Category: Uncategorized

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends! 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.

Also, today and tomorrow are the last days to enter my book release contest! Click here for my book release contest. Entering is easy…and you might win a $25 bookstore gift card, a signed copy of “Delicious and Suspicious,” and a “Delicious and Suspicious” tote bag. :)

Challenge Yourself To Take On Your Biggest Writing Fear– http://dld.bz/h3E6

How Poeming Is Like Dating (Writer’s Digest): http://dld.bz/h3E3

Balancing Writing, Life, and Multiple Projects– http://dld.bz/h3Eh

The Writer’s Life: Getting in the Mood– http://dld.bz/h3Ed

Writers: do your characters fight to win, but fight even harder NOT to lose? They should. http://bit.ly/cmrmsu @p2p_editor

What I learned from the query process– http://dld.bz/h3DQ @alexisgrant

Keep Your Middle From Sagging– http://dld.bz/h3DN

Don’t let writing excuses pile up: http://dld.bz/hq6W

Steampunk Aeronautics: http://dld.bz/hq6Q

YA girl’s case of gender fender bender: http://dld.bz/hq6J

Conference roundup–tips from the NJ Annual Conf. SCBWI: http://dld.bz/hq65

Directories of SF & Fantasy on Twitter: http://dld.bz/h74P and http://dld.bz/h74Q

Find reporters who need your expertise and build buzz: http://dld.bz/hq5W

For the Zombie Fan: The Most Effective Zombie Survival Plan: Become One: http://dld.bz/h742 @EosBooks

Man created absurd world in plot to sell stolen Shakespeare folio, court hears (Guardian): http://dld.bz/h7CZ

What one writer has learned a year after publication: http://dld.bz/hq42

5 Writing Super Powers I Would Like to Have– http://dld.bz/h725 @JulieeJohnsonn

Father’s Day Mysteries– http://dld.bz/h7C6 @janetrudolph

A glimpse into an editor’s (mad) world: http://dld.bz/hq5p @BookChickCity

The Sophistication and Stupidity of Video Game Storytelling: http://dld.bz/h7AF

How Do You Style a Character’s Thoughts in Writing? (Writer’s Digest): http://dld.bz/h723

Serendipitous Searches for Book Lovers (@GalleyCat) — http://dld.bz/hqAw

Creating 3D Characters: The Character Interview– http://dld.bz/hq48 @gracefuldoe

You’re never too old to write: http://dld.bz/hq5t @flawritersconf

Writing Science Fiction vs Fantasy– http://dld.bz/hq4s

Thoughts on a common element in YA: http://dld.bz/hq2s

Write from your heart? Or follow trends? http://dld.bz/hq2e

Erasing Women from the English Language: http://dld.bz/hqzX

Beginning Novelist? The First Draft Is Your Oyster! http://dld.bz/hqzK

Tips for Workshopping Your Writing When You’re Too Poor To Pay For It– http://dld.bz/hqwj @jesakalong

50 Power Twitter Tips– http://dld.bz/hqvE

Get Wild – How to Set Your Creative Beast Free– http://dld.bz/hqvz

Facing our fears: http://dld.bz/hqvw @JodyHedlund

Info dumps don’t belong in dialogue (video): http://dld.bz/hqvm

Deep POV: Three mistakes and how to fix them, Part II: http://dld.bz/hqvb

Stretching ourselves–writing outside our comfort zone: http://dld.bz/h2qg

The Monstrous Feminine– http://dld.bz/hquT

On making our writing perfect: http://dld.bz/hqu3

Mystery Lovers’ Kitchen: @cleocoyle with a virgin mojito to cool off from a hot summer day: http://dld.bz/hyZn @kristadavis @AveryAames

Writing Your Book, part IX: You’re Finished! Now Get to Work! http://dld.bz/hbdG

Knowing Your Process: Who: http://dld.bz/hbdm @wawriters

Can the Experts Be Wrong? Or, The Limits of Expertise– http://dld.bz/hbdj

Agents– 7 ways to spice up your form rejection letter: http://dld.bz/hbde

Do Readers Want to Read Your Work or Do You Wish They Did? http://dld.bz/hbc8 @hopeclark

4 Reasons You Should Avoid Social Media– http://dld.bz/hbbU

Vary the ending clauses in your sentences: http://dld.bz/hbbQ

The ominous rise of 2nd person: http://dld.bz/hbb5

A roadmap for the future: 6 suggestions for today’s publishers that many can’t follow: http://dld.bz/hbb2

7 things one author has learned so far (incl. “your book isn’t yours anymore”): http://dld.bz/hwRV @alanorloff @ChuckSambuchino

Can I read the free ebooks if I don’t have an Ereader? http://dld.bz/hbbp

Clearing permissions in the digital age: http://dld.bz/gZsY

40 Twitter Hashtags for Writers: http://dld.bz/gZsU

10 Things About Submission Opportunities for Writer Trade Magazines: http://dld.bz/gZsK

Write what you love, not what the market wants: http://dld.bz/gZs7

What is an UN-Professional Writer? http://dld.bz/gZst

Writing mentors: http://dld.bz/gZsr

Why one person is saying goodbye to Facebook: (Daily Beast): http://dld.bz/gZsh

Dealing with contradictory feedback: http://dld.bz/gZrN

Finishing Part 1 — The Fear is Real– http://dld.bz/gPSm

I’m interviewed on Beth Groundwater’s blog today–talking a little about my writing process and challenges: http://dld.bz/ht8B

Why You Need Dynamic Characters– http://dld.bz/gPRT

Choose to Spend Time on High Impact Activities– http://dld.bz/gPRM

A Writer’s Serenity Prayer (JA Konrath): http://dld.bz/gMEG

Online resources for writers: http://dld.bz/ht2W @ClarissaDraper

15 things that *aren’t* true about being a writer: http://dld.bz/gMED

Pros and cons on fictional vs. real settings and setting research tips: http://dld.bz/htjT @SpunkOnAStick

How to Write Magical Words: http://dld.bz/gMEC

5 questions to ask if you aren’t motivated to write: http://dld.bz/gMEA @flawritersconf

Marketing–make them feel something: http://dld.bz/gME3

My Backlogged Pages (NY Times): http://dld.bz/gMEu

Genre – Magical Realism– http://dld.bz/gMEg

Serendipitous Searches for Book Lovers @GalleyCat : http://dld.bz/hqAw

‘100 Things Every Writer Needs to Know.’ Well, Here’s Six: http://dld.bz/gMEd

Favorite Tweets for Writers June 7-June 13, 2010 (categorized): http://dld.bz/hqAs

Literacy and the Audiobook– http://dld.bz/gMCs

50 query tricks. Are you brave enough to try no. 43? http://dld.bz/hqAq

Psychology of non-verbal dialogue: http://dld.bz/gMEb

David Bowie, Pleonasms, and Stating the Obvious– http://dld.bz/hqvV @SimplyOlivia

Write Tight– http://dld.bz/gMD7 @SylviaDSmith

When Elevator Speeches Don’t Work for You– http://dld.bz/gMD5

Doing Comic Book Covers Well: 5 Tips– http://dld.bz/gMCp

How to Find More Hours in the Day– http://dld.bz/gMBS

What makes a backbone character? http://dld.bz/gMAA

13 Ways to Add Depth to Your Genre Novel– http://dld.bz/gMA2 @VictoriaMixon

The Five Basic Plot Elements– http://dld.bz/gMAx

A summer of great writing–tips for writing with kids: http://dld.bz/gMAs

Proper use of conjunctions: http://dld.bz/hnfR @crystalproofing

Change is key to powerful character arcs: http://dld.bz/hbaT

How to portray an inspiring leader: http://bit.ly/cGFpcU @p2p_editor

So you want to write a legal thriller: http://dld.bz/gM8t

What All Content Creators Need to Learn From Roger Ebert: http://dld.bz/gM8p

Manuscript mood swings: http://dld.bz/hkrk

Pros and Cons of an MFA: http://dld.bz/gM8j @kierstenwhite

Unenjoyable novels dominate literary prizes– http://dld.bz/gM8f

Garden overgrown with mint? Mystery writer Jenn McKinlay w/ some great recipes for it http://dld.bz/hksJ @kristadavis @AveryAames

Find a vehicle for creative collaboration: http://dld.bz/gM7S

If It Hurts, You’re Doing Something Right: 3 Ideas About the Pain of Writing– http://dld.bz/gMvJ

The Invisibility of Women in Science Fiction– http://dld.bz/gMvA

Chocolate and writing–why they belong together: http://dld.bz/hhan @elspethwrites

How to make page buttons on Blogger: http://dld.bz/gMv7

One freelance writer longs for simpler days: http://dld.bz/hgZU @authorterryo

Twitter Book Publishers, Consultants, Agents, Editors, and PR peeps for Adult Fiction/Nonfiction: http://dld.bz/gMv3 @jevonbolden

Flawed characters–how far can you go with them? http://dld.bz/hgYZ

The Poetry Feminaissance — http://dld.bz/gMvt

A roundup of marketing tips from around the net: http://dld.bz/gMvn

20 Questions to Ask When Revising a Blog Post– http://dld.bz/gMvd @PauloCamposInk

Writing as an Art —Words That Dance– http://dld.bz/gMuX

3 tips for cultivating an online brand: http://dld.bz/gMuB @JodyHedlund

4 life lessons from blogging: http://dld.bz/gJCK

Ten of the best bad doctors in literature (Guardian): http://dld.bz/gJCF

The Pavarotti Principle for Creating A-list Blogs– http://dld.bz/gJCE

On creating characters: http://dld.bz/gJC3

Writing a series? Why you should use a style sheet: http://dld.bz/gJCs @BookEndsJessica

Valuable Writing Tips from One Writer’s Most Trusted Professors (Writer’s Digest): http://dld.bz/gJCp

Tension, Character and Story– http://dld.bz/gJA5

Avoiding redundancy: http://dld.bz/hcQ4 @Paize_Fiddler

How to Build a Tribe of Followers– http://dld.bz/gJA9

How to cook up a cozy mystery: http://dld.bz/hcRz

Mystery writer @JulieHyzy throws a grad party extraordinaire–and shares a raspberry bar recipe: http://dld.bz/hcQZ @kristadavis @CleoCoyle

The lazy reader (Globe and Mail): http://dld.bz/gJB2

What’s that you say? Thoughts on dialect: http://dld.bz/gJB9

Writing tips from famous writers: http://dld.bz/gJAW

It’s a Good Time to be a Writer … and a Gamer– http://dld.bz/gJAQ

Writing contests ending this month: http://dld.bz/hbdJ

Oh My Gosh! My Scene Is RUINED! http://dld.bz/gJAs

Struggling with feelings of failure: http://dld.bz/hbdY @JodyHedlund

What are client referrals? http://dld.bz/hbca @nataliebahm

100 All-Time Best Historical Fiction Books– http://dld.bz/hbbF @MargReads

Write your novel in an hour a day: http://dld.bz/hba3 @dirtywhitecandy

8 Tips For Creating Memorable Business Cards: http://dld.bz/gJAm

Common writing mistakes: http://dld.bz/gJAe

7 Signs of an A-List Blogger in the Making– http://dld.bz/g4Gt

On Taking Advice– http://dld.bz/g4Gq

Who said what? Identifying dialogue speakers (video): http://dld.bz/g4Gp

3 Best Takeaways for Writers from BookExpo America (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/g4Gh

Wordle update, how to get more information about word clouds: http://dld.bz/g4Gf

When not to quit–a twisty fairytale: http://dld.bz/g4Gc @emiliaplater

Tips to narrow down what you want from a crit group: http://dld.bz/g4FZ

Will eBooks Make Midlist Authors Extinct? (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/g4E6

The Rural Fantasy Reading List– http://dld.bz/g4E2

Creating multi-layered characters– http://dld.bz/g4Eg

Providing Better Critiques: Being Detailed in Your Feedback– http://dld.bz/g4DQ

Do editors change their minds? http://dld.bz/g4DJ

The Most Important Marketing Acronym: WIIFM (Writer’s Digest): http://dld.bz/g4Ew

A Memorable Blogger Is A Guest Under Many Roofs– http://dld.bz/g4Ey

6 Things to Check Before Upgrading To Windows 7– http://dld.bz/g4Dn

Basics of an Elevator Pitch—http://dld.bz/g4CQ

Publishing Terms to Know: Lead Title: http://dld.bz/g4C6

Copyrighting Submissions and Agent Plagiarism– http://dld.bz/g4C5

Using SPA to help with revisions: http://dld.bz/g4Cz

5 Incredibly Useful Gmail Features– http://dld.bz/gUuY

A whole new meaning to deadline: http://dld.bz/g4Cb

A day in the life of a writer: http://dld.bz/g4BY

Is there such a thing as blogging snobbery? http://dld.bz/g4BU @JodyHedlund

Exploring: Web Resources for Writers: http://dld.bz/g4B9 @PStoltey

Outline your weakness as a writer: http://dld.bz/g4B7

An Agent Offers Basic Help with Contracts: http://dld.bz/g4B3

How to Come Up With an Author Tagline– http://dld.bz/gy8k

A Kiss Is Still a Kiss– http://dld.bz/gy8h

Writer’s block and one trick to beat it: http://dld.bz/gy8g

Twenty Free Ways to Love Your Manuscript– http://dld.bz/gy7X @thmafi

Don’t Try to Be Someone Else– http://dld.bz/gy7Q

Twitterific–the week in tweets from ElizabethSCraig: http://dld.bz/gSkV

Pasted from <file:///C:\Users\ELIZAB~1\AppData\Local\Temp\tweetake-elizabethscraig-20100625180214.csv>

Are Children’s Publishers Destroying Rainforests? http://dld.bz/jyNa

I Got Your Writer’s Block Right Here: http://dld.bz/jy5h

Tips for being an Olympic quality blogger: http://dld.bz/jy4W

Why your characters shouldn’t have all that money, and how to take it away from them: http://bit.ly/dzVmkO @p2p_editor

Little truths one writer has learned: http://dld.bz/jy4T

An agent answers, “What exactly is YA?” : http://dld.bz/jy4M

Which idea should I write first? Some tips for narrowing it down: http://dld.bz/kfwF

How setting is important to your story: http://dld.bz/jy36

Point of View Demystified: http://dld.bz/jy3r

Last 2 days to enter ElizabethSCraig’s book release contest. “Delicious and Suspicious” releases Tuesday! Easy entering: http://dld.bz/kfyd

The importance of beta readers for beginning writers: http://dld.bz/kfwA

Blog Reading and Sharing: Power Tips for Google Reader: http://dld.bz/jyzn

Should stories be soapboxes? http://dld.bz/jyzm

Using Microsoft Word Versus PowerPoint for Ebook Creation: http://dld.bz/jyzh

You’re never too old to start writing (Guardian): http://dld.bz/jvRP

Children’s picture books and plot: http://dld.bz/jvRw

Be sure to check out an agent’s submission requirements online: http://dld.bz/jyyV

Grammar Guide: Problem Pronouns – Who, That, Which: http://dld.bz/jvRv

Build a Setting that Pulls Its Own Weight (and then some): http://dld.bz/jvRq

Changes rules of punctuation: http://dld.bz/jtvy

Unplug to nourish your creativity: http://dld.bz/jvRn

The paperback book massacre: http://is.gd/cj6rW @S0BeUrself

Seven Powerful Ways To Find New Readers For Your Blog: http://dld.bz/jtvg

The Benefits of Mentoring: A Tribute to Mentors: http://dld.bz/jtvW

Why You’re Not Going to Make It as a Writer, in 8 Parts: http://dld.bz/jtvR @VictoriaMixon

The iPad: Not the Writing Tool I’d Hoped For: http://dld.bz/jtvP

The 12 Best Books of Summer (Daily Beast): http://dld.bz/jtvD

4th of July mysteries: http://dld.bz/kaMt @JanetRudolph

How To: Change Your Twitter Name Without Losing Followers: http://dld.bz/jtuS

Ten of the best beaches in literature (Guardian): http://dld.bz/jtuN

A writer looks into submitting to big publishers vs small publishers: http://dld.bz/jtuK

Monotasking: Focus on One Thing at a Time: http://dld.bz/jtus

Does Twitter Sell Books? Yes, It Does (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/kaNu

5 Reasons Why You Should Respond to Every Comment: http://dld.bz/jrft

20 Questions to Ask About Symbolism and Theme: http://dld.bz/jrfg @PauloCamposInk

On semicolons: http://dld.bz/jrf9

Getting the most out of a rewrite: Tips for authors: http://dld.bz/jrf3

In praise of a writing journal: http://dld.bz/jrfy

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: 102 Grilling Ideas (no kidding) for Fourth of July by Cleo Coyle http://bit.ly/9B9yDE @kristadavis

Magic in the Society You’ve Created: http://dld.bz/jreG @HarleyDPalmer

How to Create Effective Scenes and Chapters in Your Novel: http://dld.bz/jre9 @melissadonovan

6 Cool Startpages That Can Make You More Productive: http://dld.bz/jrep

Why e-books will never replace real books (Slate): http://dld.bz/jXXs

An editor on the two factors that contribute to successful book sales: http://dld.bz/jXVQ

The Basics of Fiction: http://dld.bz/jrdR

Revision Series – Part 2: Writing with Betas, which is like swimming with dolphins: http://dld.bz/jXSH

The Importance of the First Line: http://dld.bz/jrdN @ljboldyrev

How To Incorporate Twitter Into Your Event: http://dld.bz/jtwp

Writers and Time: http://dld.bz/jrdE

Shapeshifters 101: Or, Why You Really Did See A Wild Animal in the Park Yesterday: http://dld.bz/jrd9 @KellyMeding

Nine Tips for Helping Your Publicist Do a Great Job: http://dld.bz/jrd4

Write your story and your voice will come: http://ht.ly/25urr @teresafrohock RT @dirtywhitecandy

One writer’s writing cycle: http://dld.bz/jhcZ

‘Could Have’ and ‘Would Have’ Usage: http://dld.bz/jhcU

The Politics of Offers: http://dld.bz/jhcy

Talking Yourself in from the Ledge of Self-Doubt: http://dld.bz/jhcv

Are your characters acting normal? http://dld.bz/jhbY

What to Ask Beta Readers: http://dld.bz/jhbf

Passive voice = Passive scene? http://dld.bz/jhaQ

Tips for Staging an Action Scene: http://bit.ly/djCkgY @camillelaguire

So much in publishing is out of the author’s hands– how to tilt the odds in your favor: http://dld.bz/jUUp @MermaidHel

Your writer’s toolkit–some tools to add: http://dld.bz/jUST @darkened_jade

Have you tried stretching yourself as a writer? How one writer did it–by trying a screenplay: http://dld.bz/jURw

Fun with Oblivious Bad Writers: http://dld.bz/jhaP

What can ‘Family Guy’ teach you about self-publishing? http://dld.bz/jhaz @bradvertrees

Myst. Lov. Kitchen: Southern Summer in a Glass—Bourbon Slush http://bit.ly/bscsCS @kristadavis

WordPress’ Best Underused Feature: http://dld.bz/jhap

Outlining – Step 1: http://dld.bz/jhaa @stevenkgriffin

Why I’d Rather Mow the Lawn than Write: http://dld.bz/jgs9

How settings determine character behavior: http://bit.ly/9Clxct @p2p_editor

Working Hard Is not Enough. Here’s 18 Ways to Work Smart: http://dld.bz/jgZX

Writer’s Guide to Reading People–Character Development: http://dld.bz/jgyP @ClarissaDraper

The Real Secret to Twitter: http://dld.bz/jtw9 @FionaRobyn

When To Tell Instead of Show: http://dld.bz/jgsU

Second person – that means *you*! http://dld.bz/jgsS

One Possible Peril Of A Multi-book Deal: http://dld.bz/jgsQ

Why Freelance Writers Need an Evergreen Stable of Writing: http://dld.bz/jgsK

Check Your Scenes: CES: http://dld.bz/jgs7

An Agent on How to get the most out of a critique group: http://dld.bz/jgs5

The cost of having an agent: http://dld.bz/jgsp

How to Create a Bidding War for Your Book Proposal (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/jgsf

Stimulus first, then reaction: http://dld.bz/jgrX

Agents Won’t Survive Just By Charging a Higher Commission (Writer’s Digest): http://dld.bz/jgrM

Why blog? It’s not all about book promo: http://dld.bz/jN5q @HartJohnson

How keywords can help your author website: http://dld.bz/jgr8

An editor explains why the 1st page of your ms. is so important: http://dld.bz/jgr3

When anyone can be a published author (Salon): http://dld.bz/jgrs

Pitching to Agents: A Survivor’s Story: http://dld.bz/jgqX

You are Your Own Boss: http://dld.bz/jgrd

Reading Aloud: Does It Benefit Anything? http://dld.bz/jgq3

Recap of the 2010 Writers’ League of Texas Agents Conference: http://dld.bz/jHqa

Hands-on writing tools: http://dld.bz/jHeV

“…As He Fumbled For 15 Minutes With My Bra…” Or, The Difficulties of Sex Scenes: http://dld.bz/jgqk @litdrift

Epistles at dawn: the dying art of letter writing (Guardian): http://dld.bz/jgpU

Fiction is dead. Again? [LA Times]: http://dld.bz/jgpv

15 Inspiring Home Offices: http://dld.bz/jgpn

Writers, Fill in the blanks of our future: http://dld.bz/jgpd @SylviaDSmith

Dialogue tips: http://dld.bz/jHcx @KatieGanshert

Writing Creepy for Kids Without Scarring Them for Life! http://dld.bz/jgnH @TeresaFrohock

Fact Checking Fiction? http://dld.bz/jHqf @fictionwriters

When Hiring a Publicist (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/jHpY

The Death of “Submit-Wait-Pray”: Self Publishing as a Cottage Industry: http://dld.bz/jHeY

So, it’s time to query. Where to start: http://dld.bz/jggE

What to do when You Lose the Motivation to Blog: http://dld.bz/jH5p @LiteraryNobody

If You Think SFF Debuts Have It Tough, Try being a literary fiction debut: http://dld.bz/jHcQ @MarkCN

7 Power Tips For Productive RSS News Feed Reading: http://dld.bz/jggr

Revision Series – Part 1: First Draft Review, or The Grid: http://dld.bz/jHpD @lizczukas

Writing Contests: Always Read The Fine Print! http://dld.bz/jHdD @inkyelbows

An inside look at Advanced Reader Copies: http://dld.bz/jHcp @JodyHedlund

Top 10 women travelers in fiction (Guardian): http://dld.bz/jggh

The writing blogosphere’s major players: http://dld.bz/jFhc @bluemaven

What Does An Agent Do? http://dld.bz/jgfr @HeatherMcCorkle

Harper Lee Grants Unexpected Interview to British Newspaper Reporter: http://dld.bz/jFga

Six Ways Blogs Are Changing the Web: http://dld.bz/jgeJ

How to hook an editor–and your readers: http://dld.bz/jgeH

Deciding when to show and when to tell: http://dld.bz/jFf2 @4KidLit

How to become a niche writer: http://dld.bz/jgeE

What Authors Can Learn From the World Cup: http://dld.bz/jFfn

Google Voice: How it Can Change How You Use the Phone: http://dld.bz/jge6

Favorite Tweets for Writers June 21 – June 27, 2010: http://dld.bz/jFfr

Do flashbacks change reader expectations? http://dld.bz/jgey

Confessions of a Writer: http://dld.bz/jget

Why You Should Read Draft Manuscripts: http://dld.bz/jgeh

Some needs to consider as you create your characters: http://dld.bz/jgea

The next big thing: http://dld.bz/jgdQ

Enjoy the time it takes to craft a story: http://dld.bz/jdRA

Getting our char’s to reveal themselves to us: http://dld.bz/jdTG

How ledgers have become the publishing ind’s preferred reading: http://dld.bz/jgdC @declanburke

Non-Fiction Book Proposal: You Don’t Need To Write The Full Book: http://dld.bz/jgdf @BubbleCow

The Secret to Writing Powerful Words– http://dld.bz/jgcN

The keys to suspension of disbelief in our writing: http://dld.bz/jdTf

4 Risks to Building Your Platform: http://is.gd/cj6rW @S0BeUrself

Those Writer Insecurities: http://dld.bz/jdTb

12 Ways to Overcome Writer’s Block: http://dld.bz/jdSR

Using Google Blogs to Find Places to Guest Blog: http://dld.bz/jdSH @ flawritersconf

The Catharsis of Writing: http://dld.bz/jdS4

5 ways to drive your spouse crazy with your writing: http://dld.bz/jAy9 @ territiffany1

Take the whine out of writing– http://dld.bz/jdSr

How much do manuscript mistakes matter? http://dld.bz/jAk2

Side Effects of Rewriting: http://dld.bz/jdRD

Writing a Fight Scene: http://dld.bz/jdR7

An agent on sizing up the competition: http://dld.bz/jdR2

The Writing and Promoting Tightrope: http://dld.bz/jdRu

9 lessons one author has learned from blog touring: http://dld.bz/j77B @alanorloff @srjparrish.

Articles to help you come up with book titles: http://dld.bz/j785

The Writer’s Life: Negative Thoughts– http://dld.bz/hYH5 @AnneTylerLord

Plot Brainstorming– http://dld.bz/hYH3

Eight Ways to Make Good Use of Your Spare Minutes Online– http://dld.bz/hYHx

On writing good characters: http://dld.bz/hYHu

37 Ways to Find Inspiration for Blog Posts– http://dld.bz/hYHm

How to be an avid reader without panic: 5 tips for not getting discouraged by your growing TBR list: http://dld.bz/hYtq @TheBlueBookcase

Writers beware–don’t lie down with dogs: http://dld.bz/hYtk

What’s the biggest mistake writers make? Multi-tasking: http://dld.bz/hYtf

Tackling real-life characters in fiction is fine – as long as you do it well (Guardian): http://dld.bz/hYsS

Become a Book Review Ninja: 10 Steps to Mastery: http://dld.bz/hYsP

Agent Michael Larsen Talks 12 Ways to Excite Pros About Your Novel– http://dld.bz/hYsE

Why Guest Blogging is Useless for Link Building– http://dld.bz/hYrr

Marketing the “You Know What” Out of Your Blog: http://dld.bz/hYsx

Writing habits–the good and the bad: http://dld.bz/jyN4 @ZiggyKinsella

An agent on the one-book deal: http://dld.bz/hYss

Book bloggers catch on with publishers (LA Times): http://dld.bz/jyNj

Twitterific–Elizabeth S Craig’s week in tweets: http://dld.bz/jyPK

Everything I Know About Fight Scenes I Learned At Tae Kwon Do– http://dld.bz/hYsa

Modern vampires are neither scary or sexy, children’s writers complain (Telegraph): http://dld.bz/jyNe

Covers: Joy-Moment. And Crutch: http://dld.bz/hYqx

5 Tools To Jump-Start Your Writing: http://dld.bz/hYrg @paulocampos

The Internet Counts: http://dld.bz/hYqP

Show, Don’t Tell — Conveying Emotion– http://dld.bz/hYqu

Good Writing Tips (Huff Post): http://dld.bz/hYqF

The 5 Stages of Querying– http://dld.bz/hYqC

Talking About Magic: Talking Animals– http://dld.bz/hYpH

The one page a day writing schedule: http://dld.bz/hYp9

More on Dwarves and Gnomes for Fantasy Writers: http://dld.bz/hYnQ

It’s Time to Manage Your Online Personal Brand– http://dld.bz/hYj5

6 things one writer has learned about writing: http://dld.bz/hYjQ

Mystery writers–places where your potential victims should tread carefully: http://dld.bz/jvUM @margotkinberg

Social Networking for Authors– http://dld.bz/hYmn

Some recent blog highlights for writers: http://dld.bz/jvSk @PauloCamposInk

Five rules for writing your life story: http://dld.bz/hYm3

Illustrator Saturday: Leeza Hernandez: http://dld.bz/jtxa

Writing tips for readers in a hurry– http://dld.bz/hYmb

4 Signs the Rejectionist is into you and/or your novel: http://dld.bz/hYkV

Tips for editing paragraphs: http://dld.bz/hYmS

Enhancing our creativity by making choices about how we spend our time: http://dld.bz/hYkM

Book marketing fear–7 tips for the introverted author: http://dld.bz/hYkb

For writers: risks, costs and the fight– http://dld.bz/hYkj @amysorrells

Conference Recommendations: http://dld.bz/jtwE

Conference Recommendations: http://dld.bz/jtwE

How to read a publishing contract (14.5 and 15)– http://dld.bz/hYkz

4 Facebook Marketing Myths And How to Overcome Them– http://dld.bz/hYjA @smexaminer

Improvement Is Inevitable: The Lesson of Stieg Larsson– http://dld.bz/hYj2

What Nathan Bransford is dying to read in your query letter: http://dld.bz/hYjn @thmafi

What Good Are Agents for Indie Authors? http://dld.bz/hYhR @jevonbolden

Do your characters have what it takes? http://dld.bz/jtxk @ZiggyKinsella

Writing-related quotations: http://dld.bz/hYhG

Why smart characters make dumb mistakes: http://bit.ly/901DPQ @p2p_editor

The Hero’s Journey Part 11 – Resurrection: http://dld.bz/hUP2 @JustusRStone

5 ways to write an atrocious blog post: http://dld.bz/jkNE @jammer0501

The Truth And Lies Of Networking– http://dld.bz/hYh5

On becoming a logodaedalus: http://dld.bz/jrda @WritingAgain

1 writer on writing advice, struggles, and what she wishes she’d done differently: http://dld.bz/jk3k

Publishers should ‘get to know’ consumers better, Laid Bare conference hears: http://dld.bz/jk3r

5 Simple Ways To Spread Positivity: http://dld.bz/jk3g

Time-Bound: http://dld.bz/jk3b

Breaking the Rules (and a list of some of the writing rules): http://dld.bz/jk2Z

A roundup of writing related tweets: http://dld.bz/jk2P

11 Productivity Tools for Road Warriors and Telecommuters: http://dld.bz/jk2N

Qwitter Lets You Track Who’s Unfollowing You on Twitter– http://dld.bz/hUK5

Will the eReader Price Wars Help Libraries? http://dld.bz/jrfF @GalleyCat

When multiple agents fight over an author, it’s an agency beauty contest: http://dld.bz/jk2J

Writer’s Digest’s Jane Friedman’s take on agent pay: Agents Need to Develop Alternative Models http://dld.bz/jrgK

2 agent/money posts: Are Agents Due For a Raise?: http://dld.bz/jrfJ & Paying Agents by the Hour? http://dld.bz/jrgC

Agents don’t buy authors gifts: http://dld.bz/jrej

Nice, organized roundup of the best articles for writers (wk 6-25): http://dld.bz/jrcD @ 4KidLit

What what you say online–they’re watching: http://dld.bz/jktA

The past week, I’ve been at Harbor Island, South Carolina, enjoying the beach with my parents and children. Through the magic of WiFi, I’ve also been at my blog, Twitter, Facebook, and other places, too. Now I’m packing up to head back to North Carolina.

I’ve got a couple of books to write in the next 6-9 months, and sometimes my mind jumps around from favorite idea to favorite idea. At least mine are all in the same genre (well, a few aren’t, but they’re relegated to a Word file for future reference), but it still can make it difficult to decide which story to tell for which book.

I watched my daughter at the beach on Friday. She perfectly exemplified the problem most writers face when they can’t decide which story to write. First she watched her brother body surf in the waves—and she decided to go back to the beach house to get the boogie board.

When she got back from her long trek back to the house, her brother looked like he was having a lot of fun just floating in the water. The waves weren’t so great, he told her. She spent another 10 minute roundtrip going back to the beach house for her inner tube.

When she was back at the beach again, she saw her brother busily making the best sandcastle you’ve ever seen. Yes, you guessed it—she went right back to the house to get all the buckets, shovels, molds, etc. to help him make the castle.

I let her do all this…because I kept thinking how tired she was going to be at the end of the day. :) Yes, she was going to sleep really well.

But we’re doing the same thing when we don’t commit to a project—we’re wasting our energy and creativity running back and forth on a story that doesn’t need to be written yet.

And we have only so many hours in the day to write—spreading that time over multiple projects really doesn’t make sense unless you’re a freelancer or write both nonfiction and fiction.

So, here’s what I look at when I’m trying to decide which pet project I should work on next:

Protagonist: Which protagonist can carry my story best? Which is better-developed?

Characters: Which project have secondary characters that are more appealing?

Plot: Which storyline can I easily see? Which one has more conflict and more depth?

Market: Which story (it pains me to say it, but you sometimes have to think this way) will appeal to a greater number of readers? Which has more of a hook to sell to a publisher?

Series potential: This may be genre-book specific—but is there a story that lends itself to more than one novel?

How do you decide which of your ideas to write first?

My July 6th release is just days away! Click here for my book release contest. Entering is easy…and you might win a $25 bookstore gift card, a signed copy of “Delicious and Suspicious,” and a “Delicious and Suspicious” tote bag. :)

I was back again at the YMCA, exercising with my children last week. This time I’d finished walking on the treadmill and decided to try out a weight machine I’d never used before.

I read the little sign on the side of the machine and hesitantly started out.

After a minute or two, I relaxed. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. In fact, it seemed almost easy!

I was confidently lifting the weights when a big guy, with a YMCA badge on, walked up to me, frowning. “You’re doing it wrong, ma’am,” he said. “You should be sitting all the way up here. And your elbows should be here. And you need to pull the bar this way.”

Suddenly, the weight lifting got much harder. And more unpleasant. In fact, I stopped doing it completely and retreated to the safety of the treadmill.

This, I think, is what writing is like at first. I’ve gone back and looked at stuff I wrote fifteen years ago and winced. The WIPs usually had good bones to them, but they were a cosmetic disaster area. Lots of telling instead of showing, too many dialogue tags, gobs of adverbs.

I can tell by reading it that the words were coming to me really quickly—but I was, technically, doing it all wrong.

I think we all need someone to (more gently than the guy at the gym did) tell us when we need to go back to the drawing board—or do some major revision. Sometimes the story does come out really easily, but usually we have to do a lot of grunt work in the editing process…and we could use some direction.

New writers should probably try to pass their manuscript around in front of a beta reader or two. There are writing critique groups online where you can find critique partners who write the same genre. They’ll read your manuscript critically and you’ll read theirs in return.

What’s important, I think, is not to retreat when the going gets hard or when we hear constructive criticism, or when we realize the process is a lot more time-consuming and scary than we thought. For most of us, writing is just too important to us to give up because we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.

I ended up going back to that weight machine…not that day (because I was too flustered), but the next one. And my muscles really did end up being sore afterwards…but the sense of accomplishment was worth it.

My July 6th release is just days away! Click here for my book release contest. Entering is easy…and you might win a $25 bookstore gift card, a signed copy of “Delicious and Suspicious,” and a “Delicious and Suspicious” tote bag. :)

I’d like to thank Deb for guest hosting today. Deb is a friend of mine and fellow Mystery Ink author and I’m a huge fan of her humorous Southern mysteries. I’m honored she’s at Mystery Writing is Murder today–the day her new Mace Bauer mystery, Mama Gets Hitched, is released. Welcome, Deb!

Thanks so much, Elizabeth, for inviting me to guest at ”Mystery Writing is Murder.” A lot of truth in that blog title, honey.

If you’re a writer, you should be able to write anywhere, right? I was embracing that dictum recently while barreling south on the Florida Turnpike, cruise control set somewhere north of 70 mph.

Don’t get your knickers in a knot, safe driving advocates. Both hands were firmly on the wheel. My husband was in the passenger seat with his laptop, typing away as the two of us collaborated on a writing project. I’d toss out a line; he’d type. He’d toss out a line; I’d wrinkle my nose because it wasn’t exactly the same line I would write. Anything Goes Husband and Control Freak Wife as collaborators. Weird, and the subject of a whole ‘nother blog post. Kerry Sanders and I have been married for 21 years, both from journalism backgrounds. He’s in TV, and I come from print, which is definitely apples and oranges.

I read last month on Elizabeth’s blog about stretching as a writer. It was great advice, and it was exactly what I was doing at 70-some mph (Okay: 80. You get flattened if you go any slower in South Florida, where even the cops pass you at 70). Kerry volunteered us to write a script for a short film competition, despite my imminent launch for MAMA GETS HITCHED, and the fact that the man travels more than 200 days of the year reporting for NBC. We typically communicate via sticky notes and Facebook. Oh, yeah. Did I mention neither of us had ever written a screenplay?

”When are we supposed to write this movie?” I asked, my voice edged with wifely exasperation and a touch of hysteria.

”Don’t worry. It’ll work out,” Kerry said, which is pretty much his answer to everything.

Kerry flew from Louisiana, where he’d been covering the oil spill, to meet me in Boston, where our nieces were graduating. To get home, we had a three-hour plane ride, together for change. We squeezed in most of the writing then. Once back to Florida, he had barely enough time for expenses and laundry before it was back to the Gulf. But first, we did a little turnpike writing on a two-hour drive to an event he couldn’t cancel.

With three of my funny ”Mace Bauer Mysteries” published, and a fourth out next year, I’m in sync with Mace, Mama, and the town I created in Himmarshee, Fla. By now, the books feel like a favorite pair of shoes: Gently worn, but still shiny. Writing a script, especially with such a narrow time window, was like wearing new dress shoes: They pinch, and if you’re unused to heels, like I am, there’s always the chance you’ll teeter and fall on your face.

Exhilarating, right?

If you’re looking for a way to stretch, though, try writing a short movie script (Each minute on film is about a page; so we ended up with 10 pages.) There are plenty of resources to learn the format online or at the library. The experience may sharpen your prose, too. A screenplay forces you to concentrate on skills every novelist needs:

1. Advancing plot with dialogue and action. No room — or audience patience — for long narrative passages.
2. Conveying character quickly through clothing, props, and gestures. (One of our characters carried a tiny designer purse and a long cigarette holder: an instant visual to tell the viewer –or reader– this woman is different from someone who might wear owlish glasses and clutch a book.)
3. Deciding what’s essential and stripping away the rest. (We cut an entire character and his dialogue when we realized he was making the same point we’d already gotten across).
4. Starting your work ”in scene.”

Beginning writers can rarely resist the urge to explain how their characters got to the point where the story’s action truly starts. Our little movie begins at a train station, where a crowd is assembled waiting for a ”beloved” Hollywood icon. She’s returning to the small town she couldn’t wait to quit; the same town she’s trashed during the intervening decades as a backwater hicksville. The scene is set, the characters and action are underway, the train whistle sounds.

Kerry and I didn’t start with what the characters had for breakfast; what route they drove to the station; or the phone call they got two weeks earlier inviting them to come. We started In scene.

The process definitely made me stretch as a writer. I even stretched a bit as a wife. I have to admit Kerry was right. (Mark this day in your calendars, folks!) It did work out.

Deborah Sharp, a former USA Today reporter, sets her ”Mace Bauer Mysteries” in a rodeo-and-ranching slice of her native Florida. She and husband Kerry Sanders live in Fort Lauderdale. No kids; no pets. They had a couple of goldfish once. It turned out badly. You can visit Deborah’s website here.

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