Writers Resources

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 14-20, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 6 Comments

It’s Christmas Eve Eve . . . if that makes any sense 😀

K.M. Weiland on the difference between theme and message.

An excellent podcast by DIY MFA’s Gabriela Pereira on some of the ways you can outline.

Why a year-end review is important for writers. Jamie Raintree on thinking through our fingers.

And related to that, Dr. Jonathan Ball on how he uses Jamie’s awesome word count Excel spreadsheet to track his writing progress. Whether you think the post is sexy or not (I rather think Jonathan was being facetious with his post title), there are some great ideas in there. And that, to me, is sexy.

Why emotional excess is essential writing and creativity. Do you agree? Brainpickings explores the diaries of Anais Nin.

Common sayings you may be misusing. How stuff works.

The Lord of the Rings mythology explained in four minutes. CGP Grey.

 

Need something to tide you over until Outlander resumes its season? Here’s a sneak peek. E! Online.

That’s it for this week.

All the best of the season to you, whatever that means to you. To me, it’s still Merry Christmas 🙂

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Dec 7-13, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Hachette wants to turn Twitter into a bookstore. I’m still not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. Bloomberg Businessweek.

Do agents Google potential clients? You bet your sweet bippy. Survey conducted by Debbie Ridpath Ohi.

The most common writing mistakes series, part 36: Too much introspection and not enough interaction. K.M. Weiland.

Blogging for authors: How to create a blog that will grow with your career. Anne R. Allen.

How to become a writer by Lisa Cron for Writer Unboxed. It takes time and patience, practice and persistence.

Last week, I shared a post about writing in your books. This week, I discovered that monks annotated their illuminations 😛 Catholic Memes.

Shakespeare’s Curtain Theatre unearthed. The Guardian.

Margaret Atwood’s ten rules of writing. Brainpickings.

Buzzfeed shares 51 of the most beautiful sentences in literature.

This is the coolness: a periodic table of figures of speech. LifeHacker.

Nearly perfect movies and what they teach us about storytelling. Charlie Jane Anders for i09.

Steven Moffat finally agrees that a woman Doctor is a distinct possibility. Can I get an “Amen” my sisters? Though he also says it’s too soon to think about a new Doctor. i09.

Five lessons Peter Capaldi learned from Doctor Who. Wired.

Beautiful poetry from Shane Koyczan:

 

Neil Gaiman recites “Jabberwocky”:

 

This is going to be one splendid movie 🙂

 

Paftoo’s secret room in Roz Morris’s Lifeform Three was based on this real underwater ballroom. Sunny Skyz.

May your week be full of fantastic nonsense 🙂

See you Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 30-Dec 6, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Here’s another post and podcast on theme from K.M. Weiland. This theme stuff is a little brain-twisty. Katie makes it accessible without getting didactic. That’s exactly what you have to do with your theme.

Jane Kisacky writes about literary hypochondria for Writer Unboxed.

Ruth Harris wrote this wonderful post for Anne R. Allen’s blog on managing your social media for sanity.

Listen to the Creative Penn podcast. This week’s guest: David Farland 🙂

What Catherine Ryan Howard learned about rejection. Catherine, caffeinated.

Karen Thompson Walker. What fear teaches us. TED Talk.

 

11 books aspiring writers should read. Bustle.

25 words you should add to your vocabulary.

Pixar’s 22 rules of phenomenal storytelling.

Chuck Wendig’s simple, no-fuckery plan to write and the no-fooling, fix-that-shit plan to finish your goddamned novel.

Last week, we learned that readers have more empathy. This week, writers are proven to have better coping skills and better physical resilience. Go figure. Arts.Mic.

I think this might go along with last week’s reader discovery. Book ban in prison repealed. BBC.

How not to build a future society. BBC.

If any of you out there are like me, you’re in agony waiting for April and the resumption of the Outlander season. Here’s a little teaser for you to tide you over courtesy of The Nerdist.

I am a BIG B5 fan, so when I read about a reboot movie, I was vibrating on a higher level. Ars technica.

The Saturday Evening Post DC superhero series by Juan Carlos Ruiz Burgos. Deviant Art. I waffled about whether to put this on the Tipsday post or the Thoughty Thursday post.

The Creative Arts Shop on Etsy offers Doctor Who themed merchandise. I kind of like the fingerless gloves meself.

Buzzfeed presents some awesome writing nooks.

The science of Shakespeare on CBC’s Ideas.

Do you write in your books? Consider this post by Tim Parks for The New York Review of Books.

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 23-29, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

What does theme have to do with your story’s climax? Everything, according to K.M. Weiland 🙂

Don’t let up on your tension. Katie’s weekly vlog.

A very important post from Dan Blank on Writer Unboxed: Adding more white space to your life.

Agent Sarah Negovetich answers your questions about publishing credits and space opera 🙂

 

Anna Quindlen’s A short guide to a happy life on Brainpickings.

Joss Whedon’s screenwriting talk for Impossible. He’d cracked a tooth at the time and persevered.

Steven Moffat has hired a woman to write for Doctor Who! Nerdist.

The Huffington Post’s Ethan Reid shares seven of the finest apocalyptic novels.

A list of words authors are sick of hearing. i09.

What Star Wars: A New Hope’s cut scenes can teach us about editing. i09.

Worldbuilding tropes that need to be forgotten. i09’s Toybox.

What science has revealed about people who read. arts.mic.

Shakespeare folio discovered in France. The New York Times.

C’est tout, mes amies!

Enjoy!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 16-22, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

Roz Morris has some excellent thoughts on choosing a title for your book. It’s more important than you think.

On finding your theme with K.M. Weiland. Guess what? It comes down to your character’s arc 🙂

How your editor can irritate you, and why that’s a good thing. Anne R. Allen with Judy Probus.

Victoria Mixon outlines the three vital steps to creating your protagonist.

Dave King is back on Writer Unboxed with another Buffy-inspired post: Everything I need to know about character, I learned from Buffy.

Jamie Raintree shares three strategies to stay motivated on long-term projects. Thinking through our fingers.

The seven roles of the healer archetype, on the Better Novel Project.

Julie Sondra Decker explores what happens while you wait. In propinquity.

Margaret Atwood came to Sudbury to celebrate her birthday last week. It’s the last time she’s going to make the journey, so we made a thing of it 🙂 TVO’s Steve Paikin (also Laurentian University chancellor) interviewed her.

And then the CBC’s Jessica Pope got a little Atwood action as well.

Ursula K. LeGuin at the National Book Awards. The New Yorker.

And the video:

 

Ursula K. LeGuin interviewed in The Paris Review.

Outlander’s Gaelic coach offers a crash course. Scotland Now.

Billy Boyd sings “Last Goodbye” for the final Hobbit movie. Entertainment Weekly.

Cary Elwes shares twelve Princess Bride Secrets. LA Weekly.

Seven strange and wonderful fan theories about fantasy and science fiction. i09’s Toybox.

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 9-15, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Last week’s big publishing news in The Globe and Mail: Where is Simon & Schuster heading?

What Amazon’s strategy may mean for publishing today. Someone saw this coming. Rebecca Allen. The Digital Reader.

Are there things more important to writing than talent? Anne R. Allen says yes. Yes, there are.

Roz Morris explains how a good editor helps you to be yourself.

How much realism does your novel need? K.M. Weiland.

Pantaphobia. That’s it! Fabulous post on Writer Unboxed about fear and the writer by Myra McEntire.

Sometimes, you’re going to hate your work in progress. Read Chuck Wendig’s thoughts on how to get through it (over it? around it?).

Young writers working together to reach their NaNoWriMo goals. CBC.

Can you afford to be a writer? Deborah Mundy for The Toronto Star Books.

Why writing shouldn’t be your first career. ALLi.

Neil Gaiman’s eight rules of writing. Brainpickings.

Anne Lamott on the true gift of friendship and the uncomfortable art of letting yourself be seen. Brainpickings.

Virginia Woolf on how to read a book. Brainpickings.

How to build a fictional world with Kate Messner. Ted.ed.

 

How writing fiction is helping people with mental illness. CBC.

That’s all the tips I have for you this week.

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 2-8, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila

First, it’s Remembrance Day.

Remember our armed forces and veterans and the sacrifices they’ve made for us.

Thank you, from the everywhere of my heart.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/remembrance-day-draws-huge-crowds-as-national-war-memorial-rededicated-1.2831009

 

K.M. Weiland discusses random story elements in her most common writing mistakes series.

Her weekly vlog focuses on scene breaks and including the right number in your story.

Katrina Kittle writes about how to facilitate your writing practice. Writer Unboxed.

How to invigorate your endings. Mythcreants.

Women heroes in pop culture, by Nina Munteanu.

DIYMFA’s master class with Jane Yolen.

Changing the way your world moves, by Brandon Kier on Mythcreants.

Patrick Rothfuss responds to the Ivory Tower.

 

How Hugh Howey Writes. Copyblogger.

Guy Gavriel Kay reflects on his apprenticeship. The Guardian.

Margaret Atwood on ageing, generational inequality, and what she’s working on now. The New Statesman.

Kurt Vonnegut on the shapes of stories:

 

Camilla Gibb on making a living as a writer. The Globe and Mail.

Molly Crabapple’s 15 rules for creative success in the internet age. Boing Boing.

More Molly at XOXO:

 

Why we should all be reading more poetry. Arts.Mic

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Oct 26-Nov 1, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

K.M. Weiland uses Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to show how your characters’ goals can be meaningful.

Why you might be ruining your story’s best scenes. Katie’s weekly vlog.

Roz Morris writes about how to handle the passage of time in prose.

Four ways to write a killer plot twist. There are no rules blog. Writer’s Digest.

Is writing a matter of magic? Chuck Wendig’s Terribleminds.

Creativity isn’t what we think it is. Kevin Ashton. Medium.

Bad writing advice explained by Mary Robinette Kowal.

Neil Gaiman reimagines Hansel & Gretel. Brainpickings.

How NaNoWriMo can improve your writing process. Anne R. Allen.

Jaimie Raintree explains how NaNoWriMo can change the way you write throughout the year. Thinking through our fingers.

More NaNo prep from BookBaby blogs.

What really distracts NaNo participants. There are no rules. Writer’s Digest.

Why Jeff Goins will never use Microsoft Word again.

Kurt Vonnegut on the shapes of stories.

 

Beowulf, read in the original Old English. Open Culture.

And leaping forward a few centuries, here’s what Shakespeare sounded like in Elizabethan English. Open University.

 

Five examples of how the languages we speak can influence the way we think. TED blog.

Learning new words stimulates the same parts of the brain as sex 🙂 IFLS.

Know an Outlander widower? This post is for him 😉

This short film is a beautiful interpretation of what Rosetta might help us achieve. I put it in Tipsday, because it is awesome storytelling.

The top 100 science fiction themed songs of all time. i09.

SyFy focuses on the genre that made them a specialty channel. i09.

Enjoy!

Tipsday

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 12-18, 2014

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Lots of writerly tools for your kit. NaNoWriMo prep, Scrivener tricks, and moar!

Catherine Ryan Howard gives us a sneak peek of Self-Printed: The Sane Person’s Guide to Self-Publishing, 3rd Edition. See why Roz Morris thinks of this book as one of her go to references 🙂

Speaking of Roz, here’s here next installment in the novels aren’t movies series: How to write great description in prose.

K.M. Weiland answers the most frequently asked question to come out of her character arcs series of posts: How do you write a character arc over a series?

We all know what a protagonist and an antagonist are (or we should), but what’s a contagonist? Katie answers that question and describes how best to use one in your novel in her weekly vlog.

Becca Puglisi posts eleven novelist-tested (writer’s) blockbusters on Writers Helping Writers.

Janice Hardy continues the NaNoWriMo prep from last week with her post on planning the middle of your novel.

And the third in Janice’s series, planning the end of your novel. Fiction University.

Jami Gold shares her thoughts on NaNo prep as well. Are you ready to start drafting?

Chuck Wendig posts about what you need to know about guns to write them right.

How to create a character sketch using Scrivener, from Matt Herron for The Write Practice.

In related news, Sherry D. Ramsey shows us how to create a submission tracker in Scrivener.

Nina Munteanu explores archetypes in the second part of her hero’s journey series.

See you on Thursday 🙂

Tipsday