copyediting

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, April 24-30, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to May! Start off the month right with some informal writerly learnings 🙂

Vaughn Roycroft: the applicability of … zombies? Elizabeth Huergo discusses social psychology and the novel. Then, Kelsey Allagood explains why you should embrace the fallow times. Diana Giovinazzo wants us to embrace our literary influences. Kristan Hoffman: revising the stories we tell ourselves. Writer Unboxed

K.M. Weiland lists ten pros and cons to writing every day. Do you have to? (Hint: maybe not.) Helping Writers Become Authors

Princess Weekes discusses Beloved, Toni Morrison’s magnum opus about confronting a terrible past. It’s Lit | PBS Storied

Kris Maze shares six ways to fix manuscript problems with an outline. Then, Laura Baker is discovering story magic: the x-factor. Eldred Bird poses ten questions to ask your characters. Writers in the Storm

Jim Denney shares the fast-writing secrets of C.S. Lewis. Live, Write, Thrive

Andrea A. Firth explains how the literary journal landscape is and isn’t changing. Allison K. Williams: writers, stop using social media (like that). Anne Carley wonders is journaling a waste of writing time? Jane Friedman

The hungry goddess. Tale Foundry

Melissa Haas offers some leisure learning for April 2022. Then, Colice Sanders is unpacking racism and colorism in character descriptions. Disha Walia shows you how to create your world with six questions. Then, Krystal N. Craiker provides a copyediting checklist: a recipe for clean, clear writing. Finally, Jeneva Rose goes through the five stages of dealing with rejection. DIY MFA

Becca Puglisi wants to know what’s your character hiding? Angela Ackerman: you wrote a killer love story … but did you romance the reader? Writers Helping Writers

The one thing every antihero fears … The Take

Tiffany Yates Martin explains how to transition into a flashback. Fox Print Editorial

The style genre: set the experience for the reader. The reality genre: realism or science fiction/fantasy. The time genre: how the reader experiences time in your story. Story Grid

The ten worst magic tropes. Jenna Moreci

Chris Winkle provides five tips for avoiding disorientation in your opening hook. Then, Oren Ashkenazi hosts a head-to-head-to-head competition between Antz, A Bug’s Life, and Ant-Man. Mythcreants

Kristen Lamb says that lies, deception, and betrayal are the deepest wounds.

Tajja Isen explains how the book industry turns its racism into a marketable product. Literary Hub

Thank you for taking the time to visit, and I hope you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, April 3-9, 2022

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to tipsday, your opportunity to stock up on informal writerly learnings. Enjoy!

Richelle Lyn wonders whether to trademark or not to trademark. Then, Ambre Leffler recommends the marble jar experiment to balance your energy account. Marina Barakatt discusses Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel. Then, Laura Whitfield is facing shame and healing through writing a memoir. Later in the week, Madhushree Ghosh shares five books on family and belonging by Southeast Asian writers. DIY MFA

Ellen Brock helps you write your novel’s second quarter.

Julie Duffy wants you to find the fun. Then, Greer Macallister shares the pleasures and pitfalls of changing genres. Donald Maass: there are forces at work here. Nancy Johnson shares three tips for using real-world events. Then, David Corbett makes the next instalment in the continuing saga of the murdered darlings, prologue edition. Writer Unboxed

Tim Hickson fixes Legend of Korra. Hello, Future Me

Harrison Demchick reveals how to write about the pandemic (or not). Helping Writers Become Authors

Karen Debonis: from non-writer to published author in 20 short years. Then, Janice Hardy shares five ways to add depth to a scene. Julie Glover offers 10 common corrections she makes when copyediting. Writers in the Storm

Look what Jill Bearup accidentally made …

Joanna Penn interviews Tiffany Yates Martin about Intuitive Editing. The Creative Penn

Alex J. Cavanaugh talks about taking a writing break. Elizabeth Spann Craig

The story resolution creates a satisfying ending for the reader. Story Grid

Princess Weekes explores the failure of Black Disney.

Adam Rosen explains why you should consider a university press for your book. Then, Lisa Ellison Cooper reveals why your amazing writing group might be failing you. Jane Friedman

Nathan Bransford says there are no writing rules, but there are principles.

How to use symbolism in your writing. Reedsy

Kristen Lamb: memory shapes characters and sharpens conflict. Then, Kristen covers literary larceny and why people should be ashamed.

Colleen M. Story debunks one popular myth writers believe about writer’s block. Writers Helping Writers

Why aren’t angels scary anymore? Fate & Fabled | PBS Storied

Tiffany Yates Martin reveals how KJ Dell’Antonia revises: embracing opportunity. Fox Print Editorial

Chris Winkle profiles five mediocre white men from big-budget stories. Then, Oren Ashkenazi analyzes five underwhelming reveals in speculative fiction. Mythcreants

Sands Hall: “The ways of fiction are devious indeed.” Was Wallace Stegner guilty of plagiarism? Alta

Thank you for taking the time to visit, and I hope you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 18-24, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s the last tipsday of July? Where the hell has the time gone? And so fast? Ah well, console yourselves with some informal writerly learnings.

Jan O’Hara shares what an unnatural book marketer learned while Marie Kondo-ing her house. Then, Dave King exposes the dangers of editing. Barbara Linn Probst explains what to do when you take a break from your work in progress. Heather Webb says, when the going gets tough, the though get going (in publishing). Late in the week, John J. Kelley offers some tips for when characters meet: close encounters of he initial kind. Writer Unboxed

What is Toph’s character arc? Hello, Future Me

K.M. Weiland: why everyone should write (even if you think you stink). Helping Writers Become Authors

Angela Ackerman promotes writing character descriptions that hook readers. Then, Sudha Balagopal encourages you to flavor your fiction with foreign expressions. Later in the week, Ellen Buikema encourages you to think about why you’ve chosen the road to writing. Writers in the Storm

Copyediting vs. proofreading. Reedsy

Bonnie Randall helps you access deep point of view via description (and a writing exercise). Fiction University

Nathan Brandford wants you to try to separate process from product (outcomes).

Is your book ready for an editor? Reedsy

E.J. Wenstrom shows you how to plan an online book launch. Then, Sara Farmer considers classic girl detectives. Gabriela Pereira interviews Brandie June about character dynamics in a fairy tale retelling. Later in the week, Kim Catanzarite shares five copyediting mistakes you’re probably making (and how to eradicate them). DIY MFA

El Silbón: The Deadly Whistler of the South American Grasslands. Monstrum | PBS Storied

Angie Hodapp shares four ways to create inter-character conflict. Pub Rants

Becca Puglisi helps you figure out whether fight, flight, or freeze is your character’s default response. Writers Helping Writers

Chris Winkle explains how to make large conflicts exciting. Mythcreants

Chimera: mythology’s magical multi-species monster. Tale Foundry

Kathleen Newman-Bremang: it isn’t just Gossip Girl—TV has a major colorism problem. Refinery 29

35 Canadian books to check out this summer. CBC Books

Phil Pirello introduces us to the version of Aliens we never saw. SyFy

Kim Stanley Robinson considers the novel solutions of utopian fiction. The Nation

Davide Tristan: one megahit later, we check in with the creator of Enola Holmes. ABC27

Vicky Qaio reports that Canadian authors C.L. Polk and Silvia Moreno-Garcia among World Fantasy Award finalists. CBC books

Neda Ulaby: when your book publishes in a pandemic. NPR

And that was tipsday. Thanks for taking the time to visit, and I hope you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!