Shiny Links for Writers

It's all about the links today, and this set is geared for fiction writers. Put down the cat, adjust your reading light, and position your index finger on the scroll key. Here goes:

Rachel Funk Heller equates learning to write with learning to drive—and shows us how to start our literary engines.

March 8 was National Proofreader's Day. (I'm kicking myself for not knowing it at the time.) To celebrate the occasion, GalleyCat offered a link to EditMinion, an online copyediting robot. Unsure about that semicolon? Run it past the robot for free.

Louise Behiel is a therapist by day and a writer by night. In a recent series of blog posts, she explores the familial roles individuals may assume in households with an emotionally absent parent or parents. Because roles taken on in childhood typically carry over into adulthood, an understanding of them can help writers flesh out fictional characters. Warning: Behiel emphasizes that none of these roles is carved in stone and the lines between them blur. The series starts with two post on The Family Hero here and here and then shifts to The Problem Child and then onto Rebels and Scapegoats . The series will continue, so bookmark Behiel's blog.

Even if you don't write mysteries or thrillers, you'll be interested in what three literary agents had to say at Sleuthfest about the state of the publishing industry. (Thanks to mystery writer Diane Capri for the link to the Babes in Bookland blog.)

Marcy Kennedy writes science fiction and fantasy, but her definition of strong female characters encompasses all genres.

August McLaughlin's recent blog post compares revisions to relationships, and before she's finished, you'll be nodding in agreement.

Chuck Wendig's back with a list of twenty-five things we should know about word choice. Here's a sample: "Writers often bandy about that old crunchy nugget of penmonkey wisdom — NO ADVERBS — as if it is bulletproof. As if a gang of adverbs shanked that writer’s mother in the kidneys as she stooped over to water the hydrangeas. Adverbs are not birthed from the Devil’s hell-womb. They’re just words." Read the whole post here.

Writer Roni Loren may not have all the answers, but she can recommend books to fix almost any writerly problem. Have trouble plotting? Loren recommends Blake Snyder's SAVE THE CAT.

Have you recently read a blog post, article, or book that helped with your writing? Please share your find in the comments section.