Kathryn Craft

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, May 6-12, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Here, once again, are your informal writerly learnings:

Jo Eberhardt: writers write, right? Writer Unboxed

Keith Cronin writes a thought-provoking post for Writer Unboxed: when a bad person makes good art. I’ve struggled with this issue myself and there are no easy answers, at least none that satisfy both my need for social justice and my need for quality art to consume.

Related: Another popular and powerful artist proves he can’t even be a decent human being. MIT to investigate allegations of bullying and unwanted sexual contact against Junot Diaz. MassLive

Juliet Marillier examines the angsty writer. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Craft helps you compose your protagonist’s “I want” song. Writer Unboxed

Grace Wynter offers some tips for creating your novel’s soundtrack. Writer Unboxed

Nina Munteanu wonders, how do you know your story’s finished?

K.M. Weiland returns to her most common writing mistakes series with part 64: POV problems. Helping Writers Become Authors

Jenna Moreci reviews the pros and cons of traditional publishing (and busts a few myths).

 

Then, Jenna lists the biggest mistakes writers make.

 

Susan DeFreitas: what it really takes to break through with your first book deal. Jane Friedman

Penny Sansevieri offers six reasons to relaunch your book (in the age of the reboot). Jane Friedman

September C. Fawkes explains how to convey an established relationship quickly. Writers Helping Writers

Becca Puglisi is choosing the right details. Writers Helping Writers

Nathan Bransford shares everything writers need to know about pitching their books.

Emily Wenstrom explains what authors should know about Facebook’s “meaningful interactions” update. DIY MFA

Robin Lovett lists seven reasons why being unpublished is hard. You’re preaching to the choir, here, Robin 🙂 DIY MFA

Julie Glover explains when action isn’t a good thing in your novel. Writers in the Storm

Shawn Coyne gives us an insider’s look into the acquisition process: how literary agents target acquisitions editors. Steven Pressfield

Joanna Penn helps you manage stress, anxiety, and burnout. The Creative Penn

Chris Winkle discusses five types of disastrous reveals. Mythcreants

Kristen Lamb looks at a trademark issue that hit publishing news this week. Cocky blocked: how to nuke your brand from orbit.

Jami Gold: why we all need a writing community.

And that was Tipsday.

Be well until thoughty Thursday. *waves*

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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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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, March 4-10, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Your informal writerly learnings for the week, gentle reader 🙂

Marisa de los Santos is writing through the rough parts. Writer Unboxed

Donald Maass expounds on high drama and heroism. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Craft: proving your protagonist has what it takes. Writer Unboxed

Jeanne Kisacky discusses the ups and downs of the supporters in a writer’s life: a well-deserved expression of gratitude. Writer Unboxed

The island of misfit characters. Where intriguing characters go when they’re … not quite right. Kathryn Magendie on Writer Unboxed.

James Scott Bell: garlic breath for writers (AKA bad first pages). Writers Helping Writers

Angela Ackerman explains how to raise the stakes by making is personal. Writers Helping Writers

A.K. Perry begins a new series on signpost scenes with the disturbance. DIY MFA

Elisabeth Kauffman answers a question about character motive in her new series, ask the editor. DIY MFA

Sierra Delarosa lists five grammar mistakes writers should avoid. DIY MFA

Peter Selgin guest posts on Jane Friedman’s blog: how your story’s opening foreshadows (intentionally or not) what’s to come.

L.L. Barkat, who bid farewell to blogging years ago on Jane Friedman’s blog, returns to explain why blogging may no longer be such a bad thing anymore.

Chuck Wendig responds to Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s tweet defining art and entertainment. Terribleminds

Kristen Lamb: how story forges, defines, and refines character.

Julie Glover asks, are you sick and tired of editing your novel? Writers in the Storm

Oren Ashkenazi explains why the term “Mary Sue” should be retired. Mythcreants

Nina Munteanu says, write about what you know.

Sudbury Writers’ Guild member and vice-president Vera Constantineau is interviewed on Morning North about her new fiction collection, Daisy Chained. CBC

Nnedi Okorafor: science fiction that imagines a future Africa. TED Talks

Leah Schnelbach wonders, how could I forget the liberating weirdness of Madeleine L’Engle? Tor.com

Katy Waldman rereads A Wrinkle in Time after a childhood spent enthralled by Madeleine L’Engle. The New Yorker

Alison Flood reports that Shakespeare may have annotated his own source for Hamlet. The Guardian

Be well until Thursday, my friends!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 24-30, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

And now … your first batch of informal writerly learnings for the New Year!

Kathryn Craft advises you to ask for what you need. Writers in the Storm

Laura Drake makes notes to her unpublished self. Writers in the Storm

Elizabeth Randolph guest posts on Jami Gold’s blog: good storytelling is about going primal.

A.K. Perry shares five essential elements of strong dialogue. DIY MFA

Gabriela Pereira explains why you should review your writing year. DIY MFA

Amy Pennza shares five ways to find a writer’s group online. DIY MFA

Jenna Moreci follows up last week’s video on world building don’t with this one on world building basics.

 

Oren Ashkenazi looks at five stories hurt by unlikable protagonists. Mythcreants

T.R. Ragan offers five tips for writing stories with multiple points of view and still keeping the reader in suspense. Writer’s Digest

Chuck Wendig shares his writing resolution for 2018: write with intention. Terribleminds

Alexandra Alter: in an era of online outrage, do sensitivity readers result in better books, or censorship? I’d argue the former, but what do I know? As Alter states in the article, expert readers have a long tradition in publishing. The New York Times

Be well until Thursday!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 10-16, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Please find linked your informal writerly learnings for the week.

Jane Friedman gives you a book launch plan for first-time authors without an online presence.

Jami Gold takes her turn in the Writers Helping Writers coaching corner: episodic vs. epic.

Later in the week, Jami talks transitions on her own blog: meanwhile, back in our subplot …

Piper Bayard helps you win the anxiety war. Writers in the Storm

Sharon Bially touts the power of a writing group for publishing success. Writer Unboxed

David Corbett helps you motivate the reluctant protagonist. Writer Unboxed

Sarah Callender looks at fiction and improv and discovers that they’re sisters from different misters. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Craft helps you bring your dialog to life. Writer Unboxed

Don’t get rolled by bad publicity. Porter Anderson on Writer Unboxed.

Leanne Sowul interviews Carol van den Hende for DIY MFA: be well, write well.

Melanie Bell shares five books that will help you start and finish your writing. DIY MFA

Steven Pressfield: the villain is not always a person.

Paige Duke helps you survive rejection. Standout Books

Oren Ashkenazi presents six tips for writing sequels. Later in the week, Oren lists five insufficient reasons for including bigotry in your story. Mythcreants

Ursula K. Le Guin explains how to build a new kind of utopia. Electric Lit

Then Ursula appears on Open Democracy, encouraging science fiction and fantasy authors to envision alternatives to capitalism.

CBC Books presents a guide to writing prizes for Canadians.

Jason Guriel: the case against reading everything. The Walrus

Olivia Zaleski reports that two Audible executives depart after harassment probe. The Seattle Times

Have you read “Cat Person” yet? I have, and apparently, I’m in good company: New Yorker short story triggers record-breaking response. Heloise Wood for The Bookseller.

Jessica Jernigan: the book that made me a feminist was written by an abuser. Electric Lit

Naima Coster: my editor was black. Catapult

Be well until Thursday!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Oct 22-28, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Here are your informal writerly learnings for the week.

Janice Hardy continues her 31 day online writing workshop for preptober. Day 22: the inciting event. Day 23: the first act problem. Day 24: the act two choice. Day 25: the midpoint reversal. Day 26: the act two disaster. Day 27: the three act plan. Day 28: the climax. Day 29: the wrap up. You’ll have to read the rest yourself on Fiction University.

Marie lists 24 novels that started off as NaNoWriMo projects. Goodreads

K.M. Weiland: four ways to prevent story structure from becoming formulaic. Helping Writers Become Authors

Angela Ackerman visits Jane Friedman’s blog: using dysfunctional behaviour to reveal characters’ wounds. Then Jordan Rosenfeld takes a turn: four ways to start a scene.

Terri Frank invites you to go beyond Westworld and reinvent the western. DIY MFA

Brenda Joyce Patterson helps you write through fear and anxiety. DIY MFA

Kathryn Craft offers five tips to help you survive a career quake. Writers in the Storm

Jamie Raintree guest posts on Writers in the Storm: waking up early to write. Then, Jamie pops over to Writer’s Digest: building self-care habits so you can write your best work.

Barbara O’Neal helps you vanquish the killer critic. Writer Unboxed

Bran L. Ayres guest posts on Jami Gold’s blog: want to write with diversity but not sure how? Later in the week, Jami wonders, how do you persevere?

Mark O’Neill stops by The Creative Penn: writing while under the influence of depression.

Joe Fassler talked to 150 writers and collected the best advice they had. Literary Hub

Jess Zafarris and Cris Freese share six lessons writers can learn from Netflix’s Stranger Things. Are you binging? You’re binging, aren’t you? Writer’s Digest

This will be the last Tipsday until December—!

Be well through the time change and whatever challenges November presents you.

You are awesome just as you are.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Sept 24-30, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

I proudly present your informal writerly learnings for the week.

I think this is my favourite post of K.M. Weiland’s this year: six lifestyle changes you can make to protect your creativity. Later in the week, Kate shares four ways to amplify your characters’ subtext. Helping Writers Become Authors

Sara Letourneau assembles this list of 12 questions you can use to determine the themes of your writing life. DIY MFA

Stacy Woodson lists the pros and cons of joining a writing organization. DIY MFA

Tamara Linden stops by DIY MFA for #5onFri: five sticky grammar mistakes and how to avoid them.

Sarah Moore guest posts on Jane Friedman’s blog: when you shouldn’t hire and pay for a professional editor.

Susan Spann warns about the hidden dangers in short-form publishing deals. Writer Unboxed

Barbara O’Neal explains how to plant the magic beans of story. Writer Unboxed

Diana Raab tells you how to create a sacred space for your writing. Writer Unboxed

Erika Liodice explains how to find the right developmental editor for your book. Writer Unboxed

Nathan Bransford: how writers can beat imposter syndrome.

Kathryn Craft helps you finish your novel one stroke at a time. Writers in the Storm

Jenna Moreci explains how to write a solid chapter.

 

C.S. Lakin guest posts over at Writers Helping Writers: the ten key scenes you need to frame up your novel.

Rachael Stephen reviews the tragic plot embryo as part of her Preptober series. With silly shenanigans at the end.

 

Kristen Lamb explains why guilt is a lie and how boundaries benefit everyone.

David Peterson (the linguist who created languages for Game of Thrones and Defiance): how to create a fantasy language. Unbound Worlds

I hope you found something of value in this mix. Come back on Thursday for your weekly dose of thoughty 🙂

Until then, my friends, be well.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Sept 10-16 2017

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

And now … it’s time for your informal writerly learnings for the week.

Jane Friedman answers the question, what’s more important, author websites, or social media? Then she follows up with this post: social media for authors is the toughest topic to advise on.

Jami Gold visits Writers Helping Writers: translating story beats into any genre.

Abigail K. Perry: three major roles of minor characters. DIY MFA

Audrey Kalman shares five tips for processing a negative critique. DIY MFA

Slipping this in here because its (kind of) related. Jenna Moreci with part two of her beta reader process:

 

Brenda Joyce Patterson offers tips and techniques for training your writer’s brain. DIY MFA

Kermeron Hurley talks about creativity and the fear of losing the magic.

Laura Drake explains how to survive a confidence crisis. Writers in the Storm

Sierra Godfrey and Kasey Corbit share three steps for using the tarot for your writing. Writers in the Storm

Janice Hardy guest posts on The Write Practice: why your story conflict isn’t working (and how to fix it).

Kathryn Craft: say a little less; mean a little more. Writer Unboxed

Porter Anderson shares some news you can use (and some you shouldn’t). Writer Unboxed

Kim Alexander helps you put the fan back in fantasy—and get past ye same olde same olde. Kristen Lamb’s blog

Chris Winkle offers some insight into creating an eclectic magic system. Mythcreants

Oren Ashkenazi lists six common problems with long series (and how to fix them). Mythcreants

Anjali Enjeti explains why she’s still trying to get a book deal after ten years. Both heartbreaking and hopeful. The Atlantic

Kim Fahner pays tribute to Gwendolyn MacEwen on Many Gendered Mothers.

The CBC invites you to discover the best in Canadian Indigenous writing.

How to rescue a wet book (!)

 

Mandalit del Barco interviews Marie Lu for NPR.

Jo Walton: Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Day Before the Revolution” as a moment in a life. Tor.com

Robert Minto wonders, what happens when a science fiction genius starts blogging? New Republic

Abiola Oke interviews Nnedi Okorafor for Okay Africa.

I hope you found something you needed in this curation.

Come back for Thoughty Thursday 🙂

Until then, be well, my friends.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Aug 27-Sept 2, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

Here are your informal writerly learnings for the week 🙂

Kathryn Craft offers four tips for translating critique-speak 🙂 Writers in the Storm

Janice Hardy visits Writers in the Storm: six ways your setting can create conflict.

Julia Monroe Martin shares seven things she learned from wrecking her novel. Writer Unboxed

Tracy Hahn-Burkett gives a primer in outlining for pantsers. Writer Unboxed

James Scott Bell offers some tips on how to weave backstory into frontstory. Writer Unboxed

Steven James talks about telling the truth in fiction. Writer Unboxed

Natalia Sylvester explains how white writers can be better allies to writers of colour. Writer Unboxed

Jo Eberhardt compares authentic female characters to Hollywood’s passion for gender-swaps. Writer Unboxed

K.M. Weiland shows us seven ways to write thematically-pertinent antagonists. Helping Writers Become Authors

Later in the week, Kate explains why doubt is the key to flat character arcs.

Janice Hardy stops by Writers Helping Writers: why characters need choices in fiction.

Sara Letourneau continues her series on developing themes in your stories with part 12: the setting. DIY MFA

Ghenet Myrthil: five lessons I learned writing my first middle grade novel. DIY MFA

Tamara Linden presents five myths to plunder for ideas and inspiration. DIY MFA

Jeff Lyons guest posts on Jami Gold’s blog: don’t believe these writing myths, part 1.

What psychology says about the first page of your novel. Tamar Sloan for The Write Life.

Chris Winkle: when dark and gritty is just exploitation. Mythcreants

More Wordstock 2017 news from The Sudbury Star.

Peter Robb interviews Kate Heartfield for Artsfile.

Gear Bear says that in the genre’s new “golden age,” science fiction has won the war. Geekwire podcast.

Tolkien’s plant passion moves botanist to write Flora of Middle-Earth. David Fuchs for NPR.

Ursula K. Le Guin: on power, oppression, and freedom. Vox Populi

Robin Kirk explores epic fantasy and breaking the rules of infrastructure in the interest of speed. Tor.com

I hope you gleaned some writerly goodness from this curation.

Be well until Thursday, my friends!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 9-15, 2017

/ Melanie Marttila

And here we go with another batch of informal writerly learnings 🙂

Sophie Masson expounds on the joys of writing in an unfamiliar setting. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Craft says you need to earn the backstory by raising a question. Writer Unboxed

Becca Puglisi teaches subterfuge in dialogue. Writers in the Storm

Jenny Hansen shares … a story of balls. Writers in the Storm

Chuck Wendig: so, you’re having a bad writing day. Terribleminds

Roz Morris stops by Writers Helping Writers to improve your suspense in stories with … the big tease.

Angela Ackerman looks back: why we must invest if we want a writing career. Writers Helping Writers

Janice Hardy continues her birth of a book series: creating the characters. Fiction University

Kristen Lamb explores the creative benefits of being bored.

Terri Frank joins the DIY MFA team: five ways to use the library to nurture your reading life.

Gabriela Pereira stops by Jerry Jenkins’ blog to teach us how to write dazzling dialogue.

Then, Gabriela interviews Ann Kidd Taylor for DIY MFA radio.

Gary Zenker returns to DIY MFA: how to get the most out of a critique.

Elise Holland offers five poetic tools to enhance your prose. DIY MFA

Jane Friedman explains how to pitch agents at a writers’ conference.

Chris Winkle lists seven ways to bring characters together. Mythcreants

Nancy Kress looks at the science in science fiction: the good, the bad, and the ugly. Tor.com

Richard G. Lowe Jr.: how better world building will keep you out of trouble. AutoCrit

Brandon Taylor: who cares what white people think? Literary Hub

Emily Van Duyne wonders why we’re so reluctant to take Sylvia Plath at her word? Literary Hub

Jane Austen comments on love and happiness. Oxford University Press.

 

David Barnett: how traditional British folklore is benefiting from modern culture. The Independent

Emma Watson interviews Margaret Atwood about The Handmaid’s Tale. Entertainment Weekly

Nancy Kress shares seven things she’s learned so far … Writer’s Digest

Karen Grigsby Bates: how Octavia Butler wrote herself into the story. NPR

Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that after four years in negotiation, HBO and George R.R. Martin are producing Nnedi Okorafor’s Who Fears Death as a series! i09

Marc Snetiker gives us a first look at A Wrinkle in Time. Entertainment Weekly

Charles Pulliam-Moore: the reason publishers rejected A Wrinkle in Time is the same reason Ava DuVernay is making the movie. i09

And Cheryl Eddy shares the A Wrinkle in Time trailer! i09

It’s been an exciting week for series and movies. So looking forward.

Come back on Thursday for your weekly dose of thoughty!

Until then, be well.

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