As I'm slowly getting more involved in the online writing community, I want to give back by highlighting a few of my favorite writing-related posts in the blogosphere each week. I was so excited I even came up with a super cheesy name for the feature, hehe. :P
I've followed some of these blogs for months or years, while I stumbled upon others just this week. I'm constantly amazed by the great stuff out there. I wish I could rave about all the posts I liked, but I made myself choose just a handful:
CRAFT
- THE INTERN is no longer interning at a publishing house but continues to share her insights on the writing and publishing process, such as her post on how to find theme by thinking about universals.
- I love Juliette Wade's posts — she applies her linguistic anthropology background to novel-writing, resulting in mind-blowing, thought-provoking, perspective-shifting essays. My favorites this week are her posts on the scope of conflicts and how to blend personal experience into your fiction.
- I'm new to Susan Dennard's blog, but her series on revision is amazing. I adore how organized she is and can't wait to try out her tips myself (great motivation to finish, eh? :P). There are six posts in the series: one | two | three | four | five | six
PLOT AND CHARACTER
- Janice Hardy's blog is an amazing resource for writers. This week she guested on Elizabeth S. Craig's blog about her approach to worldbuilding. She also blogged about plotting backwards.
- I came across two great posts on antagonists this week: The Antagonist by Bob Mayer at Genreality and Creating Antagonizing Antagonists by Sara Furlong Burr at Starving Novelist. Reading their different takes was really helpful since I tend to have a hard time with antagonists.
WRITING LIFE
- Sara also provided some great tips for beating writer's block. I don't have a lot of experience with writer's block (because I don't write nearly enough) but I'll be keeping the tips in mind for future reference.
- Kristen Lamb blogged about what Ju-Jitsu taught her about writing, and I think it's a lesson I need to learn, too.
- Justine Musk wrote an amazing post on embracing ambition and training your subconscious. I love this post — I'm learning to discover and pursue what I want, and this post addresses that powerfully.
PUBLISHING
- Mandy Hubbard provides a peek into current publishing trends in MG/YA. I'm not thinking that far ahead right now, but it's interesting to see what editors are seeking.
FUN
- Oh, Tawna Fenske's blog is just hilarious! I particularly enjoyed her post on how to scare a new housemate.
I hope you find these posts fun and helpful. Be sure to let these bloggers know if you like their posts!
And tell me, were you ever a lurker? Or did you get involved right away? What kinds of posts make you more likely to de-lurk?
