Alchemy Ink

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 29-May 5, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Another week has passed and here I am with another batch of informal writerly learnings 🙂

K.M. Weiland asks, what should your characters talk about? Helping Writers Become Authors

Julie Carrick Dalton says, it’s time cli-fi (climate fiction) became its own genre. I agree in part … The examples she cites are from a number of different genres, though. I don’t know if publishing in general or marketing in particular will be willing to get on board. Stranger things have happened. Writer Unboxed

Therese Walsh explains why you think your writing is brilliant one day and horrible the next. It’s a thing. Writer Unboxed

Donald Maass considers authenticity vs. outline. As with many other aspects of craft, it’s a matter of balance, not one over the other. Writer Unboxed

Julie Glover walks you through the five stages of editing grief. Writers in the Storm

Fae Rowan helps you world build using deep POV. Writers in the Storm

Christina Delay is living for the writing wins. Writers in the Storm

Gabriela Pereira helps you write by design using colour theory. Writers Helping Writers

Kristen Lamb: why every writing project needs a synopsis, even though you hate writing them.

Elisabeth Kauffman tells you how to raise the stakes. DIY MFA

Kharma Kelley explains all authors need to know about the new EU law.

Chris Winkle: storytelling’s terminology problem. Then, Oren Ashkenazi critiques six underdeveloped love interests. Mythcreants

Kim Fahner considers Canada’s 20th Bookmark to be a “love letter” to Sudbury. The Sudbury Star

And then watch the unveiling!

 

Emily Petsko lists 25 foreign words with hilarious literal meanings. Mental Floss

More fun with words: the Merriam-Webster time traveler. Check out what words entered the dictionary the year you were born … or any other year since 1828 🙂

And that was Tipsday for this week.

Be well until Thursday!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 22-28, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping for the final push to the weekend. Yes! Tomorrow is Friday. And today is Thoughty Thursday 🙂

Stephen Luntz discovers that trees have a “heartbeat,” too. IFLS

Linda Poon: new “mutant enzymes” could solve Earth’s plastic problem. Are they any better than recycling, though? The proof remains to be seen. City Lab

Another promising solution? Saqib Shah: first ever ocean plastic cleaner will tackle the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The New York Post

Why so few people on the Six Nations Reserve have clean, running water, unlike their neighbours. It’s not just remote or northern reserves. We really have to provide all people with the necessities of life. Like, yesterday. CBC’s “Out in the Open.”

Alek Minassian, the Toronto van attack suspect, praised “Incel” killer. BBC

Psychologists explain why you should be friends with people who swear a lot. We’re more fucking honest and intelligent 🙂 Rachel-Lee Thomas for Providr.

Do essential oils work? And why? (I guess that second question gives away the answer to the first …) SciShow

 

Can exercise treat depression? SciShow Psych

 

Scientists may have discovered the root cause of autism (and no, it’s not vaccines). Let’s first seek to understand ASD before we attempt to eradicate it. IFLS

Sara Burrows explains how one Texas school beat ADHD by tripling recess. Return to Now

Nina Strochlic reveals the race to save the world’s disappearing languages. National Geographic

Going grey the right way: everything you need to know about grey hair. Katie Martin for HealthyWay.

Nadia Drake: how 1.7 billion stars were mapped with dazzling 3-D precision. National Geographic

Alfredo Carpineti: Study reveals Uranus smells of farts. IFLS

Baby elephant chases the birds, falls, and runs to mom.

 

I hope something in this mix inspired you (or at least entertained you).

Be well until this weekend’s next chapter update.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 22-28, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Happy Beltane, y’all. It’s May Day!

Never worry, never fear, Underdog your informal writerly learnings are here!

K.M. Weiland continues her ultimate first chapter checklist series with part three: introducing the story. Helping Writers Become Authors

Kathryn Craft wonders if you’re emotionally ready for a developmental edit? Writers in the Storm

Catherine McKenzie: theft by finding. Writer Unboxed

Barbara O’Neal posts about the importance of a private writing habit. Writer Unboxed

Heather Webb is considering good advice, bad advice, and figuring out how to write through the “shoulds.” Writer Unboxed

Erika Liodice helps you find your way back to writing. Writer Unboxed

Dan Koboldt explains how you can level up as a writer with peer critique. Writer’s Digest

Sara Letourneau: how themes are presented in short fiction. DIY MFA

In my latest column for DIY MFA, I delve into the possibilities for future space travel.

Joanna Penn discusses comparisonitis, or “everyone else is better than me” syndrome. The Creative Penn

Nathan Bransford tells you everything you need to know about novel word counts. Later in the week, he explains why writers should perfect their first thirty pages.

Cyndy Etler drops by Jane Friedman’s blog to explain how to become a bestseller through money, luck, or work (mostly work).

Chris Winkle helps you distinguish between structured and unstructured advice. Mythcreants

Kristen Lamb offers some perspective on self-editing your dialogue and characters.

Chris Yogerst explores how Stan Lee became the man behind Marvel. Los Angeles Review of Books

Sarah Laskow invites you to go medieval by attaching a book to your belt. Atlas Obscura

Be well until Thoughty Thursday!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 15-21, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Here are a few items to get your mental corn popping.

Cara Giaimo shares everything we know about birds that glow. Atlas Obscura

The Los Angeles Times editorial board says it’s time to phase out all single-use plastics.

David Costanza begs, can we please stop talking about generations as if they’re a thing? Slate

I didn’t know where to put this, really. Megan Senseney reviews the history of the spite house. Seems like an expensive way to get revenge to me. Urbo

Steven Silver offers an Apple crime roundup. Find out, among other things, how an Apple watch helped solve a murder. Writer fuel? You betcha! Apple Insider

Clive Irving lauds how veteran fighter pilot Tammy Jo Shults saved crippled Southwest flight 1380. The Daily Beast

Kyra Gaunt: how the jump rope got its rhythm. TED Talks

Artful science: Imogen Heap sings salt shapes.

 

And check out this beautiful moon Saturn occultation.

 

Inverse: Your Brain on Social Media. It’s not all bad …

 

Watch out, Grumpy Cat. Loki’s here to steal your throne. Vaiva Vareikaite for Bored Panda.

I hope you got some great ideas from this week’s batch of thought 🙂

Be well until next Tipsday!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 15-21, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Looking for your informal writerly learnings? Why, they’re right here!

K.M. Weiland continues her ultimate first chapter checklist with part 2: writing the opening scene. Helping Writers Become Authors

Colleen M. Story wonders, is it unhealthy to be a workaholic writer? Writers in the Storm

Margie Lawson works her deep edit analysis magic on a bunch of descriptive passages. Not your mama’s character descriptions. Writers in the Storm

Laurie Schnebly Campbell helps you use the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator to create characters who drive each other crazy. Writers in the Storm

Lisa Cron explains how you keep writing when that critical, inner voice won’t shut up. Writers Helping Writers

Christina Delay dives deep with emotion on Writers Helping Writers.

Nathan Bransford wants you to know your rights as an author. Later in the week, he helps you find good comps for your novel.

Callie Oettinger reveals the secrets of the creative brain on Steve Pressfield’s blog.

Jami Gold takes a long, hard look at reader connections, fake personas, and catfishing. Oh, my! I mean, yikes! Later in the week, Becca Puglisi stops by to explain how to create a redeemable villain.

Following up on last week’s post, Chris Winkle helps you recognize bad and good storytelling advice. Then, Oren Ashkenazi explores six novels that struggle with multiple POVs. Mythcreants

Porter Anderson offers this provocation in publishing: attention spans are shorter and word counts are trending down. My favourite quote is from Tom Goodwin: “Book publishing is not in the ‘text industry.’ It’s not in the ‘reading industry.’ It’s in the ‘what do people want to spend their time doing? industry.’” Writer Unboxed

The Unbound Book fest is ripped for lack of inclusiveness and silencing a panelist last year. Olivia Garrett for the Missourian.

This oughta be fun: The Incredibles 2 trailer 🙂

 

And that was Tipsday.

Be well until Thoughty Thursday!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 8-14, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Here are a few links to get your mental corn popping!

Alana Ketler: doctors explain how hiking changes our brains. Collective Evolution

Krista Langlois: why scientists are starting to care about cultures that talk to whales. Smithsonian Magazine

Patricia Emonds: these twins, one black and one white, will make you rethink race. I know NG has received a lot of “too little, too late” criticism about this issue, but the article is interesting. National Geographic

Watch NASA’s 4K tour of the moon. Goddard Observatory

 

And, because Jupiter, an infrared fly by of Jupiter’s north Pole. NASA

 

Florence + The Machine – Sky full of song.

 

I hope you have a grand Friday and a fabulous weekend.

Be well until next Tipsday!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 8-14, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

You may notice that your informal writerly learnings are on the small side this week. The vagaries of the interwebz 🙂

K.M. Weiland begins a new series! Your ultimate first chapter checklist, part 1: hooking readers. Helping Writers Become Authors

Joanna Penn interviews Jane Friedman: the business of being a writer. Later in the week, Joanna shares three techniques to write better settings. The Creative Penn

Then, over on Jane’s blog, Jane Anne Staw explains how to make your writing anxiety disappear by thinking small.

Sacha Black tells you how not to mess up your book series. Writers Helping Writers

A.K. Perry delves into another of James Scott Bell’s story signposts—the care package. DIY MFA

Elisabeth Kauffman continues her ask the editor series: how do you end a book? DIY MFA

Kim Bullock offers a mental health checkup for writers: when you’re not okay. Writer Unboxed

Robin LaFevers mines her characters’ wounds. Writer Unboxed

Chris Winkle explains why storytelling advice is such a mess. Mythcreants

Philip Horne: Paul Theroux, Susie Boyt, and Amit Chaudhuri let us look inside their writers’ notebooks. The Guardian

And that was Tipsday for this week.

Be well until Thursday!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 1-7, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Another smallish Thoughty Thursday here to get your mental corn popping.

Jenna Birch uses the Myers-Briggs type inventory to examine what kind of friend you are. Man Repeller

Rebecca Beris reveals that silence is much more important to our brains than we think. Lifehack

Alex Beard: how babies learn and why robots can’t compete. The Guardian

Puffin beaks are fluorescent, and we had no idea (nor do we know why, really). Sarah Smellie for the CBC.

Ryan F. Mandelbaum breaks wind, er, news for Gizmodo: finally, there’s a book that can tell us which animals fart.

If you’re stressed at work … everyone needs a puppy in a drawer!

 

Guess what? Tomorrow’s Friday! Time to get your happy on 🙂

Be well until the weekend, when I have a blog-related decision to announce.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 1-7, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Were you looking for these? Your informal writerly learnings are here!

K.M. Weiland helps you decide between plain prose and beautiful prose. Helping Writers Become Authors

Jane Friedman returns to Writer Unboxed: a smarter author platform for the digital era of publishing.

Nathan Bransford offers a guide to social media for authors. Later in the week he offers tips on how to regain your concentration.

Emily Wenstrom explains how to use Twitter hashtags for writers. DIY MFA

Porter Anderson delves into author pay and publishing profits. And then, he looks at the success of Canada Reads as PBS announces a similar competition.

Valerie Francis joins Joanna Penn on The Creative Penn to discuss how to write a scene the Story Grid way.

Donald Maass takes a non-linear approach to middle scenes. Writer Unboxed

Sonja Yeorg is resurrecting a shelved manuscript. Writer Unboxed

Jo Eberhardt talks art and social change. It’s a ripping awesome post. Writer Unboxed

Tamar Sloan is deepening character complexity with the help of psychology. Writers Helping Writers

Angela Ackerman examines the destructive power of the lie your character believes. Writers Helping Writers

Jami Gold offers some suggestions to help you create a compelling, but quiet, black moment.

Heather Webb shares a writer’s lessons in failure. Writers in the Storm

Do the thing? Chuck Wendig offers a helpful (and hilarious) FAQ. Terribleminds

Kristen Lamb brings the LOLZ with her post on diagnosing the real writer.

Dheolos and Worldbuilding Magazine are creating a mountain setting. Mythcreants

Nina Munteanu explores how the women of The Expanse are changing our worldview.

Dan Koboldt is putting the science in your fiction. Writer’s Digest

And some writerly news from the north:

My friend and vice-president of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild Vera Constantineau is interviewed for The Northern Life about her new short story collection Daisy Chained.

Another friend and SWG member Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli announces pre-orders for her first novel, La Brigantessa, forthcoming from Inanna Publications this September.

And that was Tipsday.

Be well until Thoughty Thursday comes around to herald the weekend 🙂

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 25-31, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Ari Berman: Emma Gonzales is responsible for the loudest silence in the history of US social protest. Mother Jones

Zoë Beery hopes we all say goodbye to our happy plantation narrative. The Outline

Showwei Chu reports on how every bit of exercise counts in reducing the risk of early death. CBC

Colin Lecher explains what happens when an algorithm cuts your care. Automation is not always a good thing, especially when users don’t understand how it’s intended to work and don’t bother to check. The Verge

Samantha Paige on firsts. Shondaland

Karin Brulliard asks, are service dogs good therapy for military veterans suffering from PTSD? The Washington Post

Six signs of high-functioning depression (dysthymia) – Kati Morton

 

Your Brain on Sleep Deprivation – Inverse

 

I hope you found something inspiring or pertinent to a current project.

Be well until the weekend and my next chapter update for March.

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