Category: Uncategorized

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I wanted to share some sites that I’ve
found really helpful lately.  I’m always
looking for ways to save time using apps and, so frequently, I seem to end up
with exactly the opposite—sites that take too long to set up, are unwieldy, or
that are total time sucks.

But these sites get special recognition
from me today because they’ve helped me out. I’m in favor of anything that
saves me even a few minutes of time. These sites are all free.

For
marketing: http://authormarketingclub.com/ 

I realize I might be the last kid on the
block to find out about this site. But I somehow stumbled into it recently and
it’s been very useful. Useful, as in “I’ve made more money in sales from
something that’s free.”  I’m not doing
the premium membership (yes, I’m cheap), but the free membership has had
several cool features that I’ve found helpful.

One is a link that links to a
ton of places to list your free book promo on Kindle.  I’ve never, ever used these. I hear about
Pixel of Ink and these types of sites and I nod that it’s a terrific idea. I
never use them.  This time, I pulled up
my book’s Amazon link, pulled up my website link, pasted my ISBN/ASIN onto a
Notepad doc (this is handy to have around since several sites wanted them), and
I started listing my free book on various sites.  I spent 15 minutes.  I noticed a significant increase in sales in
a short period of time, so I’m assuming these sites had something to do with
it.

There’s also a handy book widget creation
tool. I was pretty impressed.

For
organizing information: I’ve mentioned
before that I use the free version of Evernote
to organize information.  It’s sort of
like an online file cabinet with different notebooks inside. You can use it to
store pictures and text, or email files directly to the app. You can also sync
it to your phone if you want access to your files on the go (which I do.
Particularly at the grocery store when I can’t remember the ingredients for the
supper I’m planning.  All my favorite
recipes are on Evernote.

But somehow, I never got the hang of the Evernote web clipper.  I’d installed it once, then forgot it was
there and never used it.  Then I read
this Lifehacker article by Whitson Gordon recently on Evernote (I’ve Been Using Evernote All Wrong. Here’s Why It’s
Actually Amazing) and how to get better use out of it.  It mentioned the web clipper.  Let’s just say that I’m a fan.  If there’s a writing-related post that’s
helpful, for instance, I just click on the little web clipper icon that’s in my
toolbar and it clips the body of the article, skipping the header, footer,
margins, etc. I can even add notes to the clipping in the pop-up window.  It’s handy and easy.  I’ve got many notebooks in my
Evernote—everything from recipes to settings to writing tips.  What I like most is the way I can search
Evernote easily for exactly what I need.

Curation:
All right, I know this won’t apply to everyone. 
But I think that Prismatic is a very cool site.  If you’re not a content curator, you could
use Prismatic to discover new blogs to follow.

I discovered the site while reading an
article by Steve Young for Social Media Examiner: How
to Find Great Content to Share on Twitter. 

I’m actually in the position of having tons of content to share on Twitter.  I’m currently following over 2700 blogs in my
Feedly reader. 
But I’ve found that sometimes either I feel like the material I’m seeing
is a little stale—or maybe it’s just that I’m
a little stale after reading through so much content.  When SME recommended Prismatic, I decided to
give it a go.  Through them, I’ve
discovered new blogs to follow…blogs with different points of view and
different types of writing-related content. 
It’s made me a bit more interested in posting links, simply because I’m
looking at new material. This can be a
time suck because there are so many cool blogs to discover…you might want to
set yourself a timer if you head over there.

Time
Management: And one last word…on the subject of timers,
actually.  I’ve used Online
Stopwatch for years (free, of
course), but recently saw an article on Lifehacker (yes, Lifehacker once again)
by Thorin Klosowski: Use Google as a Timer with a Simple
Search Command.  Yes, that’s all it takes.  Type in “set timer for 30 minutes”—or however
many minutes—and you’ve got an instant timer. 
Obviously handy for a phone, too.

That’s all for me today.  Have you got any cool sites or apps to share?

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

I had a deadline Sunday that I met just
in the nick of time. :)  It was a
deadline for a teaser chapter—the first chapter in my current WIP that will go
into the back of the December Penguin release.

I realized that I treat teaser chapters
differently, depending on the situation. 
I actually sweated a bit over this one, which was probably why I ran so
close to deadline.  That’s because my
editor asked for this chapter (with a September 1 deadline) before I actually started writing the book or
even the outline.  That means that I
wrote the chapter with an eye for marketing.

I was particularly conscious of the
opening hook and the chapter ending. Ordinarily…I really don’t think too much
about them.  I always open with dialogue,
even though I keep reading that this is a “bad thing.” It’s worked out all
right for me.

It’s certainly easier on me when I get the request for a teaser chapter and I can lift the chapter out of an
already-completed first draft.

My publisher tells me that they want the
first chapter “fairly firm”—in other words, they don’t want any major
changes.  Minor word changes would be all
right.  Changing the characters’
names—not so great.

My editor will always say that if I don’t
have a solid first chapter for the teaser that they’ll use the first chapter
for the first book in the series.  My gut
tells me that’s a less-successful marketing technique so I always make sure
that I’ve got the first chapter for the new book ready (even if I’ve not
written the rest of it).

On the other hand—it occurred to me that
cliffhangers in trad-published teasers aren’t necessarily a great thing. Yes, it can pique
reader interest in the next book.  But,
if the next book isn’t being released for nearly a year (as in this case), then
it might prompt some reader frustration, too.

But if you’re self-publishing, this might be exactly the effect you’re looking
for.  Maybe you’ve even got the next
release in your series ready to go.  Perhaps these are even backlist books. In
that case, a cliffhanger of a teaser chapter would be smart marketing. 

And then…part of me wonders if teaser
chapters make a huge difference to readers at all. For me, I’m already committed to
reading the next book in a series, if I’ve enjoyed the series so far.  What I have
done, as a reader, is buy someone else’s
book when a book has been cross-promoted by a publisher with a teaser
chapter.  This makes me think the
self-publishing practice of trading teasers with other authors is a
smart move.

As a writer, do you use teaser
chapters?  As a reader, do they have an
impact on your buying habits?

Guest Post by Jack Smith

Dialogue
Tags

What about “he said”/”she said”—do you
need them?  Or perhaps the character’s
name instead of the pronoun?  How much of
either is needed?  How much is too
much?  Like everything else in creative
writing, no rules here.  Only what
works.  And you can think of this matter
in at least two ways: clarity and style—or both.

Take a look at this passage from Raymond
Carver’s “What’s in Alaska?”  Do we need
the dialogue tags?

“I don’t know.  Something Mary said,” Helen said.

“What did I say?” Mary
said.

“I can’t remember,”
Helen said.

“We have to go,” Jack
said.

“So long,” Carl
said.  “Take it easy.”

We could probably use some help here,
clarity-wise, since we’ve got four characters speaking, but notice too that
Carver creates an interesting cadence by the repetition of “said.”  Really! 
Nice, isn’t it?  What if he went
by some silly hard-and-fast rule about cutting down your use of “said.”  We would miss the lyrical quality of his
prose. Wouldn’t we?

Is clarity a matter in this passage from
Carver’s “The Compartment”?

They love you, I said.

No, they don’t, he
said.

I said, Someday,
they’ll understand things.

Maybe Wes, said.  But it won’t matter then.

You don’t know, I
said.

I know a few things,
Wes said, and he looked at me.

Clarity is much less an issue here.  But again—notice how the repetitive use of
“said” builds an interesting cadence. The texture of the prose draws us in—or
at least it draws me in. 

Notice now this passage from Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises.  No dialogue tags:

“He must drink a lot
of wine.”

“Or wear purple
undershirts.”

“Let’s ask him.”

“No.  He’s too tired.”

There’s plenty of this bare-bones
dialogue in this novel.  And by now, this
stripped-down dialogue is pretty familiar to many readers—readers, for
instance, of Cormac McCarthy.  It creates
an impact.  We hear conversation spoken,
and that’s it—like an audio tape.

 But there’s a middle road—a “he said,” a “she
said,” or “Norm said,” or “Mary said,” now and then—and then an action line
that establishes who’s talking.  For
instance, also from The Sun Also Rises:

“Poor old
darling.”  She stroked my head.

You could avoid the tags by action lines
like this.  We know who’s talking.

So what are your options?

1. 
Ramp up the dialogue tags.

2. Eliminate them altogether and go with
the bare-bones back and forth exchange.

3. Insert action lines now and then to
find ways to avoid tags.

But don’t get the idea that it’s best to
go for the Aristotelian Mean and take a middle path.  Think clarity, but also think style.

What sound do you want to create?  What tone? 

Jack Smith

Write and Revise for Publication
, Writer’s Digest, 2013, and Hog to Hog, winner of the George
Garrett Fiction Prize, Texas Review Press, 2008

by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Twitterific
links are fed into the Writer’s
Knowledge Base search engine (developed by
writer and software engineer Mike Fleming) which has over 23,000 free articles
on writing related topics. It’s the search engine for writers.

Sign up for our free newsletter for bimonthly writing tips and interviews with top
contributors to the WKB or like us on Facebook. 

Mike Fleming and writing coach James Scott Bell are
offering an online, interactive, writing program to help make your next novel
great. It’s called “Knockout Novel” and you can learn more about it
at Knockout Novel.com. 

8 online writing communities: http://dld.bz/cMUCn @SMisDynamite

Business of Screenwriting: The Niceties –
Manners Matter: http://dld.bz/cNcF3
@scriptmag

Seven Deadly Sins Of Novel Writing: http://dld.bz/cNcFC @angelaackerman

Scene and Sequel: http://dld.bz/cNnJS @Wix

5 Reasons Perseverance is the Most
Important Quality for a Writer: http://dld.bz/cNf35
@Woollz

“It’s all about pre-orders these
days,” says agent Kristin Nelson. http://dld.bz/cNJby
@Porter_Anderson

Tips for Authors on Amazon: http://dld.bz/cNnKU @tonyeldridge

7 Hemingway quotes on writing: http://dld.bz/cNf3V @InkTanked

Donald Wollheim and the Ace Double Novel:
http://dld.bz/cMUCB @KirkusReviews

3 Reasons You Shouldn’t Sweat Email
Unsubscribes: http://dld.bz/cN2hx
@copyblogger

Swapping in Writing: http://dld.bz/cN2h6

Should Authors Post Negative Reviews? http://dld.bz/cN2h9 @MsBessieBell

5 Top Reasons to Live “The Artist’s
Way”: http://dld.bz/cN2hA
@charmaineclancy

“Yes, I’m An English Major. No, I
Will Not Be Working At McDonald’s.” http://dld.bz/cN2hB
@HeyThereFuture @ThoughtCatalog

11 Essential Books to Be a Better Online
Writer: http://dld.bz/cN2hE @rogercunard
@kaleidico

Thinking and Marketing a Novel Outside
the Box: http://dld.bz/cN2hF @Riduna

Carbohydrates for Writers: Finding
Creative Fuel: http://dld.bz/cN2hH @YAHighway

The “Why” of Mysteries and the
issue of Immortality: http://dld.bz/cN2hP
@swkehoe

How A Few Tricks Can Keep the Momentum
Going on That New WIP: http://dld.bz/cN2hS
@cleemckenzie

Tips for interacting with agents at
conferences: http://dld.bz/cNNkn @JennyBent
@Porter_Anderson

What Are Amazon’s Weaknesses? http://dld.bz/cN2hT @arhomberg

4 Signs That Your Manuscript Isn’t Ready:
http://dld.bz/cN2jr @ava_jae

Query Letter: There’s Disagreeing and
There’s Being Unwise: http://dld.bz/cN2js
@behlerpublish

The Unexpected Agony of Recording Your
Own Audiobook: http://dld.bz/cN5ED
@theatlantic @katiehafner

3 Sentences Most Overused by Beginning
Writers: http://dld.bz/cN5EQ @ventgalleries

10 Daily Rituals Of Brilliant and
Successful Creators –  http://dld.bz/cN5ES

5 Ways to Keep Your Writing Sharp: http://dld.bz/cN5F5 @KristinaLudwig1

7 Most Common Misconceptions About
Science Fiction Publishing: http://dld.bz/cN5FJ
@io9

In defense of ‘bad’ writers: http://dld.bz/cN5FM @TobarWriter

9 Reasons to Keep A Reading Journal: http://dld.bz/cN5FU @DollyGarland

KDP Quality Notices: http://dld.bz/cN7Y4 @marla_ann

6 Things 1 Writer Learned from Charles
Bukowski: http://dld.bz/cN7Y5 @jaltucher
@thoughtcatalog

Mapping a writer’s brain: http://dld.bz/cN7YM @joycedyer2010 @NYTimes

A creative’s work is never done, and what
it means for us: http://dld.bz/cN7YR @tannerc

What Makes A Better Writer – Deliberate
Practice or Writing for a Purpose? http://dld.bz/cN7YW
@DollyGarland

An editor addresses gender disparity in
the bylines at the @nybooks : http://dld.bz/cN7Zj
@alexnazaryan

Writing life: Chunks vs. bites: http://dld.bz/cN7Zt @apalanca

How to Trick Yourself into Writing: http://dld.bz/cN7ZH @emarianaranjo

8 Practical Tips for a Better
Relationship with a Writer: http://dld.bz/cN7ZM
@_mohul

What’s My Character Motivation? – At the
Root of It All: http://dld.bz/cN8ad
@scriptmag

10 Things Emerging Writers Need To Learn:
http://dld.bz/cN8ax @mpnye

Accurately Representing Your Novel: http://dld.bz/cN8b5 @tipsylit

3 short story lessons from Graham Greene:
http://dld.bz/cN8bG @icess

11 tips for editing your own writing: http://dld.bz/cN8dg @rebeccaberto

5 literary movements that shook the
world: http://dld.bz/cN8dn @InkTanked

To Blurb or Not to Blurb? http://dld.bz/cN8dR @JLDelbourgo

40 Books for Every Writer’s Library: http://dld.bz/cN8dV

Writing Short Stories – Worth the Time? http://dld.bz/cN8dX @h_mccoubrey

A Brief Tutorial on Fanfiction: http://dld.bz/cN8eb @thealiasjones

A minister attends writing classes to
learn how to deliver sermons that won’t be boring: http://dld.bz/cN8eu

Introduction to SFF – Pulp: http://dld.bz/cN8ez @AmazingStories0

Five Rules of Writing: http://dld.bz/cN8eB @sleepybard

How Not to Write a Superhero Novel: http://dld.bz/cN8eH @mixerpublishing

10 Basic Writing Tips:

Writing Your Way Through Depression: http://dld.bz/cN8f9 @cateartios @christybis

How to Create Layers of Thematically
Pertinent Conflict: http://dld.bz/cN8fT
@storyfix @KMWeiland

Successful Schmoozing with Agents at
Conferences: http://dld.bz/cN8gs @jennybent

13 ways to be a better writer: http://dld.bz/cN8gw @rebeccatdickson

On Staying Motivated: http://dld.bz/cN8g4 @BlueMesaReview

How Does An Author Adjust His or Her
Approach from Novel to Novel? http://dld.bz/cN8gW
@vgrefer

The Book Marketing Maze: 22 Wrong Turns
And How To Avoid Them: http://dld.bz/cNA8p
@JonathanGunson

5 Places to Find Critique Partners: http://dld.bz/cNA9z @ava_jae

A Book Trailer for Structuring Your
Novel: http://dld.bz/cNA93 @KMWeiland

A character therapist answers writers’
questions on guilt and Intermittent Explosive Disorder: http://dld.bz/cNA9D @jeanniecampbell

A character development exercise: http://dld.bz/cNAAp @SCBWI_BI

The Most Serious Screenwriting Mistakes: http://dld.bz/cNAAv

5 Tips for Writing a Memoir: http://dld.bz/cNAA6 @Writers_Write

An analysis of diversity in children’s
books: http://dld.bz/cNADc @4everYA

Action/Thriller Writing: The DIE HARD
Method: http://dld.bz/cNADK

‘Twilight Zone’ Creator Rod Serling
Shares Great Screenwriting Insight in Final Interview: http://dld.bz/cNAFX @nofilmschool

Setting the Tone with Style: http://dld.bz/cNFz7

The Puritan Work Ethic and Writing with
Passion: http://dld.bz/cNFzE @ShanJeniah

Tips for covering your self-pubbed book: http://dld.bz/cNFzJ @aimeelsalter

A scam affecting freelance writers: http://dld.bz/cNFzZ

Writers behaving badly: http://dld.bz/cNF6m @kemiogunniyi

Some advice: Don’t read this article, but
do go write something: http://dld.bz/cNF6s
@31Plays31Days

An analysis of “A History of
Violence”: http://dld.bz/cNFCK
@thescriptlab

The Documentary Screenplay: http://dld.bz/cNGAd

1 Simple Way To Resolve Plot Issues In
Your Novel: http://dld.bz/cNGAh @vgrefer

More Tips 1 Writer Learned From Her
Editors: http://dld.bz/cNGSA @lkblackburne

5 Ways to Write a Killer Plot Twist: http://dld.bz/cNNgr @KMWeiland

To Improve Your Writing, Stand Outside of
It: 7 Tips: http://dld.bz/cNNgH
@RobBiesenbach

Character Differentiation: http://dld.bz/cNNgV @ajkandathil

Let Your Characters “Say
Everything” – Writers & Analysts: http://dld.bz/cNNgZ
@coachkiki

On Keeping a Notebook: http://dld.bz/cNNhm @SarahNumber4 @parisreview

4 Books That Every Young Writer Should
Read: http://dld.bz/cNNhr @hamiltoneliz
@PolicyMic

Finish What You Started: How To End Your
Story: http://dld.bz/cNNhx @btmargins

10 Remarkable Posthumously Published
Novels: http://dld.bz/cNNh2 @mashable

How 1 writer has learned to write faster:
http://dld.bz/cNNhC @GuyHaley

15 Writers and Their Bedrooms: http://dld.bz/cNNhF @Writers_Write

Writing A Novel Proposal: Author
Background: http://dld.bz/cNNhS
@NovelRetreatsAu

A Story is a Story. Write It. http://dld.bz/cNNje

What NOT to do when Writing: http://dld.bz/cNNjp @stefanvucak

Why The iPhone Is Causing Problems For
Screenwriters: http://dld.bz/cNNju
@BuzzFeedEnt

Structure of Pulp Fiction: Method in the
Madness: http://dld.bz/cNNj2 @TheScriptLab

6 Public Speaking Tips From Ashton
Kutcher: http://dld.bz/cNNjB @RobBiesenbach

What Netflix Taught 1 Writer About
Character Development: http://dld.bz/cNNjJ
@pshares

Writing Advice From Joyce Carol Oats
& Stephen King: http://dld.bz/cNNjP
@woodwardkaren

Creating Tension: http://dld.bz/cNNjW @RebeccaLuElla

The Writing Tools of 20 Famous Authors: http://dld.bz/cNNka @flavorwire

A ghostwriter on being a ‘writer for
hire’: http://dld.bz/cNRdm

On Work, Creativity & Protecting Your
Delusions: http://dld.bz/cNRds
@cynthialindeman

The tell-all memoir 1 writer decided not
to tell: http://dld.bz/cNRdH @deprangy @salon

Writing Tips: 25 Rules For Keeping It
Short And Snappy: http://dld.bz/cNRdR
@huffingtonpost

Writing Memoirs–What to Leave in – And
Take Out: http://dld.bz/cNRdX @emmabrockes

Meanest Feedback for Writers–a Worst Ten
List: http://dld.bz/cNRe5

5 things 1 writer learned as a YA debut
author: http://dld.bz/cNRe9 @TheClassof2K13

This Is Your Writing On Drugs: http://dld.bz/cNReK @kenyonreview

Why You Should Write in a Closet: http://dld.bz/cNRf6 @donaldmiller

Writing A Novel Proposal: Outline: http://dld.bz/cNRfA @NovelRetreatsAu

Hard writing makes easy reading: http://dld.bz/cNRfY @annwrite @rebeccaberto

Turning our notes into a novel: http://dld.bz/cNTa7 @nownovel

Tips for giving feedback: http://dld.bz/cNTaC @flyingknuckle

Why 1 writer is glad her 1st book is an
anthology: http://dld.bz/cNTaT @junglereds
@sarahw

Reuse and Recycle Your Words: http://dld.bz/cNTba @WordsmithStudio @JenJChow

Social Reading: The OFF Button: http://dld.bz/cNTuk @Porter_Anderson

After self-editing, find someone else to
look over your manuscript: http://dld.bz/cNTbr
@digitaldeborah

A Writer’s Voice: What It Is And How To
Develop Yours: http://dld.bz/cNTb2
@woodwardkaren

Avoid Trashing a Book Online: http://dld.bz/cNTb6 @Tamela_Murray
@stevelaubeagent

What sucks and what’s great about letting
go of the novel you’ve been working on for 2.5 years: http://dld.bz/cNTbC @lucas_klauss

Talking about your character: hands: http://dld.bz/cNTbK @nownovel

List Of Literary One Hit Wonders: http://dld.bz/cNTbS @huffingtonpost

Should fans of YA instead read books
written for their own age group? http://dld.bz/cNKzN
@catagator @Porter_Anderson

Pursuing Intellectual Rigor In Fiction: http://dld.bz/cNTbU @mycropht

Be a renaissance writer: http://dld.bz/cNTcb @matadornetwork
@joshywashington

“I didn’t think it would
happen…but then it did.” One writer takes a break from writing: http://dld.bz/cNTgW @CassieCook2

Writing Companions: http://dld.bz/cNThb @vanessab73

Writer’s Block: AKA, The Seventh Circle
of Hell: http://dld.bz/cNThe @twoodwriter

A Writer’s Rules, A Writer’s Tools: http://dld.bz/cNTkk @scriptmag @KDelin

Cross-Training for Writers: http://dld.bz/cNTkr @PStoltey @KatValdezWriter

Tips for Writing a Successful Review: http://dld.bz/cNTkH @parajunkee

Synopses: Love the Burn: http://dld.bz/cNTmz @AMBuxton

The Geeky Kings & Queens of Comedy
Writing: http://dld.bz/cNTm5

YA Authors Speak Out About Clichés: http://dld.bz/cNTm8 @lvoisin

What Good Memoir Can Teach You About Good
Copywriting: http://dld.bz/cNTmA @jeffgoins

Tips for accessing your creativity: http://dld.bz/cNTnkThe Alphabet in Crime
Fiction: Dangerous Undercover Operations: http://dld.bz/cNAtX
@mkinberg

What does social reading mean for the
future of books?  http://dld.bz/cNR4q @Porter_Anderson
@damiengwalter @brianoleary

What to do when you get a bad review: http://dld.bz/cNTmY @enthom72

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

This post will be short and sweet
because…I’ve gotten a little behind with everything this week.  :) And the odd thing is that this is back to
school week, so you’d think I’d be getting tons
of stuff done.

But no. 
And yesterday, I had to sit down and assess where I was going wrong. Why
was I scrambling to finish up writing-related tasks like promo?  Why was supper a last-minute effort? Why did
I keep forgetting milk at the store? 
What on earth was different?

Well, what was different was that the
kids were back in school.  But it’s not
quite the same as last year.

Last year…all the years, actually…I’ve
driven my son’s carpool to school and back. 
I sat in the carpool line and typed half of my word goal each day in
that line.  And now—my son is driving
himself to school. 

I’m still driving my daughter’s carpool,
but not every afternoon.  That school
lets out later than my son’s school, too. 

So my schedule changed and that
messed me up.

Another place where I went wrong—in the
afternoons, I felt so lost by not heading off to the high school to sit in the
carpool line that each day this week I asked myself, “What should I be doing
right now?”

And the answer each time was: “I have no
idea.  Maybe I should check my email.”

Wrong! 
Checking email is never the right
answer to that question.  :)  Email is a tremendous time-suck for me.

What I did instead yesterday was to make
a list of what I needed to do.  I’d made
a list in the morning, but I’d checked those things off.  What I need now, apparently, is a separate
afternoon list.  So I wrote it up.  The most pressing things were to proofread a
teaser chapter that I was on deadline for, find and schedule links for Twitter,
and then pull that laundry out of the dryer before the stuff started wrinkling
(there’s not a lot of ironing going on in my house).  Checking email was not on this list.

So, for me anyway, even small
fluctuations in a schedule have an impact. If I lose productivity, then I need
to figure out where I’m going wrong. 

And lists…one list may not be enough to
carry me through a whole day.  Because
when I finish the stuff on my morning list—heck, I might just pull up my emails
and lose an hour or more.

Do you ever have to reassess when to fit
your writing in?  And do you rely on
lists as much as I do?