The triumphant return of Tipsday includes lots of informal writerly learning for you 🙂

K.M. Weiland shares four ways to write a thought-provoking mentor character. Helping Writers Become Authors

Later in the week, Alida Winternheimer helps you choose the right POV. Helping Writers Become Authors

Sara Letourneau visits the Writers Helping Writers coaching corner: struggling with (and regaining) confidence in your writing.

Dave King explores unspoken dialogue. Writer Unboxed

Kathleen McCleary: non-advice for writers. Writer Unboxed

Sorry I’ve missed a couple, but I’m picking up Janice Hardy’s birth of a book series with this instalment: writing the first draft. Fiction University

Monica Alvarado Frazier: when you need a kick in the writing butt.

Abigail K. Perry discusses the merits of writing back cover copy. DIY MFA

Irina Brignull shares five tips for creating characters readers will connect with. DIY MFA

Chris Winkle outlines the five essentials of omniscient narration. Mythcreants

Suzanne Purvis helps you get your fabulous characters into your synopsis. Writers in the Storm

Tasha Seegmiller: so you want to write an outline … Writers in the Storm

I’m so excited about this, I can’t even. Laurie Schnebly Campbell unpacks Kim Hudson’s heroine’s journey. Writers in the Storm

And, related: Rachael Stephen digs in and explains how Harmon’s plot embryo can be used to plot novels 🙂

 

Oren Ashkenazi lists six signs your story may be queerphobic. Mythcreants

Lynne M. Thomas visits Terribleminds to talk about Disabled People Destroy Science Fiction: fight on, space unicorns!

Elsa Sjunneson-Henry: I built my own goddamn castle. Tor.com

And though this is older, it’s still thought-provoking: a year of diverse authors (cue literary frenzy) (February 2015). Chris Brecheen

Nate Hoffelder guest posts on Jane Friedman’s blog: six common sense steps to securing a WordPress website.

Tim Ferriss visits Nathan Bransford’s blog: the definitive guide to SEO for authors.

E Ce Miller lists 23 words that every booklover (ahem, bibliophile) should incorporate into their vocabulary. Bustle

Amanda Morris reports on how fused imaging has revealed sixth-century writing hidden in a book’s binding. Northwestern University

Where did English come from? Claire Bowern for Ted-Ed.

 

Kristopher Jansma says, now, more than ever, we wish we had these lost Octavia Butler novels. Electric Lit

Dominic Patten: Ava DuVernay is part of the creative team bringing Octavia Butler’s Dawn to television. Deadline Hollywood

Ursula Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” defies genre. Gabrielle Bellot for Tor.com.

And that’s it until next Tipsday.

Be well. Good words at y’all 😉