Writer Unboxed

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, Sept 21-27, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

I keep catching myself as I write these posts. Though I know it’s September, I keep on wanting to type August in the date (!) And here we are, almost at the end of September and I haven’t gotten used to typing the month yet.

Just a wee testimony, I think, to just how tired I am these days 😛 That, or just how crappy a summer it’s been here in northern Ontario. I’m still waiting for a few nice days. Just a few. Can we have August weather in October, please?

Find out why K.M. Weiland says you’ve been writing sentences incorrectly all your life. All about the impact sentence.

The wrong way to write a smart character. Katie gets feisty about Sir Kenneth Branagh’s Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit.

Jami Gold explores how we can balance emotion in our writing without telling too much.

Laura Drake on the conscious use of adverbs. Writers in the Storm.

Dan Blank wants to help you create capacity on Writer Unboxed.

Chris Winkle shares how to use the heroine’s journey (as outlined by Maureen Murdock) in your novel. Mythcreants.

This is an older i09 post that saw a little renewed circulation this week: The seven deadly sins of religion in science fiction.

33 books to read to celebrate banned books week. BuzzFeed.

Shakespeare’s Hamlet was Irish, not Danish. IrishCentral.

Slow reading helps your brain and eases stress. The Wall Street Journal.

An old favourite from The Oatmeal: how to use a semicolon.

Have a fabulous week, everyone!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Aug 31-Sept 6, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 9 Comments

Egad, another month has come and gone. How in the hell did that happen?

Now that we know all about character arcs from K.M. Weiland’s various series on the topic, should every character in your novel have an arc? Hmmmm . . . That way lies madness, methinks.

On her weekly vlog, Katie cites Sunshine Cleaners as an example of how you can use your characters’ professions to make your story more interesting.

Do all of your characters have the same voice, and is that voice yours? Roz Morris shares some tips on how to recognize the problem, and how to fix it.

Donald Maass offers metaphorical writing advice by way of gems and necklaces.

Janice Hardy offers some advice on how to recognize episodic scenes and how to fix them on Fiction University.

A bit of authorial humour, from the New Yorker.

An anatomy of endings, from The New Yorker.

Jim C. Hines guests on Magical Words on the topic of despair.

Here’s to creatives who work a day job, from The Artist’s Road.

A writer’s guide to Canadian Literary Magazines and Journals, from the Magazine Awards blog.

Haruki Murakami lists three essential qualities all novelists and runners share. Open Culture.

The Press Enterprise reports: UC Riverside’s science fiction collection gets a 3.5 million gift.

It’s a bit brief this week, but that’s all that tickled my fancy.

Be back on Thoughty Thursday!

Good words at ya, until then.

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Aug 24-30, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

The impact character: Why every character arc needs one, by K.M. Weiland.

Then Katie moves on to Elizabeth Spann Craig’s blog to write about how you can use backstory to keep readers reading.

Katie’s Wednesday vlog on creating marvellous characters with minimal effort. Last week, she was a little rough on The Monuments Men. See why she loves John Ford’s She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

Roz Morris explores how Jose Saramago crafted his novel Blindness in a deliberate way and what that might mean for you as a writer.

Dan Blank posted this bit of awesome on Writer Unboxed.

Later in the week, John Vorhaus wrote about how to feel good and fail big.

Chase Jarvis shares twelve secrets for unlocking your most creative work.

Part two of Mona Alvarado Frazier’s lessons learned from the Writer’s Digest Conference: Fifteen strategies to use before you publish.

Agent Carly Watters show you how you can show an agent you’re a career author.

Jami Gold shares her new worksheet: The business plan for writers. Stop that groaning. You know you need one.

A great find this week: The heroine’s journey part one and part two from Flutiebear on Tumblr.

Mythcreants share five rules for retelling old stories. Thinking of a fairy tale retelling?

Gemma Hawdon went away for a five week vacation . . . and didn’t write a word. Find out what she discovered: Are you a ‘true’ writer, or a happy writer?

In his self-effacing and irreverent style, Chuck Wendig shares his thoughts on the writer and depression.

The psychology of writing and the cognitive science of the perfect daily routine on Brainpickings.

What if white characters were described like characters of colour in novels? Buzzfeed books.

The full George R.R. Martin and Robin Hobb discussion video from Fantasy Faction.

Jeff Goins interviews Margaret Roach on how she navigated the maze to become a full-time writer. Podcast.

The creative teacher librarian, Maaja Wentz, interviews Jennifer Lott.

 

Edge interviews Jonathan Gottschall on how we live our lives in stories.

Flavorwire presents ten stunning writing studios.

From The Atlantic’s archives: The childhood homes of twenty famous authors.

And now, a little writer tech for you. ALLi shares how writers can use voice recognition software for more than just writing.

What the internet of things means for the indie author. Ebook Bargains UK Blog.

Aaaaand . . . we’re done. For this week.

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Aug 17-23, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 8 Comments

I really tried to get used to the new WordPress editor, but I finally had to give in and activate Classic Mode (Dum-ta-de-dah!). It’s so much easier to apply tags in the classic editor.

Let’s start with some publishing news. From Publishers Weekly, no less. What copyright changes mean for Canadian publishers.

Here’s K.M. Weiland’s weekly podcast/post: Can a character’s arc be a subplot?

Here’s her guest post on the Writer’s Alley on what weather can do for your story.

Then Katie wandered over to the Wordserve Water Cooler to discuss how to make a walk-on character memorable (but not too memorable).

Here’s Katie’s workshops & webinars page if you want to get moar of the good stuff.

And her weekly vlog on how to tighten your tale by streamlining your symbolism.

Anne R. Allen rounds up the usual suspects for her post on five protagonists readers hate.

Roz Morris examines how to write a character with an addiction.

Angela Ackerman guest posted on The Insecure Writers Support Group about how to deepen your conflict by forcing your hero to embrace the grey of morality.

Jan O’Hara considers cadence and its power to affect the reader in this post on Writer Unboxed. I started off as a poet. Believe me, people can tell 😉

Dave King shares his love of bafflgab on Writer Unboxed.

Painting vs. Dramatizing: How to make a scene, on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University.

How one writer kept a productivity streak going for 373 days. Jamie Todd Rubin on 99u.

Jami Gold has some fun discovering how writing changes our brains. Brain science rules 😀

I do a little conference reportage, but today I get to feature Mona Alvarado Frazier’s post about the lessons she learned at the Writer’s Digest Conference. Part two will be coming up next week, if you’re interested.

Lev Grossman writes about finding his voice in fantasy. The New York Times.

Buzzfeed presents the epic writing tips of George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb.

I was shocked to discover that William Gibson’s Neuromancer is 30 years old. Egad. The Guardian.

25 pieces of life advice from literature, presented by Flavorwire.

A little writer tech for you here. Bookbaby blog posted about proofreading software. Interesting . . .

And that’s the load for this week.

See you on Thoughty Thursday with researchy, inspirational stuff.

Let me know if any of this curation tweaks your muse, will you? I’d love to know how things are going 🙂

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Aug 10-16, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Here we go in 3 . . . 2 . . . 1!

K.M. Weiland’s blog tour continues on the Writer.ly community with the ten commandments of reading like a writer.

And on Darcy Pattison’s Fiction Notes with four types of villains.

Here’s Katie’s regular Sunday post with podcast: How to figure out what your character’s arc should be.

Finally, her Wednesday vlog: Characters or ciphers? Which are you casting in your story?

MJ Bush collects 99 essential quotes on character creation. Each entry cited and linked for further reference.

Sarah Callender posts about rumination frustration on Writer Unboxed.

Lisa Cron explains how to get what you need out of a famous author’s talk. Very useful for conferences, conventions, and literary festivals.

And . . . forgetful Mel forgot to catch up on the couple of posts I couldn’t link two Tipsdays ago when WU was experiencing some technical difficulties. So here they are now: David Corbett on the tyranny of motive, and Jane Kisacky on the many dreams of writing.

Becca Puglisi ponders, what makes a good blurb? on Writers Helping Writers.

Jami Gold guests on Anne R. Allen’s blog: Everything you need to know about giving and receiving feedback on your WIP.

Then, Jami had to follow up on her blog with the beta reading worksheet.

Jami also posted on characters both strong and vulnerable.

Bronwyn Hemus of Standoutbooks explains why showing and telling is not an either/or proposition, but a matter of how and when.

Here’s Amy Shojai’s entry in the writing process blog hop: Why I write what I write.

Barbara Geiger’s confessions of an ex-there-are-no-rules-writer.

Rebecca T. Dickson tells us all the crap someone should have told us writers by now.

Julian Friedmann on the mystery of storytelling. TEDxEaling.

 

Open Culture shares Jane Austen’s unusual editing method.

Fifteen scientists share their favourite science fiction novels and movies. The Huffington Post Science.

As a friend of mine would say, that’s a shite-load of Writerly Goodness.

Enjoy, my friends 🙂

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 20-26, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 5 Comments

Angela Ackerman details her encounter with copyright infringement on Writers Helping Writers. This is serious stuff.

I’ve had other writerly friends who’ve noticed their books have been pirated and if you’ve been following Angela on FB, you probably know that she’s encountered that too.

There’s a mode of thought on the interwebz that says pirating is not your enemy. If people like your book so much they steal it, then it will likely convert to more readers.

I think that argument is fundamentally flawed. Chuck Wendig spoke to this quite eloquently a few months ago, here, here, and here.

What if people are stealing your work and trying to make money off it illegally by selling it and pocketing the profits? For a self-published author, the book is her livelihood. Even for the traditionally published, what money he might have seen from a legitimate sale, disappears. It’s wrong.

And the readers who buy these pirated copies may not even know that their money is not going to the author. That’s doubly wrong. Theft, deceit, and fraud? That’s jail time people.

But as Chuck said, it’s not just about the money. An author (or authors) slaved over that book for months, if not years. It’s their intellectual property (IP). It’s their blood, sweat, and tears.

Don’t pirate books. Don’t do it.

<end rant>

Onward, to more light-hearted material.

M.M. Finck posts on Women Writers, Women’s Books about the querying process and why it’s not just about the query. Thanks to Jamie Raintree (see below) for bringing this to my attention.

Anthony Metivier guest-blogged about how to mine your dreams for story gold on Writers Helping Writers.

Bringing a strong vision to your fiction, by Laura K. Cowan, for Writer Unboxed.

Jamie Raintree asks, how far do we follow our dreams? Since we’ve become acquainted, Jamie’s acquired an agent and is now working on a second novel. I love watching her journey unfold.

Here’s Janice Hardy’s guest post for Anne R. Allen’s blog about how not to start a novel.

Veronica Sicoe follows up last week’s post on how she structures her novels with this one on how she brainstorms an idea into a working concept.

K.M. Weiland continues her negative character arc series with part 2: The negative character arc in the second act.

Whether you’re considering hiring a ghost writer, or becoming one, this post by Roz Morris will answer your questions.

Four reasons to use dramatic irony from Writers Write.

Chuck Wendig gets a mention again for sharing this i09 post about Snowpiercer and its fascinating influence. Yes, it’s a South Korean movie based on a French graphic novel, but it’s still great storytelling.

Xia Jia shares her thoughts on what makes Chinese science fiction, Chinese on Tor.com. Translated by Ken Liu. It’s interesting socio-political stuff.

And if your to-be-read (TBR) pile isn’t big enough yet, here is some recommended reading from TED.

Flavorwire presents the 35 writers who run the literary internet.

As a follow-up to my last week’s posting of the CanLit song, here’s every Canadian novel ever. It’s kind of true. And funny. The Toast.

And that’s it for this week, folks.

Thanks for following, sharing, and all the good stuff you do.

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz July 6-12, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Not a huge whack this week folks, but what there is, is all quality 🙂

Most common writing mistakes with K.M. Weiland. This week, one dimensional conflict.

Janice Hardy discusses character development.

Roz Morris demonstrates her beat sheet technique with Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

Anne R. Allen lists twelve dumb things writers do to sidetrack our success.

The ever-awesome Robin LaFevers writes about the crushing weight of expectations on Writer Unboxed.

Lisa Cron writes about how writers have the powah on Writer Unboxed.

Carly Watters reveals three signs that you’re past the form letter rejection stage.

Writer’s Relief presents the joy of gerunds.

Did you need even moar books to read? I didn’t think so. Still, here’s The Millions’ book preview for the second half of 2014.

Eight things you should know about Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series from the Barnes & Noble book blog.

A review of the two volume Robert Heinlein biography from Barnes & Noble Reviews.

Enjoy!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz June 22-28, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Happy Canada Day, writerly peeps!

Red-Maple-Leaf-for-Canada-Day

Publishing news of the week: Writer’s Digest dumps Author Solutions. What David Gaughran thinks of the move.

Roz Morris explains how to write from an outline and still be creative. My subtitle: How to bend it like Morris 😉

The third and final instalment of K.M. Weiland’s flat character arc series: The flat character arc in the third act.

MJ Bush wrote a guest post for Writers Helping Writers on how regret can deepen your character’s arc.

Training your internal editor with Mary Robinette Kowal.

Writers, what do you fear? Dan Blank offers some compelling thoughts on how to deal on Writer Unboxed.

66 facts you may not have known about the English language from The Huffington Post.

John Vorhaus lets his wordy whimsy out to play on Writer Unboxed.

14 pieces of brilliant short fiction from Art.Mic.

Five hundred fairy tales discovered in Germany, brought to you by The Guardian. I can’t wait to get into these!

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday