Alchemy Ink

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 24-30, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

And now … your first batch of informal writerly learnings for the New Year!

Kathryn Craft advises you to ask for what you need. Writers in the Storm

Laura Drake makes notes to her unpublished self. Writers in the Storm

Elizabeth Randolph guest posts on Jami Gold’s blog: good storytelling is about going primal.

A.K. Perry shares five essential elements of strong dialogue. DIY MFA

Gabriela Pereira explains why you should review your writing year. DIY MFA

Amy Pennza shares five ways to find a writer’s group online. DIY MFA

Jenna Moreci follows up last week’s video on world building don’t with this one on world building basics.

 

Oren Ashkenazi looks at five stories hurt by unlikable protagonists. Mythcreants

T.R. Ragan offers five tips for writing stories with multiple points of view and still keeping the reader in suspense. Writer’s Digest

Chuck Wendig shares his writing resolution for 2018: write with intention. Terribleminds

Alexandra Alter: in an era of online outrage, do sensitivity readers result in better books, or censorship? I’d argue the former, but what do I know? As Alter states in the article, expert readers have a long tradition in publishing. The New York Times

Be well until Thursday!

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 17-23, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s another tiny thoughty Thursday to finish off the year.

Steve LeVine compiles a list of the biggest AI stories of 2017. Axios

Patrick Caughill: SpaceX is leading the rise of an entirely new industry. Futurism

They escaped child marriage and now they’re speaking out. Kyle Almond for CNN.

Bill Donohue is seeking the lost art of growing old with intention. Outside

Anna Lovind: how to make darkness magical. Because we all need more magic in our lives.

Natasha Frost reviews the year in animal accomplishments. Atlas Obscura

Hope that was enough to get some mental corn popping.

Be well until the weekend!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 17-23, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s the last instalment of informal writerly learnings of 2017! Not to worry, I’m not stopping the writerly goodness any time soon 😉

Jane Friedman hosts Peter Selgin on her blog: the deadliest first page sin, plus a critique of two novel openings.

Vaughn Roycroft presents the pantsing leftoverture. Writer Unboxed

Dave King: surprise! Writer Unboxed

Kathleen McCleary: what to give yourself this year. Writer Unboxed

Joanna Penn interviews Douglas Smith about writing short fiction for The Creative Penn podcast.

Emily Wenstrom recommends three types of social media posts you should be using. DIY MFA

Stacy B. Woodson shares seven lessons she learned from Lisa Gardner at Crime Bake. DIY MFA

Gabriela Pereira interviews Ada Palmer about writing speculative fiction for DIY MFA radio.

Gabriela Pereira: creativity is craft and it belongs to everyone. TEDxWilmingtonWomen

 

My latest contribution to DIY MFA: five reasons to book a writing cruise.

Jennie Nash stops by the Writers Helping Writers coaching corner: creating the perfect elevator pitch.

Jamie Raintree offers five ways to use the holiday season to benefit your writing career. Writers in the Storm

Jami Gold explains how to create scene endings that hook readers.

Jenna Moreci: common world building mistakes.

 

Chris Winkle lists five reasons your story is transphobic (and what to do about it). Mythcreants

As she turns 90, suspense still thrills Mary Higgins Clark. Lynn Neary for NPR.

Alison Flood: “Cat Person” author’s debut novel sparks flurry of international publishing deals. The Guardian

A.N. Devers: this is how a woman is erased from her job. Longreads

Michelle Dean: what makes someone a predator? The New York Times

Victoria Schwab: in praise of strange books. NPR

Ava DuVernay decided to direct A Wrinkle in Time so she could create new worlds. Evan Narcisse for i09.

Minute Physics: time travel in fiction rundown.

 

I hope your holiday celebrations were filled with joy, family, and friends.

Be well until Thursday!

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 10-16, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time again to get the mental corn popping. In a small way.

I think I’ve figured out why my Thoughty Thursday curations have been suffering of late. 2017 has simply been an exhausting year. Though as a Canadian, I haven’t been in the thick of it, the madness is there, every day. It’s in the news, in the posts of friends and writers I follow, it’s EVERYWHERE.

There’s no escaping it.

And so I find myself shutting down. I don’t want to engage in all the sturm und drang. It makes my heart hurt. But it’s all important stuff. A lot of it needs to be shared. But I get selective. Because exhausted.

I seriously hope 2018 is a little lighter on the soul.

Salma Hayek: Harvey Weinstein is my monster, too. The New York Times

Courtney E. Martin: this isn’t about bad apples; It’s about our broken sexual culture. On Being

Why are America’s farmers killing themselves in record numbers? Debbie Weingarten for The Guardian.

The Boston Globe takes a hard look at its city. Boston. Racism. Image. Reality.

Christen Reighter: I don’t want children—stop telling me I’ll change my mind. TED Talks

 

Be well until the weekend.

thoughtythursday2016

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 10-16, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Please find linked your informal writerly learnings for the week.

Jane Friedman gives you a book launch plan for first-time authors without an online presence.

Jami Gold takes her turn in the Writers Helping Writers coaching corner: episodic vs. epic.

Later in the week, Jami talks transitions on her own blog: meanwhile, back in our subplot …

Piper Bayard helps you win the anxiety war. Writers in the Storm

Sharon Bially touts the power of a writing group for publishing success. Writer Unboxed

David Corbett helps you motivate the reluctant protagonist. Writer Unboxed

Sarah Callender looks at fiction and improv and discovers that they’re sisters from different misters. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Craft helps you bring your dialog to life. Writer Unboxed

Don’t get rolled by bad publicity. Porter Anderson on Writer Unboxed.

Leanne Sowul interviews Carol van den Hende for DIY MFA: be well, write well.

Melanie Bell shares five books that will help you start and finish your writing. DIY MFA

Steven Pressfield: the villain is not always a person.

Paige Duke helps you survive rejection. Standout Books

Oren Ashkenazi presents six tips for writing sequels. Later in the week, Oren lists five insufficient reasons for including bigotry in your story. Mythcreants

Ursula K. Le Guin explains how to build a new kind of utopia. Electric Lit

Then Ursula appears on Open Democracy, encouraging science fiction and fantasy authors to envision alternatives to capitalism.

CBC Books presents a guide to writing prizes for Canadians.

Jason Guriel: the case against reading everything. The Walrus

Olivia Zaleski reports that two Audible executives depart after harassment probe. The Seattle Times

Have you read “Cat Person” yet? I have, and apparently, I’m in good company: New Yorker short story triggers record-breaking response. Heloise Wood for The Bookseller.

Jessica Jernigan: the book that made me a feminist was written by an abuser. Electric Lit

Naima Coster: my editor was black. Catapult

Be well until Thursday!

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 3-9, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time, once again, to get your mental corn popping.

Yes, it’s another short post. I’ve been recognizing the trend recently.

Gillian Flynn: … I don’t feel triumphant. I feel humiliated and angry. Time

Chuck Wendig sounds off (in his inimitable fashion) on issues of consent and basic human decency. Dear mens: your greasy demon hands are in time out. Terribleminds

Jaela Bernstein reports on the massive, ice-age cavern found beneath Montreal. CBC

Anthony Wood lists ten of the world’s most creative cities to live, work, and play in. Creative Boom

Vsauce from last year . . . Mind Field: Isolation.

 

Brian Resnick: what would it take to kill all the tardigrades (the toughest organism on Earth)? Vox

Dom Galeon reports that artificial life just moved a step closer to reality. NBC

George Dvorsky shares a surreal (and beautiful) picture of Jupiter’s clouds. Gizmodo

Be well until the weekend.

Virtual hugs all around.

thoughtythursday2016

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 3-9, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Here’s your informal writerly learnings for the week 🙂

Autocrit offers five quick editing wins for December. NaNoWriMo Tumblr

Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary gives an agent’s take on NaNoWriMo.

Lance Schaubert writes a defence of spoilers. Writer Unboxed

Donald Maass objects to the willing suspension of disbelief. Writer Unboxed

Lynne Griffin stops by Writer Unboxed. Dying to know, afraid to find out: building tension in fiction.

Allie Larkin is refilling the well. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Magendie: the big ole scary monster at the window. Writer Unboxed

Sara Letourneau looks at identity as a theme in YA. DIY MFA

Brenda Joyce Patterson teaches you how to use small forms as steps to a novel. DIY MFA

Jonathan Vars: five tips for building tension into your scenes. DIY MFA

James Scott Bell visits the Writers Helping Writers coaching corner: ten ways to goose the muse.

Julie Glover wonders, what motivates you to finish? Writers in the Storm

Kristen Lamb says all wounds matter: writing better stories.

Jefferson Smith guest posts on Jami Gold’s blog: how can we improve our readers’ experience? Story immersion.

Author Amal El-Mohtar was detained for hours in customs because she was travelling to the States … even though she’s a Canadian citizen. CBC

Kazuo Ishiguro’s Nobel lecture: my twentieth century evening and other small breakthroughs.

Steph Farnsworth: science fiction, speculative fiction, and the problem of imagination erasing race (featuring Nisi Shawl). Stand Up

Here is part one of Adam Fitzgerald’s interview with Samuel Delaney: don’t romanticize science fiction. Literary Hub

Kari Maaren writes through grief: unfinished. Tor.com

Stephanie Marchie describes what happened when she enlisted an algorithm to help her write the perfect piece of science fiction. Wired

Jess Zimmerman: when bad men define good art. Electric Lit

How we eclipse women’s literary brilliance with scandal. Sarah Seltzer for Jezebel.

Sarah Gailey: fear of the female voice. Tor.com

I hope this writerly goodness will sustain you through the week!

Be well until Thoughty Thursday.

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Dec 1-2, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Thoughty Thursday’s here, and you know what that means—tomorrow is Friday!

Again, this is just a brief curation to restart the blogging engine 🙂

It’s time to get the mental corn popping.

Fan asks Dan Harmon about depression and he offers insightful advice. Bored Panda

Nothing But Thieves frontman, Conor, on his experience with depression and anxiety.

 

Jack Turban: nice brains finish last. Scientific American

ASAP Science: can you change someone’s opinion?

 

Rich Bellis explains how to design your ideal workday based on your sleep habits. Fast Company

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) reports that they’ll be able to extend the life of Voyager 1 (and possibly Voyager 2) by using thrusters that haven’t been fired in 37 years.

Nothing But Thieves – Broken Machine live for #IAMWHOLE

 

How’s that for a practice run?

Be well until the weekend!

thoughtythursday2016

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 1-2, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Just a short curation this week to get me back in the swing of things after NaNoWriMo!

So here’s a little informal writerly learning for you 🙂

Nina Munteanu explains when and why to write a synopsis.

Colleen M. Story guest posts on Writers in the Storm: why writers need those “never again” moments.

Jim Dempsey joins Writer Unboxed as its newest contributor: three ways to discover your character’s true motivation.

Jo Eberhardt wonders, when is authentic too authentic? Writer Unboxed

Reza Hassanirad offers five eye care tips for writers. DIY MFA

Kristen Lamb explains why pain and wounds are vital for fiction.

Jenna Victoria guest posts on Jami Gold’s blog: how to write despite … whatever.

Jenna Moreci busts ten writer myths.

 

Oren Ashkenazi looks at six stories that covered up major plot holes. Mythcreants

James Davis Nicoll: did we all write a book about space elevators? Why coincidences happen in science fiction. Tor.com

Judith Tarr gets mythological: how Loki birthed the eight-legged Sleipnir. Tor.com

And that was your writerly goodness for the week.

Be well until Thoughty Thursday makes its return 🙂

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 22-28, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping, my friends.

Phil Plait reports on our first interstellar visitor: an asteroid from another star. Did you go out and look at the moon on Saturday? You should have. October 28 was International Observe the Moon Night. Of course, it was overcast here in the Sudz 😦 SyFy

NASA releases its findings from its study of the Kelly twins. IFLS

SciShow: hypnagogia.

 

And in SciShow news, the Alphago AI and how volcanoes may have influenced ancient Egypt.

 

This is amazing. Russell Powell makes paintings with his hand prints. You just have to see it to appreciate it.

 

Livia Albeck-Ripka: for an endangered animal, a hurricane or a wildfire can mean the end. The New York Times

Kulning – an ancient herdingcall – a farewell song to the cows (and it actually works!)

 

For Hallowe’en, Sonya Vatomsky shares the origins of 25 monsters, ghosts, and spooky things. Buzzfeed

We’ll meet again, come December.

Be well until then 🙂

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