Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, 24-30, 2016

February 2, 2016February 2, 2016 / Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

The video frenzy has calmed down, but the space has been filled with all kinds of Writerly Goodness!

Your NaNo novel is a hot mess. K.M. Weiland explains how to approach revision and editing.

Katie posted later in the week about how to write realistic fight scenes and later still with the number one problem with backstory (and how to fix it).

Outlining your scenes will help you write a great novel. C.S. Lakin.

Sue returned with another entry in her scene structure series: understanding the truth about character arcs.

Roz Morris gives us a simple way to understand show, not tell.

Everyone is all about structure, the outline, and planning rather than pantsing. Well, I’m proud to identify as a plantser. Steven James explains to Writer Unboxed readers how abandoning your outline can improve your story.

Bonnie Randall guest posts on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University writing about matching actions and emotions.

Christian Cameron writes about war, violence, and killing characters.

Cara Sue Achterberg shares how she added a touch of fantasy to her novel. Author First.

Don’t worry, it only gets harder. Dan Blank explains why it’s important to keep your focus where it belongs. Writer Unboxed.

Kameron Hurley considers kindness and conventions. Later in the week, she’s committed to the drop and offers a few words of advice on non-compete clauses and rights grabs.

The politics of justice: Identity and empire in Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Trilogy. Liz Bourke for Tor.com.

Renee Baum helps us to see writing as surgery for the soul. The Elephant Journal.

The Book of Kells is now free to read online. It’s a masterwork of medieval illumination. Trinity College Dublin.

Jake Rossen asks, why do books have blank pages? Mental Floss.

There’s a new Beatrix Potter story to be published after 100 years. CBC.

Eight words reveal the sexism at the heart of the English language. The Guardian.

Stephen Fry, Ina McKellen, and Melvyn Bragg share their stories for this new online course, Literature and mental health. The Independent.

Hit Record: a different kind of social media. Check it out. It looks awesome.

Shane Koyczan’s Crush:

Outlander casts Brianna for season two. The Hollywood Reporter.

It was a good week. Here’s to another!

See you Thursday 🙂

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Sept 27-Oct 3, 2015

October 6, 2015 / Melanie Marttila

This week’s offerings:

We all “know” we’re supposed to be honest in our fiction, but what does that really mean? K.M. Weiland.

Katie features One stop for writers, by Angela Ackerman, Becca Puglisi, and Scrivener’s Lee Powell, on her personal blog. We have to wait until October 7 to sign up, though. (Hey! That’s TOMORROW!)

Then, Katie offers two warning signs that you’re starting your story too early in her Friday vlog.

Bonnie Randall is back with another great post on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University: Getting psyched out.

C.S. Lakin gives us a list of ten questions that will help check our stories for underwriting. Live, write, thrive.

Every journey starts with a first step. Every story begins with the first word. About gittin’ ‘er done. BookBaby blogs.

Cathy Yardley asks, is your story complex, or overly complicated? How to build complexity without confusing your reader. Writer Unboxed.

Nicole Winters writes about how she kicked research in the butt. Writers in the Storm.

Canadian small press Bilblioasis is doing great things (with three books on the Giller long-list). The Globe and Mail.

Now is not the time for realistic fiction, says Margaret Atwood. NPR.

Elizabeth Gilbert warns of the perils of ignoring your creative self on CBC’s Q.

Eleanor Arnason guest posts on the Women in Science Fiction blog.

Chuck Wendig asked a few cool people to write guest posts on his Terribleminds blog. First, Stina Leicht offers her thoughts on message fiction in SFF. The S.L. Huang defends escapist, blow-shit-up-hell-yeah, popcorn entertainment. Then, editor John Adamus explains why getting an independent and professional editor to review your work is so important.

Anna Lovind explains why she ditched her beautiful career in publishing. Annapurna Living.

“If you’re being rejected 90% of the time, you’re actually incredibly successful.” Dan Blank interviews Eric Wert on We Grow Media.

Check out this historical fiction: The incredible expandable book. Medieval Books.

Put these ten ultra-weird science fiction novels on your reading list. i09.

Mental Floss presents 11 unusual books stores you can visit.

Hope you found something useful. If you did, I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Hang in until Thoughty Thursday.

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, September 20-26, 2015

September 29, 2015 / Melanie Marttila

One day left in September? Where did the time go?

It’s another tasty week of Writerly Goodness 🙂

K.M. Weiland invites you into her process as she corrects her story on her blog. Listen to the podcast and follow along with the screen shots on the blog.

Then, Katie shares what this past year preparing for publication has been like.

And for the hat trick: Foreshadowing and misdirection. Two sides of the same writerly skill best used in concert. Find out how in Katie’s Friday vlog.

Bonnie Randall returns to Janice Hardy’s Fiction University to explore the lessons writers can learn from The Killing. Phil and I are watching this on Netflix now. Just started season two. It’s definitely well-written.

Barbara Kyle shares five tips for writing a series on Chryssa Bazos’s blog.

Jane Friedman discusses the evolution of the literary agent. Writer’s Digest.

Porter Anderson digs deeper into the Authors Guild survey and what it means on Thought Catalog.

You may be surprised at what counts as a success in terms of book sales. Lynn Neary for NPR.

Ebook sales slip and the rumours of print book death are greatly exaggerated. The New York Times.

Summary judgement motions filed in ebook price fixing suit. Publishers Weekly.

How Oyster’s shut down (and movement of its employees to Google) is affecting attempts to create a “Netflix” for ebooks. Forbes.

Forbes’s Edmund Ingham interviews Reedsy founder, Emmanuel Nataf, about how his service is disrupting publishing.

Last week, I shared a post about a banned book in New Zealand. This week, the author speaks out. The Observer.

Messages to the future. Vsauce. I’ve chosen to put this in Tipsday because it’s about the stories we tell.