Blog – Page 98 of 451

Twitterific Writing Links

March 20, 2016March 18, 2016Twitterific, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific writing links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 30,000 free articles on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

10 Irish Horror and Dark Fantasy Authors: http://ow.ly/ZBdWb @FlynnGrayWriter

Getting Your Self-Published Book into the Library: http://ow.ly/Z9T51 @readingreality

What Exactly is The Gothic Novel? http://ow.ly/Zqnmp @carrollbooks

Writing the Unreliable Narrator: http://ow.ly/Z9TYE by PJ Parrish Continue reading

Reaching Readers in Future Generations

March 18, 2016March 18, 2016Business of Writing

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about classic television and my kids. I’ve been amazed that they know (and can cite) particular gags or episodes from the 1950s comedy, I Love Lucy. It’s humor that still manages to resonate with kids born in 1997 and 2001.

This is a show that’s always been ahead of its time in many ways. The primary actors on the show, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball, formed their own production company, Desilu. They insisted on filming on quality film and allowed the show to be syndicated (which is how I watched it as a kid…as reruns). The company was later sold to Paramount. But the show is still made available to modern viewers as the rights holders put the entire series on Hulu to stream (which is how my kids watch it).Continue reading

How to Switch Between First Person Voices

March 14, 2016March 11, 2016Writing Tips

By E. J. Wenstrom, @ejwenstrom

I love to write in first person. It’s the closest I can get to my characters. You don’t just follow the character’s actions in first person—you’re right there in their head, living the story along with them. You get every flicker of thought and twist of emotion. It’s deep and consuming.

But when you get that deep into a character’s perspective, how do you shake yourself free and make the switch to a new character? As I finished my first novel and tried to start a new one, I’ve found this is easier said than done.

I spent five years with the narrator of my first novel. Every morning I got up, turned on the coffee and spent 45-60 minutes writing in his voice. This protagonist’s voice was burdened, vulnerable and highly emotive. I came to love this character and, quite frankly, got pretty deeply attached to him.Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

March 13, 2016March 11, 2016Twitterific, Writing Tips

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

***Eldon Sarte, who helped me set up this website, is offering a special deal for writers. A spring tuneup for a WordPress site for $100, including a contact form, work on redirect links and tracking, an FAQ section, and a subscription form. Click here to order–and put 100 in the ‘other amount’ field. For more information, contact Eldon here.

5 Things to Avoid When Blogging a Book: http://ow.ly/YVryT @VoicetoStory

Going Analog to Beat Writer’s Block: http://ow.ly/Z07Ip @tobywneal

Writing a Novel Synopsis: http://ow.ly/Z07xU @JaneFriedman

What Kind of Literature Lives on the Dark Web? http://ow.ly/Z082a @thelithub @ingredient_x Continue reading

Connecting With Readers

March 11, 2016March 10, 2016Motivation and the Writing Life

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

For years I’ve had the attitude that I was best connecting with readers through my stories. I still feel like that’s true. They’re getting a glimpse inside my head, inside my sense of humor, inside the way I see the world and other people through the books that I write.

For years, also, I’ve struggled with other methods of connecting with my readers in a natural way. Facebook didn’t (still doesn’t) feel natural to me. On other social media, I set up shop to connect with other writers. (If you ever want to find other writers to connect with on social media, just follow my Twitter followers).Continue reading