Category: Uncategorized

by Susan Russo Anderson, @SusanRussoAnder

Sometimes my brain feels like the Chelsea Hotel.

Thanks to the many good books I’ve been fortunate to read, unusual types live inside me and this post is about them—the characters that some authors create so vividly that, from time to time, they pop into my head, altered from their originals to be sure, but able to move in two or three places at once and very much alive in my memory.

Here are some that haunt me today:

• Gemma James in the KINKAID/JAMES mystery series by Deborah Crombie. Not short, not tall, the slightly anxious mom, woman, and detective, Gemma James, walks with a deliberate gait and/or drives in traffic or flares up at her partner, or puts criminals at ease or is busy being mesmerized by another character. Wisps of her copper hair fly.

• Ivan in DEATH IN A WINE DARK SEA by Lisa Davis. Ivan pirouettes in my head, this great, unwashed character: “He pulled his shirt up over his barrel chest, showing weathered, hairy skin as he turned in a circle. Generous love handles spilled over his belt.” But he also drives his boat, knocks on the door, twirls, scares, smiles so that the skin crinkles around his eyes and he forgets the gun in his hand.
  
• Marcel’s grandmother In SEARCH OF LOST TIME by Marcel Proust. Marcel’s grandmother sits at the far end of the Piazza San Marco, shaded from the sun by her heavily-veiled hat. Still and still moving, she glides in her garden in Cambray, pace stately, dress flowing. Her head is slightly upturned. She is mute, large and sad, like lost time.
  
• Gil Hodges (really) in MATINICUS, AN ISLAND MYSTERY by Darcy Scott. I’ve just begun reading this book so Gil Hodges is the new kid on the block. But he’s such a larger-than-life character that he’s entered my head already, swilling his beer, gulping his pie, sitting up in bed on a dark night, listening, waiting, scared.
  
• The possum (no name) in “The Third Pile,” an achingly sad character in a short story by Ken Brosky. In my head the possum sniffs the road on a moonless night, searching for its lost child.

These characters occupy only one wing of my mind. They rub elbows with Anna Karenina, Dilsey, Augie March, Shurlock John, Judge Deborah, Jack Reacher, Sarah Berg, the white rabbit, and Dalziel, to name a few.

I could go on and on, but I’d rather read your comments about the characters that live inside of you. Why do some characters hold you captive? What makes them memorable?

Susan Russo Anderson is a writer, a mother, a grandmother, a widow, a member of Sisters In Crime. She’s taught language arts and creative writing, worked for a publisher, an airline, an opera company. In between writing, revising, and editing, she blogs and reviews books.

DEATH OF A SERPENT, the first in the Serafina Florio series, published January 2012. She just published NO MORE BROTHERS, a novella, the second in the Serafina Florio series and is working on the third Serafina book, DEATH IN BAGHERIA.

by Luba Lesychyn, @LubaLesychyn

The Mystery in Everyday Miracles

Writers often pick up tips about their craft in formal settings such as workshops and classes, but sometimes the best gems are gleaned in rather unusual locations.

Of the many hats I wear, one is as a yoga instructor. But I was as surprised as anyone when an experience at a yoga conference had a significant impact on the novel I was writing, Theft By Chocolate, a sassy museum mystery about a woman of a certain age looking for chocolate, love, and an international art thief in all the wrong places.

I was still in the initial stages of the book when I participated in a yoga session called “Everyday Miracles” led by internationally renowned yogini Seane Corn. Throughout the physically grueling class, Corn’s profound narrative challenged us to stop putting so much emphasis on pursuits that create “big wows” in our lives and, instead, to begin noticing the wonder in the smallest moments.

This suggestion resonated with me on so many levels, but as far as my writing, it sent me in a new direction. From the beginning of my creative process I knew I wanted to set my story in a museum, a world with which I was very intimate as I had been working at Canada’s largest museum for more than twenty years. And I wanted to construct my story around a protagonist addicted to chocolate, because that was a character with which I was excessively familiar. The plot was a work in progress and I had been diligently working on a page-turning adventure, but I wasn’t convinced I had a work that was fresh, that readers hadn’t seen before. Lots of stories are set in museums – what was so different about mine?

So it was on that bone-chillingly damp Sunday morning in Toronto, in a bleak conference centre room filled with 200 yoga practitioners, most of whom were looking for a serious physical practice or hoping to find spiritual enlightenment, that a very different kind of insight came to me.

The cast of characters I worked with daily were stranger – and often funnier – than fiction. And the types of things I encountered in my everyday work routine and considered mundane were what others might find fascinating. It was time to notice, discover and describe the everyday miracles of my life and weave those into my story.

So, I found the magic in my day-to-day world and suddenly taking on new prominence were moments such as encountering someone in a hallway pushing a cart of ancient Egyptian mummified cats or experiencing uneasiness while working late in a building rumoured to have ghostly occupants. Even some of my own embarrassing “moments”, like covering up chocolate bar wrappers in my trash bin so the cleaning staff wouldn’t see how much chocolate I had eaten in a week, became material for the story.

Interweaving such anecdotes, I realized, would give my readers a behind-the-scenes access to museum life and to the life of a chocolate addict that they may never have previously experienced. It would be a new layer to my story that readers could cling onto firmly while they journeyed through my universe. The backdrop would no longer be a flat curtain, it would be a three-dimensional character in its own right, with quirks and flaws and redeeming qualities.

I was fortunate to have such a wealth of unusual stories in a distinctive setting to draw upon for my novel, but so many of the other stories I have percolating within my creative spirit have nothing to do with museums. So my challenge as a writer will be to create a hologram for every tale, even if it’s set somewhere as commonplace as a convenience store. Depending on the story, “big wows” will still have a place in my work, as they do, in Theft By Chocolate. But I am convinced that it will be the everyday miracles that I share with readers that will encourage them to keep coming back for more.

How do you add layers and depth to your writing?

Please leave your answer in the comments with your email address to be entered to win an ebook copy of Theft By Chocolate,the new release by Luba Lesychyn. In five days, a winner will be chosen at random and notified via email. Available in any ebook format. Remember to write your email address in the comments so that you can be contacted if you win!

$150 Gift Certificate Giveaway of Grand Prize on July 31st. Do you love chocolate as much as Kelana, the heroine in Theft By Chocolate? Here’s your chance to indulge in $150 US worth! The Giveaway Grand Prize is a gift certificate to a delectable chocolate online retailer. Winner chooses from one of three sites: Chocosphere (US Retailer), Hotel Chocolat (UK and US Retailer) , Darrell Lea (Australian Retailer). To be eligible for the Grand Prize, enter the Rafflecopter below. Remember to sign up for Luba’s email announcements (worth five entries). On occasion she’ll send out exclusive announcements for special events, blog posts, giveaways and free swag! On July 31st, the winner will be chosen at random and notified via email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Today is July 4th and those of us in the States are celebrating our country’s independence.

It’s a day when we usually celebrate freedom of all kinds. And eat lots of grilled food. :)

One of my favorite things about living in a free country is having choices—being able to choose with whom we want to associate. Being able to choose how or if we want to worship. The option to travel freely to other countries.

And even the freedom to make very small choices. Like how we want to approach publishing our book.

It’s baffled me how acrimonious the traditional publishing vs. self-publishing debate has become. Emotions have run high in both camps and it seems to be centered around who’s right and who’s wrong.

I don’t think it matters who’s right and I don’t think it really matters what we choose to do with a particular book. We should probably just write plenty of books and experiment.

I’ve just handed in the fourth book of my Memphis Barbeque series to Penguin.

Now I’m writing a book to self-publish. I’ve self-published two other titles, but one was backlist and one was written for traditional publishing but didn’t sell. This is the first time I’ve written a book for the sole purpose of self-publishing it.

After that, I’ll be working on my 3rd book for the Southern Quilting mysteries for Penguin.

I couldn’t feel less-conflicted about it. I won’t try to shop the book I’m writing independently—it won’t be sent to my agent. I won’t agonize over the fact that I’m writing books for a traditional publisher and whether that means I’ll miss out on higher royalties.

Actually, it’s a real luxury to have more than one option. What’s a good approach for one book may not be right for another.

So that’s what I’m celebrating on this 4th of July—having options and having the ability to freely choose between them. What are you celebrating?

Happy 4th to my friends in the States. :)

Image: Flickr—Lou Ann A

by Jodie Renner, freelance editor
@JodieRennerEd

You’re busy creating your story world with your right brain, rolling along with the great plot and developing your characters while your muse is buzzing. Great! But later, when you’ve got that first draft done, it’s important to switch to your left brain and go back and check for logistics, time sequencing, and continuity of character and setting details—or get someone else to do it for you.

And while you’re at it, verify your facts, to avoid annoying or even alienating your readers – and eroding your credibility. “But,” you say, “I’m writing fiction, so who cares about facts?” You should, because you want to create a credible world for your readers to be drawn into, and if an erroneous fact jars them out of it, they’re going to be disappointed and annoyed. Think about watching a movie about Ancient Rome and suddenly you notice a watch on one of the gladiators! The illusion of being caught up in their world is shattered.

If you’re writing a western, make sure the gun makes and models they use were invented by that period. And in a contemporary novel, don’t have a character in the 70s researching a topic on her home computer or emailing friends! I recently read a novel in which the (missing and assumed dead) mother of the protagonist had sent emails 20-25 years earlier! I think I personally started emailing around 1996 or ’97. How about you? Similarly, don’t have your everyday characters carrying around cell phones before the mid- to late-‘90s. Even today, there are large parts of North America with no cell phone service, so if your story is set in a remote area, be sure to check before having your characters use their mobile phones there.

In a historical fiction I edited a few years ago, a murderer was running from the police in England, around 1845. He headed to the port and spotted a lone man with a ticket for a passage across to New York. He lured him into a secluded area, stabbed him, and stole his ticket for the ship, which he boarded almost immediately. Arriving in America three or four weeks later, he was greeted by his uncle, whom he’d arranged to meet him at the pier. I immediately queried the author as to how the fugitive, who’d boarded the ship at the last minute, could have arranged for his uncle in America to be at the harbor to meet him? By telephone? The author admitted he hadn’t thought of that, and was grateful that I’d pointed it out.

Also, be aware of whether expressions were in use in the time frame or geographical region of your story. If you use a modern expression in a historical fiction, it jolts the reader out of that time period, and they’ll probably feel you did a shoddy job of recreating that world for them. For example, in a historical fiction I was editing that took place about 150 years ago, the term “upscale” was used. This struck me as out of place for that time, so I looked it up. Merriam-Webster lists “upscale” as first being used in 1966, so to even use it in narration in a historical fiction takes the reader out of that world. Same with the even more recent expression, “high-end” (coined around1977). For historical fiction, better to use “upper-class” or “elegant” or “sophisticated” or “affluent” or “wealthy.” A few other fairly recent expressions that would date a book set in the ‘50s to ‘80s would be “metrosexual” (Merriam-Webster says it was coined in 1994), “24/7” or the more recent “My bad.” Can you think of any words, terms or expressions that have jumped out at you as anachronistic in a book or movie set in the past, even 20 or 30 years ago?

And as a freelance editor, I constantly notice little errors like an amber necklace suddenly being called a sapphire necklace later in the evening; someone picking a daffodil from the garden in October, a wound in the forearm moving inexplicably to the hand; a character’s vehicle color, make or model changing; problems with dates and time sequencing; sudden changes in a character’s name, age, or appearance; inconsistencies with the season, climate or geography; and so on. I was editing a murder mystery several years ago where the victim had been shot in the head while he sat in his car (a single gunshot). Several chapters later, the autopsy was investigating his only wound—in his chest! And another where an apple tree in blossom became, the next morning, a tree bearing ripe apples! If errors like these aren’t picked up before your story is published, you can be sure that a number of readers will notice them and may lose confidence in you as a writer—and put down your story. Or worse, write a bad review of it on Amazon.

So if in doubt about facts in your story, take the time to look them up, or run your story past trusted readers before publication. Better yet, employ the services of a freelance editor, who will be on the lookout for incorrect information, discrepancies, and logic problems, and may query you with a comment like “Was this invented back then?” or “Did she just buy a new car? The one she had yesterday was a blue Toyota. Now she’s driving a Ford,” or “Who’s Ralph?” (That character whose name you changed.) The last thing you want is for your readers to say, “Oh, come on! This doesn’t make sense!” then toss the book aside.

How about you? As a reader, have you ever been jolted out of a story by something that didn’t make sense? As a writer or editor, have you noticed incongruities that needed to be fixed? Do you have any interesting or funny or absurd examples to share?

Jodie Renner is a freelance editor, specializing in suspense/thrillers, romantic suspense, mysteries and other crime fiction, as well as mainstream, YA, and historical fiction. For more information on Jodie’s editorial services, please visit her website at www.JodieRennerEditing.com.

Thanks for coming by today, Jodie! Jodie will be doing a series of monthly guest posts for me to look at writing from an editor’s point of view. I’m looking forward to them. :)

Image: Flickr: kylemacdonald/

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific is a compilation of all the writing links I shared the previous week.

The links are fed into the Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine (developed by writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 16,000 free articles on writing-related topics. Sign up for our free newsletter for monthly writing tips and interviews with top contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook.

Have a great week!

Finding Balance Among Opposites in the Creative Process: http://bit.ly/MAIASo @cjtreggett @PatrickRwrites

Increase the Chances of Your Book Becoming a Breakout Hit: http://bit.ly/MAIIB6 @janefriedman

Can Writers Earn a Living Writing Just One Book a Year? http://bit.ly/MAIOcd @jodyhedlund

Making History Appealing to Teen Readers: http://bit.ly/MAJ22P @janice_hardy @kalongshore

Digital reading is social, but needs improvement: http://bit.ly/MAJbn3 @criticalmargins

5 Story Mistakes Even Good Writers Make: http://bit.ly/MAL5Ea @writersdigest

Using real people in fiction: http://bit.ly/MALXbU @beth_barany

An editorial director answers publishing questions: http://bit.ly/MAM5Ip @behlerpublish

Writing YA: Capturing the Teen Voice: http://bit.ly/MAM87a @diymfa

The Beauty of Low-tech Blogging: http://bit.ly/KCHisA

The Blogger’s Essential WordPress Guide: 13 Tutorials: http://bit.ly/KCHjNi @problogger

Authenticity of Voice: http://bit.ly/KCHp7C

Accomplish Your Writing Goals: Make a Schedule and Meet Your Deadlines: http://bit.ly/KCHt7f @writersdigest

Alliteration and Repetition: http://bit.ly/KCHwjw @eMergentPublish

Pen Name: How To Create Yours: http://bit.ly/KCHAzV

Changes in crime fiction through the years: http://bit.ly/KCLNDK @mkinberg

The Vacation Writing Balancing Act: http://bit.ly/KHkNmy @TaliaVance

Finding Themes in a Brainstorm: http://bit.ly/KHkRmk @livewritethrive

8 publishing landmines and 8 tips for dealing with them: http://bit.ly/KHkZlA @KatieGanshert

Cover letter dos and don’ts: http://bit.ly/KHl0pK @nicolamorgan

An agent on movie deals: http://bit.ly/KHl20S @SaraMegibow

5 Mistakes Of New Fiction Writers: http://bit.ly/KHl4WA @thecreativepenn

A list of free stock photo sites: http://bit.ly/KHl7S5 @NinaAmir

Should you give your antagonist a POV? http://bit.ly/KHlhca @KMWeiland

11 Questions to Turn a Target Market into a Reader Profile: http://bit.ly/KHljB0 @duolit

2 Questions That Will Stunt a Writer’s Progress: http://bit.ly/KHlnAz @christi_craig

The pre-conference query: http://bit.ly/MQc0tG @literaticat

10 myths about introverts: http://bit.ly/MQchN4 @carlking

7 “You Know What I Meant” Mistakes: http://bit.ly/MQcjVd @writing_tips

Layers of emotion in our writing: http://bit.ly/MQcujf @Kid_Lit

How to Survive the Query Wars: http://bit.ly/MQczUl @ava_jae

Where Is Your Character Going? http://bit.ly/MQcLmg @jacobkrueger

Showing vs. telling: http://bit.ly/MQcKyK @writersdigest

3 elements in a successful query: http://bit.ly/MQcUGz @msheatherwebb @janice_hardy

10 Tips for a Terrific Antagonist: http://bit.ly/MQdB2t @howtowriteshop

Find the talisman in your book: http://bit.ly/MQdDri @diymfa

Using Setting as a Character: a Tip for Novelists: http://bit.ly/MQegRz @MaryLuTyndall

The Universal Fairy Tale: http://bit.ly/MQep7D @storyfix

The escaping character problem: http://bit.ly/MQeyIi @litreactor

Investment vs. Payoff: Is Blogging Worth the Time? http://bit.ly/MQeBnn @roniloren

For Publishers, The Long Term Is the Only Race Worth Winning: http://bit.ly/MQfjRm @pubperspectives

Time-related demands on the modern writer: http://bit.ly/MQfBHY @jodyhedlund

40 Irregular Verbs That Can End in “-t”: http://bit.ly/MQfDj9 @writing_tips

Why you should be a writer: http://bit.ly/MQfPPt @sarahahoyt

Your freelance career–how to get and stay organized: http://bit.ly/MQg1OA

1 editor’s revision process: http://bit.ly/MQgpgc @sjaejones

Can Writers Earn a Living Writing Just One Book a Year? http://bit.ly/MAIOcd @jodyhedlund

The Secret Myth of Traditional Publishing: http://bit.ly/MAImdP @deanwesleysmith

Setting International Prices for Ebooks: http://bit.ly/KzUdMa @passivevoiceblg

What to look for in a beta reader: http://bit.ly/MwcYzA @jamigold

Thinking Outside the Box for Book Tour Events with Indie Bookstores: http://bit.ly/Mwd9Le @LaurHarrington

Academic publishing: The essential checklist for ebook authors: http://bit.ly/MwdnC5 @guardianbooks

If You’re Consuming Too Much Then You’re Creating Too Little: http://bit.ly/Mwdr4X @originalimpulse

Making Audio Books From Your Novels: http://bit.ly/MwdAWb @beth_barany

Write or Die–the app: http://bit.ly/Mwe8ew @woodwardkaren

Writing Suspense In Science Fiction and Fantasy: http://bit.ly/MweCBp @rodriguez_linda @BryanThomasS

World-building: The Hooks of Magic in Your Book: http://bit.ly/MweTEo @HP4Writers @4YALit

Introducing Nora A. Roberts, Poacher: http://bit.ly/Mwf4j1 @passivevoiceblg

Most manuscripts benefit from a judicious edit: http://bit.ly/Mwfnum @guardianbooks

Building A Home Base As An Author: http://bit.ly/MwftSL @nickthacker

Mythology in Urban Fantasy: http://bit.ly/MwfvKk @fantasyfaction

Three Critique Questions to Ask Beta Readers: http://bit.ly/MwfKFe @writersdigest @Courtney_WD

6 misunderstandings about author royalties: http://bit.ly/Mwhnmh @curiosityquills

Performing the Invasive Edit: http://bit.ly/MwhEph

6 Advantages of a Professional Newsletter: http://bit.ly/MwhK0f @authorems

So You Want to Be Funny: A Guide to Pumping Irony: http://bit.ly/MwhUEQ @gripemaster @BTMargins

5 tips for writing a thriller: http://bit.ly/Mwi5jt @writersdigest

Lit magazine news: http://bit.ly/Mwir9R @BTMargins

Converting backstory into character: http://bit.ly/MwjhmY @theresastevens

Substance vs. Style: Fanfare for the Common Word: http://bit.ly/LqhB9N @JulieWuAuthor

Genre Fiction – Popular Through Time: http://bit.ly/Lqi7ET @jhansenwrites

4 Tips to Improve Confidence During a Video Interview: http://bit.ly/Lqikb9 @sparkhire

A look at a library assistant’s day: http://bit.ly/LqiCij @LauraEWardle

The Definitive Guide to Successful Online Writing: http://bit.ly/LqiO0N

Trademark Is Not a Verb: Guidelines From a Trademark Lawyer: http://bit.ly/LqiXkQ @janefriedman

Book Promotion: 5 Tips for Introverts: http://bit.ly/LqjeEx

What Conflict Is and Isn’t in Writing a Romance Novel: http://bit.ly/LqjqDU @Courtney_WD

Tips for Fixing Episodic Chapters: http://bit.ly/LqjumR @Janice_Hardy

Your Protagonist Must Decide: http://bit.ly/LqjWll @joebunting

Tapping into Your Character’s Biggest Fear: http://bit.ly/Lqk301 @PBRWriter

5 signs you’re about to land an agent: http://bit.ly/LqlgVg @internspills

Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Author Website? http://bit.ly/MyNOAt @duolit @nickthacker

Public Speaking – Tapping Into Your Inner Hambone: http://bit.ly/MyOkyw @behlerpublish

20 techniques to counter blogger’s block: http://bit.ly/MyOVAj @YouthWorkinIt

November a busy month for you? Consider JulNoWrimo in July: http://julnowrimo.com/ @julnowrimo

If We Remember More, Can We Read Deeper– and Create Better? http://bit.ly/MyPGJz @mkonnikova

Lessons Learned from Wrangling with the Impossible Book: http://bit.ly/MyPLNl @Anna_Elliott

30 Things You Should Not Share On Social Media: http://bit.ly/MyPSbD @jeffbullas

Alfred Hitchcock: from silent film director to inventor of modern horror: http://bit.ly/LTTO4X @guardianbooks

Connecting to Readers With Your Memoir: http://bit.ly/LTTUcQ @Janice_Hardy

4 of the Best iPad Apps for Writers: http://bit.ly/LTTWBp @ShariJStauch

15 Stock Characters — and How to Restock Them: http://bit.ly/LTUirU @writing_tips

7 Networking Tips for Authors: http://bit.ly/LTUmI2 @thecreativepenn @chrisrobley

Don’t Imprison Readers in a Character’s Head: http://bit.ly/M9SMFb @noveleditor

3 Tips To Heighten Story Tension: http://bit.ly/M9T2nz

Conflict Creation: The Needs Of Your Characters: http://bit.ly/M9T7ru @woodwardkaren

Going beyond Critique: Structuring Feedback to Best Help Your Writing: http://bit.ly/M9Th1W

Why It’s Good to Create a Bad Writing Platform: http://bit.ly/M9TjqH @krissybrady

Book Readings: Bar vs. Bookstore: http://bit.ly/M9Ttyo @BrandonTietz

Seth Godin’s Kickstarter project & what it says about the industry: http://bit.ly/M9Up5D @ByRozMorris @DanBlank @Porter_Anderson

Using Your Self-Publishing Success to Find an Agent: http://bit.ly/M9UJS4 @goblinwriter @LisMock

Why reviewers won’t read your self-pubbed books: http://bit.ly/M9VfiR @gavreads

5-Step plan to selling ebooks: http://bit.ly/M9VlHg @dmcgowanauthor

History, Worldbuilding, and Bricolage: http://bit.ly/M9Vv1q @bookviewcafe

Agent Research– QueryTracker: http://bit.ly/M9Xnag @JemiFraser @writeangleblog

The Top 25 Ways to Blow a Book: http://bit.ly/M9Xtie @KMWeiland

Takeaways from Downtown Abbey from bestselling authors: http://bit.ly/M9Y57H @JungleReds

Deep Point of View: http://bit.ly/M9YaYZ @KatieGanshert

5 Ways Writing Seriously Has Changed the Way 1 Writer Does Things: http://bit.ly/M9Ysin @franticsimple

Letter to a writer who is losing confidence: http://bit.ly/M9YBm5 @dirtywhitecandy

DRM encourages a community of pirates: http://bit.ly/MYKj20 @Porter_Anderson @jwikert @fakebaldur @timoreilly

Richard Russo–still not putting his money where his mouth is: http://bit.ly/MYKxpX @Porter_Anderson @Canfield_AP @JDGsaid @jeffjohnroberts

3 Facebook Timeline Marketing Tips for Success: http://bit.ly/NdGRR6 @SMExaminer

If You Can’t Read More, Read Better: http://bit.ly/NdGYMk @fuelyourwriting

Your acknowledgments page–a list of people to thank: http://bit.ly/NdH7iZ @mybookshepherd

The 8 Ps of Being a Writer: http://bit.ly/NdHhqr

What Can Trade Publishers Learn from Fanfiction? http://bit.ly/NdHom3 @pubperspectives

Embracing Technology – Word Is Not Your Enemy: http://bit.ly/NdHt99 @authorterryo

Tips for being more creative: http://bit.ly/NdHABA @thecreativepenn @PhilSouth

7 Simple Ways to Make a Good Story Great: http://bit.ly/NdJNgw @esimsauthor

Taking Your Writing from Paper to the Big Screen: http://bit.ly/NdJUbN @JulieBMack

Ramp Up The Fight To Amp Up The Tension: http://bit.ly/NdMgaN @jhansenwrites

3 Myths About Villains: http://bit.ly/NdMmiy @angelaackerman

Tips for fast writing: http://bit.ly/NdMBu6 @junglereds

Writing a Mystery Novel: Creating a Villain & 5 Ways To Justify a Crime: http://bit.ly/NdMLBu @writersdigest

Top 10 Literary Quotes from The Simpsons: http://bit.ly/NdN4fF @NewDorkReview

Fifty Shades of Worry: http://bit.ly/NdN3IS @thefuturebook

International Writers on the Tyranny of Big Languages: http://bit.ly/MH5mKN @pubperspectives

Inconvenient Truths of Our Own Writing: http://bit.ly/MH5oT0 @BTMargins

Are Ghostwriting Services for You? http://bit.ly/MH5vhg @howtowriteshop

How to create an online media kit: http://bit.ly/MH5xpi @BookMarketer

How to Improve Your Story With Specificity: http://bit.ly/MH5ASj @kmweiland

3 Steps to Pinpoint Your Readers’ Favorite Hangouts: http://bit.ly/MH5zxF @duolit

Fresh Ways to Handle Blog Criticism: http://bit.ly/MH6IFx @problogger

How Michael Chabon Uses Suspense in Literary Fiction: http://bit.ly/MH6P3D @litreactor @cdrosales