developmental editing

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, May 9-15, 2021

/ Melanie Marttila

Welcome to another tipsday, your opportunity to fill up on informal writerly learnings 🙂

KL Burd helps you incorporate social issues into your manuscript. Therese Walsh: spring thaws and the buzz of the muse. Then, Juliet Marillier wants you to consider your author photo. Kathryn Craft wants you to embrace unapologetic characterization. Later in the week, David Corbett recounts his experience murdering 22,000 darlings. Writer Unboxed

Shaelin guides you through the process of content and developmental editing. Reedsy

K.M. Weiland covers the mage’s shadow archetypes in part 14 of her archetypal character arcs series. Helping Writers Become Authors

Star Wuerdemann explains how to find compelling comps for your book. Jane Friedman

Joanna Penn interviews Gail Carriger about The Heroine’s Journey. The Creative Penn

Princess Weekes looks at the literary power of manga. It’s Lit | PBS Storied

Laurence MacNaughton shares three shortcuts to character-driven stories. Then, Savannah Cordova helps you figure out which story structure is right for your novel. Fiction University

Stephanie BwaBwa explains how to use bookstagram to increase your novel’s visibility. Then, Olivia Fisher is all about short stories. Gabriela Pereira interviews Suyi Davies Okungbowa about layers of world building in epic fantasy. Later in the week, Melanie Gibson shares five tips for writing about your mental health journey. DIY MFA

How the self-aware teen movie almost killed the genre. The Take

Marissa Graff explains how to power up individual scenes with a scene tracker. Writers Helping Writers

Margie Lawson touts the power of quirky-smirky assonance and alluring alliteration. Then, Ellen Buikema explains the relationship between stress and creativity. Writers in the Storm

Kristine Kathryn Rusch starts a new series: fear-based decision-making (part one).

Chris Winkle lists five ways to incorporate dreams into your plot. Then, Oren Ashkenazi analyzes five fascinating monsters in speculative fiction. Mythcreants

Kristen Lamb follows the writer’s journey from total newbie to the joy of mastery.

Vicky Qaio reports that Robert J. Sawyer and Silvia Moreno-Garcia are among the finalists for the 2021 Aurora Awards. CBC

Sagal Mohammed interviews Barry Jenkins about avoiding the exploitation of Black trauma in The Underground Railroad. Buzzfeed

Thank you for taking the time to stop by, and I hope you took away 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, Aug 4-10, 2019

/ Melanie Marttila

You’ve worked hard this week (so far). Reward yourself with some informal writerly learnings.

Jael McHenry: it’s always in the last place you look. Donald Maass considers persuasion.  Then, Kathryn Craft wants you to give your reader an experience. David Corbett has a conversation with Zoe Quinton about developmental editing. And Kathryn Magendie writes about becoming a rogue planet (when you lose your publisher). Writer Unboxed

K.M. Weiland shares part two of her five character arcs at a glance series: the three negative arcs. Helping Writers Become Authors

Abigail K. Perry looks at characters in terms of grit, wit, and it. Slush Pile Survivor

C.S. Lakin explains when telling, not showing, emotion is the right choice. Writers Helping Writers

Leanne Sowul: what writing can do for you. DIY MFA

Jenna Moreci lists her top ten worst dystopian tropes.

Sangeeta Mehta interviews Sarah LaPolla and Kim Lionetti for Jane Friedman’s blog.

Chuck Wendig: on writing from a place of fear vs from a place of love. Terribleminds

Reedsy offers a guide to fantasy subgenres.

Chris Winkle: filling in your story’s middle. Then, Oren Ashkenazi relates six common forms of bad writing advice. Mythceants

Jami Gold: when writing advice goes wrong.

Robert Lee Brewer looks at the difference between it’s and its. I know, seems basic. Doesn’t mean I don’t make the mistake from time to time. Reinforcement is always good. Writer’s Digest

Richard Lea and Sian Cain pay tribute to Toni Morrison, who died August 6, at the age of 88. The Guardian

Dwight Garner honours Morrison as a writer of many gifts who bent language to her will. The New York Times

There were so many more tributes, this humble curation would have been huge. I just chose a couple.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something of value.

Until Thursday, be well, my writerly friends!

Tipsday2019