Author: Elizabeth Spann Craig

Elizabeth writes the Memphis Barbeque series (as Riley Adams) and the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin and writes the Myrtle Clover series for Midnight Ink and independently. She also has a blog, which was named by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 Best Websites for Writers. There she posts on the writing craft, finding inspiration in everyday life, and fitting writing into a busy schedule.

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

Twitterificby Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

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.

The Kindle “Delivery Cost” and How it Affects Writers:  http://ow.ly/q30H301U6Dg @RJCrayton

10 Tips for Beginning (and Expert) Poets: http://ow.ly/ATfX301VQN6 @hrhookwriter

“I Used to be a Writer”:  http://ow.ly/7igq301VQBr @TamsenButler  @WomenWriters         Continue reading

Writing Routines: When to Write?

Motivation and the Writing Life

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by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Out of all the different things I’ve done to make my writing better, practice has benefitted me most outside of pure reading.

I’ve taken classes, I’ve read craft books, I’ve read many, many posts on improving my writing in interesting and creative ways.  But practicing has been the best approach for better writing.

The key is writing as often as we can.  There are some days when writing is harder than others.  Sometimes it’s totally me…I just don’t feel as if I can bear to look at my manuscript.  I’ll still write on those days, but it will be a fraction of the amount I usually write.  Sometimes it’s a sick child, travel, or other things that get in the way.

I’ve found that I do best and get more written if I write first thing in the mornings before any demands are made on my day by other people.  I pour my coffee, take a quick glance (quick is vital) at my phone to make sure that no family emergencies have happened overnight (although I know I’d more likely get a phone call on my house phone if that were the case), and then I hop right into the story.Continue reading

Helpful Tools and Sites for Writers

Tools for Writers

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by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

As I’m looking for helpful content for writers, I come across lots of different kinds of tools.  Some of them I immediately put into use myself, or I’ll add the article on the tool to an Evernote notebook to study for later.

Sometimes I come across things that aren’t useful for me, but because writers all have different approaches, they’ll be useful for someone.  And I think many of these things are worth a try if we get stuck or if we haven’t come up with our own tools yet.   Here are a few.Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

 

Twitterific Writing Links by @elizabethscraig Elizabeth Spann Craig

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

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.

It’s good to be back!  Hope everyone had a good couple of weeks.  Here’s an extended Twitterific.  :)

12 Things Noticed While Reading Every Short Story Published in 2014-–15:  http://ow.ly/l5PH301wphW  @lucekel  @ElectricLit

The curse of 1st person narration: http://ow.ly/EDia301wrbB @NovelEditor

Is KDP Select Right for You? http://ow.ly/jGcs301AYBk @MarcyKennedy

Man Booker Prize Trends: Male and Middle-Aged in 3rd Person:  http://ow.ly/VDuy3022Yrx @DennisAbrams2 @pubperspectives

5 Overlooked Pixar Storytelling Tips:  http://ow.ly/ZVK9301AYFZ @RobinRWrites

The PLAN method of plotting and the movie Jaws: http://ow.ly/rdPS301AYKh @AlexSokoloff

10 Writing Pitfalls:  http://ow.ly/zCLf301AZ3j @MartinaABoone

When Less Is More on Social Media:  http://ow.ly/mLcJ301AZ8f @cksyme @JaneFriedman               Continue reading

Twitterific Writing Links

Twitterific

Twitterific

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

A weekly roundup of the best writing links from around the web.

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.

I’m going to take a short summer blog break and will go dark until July 10th, when I’ll return with an extended Twitterific. :)  Early wishes for a Happy Independence Day for my blog readers in the States.

Alternate Endings to Great Expectations:  http://ow.ly/mZCE301B7nv @TheToast @mallelis

Plot vs Character: What Drives a Great Novel? http://ow.ly/HyU23015k9u @nownovel

Is a Quick Release Schedule Right for Your Books? http://ow.ly/QR1Z3015k6u @ksumnersmith

Take Your Reader to Another World:  http://ow.ly/JpLZ3015keB @KeithCronin  @WriterUnboxed         Continue reading

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