Barbara Poelle

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Feb 23-29, 2020

/ Melanie Marttila

March first was lamb-like. I’m hoping for a gentle month. How about you?

Now, it’s time to get your fill of informal writerly learnings.

Tiffany Yates Martin lists ten specific ways to encourage your reader to like your protagonist. Kris Maze shares five steps to becoming a superstar self-editor. Writers in the Storm

Julia Munroe Martin is not above spying … again. Barbara Linn Probst is taking it scene by scene: the “middle level” of writing. Heather Webb tackles the social media meltdown and burnout. Writer Unboxed

K.M. Weiland shares the professional resources she uses for all aspects of writing and publishing processes. Helping Writers Become Authors

Do you need to outline your book? Reedsy

Then, Shaelin recommends how to develop your best writing process. Reedsy

Joanna Penn interviews Barbara Poelle about finding and pitching a literary agent. The Creative Penn

Sarah Chauncey lists five flashback mistakes. Jane Friedman

Nathan Bransford: don’t release the tension.

Manuela Williams shares five tips for writing an author bio that stands out. DIY MFA

Jami Gold explains how to get advice from an editor. Later in the week, she wonders, do our stories have deeper meanings?

Chris Winkle lists the four essentials of an effective character arc. Then, Oren Ashkenazi explains how to use failure in your story. Mythcreants

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you took away something tasty that will support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Mar 24-30, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

Here we are in April (!) and here’s another week’s worth of informal writerly learnings.

Susan Spann explains how to prepare and use a DMCA takedown notice.  Liz Michalski is biting the bullet (journal) and tracking her writing habit. Barbara O’Neal: spring planting for writers. Heather Webb answers the question: no, really, why do you write? John J. Kelley wonders, whose character is it, anyway? Writer Unboxed

K.M. Weiland shares four pacing tricks to keep readers’ attention, courtesy of Captain Marvel. Helping Writers Become Authors

Jenna Moreci shares her top ten tips for writing your first chapter.

 

Jules Horne drops by Jane Friedman’s blog to discuss writing for audio: understanding attunement.

Joanna Penn interviews Damon Suede about strengthening your writing with the power of words. The Kobo Writing Life Podcast interviewed Damon a couple of weeks ago and it was both informative and entertaining 🙂 The Creative Penn

Manuela Williams: seven questions to ask when building your author brand. Gabriela Pereira interviews Samantha Downing, Barbara Poelle, and Jen Monroe about the author/agent/editor relationship. Laura Highcove lists five steps to create agency in your writing life. DIY MFA

Chris Winkle examines six stories sabotaged by their tone. Then, Oren Ashkenazi covers six common villain mistakes and how to avoid them. Mythcreants

Alison Flood looks at the rotten side of self-publishing: plagiarism, “book-stuffing,” and clickfarms. The Guardian

I hope you found something you can use in your creative practice or business.

Come back on Thursday for some thoughty inspiration.

Until then, be well, my friends!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 30, 2018 – Jan 5, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your weekly dose of informal writerly earnings!

My latest column for DIY MFA came out on New Years Day! Why every writer needs a room of their own (even if it’s not a room).

Emily Wenstrom invites you to join the conversation on the digital platform of your choice. DIY MFA

Gabriela Pereira interviews David Morrell about crafting the Victorian novel for DIY MFA radio.

Chuck Wendig says, in 2019, you must persist, persist, persist! Terribleminds

Jenna Moreci compares the pros and cons of first person and third person narration.

 

Donald Maass: the inner/outer balance. Writer Unboxed

This year, Therese Walsh encourages you to pursue your contentment and your chaos. Writer Unboxed

Sophie Masson shares some book contract “red lines” from a recent presentation she gave on publishing contracts. Writer Unboxed

Annie Neugebauer: forest for the trees. Writer Unboxed

Jo Eberhardt says, follow your mountain. Writer Unboxed

Katrin Schumann says, your number one secret weapon is writing communities. Jane Friedman

Barbara Poelle answers another funny you should ask question for Writer’s Digest: why did my literary agent stop submitting my manuscript?

Bunny provides a field guide to six infectious YA clichés. Love the first image and caption. We see Bella (of Twilight), and the caption reads, what do you mean, I fit all six? LOL! Mythcreants

Jill Schlesinger: small bookstores are booming after nearly being wiped out. CBS

And so, this edition of tipsday comes to a close.

Be well until Thursday, when you can come back for a little thoughty 🙂

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 2-8, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

My first post-NaNo Tipsday! Have you been missing your informal writerly learnings? Here they are!

K.M. Weiland offers her ten rules of writing large casts of characters. Helping Writers Become Authors

Donna Galanti stops by Writers in the Storm: letting go in writing and in life.

Jael McHenry: writing, the gift of time, and O’Henry. Writer Unboxed

Donald Maass offers some 21st century craft advice: catastrophe theory and characters. Writer Unboxed

The power of fiction to change beliefs: Julie Carrick Dalton interviews Omar El Akkad. Writer Unboxed

James Scott Bell stops by Writers Helping Writers to share some tips on beginnings and backstory.

Angela Ackerman guest posts on Mythcreants: taking character relationships to the next level.

Pamela Taylor considers research as real life. DIY MFA

Chris Eboch posts on Fiction University: editing after #NaNoWriMo is the way to make your #writing shine.

Janice Hardy shares five ways to write stronger opening scenes. Fiction University

Colleen M. Story drops by Writers in the Storm to show you how to restore your love of writing.

Agent Barbara Poelle answers another funny you should ask question: how do you support your more successful writer friend when you’re feeling jealous? Writer’s Digest

Brian Curian shares three simple things you can do to find your writing voice. The Writing Cooperative

And that was Tipsday.

Unfortunately, my brain could not brain following NaNo (not unusual) so there will be no Thoughty Thursday this week. I hope to accumulate enough inspirational, research-y, creative stuff for next week.

Until next Tuesday, be well, be kind, and stay strong. The world needs your stories.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Oct 14-20, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Another lovely week filled with informal writerly learnings.

K.M. Weiland explores why writers cherish language. Helping Writers Become Authors

Janice Hardy stops by Writers in the Storm: plot backward to move forward with your novel.

Lisa Hall-Wilson offers five tips on writing a trauma backstory. Writers in the Storm

Roz Morris explains how to outline your novel without killing the fun of writing it. Nail Your Novel

Lisa Cron tells you how to nail your first three pages. Writers Helping Writers

Barbara Poelle answers another funny you should ask question: how fast-paced should a thriller be? Writer’s Digest

Janice Hardy tells you what you need to know about internalization. Fiction University

Rachael Stephen: how to write when you don’t want to. #preptober

 

Sara Letourneau helps you let go of perfectionism the DIY MFA way. DIY MFA

Dan Koboldt stops by Jane Friedman’s blog to explain how to research your writing to ensure technical accuracy. Also, check out Dan’s new book: Putting the Science in Fiction. I’m a fan 🙂

Kathleen McCleary: it takes a village. Writer Unboxed

Porter Anderson wonders, but how much are you reading? Writer Unboxed

Chris Winkle presents six wordcraft questions writers fight over. Then, Oren Ashkenazi points out seven common problems with speculative fiction technology. Mythcreants

Cold Crash Pictures debunks the four most annoying scientific inaccuracies in film.

 

Jenna Moreci lists her worst sci-fi tropes ever.

 

And Cold Crash Pictures tackles four more sexist tropes.

 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something helpful in this curation.

Be well until thoughty Thursday!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Sept 23-29, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Let’s start off October right with some informal writerly learnings 🙂

K.M. Weiland returns from hiatus with three tips for improving show, don’t tell. Helping Writers Become Authors

Susan Spann explains when zero is greater than one. Writer Unboxed

Bryn Greenwood: how long is a piece of string? Ruminations on quitting the day job and what it takes to make a writing life. Writer Unboxed

Barbara O’Neal writes about the pause between. Sometimes, you have to take a break between projects. Listen to your body. Writer Unboxed

Heather Webb offers some tips on writing the authentic modern woman (especially if you’re a man). Writer Unboxed

Julie Carrick Dalton uses a metaphor to describe the editing process: putting words on trial. Writer Unboxed

Jane Friedman shares three principles of finding time to write. Then, Grant Faulkner joins Jane to help you overcome creativity wounds.

Elisabeth Kauffman answers another question in her ask the editor column: conflicting critique advice. DIY MFA

Barbara Poelle answers another “Funny you should ask” question: what is new adult fiction? Writer’s Digest

Chuck Wendig tries his hand at another writing analogy: a writing career is basically a really weird RPG. Terribleminds

Laura Drake explains why learning writing takes so long. Writers in the Storm

Chris Winkle shows you how to break storytelling rules. Mythcreants

Jami Gold: how to save a broken story.

Cold Crash Pictures takes a look at the five most annoyingly sexist tropes in movies. Works for fiction, too.

 

That was Tipsday for this week.

Come back on Thursday for your weekly dose of thoughty.

Until then, be well!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, June 17-23, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s that time of the week when you get to reward yourself with some informal writerly learnings 🙂

K.M. Weiland explains how to intertwine plot, character, and theme in every scene. New insights from my favourite guru 🙂 Helping Writers Become Authors

This column was a-MA-zing. Read it. Love it. Live it! Asking myself why I write … again. Vaughn Roycroft on Writer Unboxed.

Jim Dempsey explains how to create drama with your character’s desire. Writer Unboxed

Roz Morris posts about what she wished she’d known in school: two instructions for making a creative life. Nail Your Novel

Jennie Nash stops by Writers Helping Writers to explain how the growth mindset for writers leads to the satisfaction of excellence.

Chuck Wendig explains how to be a writer in this fucked-ass age of rot and resistance. Terribleminds

Literary agent Barbara Poelle answers the question, what are the best times to query an agent? Funny you should ask. Writer’s Digest

Nathan Bransford confesses something about the fear of never finishing.

L.L. Barkat stops by Jane Friedman’s blog to share her introvert’s guide to launching a book.

Lisa Hall-Wilson encourages you to write beyond lust and attraction and use the body language of love. Writers in the Storm

Elisabeth Kauffman answers another writerly conundrum in her ask the editor column: travelling between worlds. DIY MFA

Bran L. Ayres wonders, should we include trigger warnings in our novels? Then, Bran L. Ayres returns to Jami Gold’s blog: how to develop and show a healthy romance.

Oren Ashkenazi provides six more bad arguments against social justice in speculative fiction. Then, Oren critiques six supposedly powerful abilities that don’t measure up. Really, it’s about overpowered characters. Mythcreants

Melody Wilding: how mental illness inspired Gabriela Pereira to launch a creative writing business. Forbes

Tajja Isen hopes writers of colour can expand the way they write about their identities. “Despite the position from which I write, and the need for it to inform my work, I also want that work to bloom around a richer core than the supposed pain of racial difference. If each writer chases a singular question, then I need a refrain that does more open-ended, unexpected work than just announcing the color of my skin as the intellectual bottom line — even if, or especially if, that tortured pose is the kind of work that editors expect.” Buzzfeed

Camille Perri says, we need more queer stories where nobody suffers. Electric Lit

MTV’s Decoded: code switching with Franchesca Ramsey.

 

And that was Tipsday. Tomorrow is hump-day and that’s one day closer to Friday!

Come back on Thursday for your weekly dose of thoughty.

Be well until then, my friends.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, June 3-9, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Another week, another batch of informal writerly learnings.

Jane Friedman excerpts from Tanya Hall’s Ideas, Influence, and Income: what to look for in a book publicist and tips for going it alone.

Donna Galanti offers eleven ways to find and connect with other authors in your genre. Writers in the Storm

Fae Rowan explains why you have to give your readers what they want. Writers in the Storm

Jenna Moreci shares her top ten hacks for your writing process.

 

Agent Barbara Poelle answers a question about word counts on Funny You Should Ask. Writer’s Digest

Nancy Johnson helps you find rhythm in your prose. Writer Unboxed

Donald Maass gives you the reason to build a box. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Magendie explores rhythms in reading and writing. Writer Unboxed

James Scott Bell invites you to use the writer’s spice cabinet. Writers Helping Writers

Chrys Fey stopps by Writers Helping Writers to help you boost your creativity mindset naturally.

K.M. Weiland reviews Avengers: Infinity War and gives us four ways to write a better antagonist. Helping Writers Become Authors

Sara Letourneau provides a case study on revenge as a literary theme. DIY MFA

And here’s my latest column. Mythic structure: The Virgin’s Promise, part one. DIY MFA

Ashley Hilst shows you five ways to inject theme into your story (without being obvious). DIY MFA

Chris Winkle explains how to give your hero sympathetic problems. Mythcreants

Monday and Tuesday are under your workweek belt. Feel good about that.

Be well until Thursday!

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