Veronica Sicoe

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, June 21-27, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

W00t! You wanted moar writerly goodness? Well, here it is!

In local publishing news, Latitude 46 moves into the void left by Your Scrivener Press. The Northern Life.

Listen to K.M. Weiland’s weekly podcast (and subscribe) or read her companion post. Last week’s offering: What every writer ought to know about omniscient point of view (POV).

How to make your secondary characters truly memorable. Katie’s Wednesday vlog.

Will readers find you protagonist worthy? Angela Ackerman on Writers Helping Writers.

The bigger the dream, the greater the resistance. When resistance pays you a compliment. Steven Pressfield.

The four dangers of writing and critique groups. The title says ‘hidden dangers,’ but they’re not really hidden. First-timers and eternal optimists might be blind to them, though. Jennie Nash on Jane Friedman’s blog.

How to write about guns without sounding like a doorknob. Benjamin Sobieck (who was much more polite about it that I was) guest posts on Jane Friedman’s blog.

The Listen Inside podcast from Readers in the Know features chapter 2 from Veronica Sicoe’s The Deep Link.

The ten best literary love songs brought to you by Quirk Books.

BuzzFeed compiles their list of the 53 best opening lines in literature.

Not to be outdone, Penguin Random House offered its list of captivating first lines.

In case you weren’t already crushed by the weight of your unread book stack, BuzzFeed compiles this list of ALL 339 books referenced in Gilmour Girls.

i09 lists its essential cyberpunk reads.

ZDNet shares their list of 26 essential science fiction novels that will help you prepare for the future.

Where Japanese science fiction has been and where it’s going. Japanese Times.

The 2015 Sunburst Awards finalists announced on the CBC.

And here’s Quill & Quire’s piece on the awards.

The brilliant ideas that didn’t make it into Pixar’s Inside Out. i09.

I must say that Phil and I are enjoying Sense8 quite a bit. Then again, we love well-developed character and story. The slow burn is just fine with us. Here’s Bram E. Geiben’s take on season 1 for i09.

Moar season 2 fodder for your Droughtlander jonesing. Carter Matt.

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, June 14-20, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Another wonderful week for Writerly Goodness!

What’s the key event and how is it different from the inciting incident and the first plot point? I know I still forget the distinctions. K.M. Weiland’s Helping Writers Become Authors.

And here’s Katie’s Wednesday vlog: How to write a riveting characteristic moment.

Roz Morris shares her experience with repetitive stress injury (RSI).

Kassandra Lamb guests on Jami Gold’s blog: Nine psychology myths you need to avoid.

Tips on picking up the pace from Rebecca LuElla Miller.

Learn about the magic systems of Brandon Sanderson. Tor.com.

Five ways first contact could turn into an epic fail. Veronica Sicoe.

Neil Gaiman offers his thoughts on why stories last. (w/ Podcast) BrainPickings.

Liz Bourke ponders how we speak of strong female characters. This post refers to others I’ve shared in past weeks and takes it in a slightly different direction. Very interesting. Tor.com.

How can you keep readers from hating your characters? Jody Hedlund.

Beth Revis posts on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University: How do you know you’re ready to publish? Agent Carly Watters of P.S. Literary wrote on the same topic last week 🙂

Dave King explores our motivations for writing. Writer Unboxed.

Kameron Hurley asks, why are we self-publishing? Locus.

Porter Anderson takes a look at Hugh Howey’s promotion of self-publishing and what it really means in the context of the continually evolving publishing industry. Thought Catalog.

Related: Nielsen Book’s latest results indicate that self-publishing is more like traditional publishing. Publishing perspectives.

Amazon changes its terms for KDP select. The Digital Reader.

Why I teach diverse literature. The Toast.

What librarians wish we knew about how to use a library. i09.

Authors share the places that inspire them. FlavorWire.

Ten books you should read before you see the movie. The Huffington Post.

Mark Twain’s advice to little girls. BrainPickings.

This is fun 🙂 Classic novels with clickbait titles. BuzzFeed.

BuzzFeed shares 22 book-themed gifts for readers.

Watch the Scooby Doo crew’s fashion evolve through the last century. i09.

The first set photos of the new all-female Ghostbusters! i09.

Mike Hale states that Game of Thrones the series is going the way of Lost . . . What do you think? The New York Times.

Here are Charlie Jane Anders’s suggestions about how to fix Game of Thrones. Is it even possible? i09.

How Terry Dresbach’s costumes bring history to life on Outlander. Variety.

Orphan Black’s season finale: history yet to be written. It was awesome (IMO). The Wall Street Journal.

See you Thursday 🙂

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, May 31-June 6, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 6 Comments

A little bit of interesting and a little bit of controversial this week.

Listen to the wisdom of trees. OM Times Magazine. I’ve done this. Yes, I’m paganish.

What it means to have the heart of an empath. The Elephant Journal.

How the highly sensitive person may be accessing clairsentience. OM Times Magazine.

We need to address the gap in medicare for patients with mental illness. The Globe and Mail.

This raised a few eyebrows among some of my friends who do not identify as feminist. I understand their position and defend their right to hold it, but I still think this rant from Mark Ruffalo is pretty awesome (no offence, ladies).

In that vein, here’s the trailer for Suffragette. This. Looks. AWESOME!

Jon Stewart makes a brilliant point about Caitlin Jenner that no one is talking about. News.Mic.

Former Prime Minister, Paul Martin, believes that indigenous thought belongs in the classroom. The Globe and Mail.

Truth and reconciliation may be progressing, but there are still issues that remain unaddressed in northern Ontario. CBC.

Residential school survivors and their descendants share their stories. The Globe and Mail.

Truth and reconciliation is not an aboriginal problem, but a Canadian one. CBC’s the Current.

Buffy Ste. Marie speaks out on the need for a new deal for Canada’s First Nations. CBC.

Science fiction author, Veronica Sicoe, wrote this lovely post on our failure to find developed, space-faring civilizations: Blowing up the Kardashev Scale.

Crazy facts about Japan. OMG facts.

Newfoundland’s fairy traditions. Canadian Living.

Want a cheap mansion? It’s haunted . . . CTV News.

For your musical enlightenment: Five new albums to try out on Spotify. The Guardian.

Your edutainment is served. You’re welcome 🙂

See you Saturday for more Ad Astra, and maybe I’ll have some good news on the home destruction front.

Oh, BTW, what do you think of the site revamp? Yeah, I finally did that shit.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 26-May 2, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 5 Comments

Your prologue could be destroying your story’s subtext. K.M. Weiland – Helping writers become authors.

Are you misusing cliffhangers? Find out in Katie’s Wednesday vlog.

Christine Frazier of the Better Novel Project presents an infographic that will show you how to deconstruct a scene like Katie 🙂

Ruth Harris discusses the magic of novel rehab on Anne R. Allen’s blog. Never give up!

Gwendolyn Womack writes about the story iceberg on Writer Unboxed.

Jordan Rosenfeld guest posts on Writer Unboxed: the seven secrets of highly persistent writers.

Janice Hardy explains how mini arcs create more story depth.

Jane Friedman compiles links to all the relevant resources on her site for this post: How to find a literary agent. Heading into querying (most likely June), so I needed this 🙂

Books & Such agent, Wendy Lawson, discusses the issue of “Playing around the Edges.”

Writer tech awesome: Veronica Sicoe shows us how to format our novel for Smashwords in one day. Note: requires a #gallonofcoffee 🙂 Step by step with screenshots. Extremely helpful.

Klexos from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows:

The case for physical books. The National Post.

Grammarly presents the dark side of nursery rhymes.

Publisher’s Weekly lists their top ten most difficult books. How many of them have you read (or tried to read)?

Here’s Buzzfeed’s list of 26 books from around the world that we should read before we die.

How Shakespeare’s heroines evolved from one-dimensional to feminist. Flavorwire.

Last week’s Outlander episode featured full frontal male nudity and laughed in the face of rape. Salon.

Thanks for making Writerly Goodness part of your blog-reading pleasure 🙂

See you Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, March 22-28, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Posts on the Clean Reader controversy (a recap of the posts I shared last Saturday):

 

Your book’s inciting incident may not be what you think it is. Nice nod to The Princess Bride, K.M. Weiland 🙂

Here’s her vlog on 1st person POV vs. 3rd person POV and how to decide which will be best for your book.

Janice Hardy’s month-long online revision workshop isn’t over yet! Day 22: Sharpen the hooks and tighten the pacing.

Veronica Sicoe shared these pointers on writing a goddamned novel synopsis.

Jamie Raintree uses time blocking to organize her day and shares worksheets to help you do the same!

Neil Gaiman’s advice to writers from the Nerdist podcast:

 

John Ajvide Lindqvist on writing process:

 

My friend, Kim Fahner, contemplates her development as a writer.

Young readers prefer printed books. BoingBoing.

AussieWriter shares this infographic on writerly insults. Fun 🙂

Buzzfeed proposes 28 words that the English language should adopt.

MTV reports that the Game of Thrones series will “spoil” the Song of Ice and Fire books.

Entertainment Weekly posts this Outlander featurette in anticipation of next weekend’s return.

Outlander TV News from the UK premiere:

 

It was a writerly week!

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, March 8-14, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Sir Terry Pratchett passed away last week.

Here’s Neil Gaiman’s very worthwhile talk at JCCSF. It basically turned into a tribute to his friend.

 

Here is BuzzFeed’s ranking of Pratchett’s Discworld novels.

Sir Terry will live on in the words of his books and in the hearts of his readers.

 

K.M. Weiland’s Sunday blog and podcast is dedicated to writers on the verge of writing spectacularly complex characters.

Why is your awesome protagonist boring readers to death? Katie’s Wednesday vlog.

Janice Hardy’s month-long novel revision workshop on Fiction University continues. Here’s day eight.

Jodie Renner guests on Anne R. Allen’s blog with this step-by-step guide to writing a prize-winning short story.

Therese Walsh explores multitasking further on Writer Unboxed. Snakes on a brain.

Veronica Sicoe posts on how to clean up your manuscript formatting in MS Word.

Kameron Hurley muses on the virtues of becoming a professional writer.

The second round of Jim C. Hines’s guest posts on representation in SFF begins with this post by LaShawn Wanak on false narratives.

Grammarly presents the strange origins of English idioms.

Grammarly (again) offers ten quotes from Winnie the Pooh that will make you smile.

BuzzFeed weighed in with these 31 quotes from children’s books.

Vanity Fair analyzes the Game of Thrones season 5 trailer.

And HBO is doing a 30-day countdown. Here’s the first instalment: Who are the sand snakes?

Tor.com shares 13 fantasies that are based on myths from the British Isles.

Lessons for writers from Bavarian Fairy Tales. The Take Away.

See you Thursday!

Tipsday

Caturday quickie: One lovely blog award

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

I haven’t received one of these in a while and so it was a pleasant surprise when Cassie of My Etch-a-Sketch Life nominated me for the One Lovely Blog award.

one_lovely_blog_award

Awwww . . . THANKS!

So I have to share seven things about myself (I’ve decided to list seven things that make me happy):

  1. I met my BFF in grade three. Yes, we’re still friends, and no, I’m not telling you how long it’s been.
  2. My university roomie, after a decade (at least) during which we lost contact with each other, got in touch with me recently.
  3. I’ve just joined a writing/critique group with five other women. Our second meeting will be on Sunday.
  4. My husband of twenty years (whee!) does all the cooking and consequently all the grocery shopping. This is a real blessing for writer Mellie.
  5. I have three novels drafted and two more in progress. All are fantasy of various kinds.
  6. This year, I’ve had two paid publications of science fiction short stories and won a second place prize for another short story of a paranormal bent. Writerly income (even a little) rocks 🙂
  7. Writing. It’s who I am and what I do. It makes me Snoopy-dance happy, #furiouslyhappy.

Now I’m supposed to nominate people to continue the chain. Most of the time the people I nominate don’t play along. So I’m going to take a page from another (much cooler) writer, Veronica Sicoe, who was also asked to participate in this blog award challenge.

You are all hereby nominated. Yes. I’m a big, fat cheat. Participate if you are so moved. Otherwise, I hope these seven bits of my incredibly boring life entertained.

lovely-blog

Caturday Quickies

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Oct 19-25, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 6 Comments

There is so much Writerly Goodness this week, I don’t know what to do with myself!

Martha Conway says, Forget heroes: Why heroines are important. Writer Unboxed.

Dave King on the wonders of Whedon. Everything I need to know about plot, I learned from Buffy. Writer Unboxed.

Dan Blank says it’s more about giving than receiving. Writer Unboxed.

Karina Sumner-Smith guests on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University. Finding rhythm and voice for a beginning that sings.

How many characters do you need? Jami Gold answers reader questions.

Piper Bayard guests on Jenny Hanson’s blog, Cowbell. Little Darlings Anonymous. I need to be a member 😉

Piper stopped by Kristen’s Lamb’s blog, too, to talk about backstory.

Story concept and story premise. Do you know the difference? K.M. Weiland cites Larry Brooks in this post and podcast combo.

Veronica Sicoe finds a strategy for NaNoWriMo.

Blurb’s Coffee & Quill interview with NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty. There were some audio issues at the start, but there was also a lot of good information about NaNo and what you can do to prepare.

Moar podcasts from Roz Morris and Peter Snell for Surrey Hills Radio. So you want to be a writer? Check them all out!

Mary Robinette Kowal shares her outlines for Shades of Milk and Honey and Glamour in Glass. I love it when the professionals give us a little peek at how it’s done 🙂

The comma story by Terisa Folaron. Ted.ed.

 

The Oxford comma debate. Ted.ed.

 

Helen Sword says, beware of nominalizations (zombie nouns). Ted.ed.

 

Marlee Neel states the case against good and bad. Ted.ed.

 

Sarah F. Hawkins, lawyer, posts about the difference between copyright infringement and plagiarism.

Roz Morris asks, Have we forgotten what science fiction should be?

Project Hieroglyph’s push for positive science fiction. Eoghan.com.

The Wall Street Journal has a book club and Margaret Atwood just chose Ursula K. Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea as the next read.

Tasneem Raja of Mother Jones interviews William Gibson.

The Sword & Laser interview with Delilah S. Dawson. Teh awesome.

 

An interview with Mary Stewart. Off the Page.

 

Jane Austen on men who refuse to hear no. The Atlantic.

J.K. Rowling pens a new Harry Potter story, just in time for Hallowe’en. Buzzfeed.

Sarah Michelle Gellar on how playing a strong female character spoiled her. Perth Now.

Matt Herron returns to the Write Practice to show how to create a setting sketch using Scrivener.

See you on Thoughty Thursday 🙂

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Oct 5-11, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

TED talks have invaded this week. Don’t think I’m hearing an argument, though 🙂

K.M. Weiland continues her most common writing mistakes series with repetitive dialogue. She shows you how to recognize it and how to fix it. Post and podcast.

NaNo prep from Janice Hardy’s Fiction University: Planning your novel.

Julia Munroe Martin explores the topic of gender bias on Writer Unboxed.

Nina Munteanu begins her exploration of the Hero’s Journey.

Songs that shape our writing. Veronica Sicoe. Have you seen this post yet, Roz Morris? 😀

No, I don’t want to read your self-published book. Ron Charles of the Washington Post summarizes Roger Sutton’s position on why Horn Book Magazine won’t be reviewing any self-published books.

Talking Writing: Rich writers vs. the critics—and me, by Anna Coppola. My favourite bit: “. . . I hate that. Book sales and dollar signs convey nothing about what literature is or how it changes the lives of those who read. Yet, the industry’s tacit acceptance that financial success is the only thing that matters has created a whole lot of confusion about art. Meanwhile, out-of-touch critics are no help, as they rail against the kind of writing that gets people to buy books.”

Elizabeth Gilbert on the ugly truth about following your passion. The Huffington Post’s GPS for the Soul.

Joni Mitchell on therapy and the creative mind. Brainpickings.

Mac Barnett: Why a good book is like a secret door? TED Talk.

 

Lisa Bu: How books can open you mind. TED Talk.

 

Anne Curzan: What makes a word “real”? TED Talk.

 

The three books you need to read in every major genre. LitReactor.

Things you may not have known about The Princess Bride. Zimbio.

48 things you may not have known about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. BuzzFeed.

Troll, by Shane Koyczan, from his CD and graphic novel Silence is a song I know all the words to:

 

Can we auto-correct humanity?

 

Jamila Lyiscott: Three ways to speak English. TED Talk.

 

Hope you enjoyed this week’s Writerly Goodness round up 😉

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Aug 3-9, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Anne R. Allen explores the good and bad of critique groups.

What’s the most important relationship in your story? K.M. Weiland explores how focusing on this aspect of your story could improve it.

Then Katie continued her blog tour on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University, on finding your character’s breaking point.

And then she continued the tour on Procrastiwriter with, What Jane Eyre can teach us about mind-blowing heroines.

Opening lines (and scenes) are some of the most difficult to write. K.M. Weiland has some suggestions for you in her post about Most Common Writing Mistakes: Boring opening lines. Podcast link included.

SF author Veronica Sicoe writes about opening line madness. See, everyone struggles.

MJ Bush guests on Writers Helping Writers (Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi) on the problem of overly self-aware protagonists.

Then she posted about inner conflict on WritingGeekery.

Casting your novel may seem like frivolous fun, but Fantasy Faction offers five ways it can help improve your story.

Stuck on a scene? Janice Hardy gamifies the work of sorting through scene outcomes on Fiction University.

QueryQuagmire (on Tumblr) offers ten things writers should keep in mind before diving into revisions.

Porter Anderson shares Hugh Howey’s ten counterintuitive tips for self-publishers on Publishing Perspectives.

The Canada Council has denied operational funding to On Spec. Susan MacGregor, On Spec editor and author, explains the situation and offers some options to help. On Spec is a Canadian institution in speculative fiction, and the quality of their fiction, editing, and production, is excellent.

I know this first hand. My SF short story “Downtime” will be appearing in the fall 2014 issue, and Barb Galler-Smith, the editor with whom I worked, was very professional. That the magazine is excellent is not just my opinion, though. On Spec is an award nominated, and award winning publication.

Their Patreon account has now been set up. Go to the On Spec web site for more information.

Why Fifty Shades of Grey has bondage all wrong. Tickld.

Forgotten Dr. Seuss stories and other news from Poets & Writers.

Mashable offers up their list of 22 summer reads.

Ten SF novels that will make you more passionate about science, from io9.

Ursula K. LeGuin talks to Michael Cunningham about genre, gender, and broadening fiction on ElectricLit.

Billy Collins shares two dog poems in this brief TED talk.

 

Wow! That’s a lot of Writerly Goodness.

Enjoy, folks 🙂

Tipsday