Links for Writers, Cake for Everyone

Writing's on my mind, and I read how-to articles and pieces about publishing when my work is finished for the day.  Five articles or blog posts recently caught my attention, so I'm sharing them.  (If you're not a writer, scroll to the end of this post for a cake recipe. You won't be sorry.)

First up is an article from The Virginia Quarterly Review. Kathleen Schmidt offers insights into and predictions for book publishing in 2013. Don't skip over the book buyer/reader statistics from Bowker that were presented at the recent Digital Book World conference.

Digital Book World and Writer's Digest surveyed authors and found one-third of traditionally published authors are interested in self publishing. 

Writer Chuck Wendig delivers 25 hard truths about writing and publishing. Read them all, but pay special attention to the last one: "You can’t control publishing. You can’t control the audience’s reaction to your book. Control what you can control, which means: write the best book that lives inside you."

Tracy Chevalier, author of Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Last Runaway, applies "less is more" to her writing.

Developmental editor Alan Rinzler advises authors to mine their experiences to give authenticity to their writing.

Bonus: For a great round-up of articles for and about writers and writing, bookmark The Author Chronicles' Top Picks Thursday. 

http://authorchronicles.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/top-picks-thursday-01-17-2013/

In unrelated news, my France-inspired dinner party last Sunday proved a success. The Barefoot Contessa's (Ina Garten's) recipe for boeuf Bourguignon rocked, and I turned to an old friend dessert that wouldn't be out of place in France. 

Sometimes my absorption with all things French crowds out my absorption with writing. Early this morning, I turned on my bitty laptop and saw a list of articles to read, including: Your Personal France. I clicked tout de suite, only to discover wishful thinking (and poor eyesight) had swapped France for Finance.  A personal finance article at half-past dawn? That would be a non.

Your turn: share your favorite source for writerly information, name your favorite dessert, or both. 

Holiday Links for Writers

This weekend, we salute those who have served their country. We may squeeze in time for a swim, a hike, and a cook-out, but the only links we look forward to have to do with golf or bratwurst. In other words, advice for authors isn't on your holiday agenda, so I'll keep my list of links for writers short and watermelon-sweet.

Anne Lamott's BIRD BY BIRD is a writer's favorite, but when did you last crack it? Yeah, I can't remember, either. Not to worry, writer Leeana Tankersley offers us a list of ten things she's learned from Lamott.

Barbara (Samuel) O'Neal says a central question begs to be answered at the core of our story. "All of us have those central questions in our work. Someone said that we write to answer that question, whatever it is."

Every holiday weekend needs a shot of writer Chuck Wendig, the Tabasco on our scrambled eggs. Here, he weighs in on ways writers earn their audiences.

Finally, writer Marcy Kennedy wants us to think about what we fear most: failure—or success?

Enjoy the long weekend!

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.

Kick Like No One's Watching

We don't need enemies or frenemies, or things that go bump in the night. We have ourselves— saboteurs of plans and smashers of hope.

The person muttering under her breath that I won't be able to do something and am foolish to try is me. So's the woman who declares my work derivative, compares my butt to urban sprawl, and hints my cats have fleas.

I'm not alone. At The Fearful Adventurer blog, Torre DeRoche takes down her biggest and baddest critic via an essay: "What If Your Biggest Naysayer Is You." Read it. Now.

Did you laugh at the line "I look like a douche when I do yoga!" For years, I refused to join an exercise class for fear others would smirk and point their fingers when they noticed my sense of rhythm is missing in action.

When I finally signed up, a fellow exerciser showed me how foolish I'd been. She might dress in don't-look-at-me colors like gray and beige, but when the music starts, she jumps, kicks, and throws punches like a ninja.

Not all her punches are synchronized to the music and her kicks don't reach the height of the Rockettes', but she's moving her body, gaining the health benefits of exercise, and, judging by her ferocity, she takes out an army of enemies and frenemies every morning. Before breakfast.

Most importantly, no one cares what she looks like. Remember Lark Howard's post of January 9 and the advice she got from a friend? "Nobody cares what you’re wearing, they care what they’re wearing. Unless you look fabulous or horrible, nobody notices." That advice applies to more than clothes. In fact, it applies to almost everything in life. No one cares about how you look when you do squats or your skills as a teacher, insurance adjustor, travel agent, or writer unless you screw up or are so skilled you inspire teeth-gnashing envy.

It's liberating to know we operate under the radar. Sure, our mothers and friends might know of our progress—or lack thereof, but most people don't notice and don't care.

We're the ones scaring ourselves, and we have to quit it. At the end of his post listing twenty-five things writers should stop doing, Chuck Wendig offers this advice:
"Fear will kill you dead. You’ve nothing to be afraid of that a little preparation and pragmatism cannot kill. Everybody who wanted to be a writer and didn’t become one failed based on one of two critical reasons: one, they were lazy, or two, they were afraid. Let’s take for granted you’re not lazy. That means you’re afraid. Fear is nonsense. What do you think is going to happen? You’re going to be eaten by tigers?"

The tigers we invent are the fiercest, most intimidating of all. To defeat them, we have to jump, kick, and throw punches like ninjas. A lady I know manages that without a lot of coordination, rhythm, or brute force.

She's unself-conscious and fearless. She's awesome.

We can be, too.

Links for Writers

Got linky-links? Why, yes, I do.

This set is targeted toward writers, and the links point to essays or sites that mostly interest or entertain, but one of them nudge us into dropping a bad habit or two. (All right, already! I'll drink more water.)

First up, romantic comedy/mystery writer Anne R. Allen points out the flaws in nine frequently repeated pieces of writing advice. Here's how she counters the chestnut that all protagonists must be admirable: "Saints are boring in fiction, unless they liberate France and get burned at the stake, and that’s been done." Read her full post here.

Chuck Wendig, whose debut novel, DOUBLE DEAD, comes out this month, shares the twenty-five qualities a book must have to keep him (and the rest of us) reading. The following is from trait #16: "A story that becomes something other than it seems — that pivots hard and shows you a whole new face — is a powerful thing, and compelling enough to drag me into its turbulent waters." Wendig's full post is here.

Jenny Hansen, the writer behind the More Cowbell blog, offers three rules for success in writing and in life.

Social-media expert Kristen Lamb reminds writers that health comes before wealth and is essential to maintaining page counts. Here, she offers tips for getting and staying in tip-top shape.

Blogger Coleen Patrick takes a look at some novels' memorable first lines. What's your favorite?

Having trouble maintaining your NaNo word count? This site is all kibble, no stick.

Finally, Kristan Hoffman offers writers two quizzes to test our understanding of what really matters to readers. Hint: it's not the number of our Twitter followers. Test yourself here.