Category: Uncategorized

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.

Review of the Kindle 3 Lighted Cover (and a brief history of lights and e-ink devices): http://dld.bz/uYyc

Writing your book’s opening: http://dld.bz/uYxU

No, you’re not too old to read YA: http://dld.bz/uYxC

How to read a publishing contract (22): http://dld.bz/uYx2

7 Ways Authors Can Market Without the Internet: http://dld.bz/uYxf

3 articles on mind-mapping for writers: http://dld.bz/uYxe

Tips for writing backstory: http://dld.bz/uYwT

Up the stakes to grab readers: http://dld.bz/uYwQ

Time Warp: 5 Ways To Find Flow In Your Writing: http://dld.bz/uYwF

Google Instant & Google Scribe for Writers: http://dld.bz/uYw3

5 Clever Ways to Make A Sticky Blog: http://dld.bz/uYvW

The Most Important Words On Your Website: http://dld.bz/uYvT

Eat, Pray, Blog: http://dld.bz/uYvP

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Chocolate Chip Cookies http://bit.ly/a8Nfxn @CleoCoyle

How-To-Create-An-Email-Signature-That-Promotes-Your-Book: http://dld.bz/uX7x

One writer responds to his rejections: http://dld.bz/uX7e

How to write a blog series: http://dld.bz/uX6R

A Simple Guide to Running a Facebook Page: http://dld.bz/uX6P

7 Success Lessons from Ralph Waldo Emerson: http://dld.bz/uX6K

5 Ways Serious Bloggers Can Fail: http://dld.bz/uX6F @LiteraryNobody

Mystery writing–characters who live in quiet desperation: http://dld.bz/vm9g @mkinberg

Should I use a nom de plume? http://dld.bz/uX6D

Dealing with wordlessness: http://dld.bz/uX68

Writing–what makes it worth it, despite the frustrations? http://bit.ly/cdvvh2

How to Write and Send a Press Release: http://dld.bz/uX63

How to Avoid Stretching Yourself Too Thin: http://dld.bz/uX62

7 Cheap and Healthy Meal Ideas for Starving Writers: http://dld.bz/uX6h

Is There a Disconnect In Your Story? http://dld.bz/uX6c

Six Myths About the Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/uXuT

Best Articles This Week for Writers 9/10/10: http://dld.bz/vjuu @4kidlit

Creating a protagonist? Some questions to ask yourself: http://dld.bz/uXtc

Agree To Disagree: The Key To Constant Conflict, Part 1: http://dld.bz/vjr4

16 Predictions for the Future of Publishing: http://dld.bz/uXsZ

An overworked agent’s version of triage: http://dld.bz/uXsj

The curse of swearing in children’s books (Guardian): http://dld.bz/uXsV

7 Ways to Grow Your Writers’ Group: http://dld.bz/uXsu

A List of Mystery Writing Group Blogs: http://dld.bz/uXrC

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Recession Cold Cuts or “Poor Girl’s Hot Butt” by Cleo Coyle http://bit.ly/cyje8l @CleoCoyle

A Writer’s Life: I Hear Voices and I See Dead People: http://dld.bz/uXry

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Thursday’s Winner Is… http://bit.ly/d6vDF6 @CleoCoyle

How to Re-Ignite Your Blogging Fire When You’re Feeling Burnt Out: http://dld.bz/uXrf

How one agent evaluates full manuscripts: http://dld.bz/uXrd

More about revision letters: http://dld.bz/uXqC

10 Ways to Create a Better “About Page” for Your Blog: http://dld.bz/uXqh

Are you striving to survive or succeed as a writer? http://dld.bz/uXpS

Mystery writer’s guide to forensic science–blood spatters: http://dld.bz/uXp9 @clarissadraper

Downtime can equal productivity: http://dld.bz/vefN

How to Get Your Book Reviewed: http://dld.bz/uXpz

Amish Romance Poised to Dethrone Vampire Romance? http://dld.bz/uXpx

How to Deal With Contradictory Query Advice: http://dld.bz/uXpu

Ten Ways to Know if Your (Internet) Marketing is Paying Off: http://dld.bz/uXnW @everythinggreen

Some helpful revision tips: http://dld.bz/uXnT

How To Post an Amazon Review: Random Acts of Publicity: http://dld.bz/uXnA

The Writing is in the Rewriting: http://dld.bz/uEfg

What to Work on When You Can’t Think of Anything New To Write: http://dld.bz/uEfd

Characterization–tips for getting real: http://dld.bz/vbu8 @SpunkOnAStick

What Drives an Agent Crazy? Part 5: http://dld.bz/uEeW

Writing for the Impatient Reader: http://dld.bz/vbvr @ultraswan

Those Pesky Overused Words: http://bit.ly/9Au1VR @authorterryo

An agent answers writers’ questions: http://dld.bz/uEeB

Reviews – How should an author react? http://dld.bz/u9ep

Ten of the best religious zealots in literature (Guardian): http://dld.bz/u9eh

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Wednesday’s Winner is… http://bit.ly/bJH7Rk @CleoCoyle

6 content tips for creating successful blog posts: http://dld.bz/u9dG

POV problems–do they distract you as a reader? http://dld.bz/u9dD

10 of the bloodiest bedtime stories (Independent): http://dld.bz/uXuw

How To Write Magical Words – Writing Fantasy (and other genres, too): http://dld.bz/u9d2

How to read a publishing contract (21): http://dld.bz/u9dz

Does your story have enough of the element of mystery in it? http://dld.bz/u9dv

Historical fact or fiction? http://dld.bz/u9dr

Reading genres you’re not proud over (Boston Globe): http://dld.bz/u9dn

Confessions of an Acquisitions Editor: http://dld.bz/uX7z

Ten of the best railway journeys in literature (Guardian): http://dld.bz/u9dm

How To Effectively Manage Your Online Reputation: http://dld.bz/u45X

Which is Best: First or Third Person Point of View? http://dld.bz/u45V)

Simply Said…How to Motivate Yourself: http://dld.bz/u45T)

Did You Get The Memo? You Don’t Have To Write Fiction: http://dld.bz/u45R)

What Batman Can Teach You About Proofreading: http://dld.bz/u45K

How to Beat Procrastination Permanently: http://dld.bz/u45G

Sentence strengthening exercises: http://dld.bz/u45E

Conflict–the engine of your story: http://dld.bz/u44M

An agent on author headshots: http://dld.bz/u44D

8 Ways for Writers to Create a Captivating Website: http://dld.bz/u447

6 ways authors can profit from their books “after the sale”: http://dld.bz/u445

5 new school year resolutions for writing parents: http://dld.bz/u442

10 reasons one writer is considering writing romance: http://dld.bz/u44z

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Win a prize! It’s a wrap! http://bit.ly/bLgmE7 @CleoCoyle

10 Authorial Confessions: http://dld.bz/u44v

Character Motivation: http://dld.bz/u44u

Can a Blog Challenge Help Drive Traffic to Your Site? http://dld.bz/u44p

12 Ways to Create a Mailing List that Will Sell Books: http://dld.bz/u44k

August’s helpful writing sites and blog posts: http://dld.bz/u44b @gracefuldoe

One writer offers examples of requested revisions from her editor: http://dld.bz/u43V

To Have or Have Not a Facebook Page: http://dld.bz/u43Q

How To Publish Your Book On Kindle And Ipad: http://dld.bz/u43K @BubbleCow

What Drives an Agent Crazy? Part 4 (the break-up): http://dld.bz/uvm2

This is Why You Always Meet Your Deadlines: http://dld.bz/uvmx

Capitalizing on your manuscript’s strengths: http://bit.ly/9GnGvu

Marketing during the publishing process: http://dld.bz/uvmv

Writer’s guide to reading people–what the office can say about a character: http://dld.bz/uvmr

Evil Wylie Twitter Writer Gives Interview: http://dld.bz/uvmm

A reminder for character naming: http://dld.bz/uuMF

Self Editing Tips – Turf the Non Descript: http://dld.bz/uuJS

Tips for writing multicultural stories: http://dld.bz/uuHM

Mature voices in YA lit: http://dld.bz/uuJx

The plot that swam away: http://dld.bz/tBxK

The difference between chapters and scenes: http://dld.bz/uuJn

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Monday’s Back to School Winner!!! http://bit.ly/9NpdBn @CleoCoyle

Author Or Writer, Which Do You Want To Be? http://dld.bz/uuHc

Writing exercise–building on cliches: http://dld.bz/uuFY

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Monday http://bit.ly/awPM0c @CleoCoyle

Author Websites for the “Pre-Published”: http://dld.bz/uuGS

7 reasons to partner on someone else’s book launch: http://dld.bz/uuGE

The Cost of Writing: http://dld.bz/uuGA

Ten tropes you’ll find in science fiction – over and over again: http://dld.bz/uuGs

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

The Pernicious Momentum of First Ideas: http://dld.bz/uuGf

5 Quick-Start Tips to Help Improve Your Writing: http://dld.bz/uuFN

Adapting Your Blog Into a Book: http://dld.bz/uuFC

The importance of reading for writers: http://dld.bz/uuFn./

10 signs You Are Ready to Publish a Book: http://dld.bz/uuEY

Novel Design: Character Types: http://dld.bz/uuEN

Self-publishing realities: http://dld.bz/uukT

Ten Ways to Improve Your Writing: http://dld.bz/uukD

Bait and switch tactics: http://dld.bz/uuky

Top 5 launch day lessons: http://dld.bz/uuks @suvudu

13 Wonderful Truths About Publishing: http://dld.bz/uukg

For bloggers–50 free icon sets: http://dld.bz/uuk8

Why narrative isn’t a bad thing: http://dld.bz/uuk3

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Back to School BLOG PARTY http://bit.ly/aVxEvs @CleoCoyle

Your Self-Help Book Should Not Be a Thinly Disguised Memoir: http://dld.bz/uujG

Talent is for cheats–3 things a writer really needs: http://dld.bz/uuj2 @jammer0501

Twitter Made Simple: http://dld.bz/uujw

One Writer’s Guide to Cheating Time: http://dld.bz/uujk

Choosing not to follow writing rules is different from not *knowing* the rules of writing: http://dld.bz/uujf

Rewriting: The Subplot Pass: http://dld.bz/uuhg

Including birthdays in our books: http://dld.bz/uug5

What High Concept Means: http://dld.bz/ucxh

Overarching tension: http://dld.bz/uufX

Describing a Character’s Physical Features: http://dld.bz/uufU

How to send Requested Materials: http://dld.bz/uuf2

Info on the Muse Online Writers Conference: http://dld.bz/uufx

Writer workshops–are they worth it? http://dld.bz/uufa

Catch a reader by the hook: http://dld.bz/uueP

Whom is the Person Which I Know? (grammar brush-up) http://dld.bz/uueF

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Welcome Guest Blogger Vicki Doudera! http://bit.ly/bdimio @CleoCoyle

The Narrative Trinity: http://dld.bz/uuez

Making Your Worlds Come Alive: http://dld.bz/uues

Why You Should Shoot Adverbs on Sight: http://dld.bz/uueg

Think e-books are the first device to create a publishing quandary? A little history, courtesy of the Boston Globe: http://dld.bz/ucyA

The Importance of Being Intentional: http://dld.bz/ucxP @JodyHedlund

Should you edit as you go? http://dld.bz/ucxM

What “high concept” means: http://dld.bz/ucxh

5 Ways Mama-Writers Can Foster Creativity in Kids: http://dld.bz/tBMW

How to Summit Life’s Everyday Mountains: http://dld.bz/tBMS

Anti-networking in a networking age: http://dld.bz/tBMJ

10 tips for rewriting: http://dld.bz/tBMD

The main parts of most genre stories–how to plot with them: http://dld.bz/tBKt

Making your own querying luck: http://dld.bz/tBKc

Consider your audience? Don’t! http://dld.bz/tBKa

Can Writers Market Themselves Without Making Eyes Roll? http://dld.bz/tBJW

Writing Routines and Ruts: http://dld.bz/tBJG

What makes a story “high concept”? http://dld.bz/tBJr

The fear surrounding writing: http://dld.bz/tBHW

The benefits of saying less: http://dld.bz/tBHN

Creativity–what it is and how to nurture it: http://bit.ly/aSerH3

Top 5 Most Indispensable Twitter Tools for Marketers: http://dld.bz/tB9t

What their house can tell us about our character: http://dld.bz/tB9m

The Largest Cause of Your Insecurity: http://dld.bz/tB9f

Slaying the Dragon of Authorial Intrusion: http://dld.bz/tB8J @MuseInks

You *don’t* have to write every day: http://dld.bz/tB8B

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Zwetschgendatschie http://bit.ly/bQRrQI @CleoCoyle

How to be a Good Literary Loser: http://dld.bz/tByw

Writer’s guide to reading people–the office: http://dld.bz/tBye @clarissadraper

67 Perseverance Quotes to Keep You Going: http://dld.bz/tBxY

The plot that swam away: http://dld.bz/tBxK

It Takes a Village–All the People Who Contribute to a Novel’s Success: http://dld.bz/tBxA

Add spice to your writing: http://dld.bz/tBwW

For a little while I was in the dark (which seems to happen a lot). But then I noticed a particular pattern to conversations I was having with my daughter’s friends’ parents.

“Elizabeth! I heard the funniest thing the other day when your daughter came over to play. She said you listen to ‘old lady music!’ She kept talking about the kind of stuff you listen to on the radio in the car and I was just cracking up!”

It took me several weeks of random playdates for me to realize that my daughter had targeted me for a change-the-radio-station campaign. She decided that if she spread stories about my listening habits (I tune in to classical music or new age because driving stresses me out), then I would feel some pressure to figure out what the pop radio station was (because I have no idea) and switch to it—at least while her friends are in the car. Apparently, other parents listen to top 40-type stuff? Who knew? She hoped my peers could pressure me into listening to something more modern.

Luckily, I’m immune to peer pressure. :) Although I give her kudos for trying.

Gossip, or telling tales, does have a lot of good uses in fiction, though. Here are some good ways to put it to use.

Gossip can be used as a means to an end…like my daughter’s interest in getting me to change my radio station. A politician could spread rumors about his opponent, forcing her to drop out.

Gossip can be used to achieve surprise. Local gossip can misdirect our protagonist and give him an incorrect perception of a character. This means our reader is jumping to the same conclusions, too. To Kill a Mockingbird had Boo Radley, who seemed like a terrifying person to the children in the book because of local gossip, but he ends up saving Scout from an attacker.

Gossip can create conflict for our protagonist—when untrue stories circulate about him or someone he cares about.

Gossip can be a tool for getting information for our protagonist…although he has to sift through it to glean what’s true and what isn’t. My sleuths come across as gossipy to other character, who open up to them—and provide clues or red herrings.

Our protagonist could be the one gossiping—and it could backfire on him and cause him to make enemies.

Gossip can take a harsher form and go into a totally new territory. In Ian McEwan’s book, Atonement, two young teenagers gossip with each other over the meaning of a note. They reach an incorrect conclusion that ends up changing lives.

Do you ever use gossip as a tool in your story?

I was at my primary care doctor’s office on Wednesday for a check-up and blood-work. (Fun-fun!) Anticipating the long wait I usually have at the doctor, I came armed with not just a notebook and pencil, but a book I was using for research, my laptop, and some ideas I had for plot development. Yes, I was multi-tasking…again.

Since I’d kept myself busy, I’m not exactly sure how much time passed while I waited in the exam room. I’m guessing it was a lot of time because the doctor hurried in with breathless apologies for her tardiness.

Once she saw that I was completely buried in papers and a computer and not concerned at all with the length of the wait (and happy to put off the blood work for a few extra minutes), she relaxed. “I just had the most fascinating case,” she explained.

Without telling me about the case, she said, “I’d never seen anything like it. So I went into my office for just a couple of minutes to research it. And the research was so interesting that I kept on doing it and lost track of time!”

Her eyes glowed as she talked, and she seemed really excited. “We just live for that kind of stuff, as doctors. If our days were full of sore throats and ear infections, we’d waste away! Our days would be crammed with tedious paperwork and rote prescription writing.” Then, of course, she proceeded on with my very boring checkup. :)

I was reading another writer’s blog recently and one of the commenters seemed really dispirited.

The whole overwhelming reality of the publishing industry, the difficulties of getting an agent, then getting a publisher, then marketing a book…and after all that, the possibility of having the book do poorly and getting dropped by the publisher—it had gotten this writer dispirited enough to take a break from writing.

The doctor’s thoughts had made me think about intrinsic rewards. I’d really just assumed that in the medical profession, the financial compensation made any drudgery worthwhile…but my doctor was clearly taking an intellectual reward from the job. I’m sure, in that industry, there’s also the reward that comes from helping people.

With writing, I think, the rewards are harder to grasp. That’s why family members and friends sometimes don’t understand why we put up with all the stress—stress from querying, revisions, poor reviews, and marketing.

There really isn’t much of a financial reward for writing. Speaking as a mid-lister, the money is just a drop in the bucket.

So what makes it worthwhile?

I think, for most of us, it’s a creative gratification. For some of us, it’s a challenge to see if we can do it. Most of us feel really driven to write—driven enough to put up with all the stress that comes along with it.

I love it when I get the perfect idea for taking the story in a new direction. I love it when a character comes alive and walks and talks on its own. I love that thrill when I’ve finished a first draft. I even love that anxious excitement on release day when I’m half-sick with worrying over the release and half-full of pride.

What makes it all worth it to you? And how often do you have to remind yourself why you’re doing this?

The last few weeks have been really crazy for me. I’ve been working on a November deadline, working on revisions for a separate project, volunteering for Scouts, and trying to make sure the kids have everything they need for the start of school.

And, actually, I’ve gotten a lot done. If I run an errand, I can I hurry in the house from the grocery store, put everything away, and immediately plop down and start writing—that’s just out of necessity, since I don’t have any time to waste on a transition from the boring to the creative.

Unfortunately, my multi-tasking has increased a lot lately. And I know from experience that sometimes multi-tasking means that I get really strung out in the process.

Yes, I can catch up on emails on my phone while I sit in the carpool line in front of the elementary school. And I can make every minute count for the rest of my day, too—I’m very good at reviewing my daughter’s multiplication tables with her while cooking supper, while also making the kids’ lunches for the next day.

But what I miss, sometimes, is the daydreaming. I still fit in some story planning while doing things like getting ready for my day, but I miss the empty pockets of time where I could really let my mind wander.

When else can we really generate new ideas? If we’re distracted to death because there are emails and Twitter and Facebook notifications popping up, if the phone doesn’t stop ringing, etc.—then how do we have space in our head for fostering creativity?

That’s something I’m trying to work out now. But it’s been so nutty lately that if I have a meditative moment, I’m likely to fall asleep!

Do you make time for mental downtime? Do you find that’s when you get your best creative ideas—or is your brain too fried by the time you finally get a quiet moment that it just shuts down (which is where I am now)?

Monday afternoon seemed specially engineered to make me crazy.

It started early in the afternoon. And we’ll substitute “snap” for all the bad words that I thought during those six hours.

I was in the kitchen when I looked at the clock. What?? That couldn’t be the time! I was supposed to be volunteering for the Girl Scouts at the festival booth…now. Snap!

Daughter was still in pajamas. Snap! And she hadn’t eaten anything. I was wandering around in glasses and no makeup. I put my contacts in, grabbed water bottles, gave up on makeup, and made some food for my daughter—for the car.

We ran out the door and headed to the festival (which is huge for Matthews—over 200,000 people go.) There was no place to park. Snap! I parked illegally and said a quick prayer.

We ran the blocks to the festival. It was very humid.

We started supervising the go-fish/plinko booth, taking tickets, handing out small prizes, and explaining to small children how the games work. I saw the other Girl Scout mom that I was volunteering with. “Hi,” I say, holding out my hand, “I’m Elizabeth Craig.” “Oh,” she said, smiling, “we actually know each other, don’t we? Through our sons?” Snap! My rotten memory strikes again.

It was VERY hot and there’s no air circulation under the tent. “Mama,” said my daughter, “where are our waters?”

Snap! Left them at home after I pulled them out.

I felt, of course, horrible. And a couple of hours later, my daughter was very sweaty and thirsty. As a reward, as we finished our volunteer shift, I told her we could buy drinks, ice cream, whatever.

The merchants at the fair only took cash. I’d only brought a debit card. Snap! I found an ATM. $4 fee for withdrawal, then the bank would assess a $3 fee. I was really starting to mutter under my breath.

We got the (now very expensive) ice cream and found a tent to sit under and a couple of chairs together.) Unfortunately, we were sitting right next to a woman who was talking on her cell phone very loudly about gross medical stuff involving staples. While we were eating the very expensive, high-fee ice cream. I leveled a baleful look at her and she seemed to think I was sympathizing with her about the medical stuff, so she smiled at me.

I was starting to feel like a character in my own book. My stories have conflicts on different levels—the big conflicts (including murder, medium-sized conflicts (between characters or between my sleuth and characters)…and, also, some small conflicts. These mini-conflicts are designed to raise my protagonist’s blood pressure and possibly make her do things she wouldn’t ordinarily do, and move the plot in a different direction.

Do you push your characters’ buttons?