Here is this week’s batch of writing resources. Happy writing!
Fiction
Talking about Talking
The editors at The Blood Red Pencil give some good tips for ensuring dialogue that sounds authentic but not as boring as the average conversation. Don’t believe me when I sat the average conversation is boring? Record one or two and transcribe them. Then imagine if you were reading that as part of a story. Boring and full of ums and ahs, I will bet.
Essential Elements
What keeps you from putting down a book? Plot? Subject matter? Voice?
Freelancing
How to Budget for Business Taxes
Things are so much easier when your employer takes your taxes out of your paycheck. As writers, though, we are our own bosses. Thus we need to make sure we attend to our taxes each time we get a payment, whether it is for royalties or the the sale of an article.
Estimated Taxes for Freelancers, Part 1
More on taxes. I know, it’s kind of boring, but it’s really important. Here, Allison Boyer covers quarterlies.
What to Do with Unsold Articles
We’ve all got them, those articles that just didn’t work out for a project. Allison Boyer shares some tips for giving those unsold articles a new life.
General Writing Tips and Info
10 Free Things for Writers
Who doesn’t like free stuff? From an ebook and newsletter to free photo and image manipulation.
8 Great Tips for Blogging
Freelance writer Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen synthesizes the Huffington Post’s tips in an easy-to-read primer of effective blogging.
10 Things to Expect from an Agent
A good description of what is reasonable to expect from your agent. For the unreasonable, go to Rachelle’s April Fool’s Day post.
Media News
Bring Back Yellow Journalism
Who would have ever thought we would see that title? In this article, Jack Shafer examines the facts about this much maligned period of inaccurate and falsified news stories and makes a rather compelling argument that some elements of yellow journalism are actually preferable to the often boring, and hard-to-achieve gospel of objectivity.
Thanks for pulling these together. It’s always a nice way to start teh week.