of other posts in the series you may wish to check out. 

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2013/03/guest-agent-sara-megibow-is-agent-pitch.html

                Sara Megibow of the Nelson Literary Agency details a new idea for agent pitch sessions.  I’ve never actually been to a pitch session, so I have no basis of comparison, but it sounds good to me!

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/03/20/writing-a-traditional-mystery-problems-and-solutions/

                My current WIP is kind of a mystery, although I’m not sure it fits into the traditional mystery mold.  I’m hoping this post will help me get a better handle on things.

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2013/03/focusing-on-writing-first.html

                Okay, I’m sensing a theme.  This post comes at it from a slightly different angle – new writers being overwhelmed by the details of publishing and platform before they’ve even completed a manuscript (ahem, that would be me) – but to me it’s really making the point that writing is the most important thing we do. 

http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2013/03/top-10-sentence-slip-ups.html

                Of course, in the midst of all the plotting, character development, platform, publishing, etc. frenzy, we still have to get the nuts and bolts right.  So here is a back to basics guide to some common mistakes (most of which I’m pretty sure I make on a regular basis – in the rough draft of course! J)

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2013/03/when-to-start-or-stop-series.html

                Series, series, series.  Publishers like them, readers like them, authors like them.  So how do you know when to start or stop one?  Here’s one author’s tips.

http://timetowrite.blogs.com/weblog/2013/03/what-if-your-writing-obstacles-are-actually-your-strengths.html

                And to wrap of this collection of links, a question.  What if the things that are getting in the way of your writing could actually help strengthen it?

That’s all folks.  Tune in next week same bat time, same bat channel (well, same bat channel anyway) for more collected links.  Happy writing!

Late Check-in and Little Progress

Not real pleased with my progress this week.  Since I've so far missed all the Wednesday check-ins, which is fine - I was thinking maybe I'll just be one of those Sunday check-in only people.  However, since I'm a day late for my Sunday check-in (spent the morning reading the rest of an awesome book, called A Turn of Light by Julie Czerneda, which I don't regret at all, but spent the afternoon watching television and folding laundry because I just didn't want to turn on my computer, which I do regret a bit), and my progress this week was kind of negligible, I'm thinking maybe shooting for a Wednesday check-in will motivate me to do better this week.

So anyway, quick update of the status of my goals:

1) Write 25,000 words

I spent most of my writing time working on a background for a D & D character - which I do count as writing practice because it's character building, and figuring out what events in my character's past actually resulted in the stats on the character sheet.  I tend to agonize over such things, and spend a lot of time reading setting books and whatnot to fill in all kinds of details.  I also rarely actually finish character backgrounds, because I spend so much time trying to make them perfect.  So the fact that I actually finished this one, even though I consider it a long way from my best work, and handed it in to the GM before the game started is a minor victory.

Wrote 2014 words this week, for a total of 5710 toward my goal.  Not horrible.

2) Post on Blog once a week - besides check-in posts
Fail.  Saturday was kind of crazy, so I didn't get my post in.  I guess that means I get to do two this week.

3) Write first draft of short story
No progress.

4) Make progress on Last Words
No actual writing progress, but a book I'm using for research came in at the library and I picked it up, so I hope to be reading that this week and making some notes.