Jen's Writing Journey

Ah, another month draws to a close. We are nearing the end of a stretch of record warm weather in the Portland area, and the heat really sapped my energy. I did not do as well this month as I had hoped. What keeps you from meeting your goals?

I’ve pulled together a group of writing-related posts that should help energize you and keep you writing, even in the summertime, when face it, most of us want to be out doing fun things, not sitting in front of a keyboard typing away.

You’ll notice a new section on platform this week. You like?

The Business of Writing

Ballyhoo
at Rose City Romance Writers, Lisa Hendrix shares a little about the wild world of book promotion. She also asks what makes a good author blog.

Interview with Angela James
Angela James, one of the editors at Samhain Publishing, shares her tips on how to submit, how to write, and how to promote. Edit/revise your book before you submit it, proofread your query, and never, ever address any correspondence to Mr. Sam Hain.

Subtract from Your Writing Life
Linda Formichelli discusses the need to let go. Not just of things, but of undone writing tasks that weigh you down.

Panelists Clarify Whether Rights-Holders Should Opt Out of Google Books Settlement
I haven’t been following this too much, because it doesn’t apply to me, but I think this session report gives a good idea of who should opt out.

Time for Another Live Blog
Agent Kate Schafer Testerman live blogs her reactions to query submissions. She has some great nuggets of wisdom that you can use to help your query stand out.

Craft

Grammar Saturday
Jessica Dotta, at Novel Journey, shares a very cool set of grammar videos.

Fit to Write: Start Your Day Off Write
Kelly James-Enger visit the Writer Mama blog and reminds us that its not just kids who need to start the day off with a good breakfast. I’ve shared my ridiculously unhealthy writing fuel (aka Sugar Free Rock Star). How do you fuel your writing?

Using Contractions in Your Writing
Helen Ginger gives tips on how and when to use contractions in your writing. She focuses mainly on dialogue and how the appropriate use of contractions makes it sound natural to the reader’s ear.

Don’t Ignore the Elephant in the Room: A Law of Description
Physical description is essential in written works. The context and appearance of the world of our characters can change the readers’ perceptions. Through a few specific examples, this post teaches the importance of description in fiction, though the lesson is just as important in nonfiction.

Fiction

Rules for Anchorites
Are you a writer? Or are you simply a vessel for the amazing words of your muse? In this post, the intrepid writer dashes all thoughts that writing isn’t work.

What not to Write. 10 Ways to Commit Romance Novel Suicide.
These tips for what makes a bad romance are useful across genres. Likeable characters, appropriate foreshadowing, and follow-through work for any novel!

The First Three Pages
In this first post in a series designed to help you learn from the work of a successful novelist, Writing Career Coach Tiffany Colter asks guiding questions to help you assess what works in a favorite book. Make sure you check out the entire series, which will continue into next week.

The Basic Building Blocks of Good Story Structure
Camy Tang guests over at Squirrel’s Treehouse with a great post about story structure.

Freelancing

Web Content Sites Versus Private Clients
Deb Ng lists the pros and cons for these two different types of freelance clients. She covers pay, the job search, job security, the resume-building cache, and more, giving a good overview of why you might want to pick one type of client over the other.

You Just Graduated from Journalism School. What Were You Thinking?
The Village Voice talks to some fresh-faced graduates from top-notch journalism schools about their assessment of their career options. Interesting stuff that can help us guide our careers, too.

Help a Reporter Out
No, this isn’t a new blog post. But it is a useful tool for writers looking for expert sources. Use it to request experts, but also consider signing up to receive the newsletter. You never know when a fellow writer will be looking for a source in your area of expertise. Here is a tip when requesting sources: Be very clear what stage your story is in. If it is in the pitch stage, say so. If it is to be written on spec, say so.

Platform

Writer’s Website Guidelines
Yes, I know that a website alone does not a platform make. But, it is an essential component of any writer’s platform. L.J. Sellers shares some common design tips and her take on each.

Get Known Now!
The platform master, Christina Katz, reminds us that articles are still an important part of our platform. She provides the whys you need to keep in mind when you think about whether writing articles is worth it. (Short summary: It’s totally worth it.)

Looking for more? Andy Shackcloth presents his own list of writing posts, and he had some great ones this week. I suggest bookmarking his site or adding it to your Google reader.

Related Posts

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