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?
These are such great links! Thanks, I just retweeted it. At first I felt nervous about commenting on blogs, but then I realized how amazing all these other writers are. And there's so much helpful information out there, I'm constantly learning something new. Wow, what a community, huh?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Julie! :) Yeah, I've learned so much from reading blogs. People are
ReplyDeleteso generous about sharing their experience and giving helpful advice. :D
(Now I just have to start applying it, haha.)
Great links!
ReplyDeleteI'm still mostly a lurker. A lot of blogs I follow get twenty comments before I even get to it, so I feel like, "eh, someone's already said what I'm going to say, so why bother. " I know I need to participate more, so I'm baby stepping it.
Commenting on super popular blogs is still sort of intimidating for me.
ReplyDeleteTaking baby steps sounds like a great idea.
Thanks for leaving a comment here! :)
I am pro lurker as this comment proves. But this is one part of the blog world that I love. I love that it's completely acceptable (and desirable!) to stalk strangers/hopefully future friends.
ReplyDeleteAnd are you a writer? I would love to see some of your own work on this blog!
P.S. I'm Diane's school friend. Don't be too freaked out please.
LOL! I'm not freaked out, and thanks for the comment. :) That's a good way
ReplyDeleteto look at it, though I feel a lot more awkward stalking people I sort of
know than complete strangers.
Hm I'm just starting out on my writing journey, so I don't have much to show
right, but if you go to my personal blog (link somewhere in the About page)
you can see some of my (nonfic) writing in the Best Of section.
But cool, nice to meet you! My sister is awesome, right? :D
I just bookmarked this post so I can check out your recommendations when I have more time. I'm more of a commenter than a lurker. This is probably because I'm very talkative in real life! I'm glad I checked out your blog today!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog! Yours is so cute and hilarious. :)
ReplyDelete