Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

Here are writing links that I’ve posted to Twitter for the past week. If you’re looking for a particular topic, just plug in your keyword into the search box at the top left-hand corner of the blog (on the black header right above my blog name…next to the Blogger symbol…the small search window is next to the magnifying glass) and the roundup with your subject will come up. To narrow your search down on the page, do a CTRL+F, type your subject, and hit enter.

Novel Done, Soundbite? Handle? Aargh!! http://dld.bz/rHkv

Lessons from Queryfest: http://dld.bz/rHkq

Top Six Reasons Your Book is Not in the School Library…http://dld.bz/rHjX

Why You Should Understand Your Weaknesses: http://dld.bz/rHjS

The Craft of Writing: Structure, Shape, and Interest: http://dld.bz/rHjQ

Mystery writer’s guide to forensic science–ballistics: http://dld.bz/rHjK @clarissadraper

Dos and Don’ts of Twitter: http://dld.bz/rHj6

The Dark Side of Writer’s Conferences: http://dld.bz/rHj3

Questions to ask yourself before you start a revision: http://dld.bz/rHjw

The Writer’s Forensics Blog–Bang! You’re Dead! Or Not? http://dld.bz/rHjr

Do You Suffer From One of These Writing Maladies? http://dld.bz/rHjp

Bang! Pow! Blog like a Comic Book! http://dld.bz/rHjh

Magazine and Book Publishing Rights: http://dld.bz/rHjg

A few words on genre and literary fiction: http://dld.bz/rHhW

Are You Developing for Android? http://dld.bz/rHhU

Surviving the Draft: Pushing Your Book Over the Finish Line: http://dld.bz/rHhM

5 Ways to Use Book Trailers to Drive Sales: http://dld.bz/rHhJ

Tips for writing a query letter: http://dld.bz/rHhs

10 Book Writing Tips From Published Book Authors and Freelancers: http://dld.bz/r5p5

It’s The Little Things: http://dld.bz/r5pJ

What Makes Writing Art? http://dld.bz/r5p2

Ray Bradbury Rejects eReaders: http://dld.bz/r4Sm

Borders Cuts Employees at Corporate Headquarters: http://dld.bz/r4SP

China’s Biggest E-Publisher Launches Bambook E-Reader and E-bookstore: http://dld.bz/r5pb

What Does The Romance Genre Say About the Good Life? http://dld.bz/r5nV

Does Your Novel Suffer From Flat Writing? http://dld.bz/r5nK

5 Reasons Why No One Is Reading Your Email Newsletter: http://dld.bz/r4WY

Tight Writing for Good Tweets: http://dld.bz/r4UE

Conflict–the fuel of your story: http://dld.bz/r4WK

Women in Publishing Twitter Directory http://dld.bz/r4St @galleycat

Tight Writing for Good Tweets– http://dld.bz/r4UE

Common Excuses For Not Using Social Media: http://dld.bz/r4Uw

A little goes a long way–writing laughs in chick lit: http://dld.bz/r4Ud

Contemplating new publishing models (interesting look at money in publishing): http://dld.bz/r4T9

How Stieg Larsson Changed One UK Publishing House: http://dld.bz/r4Rd @GalleyCat

A post that looks at writers who were jailed: http://dld.bz/r4Jw @micheleemrath

Simon & Schuster Publisher Reorganizes: http://dld.bz/r4SD

Supporting other writers–it’s not about reciprocity: http://dld.bz/r4HX @authorterryo

Six Myths About Publishing: http://dld.bz/rqDj

10 things not to do if you want to get published: http://dld.bz/rqDa

The Publishing Death Spiral–part one–The Cold Equations: http://dld.bz/rqCU

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Too Hot to Bake Oreo Ice Cream Cake http://bit.ly/dzEGz0 @CleoCoyle

“5 Self-Publishing Lessons I Learned From My Toddler” : http://dld.bz/rqC9

A Truly Public Monster or Why Are Zombies Fun to Talk about? http://dld.bz/rqCz

Home is where the writer’s heart is: http://dld.bz/rq6F @hownottowrite

In Defense of YA-Reading Adults: http://dld.bz/rq6A

How one writer (who is now an agent) got started as a writer–and his 3 big writing tips: http://dld.bz/rq63

More Detail, Please: http://dld.bz/rq6r

The emailed book pitch: http://dld.bz/rq6d @bubblecow

5 things I’ve learned about writing — writing is a business: http://dld.bz/rq5U

Trusting Authorial Voices: http://dld.bz/rq5K

Winds of change in publishing: http://dld.bz/rq5A

The 17 Principles of Success (Part 1): http://dld.bz/rq5x

Setting–getting the details right: http://dld.bz/rq5j

What makes a good head shot? http://dld.bz/rq4y @alexisgrant

Facebook 101 for Business: Your Complete Guide: http://dld.bz/rq4q

Pitching beyond plot: http://dld.bz/rq3M

5 BS Indicators for Writers Conferences: http://dld.bz/rq2G @VictoriaMixon

On writer’s voice: http://dld.bz/rq35

The Death of (Another) Format: http://dld.bz/rq3B

Showing love to your fellow writers: http://dld.bz/rq3s

What if you forgot everything you ever wrote? http://dld.bz/rq3Z

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: A book cover celebration with cupcakes! http://bit.ly/aTIesv @CleoCoyle

How to Be a Super Competent Author: http://dld.bz/rq2p

How Post its can help writers: http://dld.bz/rq2a

8 tips for getting your books into bookstores: http://dld.bz/rq2k

10 Top Novel Writing Mistakes: http://dld.bz/rqzE

Writing tips–writing out loud: http://dld.bz/rqzC

Crime fiction–depicting the murderer’s reaction to killing: http://dld.bz/rtCj @mkinberg

9 Productivity Techniques for Freelancers: http://dld.bz/rqxV @sixrevisions

Protagonist IQ–how important is it, and how can we show, not tell it? http://dld.bz/rtjf @MsMystery

Map Your Reading: http://dld.bz/rqxN

5 Mistakes That Weaken Your Writing: http://dld.bz/rqxj @UrbanMuseWriter

Top 10 urban fantasy pet peeves: http://dld.bz/rqwm

How Google Counted The World’s 129 Million Books (Wired): http://dld.bz/rqvZ

Tips and checklist for writing a middle grade novel: http://dld.bz/rqv5 @4KidLit

9 Ways to Make Your Blog Work Harder for You: http://dld.bz/rquU

“A few things I learned about life as a poet from watching ‘Bright Star'”: http://dld.bz/rquG

Literary Movement Series: The Lost Generation: http://dld.bz/rqPJ @micheleemrath

Research or Background: http://dld.bz/rqu5 @__Deb

Tips for making your characters stand out from the crowd: http://dld.bz/rqND

Lessons from SCBWI-LA: How to Sell Your Novel: http://dld.bz/rmFQ @4KidLit

Snarketing for marketing? Is being snarky an effective way to draw people to your blog? http://dld.bz/rq7F @WritingAgain

Excellent series on plot and the 36 dramatic situations: http://dld.bz/rqwS @msforster

Copyrights (and wrongs): http://dld.bz/rmFg

Finding time to write: http://dld.bz/rmEX

What Should I Write About? Focusing Your Ideas: http://dld.bz/rmEK

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Chef for a Night http://bit.ly/9pmPj3 @CleoCoyle

New Writing Challenges: http://dld.bz/rgFb

How to Cut Your To-Do List in Half: http://dld.bz/rgEY

The Phenomenology of Writing by Hand: http://dld.bz/rmEw : @ichibanbrianne

Editing Your Own Novel: The Importance Of Self Editing: http://dld.bz/rgEU

Thoughts on quiet books–how to keep readers turning the pages when your book is slower-paced: http://dld.bz/rmEn @micheleemrath

How Writing Keeps Us Well: http://dld.bz/rgEG

A filter for your writing well: http://dld.bz/rgEA

“One tiny sign that I’m a writer”: http://dld.bz/rgE4 @RebHargreaves

The Art of Characterization: http://dld.bz/rgEw

What to ask an agent when you get the call: http://dld.bz/rgEn

Pursuing the Dream When Time is Scarce: http://dld.bz/rgD8 @KatieGanshert

Tips for writing conferences: http://dld.bz/rgDe

Why an Online Presence Can Help Every Kind of Writer: http://dld.bz/rgCA @JodyHedlund

The Three-Step Process To Surprising Your Readers: http://dld.bz/rgC8

Orientation for Writers–a Checklist: http://dld.bz/rgCw

The 15 Most Overrated Contemporary American Writers (PHOTOS)–Huff Post– http://dld.bz/rdWV

Why do novelists hate being interviewed? (Salon): http://dld.bz/rdWJ

The Language of the Senses: http://dld.bz/rdWE

Selling out? http://dld.bz/rdW9

Best Tweets for Writers (week ending 8/6/10)–Writer’s Digest: http://dld.bz/rdWx

5 Tips for Managing Your Facebook Privacy: http://dld.bz/rdSA

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Timothy O’Shea’s Goat Cheese Mushrooms http://bit.ly/9KLX8t @CleoCoyle

Take care of your verbs, and they’ll take care of you: http://dld.bz/rdRZ

8 Tips to Expand Your Personal Capacity: http://dld.bz/qYRW

5 steps to dazzling minor characters: http://dld.bz/rdRH

A character chart for your main characters: http://dld.bz/rdRB

10 Tests a Novel Must Pass to Prove It’s REALLY Ready for Submission to Publishers: http://dld.bz/rdQU @4KidLit

The Woman Who Paid Actresses to Read Her Book: http://dld.bz/qYSv

Ten of the best motorbikes in literature (Guardian): http://dld.bz/qYSK

Staying Organized: 8 Tips for Daily Sanity: http://dld.bz/qYSE

Terms and Definitions Every Writer Should Know: http://dld.bz/qYSs

Your Taste in Books Does Not Make You Better Than Anyone. http://dld.bz/qYSc

A life without rejection is…dull: http://dld.bz/qYQH

12 dos and don’ts for making the first page of your novel more compelling: http://dld.bz/qYQF

The lying art of historical fiction (Guardian): http://dld.bz/qYQ8

How to Start Your Mystery Novel: http://dld.bz/qYPW

What’s the difference between querying an agent and querying an editor? http://dld.bz/qYPS

Novel endings (thorough discussion): http://dld.bz/qYPA

5 Ways to Use Your Friends to Better Your Writing: http://dld.bz/qN3a

Building an Audience (and a Case) for Translations: http://dld.bz/qN2J

Three Tests That Can Help Us Handle Difficult Feedback: http://dld.bz/qN2B @JodyHedlund

Setting writing standards for ourselves: http://dld.bz/qNzd

How Social Media Can Help Writers Get Their Mojo Back: http://dld.bz/qCYK

Going With Your Gut to Sell that Book: http://dld.bz/qCXM

Anchors and Hooks: http://dld.bz/qNyU

Busy day on Friday, but we really covered some ground!

First of all, actually, was the signing Avery and I did at Joseph Beth bookstore in the South Park area of Charlotte.  They did a beautiful banner for us, which you can see in the background.  Great crowd came out and they asked wonderful questions.

I think that really I never need to follow a presentation by Avery!  She (as her alter-ego Daryl Wood Gerber) was a professional actress on television.  And me? I need to work on my presentation a little!  :) 

Friday we signed in Winston-Salem, NC and Greensboro, NC before driving to a tea in Raleigh.  Great tea, great staff and readers at the Barnes and Noble there!

I’m going to crash now….full day tomorrow.

Killer Cozies Tour:  Ellery Adams, Avery Aames, Krista Davis, Riley Adams (and no…I don’t turn around when someone calls “Riley!” because Avery tried it.) :) 

One of the group blogs I’m on, A Good Blog is Hard to Find, is re-launching and asked its members to tell a little about themselves and how they started writing.  Mine is up today and I kept it pretty brief! :)  Hope you’ll pop by.

I’m traveling for the next four days on my book tour, so I won’t be as active online as I usually am (and probably going through internet withdrawal!) 

I usually like to go to independently owned coffee houses…but there come times when I really, really need a cup of coffee and Starbucks is the only thing around.

I popped in last week and instead of asking for a “small coffee” (I never look at their menu because it makes me confused), I got a little daring and asked for a small chai tea latte.

“A short or a tall?”

“A…well, the smallest size you have.”

“That’s a short. If you ask for a small, you get a 12 oz. tall. Medium is grande and venti is large.”

Oh.

She rang me up and said, “Here’s your treat receipt!” And then went off to make my drink. What the…..??

Once I figured out that was a coupon to come back later that same day, I realized my drink was ready…and they were asking me something else.

“Would you like a splash stick?”

Huh?

“I’m sorry—what’s a splash stick?” But I felt dumb for asking. Apparently, everyone else knew what a splash stick was.

She explained it was a device to plug up the sipping hole in the lid while I walked back out across the parking lot. She looked a little impatient by now.

As I left, I started thinking about how I feel when I leave Starbucks—confused. (Although that quickly morphs into hyper because I down the caffeine pretty fast.) I think they’re just used to their regulars over there—customers who visit every day and know the routine and the lingo.

It really doesn’t make me happy to feel like I don’t know what’s going on, and I don’t want my readers to have the same experience. I’m currently working on the third book of my series and I don’t want to make assumptions that my readers know what I’m talking about when I bring up people and places from previous books.

I think it’s easy to assume our series readers are regulars and know all the characters as well as we do. And that our readers will catch on to inside jokes from previous books in the series…or be acquainted with the series’ backstory.

I’ve read series books both out of order and with large gaps of time in between books. When characters aren’t really introduced, I’ll usually try to figure out who they are by the way they relate to other characters—but if I still don’t get it, I’m giving up…who has the time? I’d rather have a small tag that won’t bore the regular readers of the series but will fill in the newer readers: John, Mary’s oldest son, stomped into the room.

If there’s an inside joke or a character idiosyncrasy that cracks up the regular readers, then the new readers should be filled in to give them the opportunity to “get it” when the joke is made.

If there’s backstory from previous books that directly affects the plot, then it should be briefly worked in (probably through dialogue or some other pretty innocuous way). That would serve to both fill in new readers to the series, and to remind regular readers of background, too.

We can write each book in our series as a standalone and play it perfectly safe—but then we do risk boring the readers who have read the previous books in our series. It’s a little bit of a balancing act.

How do some of your favorite authors fill in new readers while keeping regular readers from getting bored? How do you do it, if you write series?

I’ve been in a promotion and writing haze lately, making sure Delicious and Suspicious stays on track, then quickly shifting back into creative mode to pen Memphis book three. 

So it’s wonderful to come across such a generous review in the middle of a crazy day. :)  Thanks so much, Sharon!