A Tool for Teachers – Diigo Link Outliner
by K. Tempest Bradford
I use the Diigo Outliner, a versatile online tool that I recommend to teachers and writers who want to arrange collections of links and text in an easy to scan and understand way.
Pressbook
How Not to Read Like a Beta Reader
by Kate Heartfield
A few distinct kinds of reading come with the job of being a writer: research, market research, reading for awards ballots and contest juries, reading for sheer pleasure.
And then there’s beta reading or critiquing.
Special Synopsis Sauce
by Curtis C. Chen
Okay. You wrote a novel. That was the easy part.
Now you need to write a synopsis.
Guest Post: The Work of Writing
by Theodora Goss
I keep reading blog posts that basically all make the same point: anyone can find time to write. You’ve probably read them too. The message is, if you want to be a writer, you can find the time. Get up early and write before work. Write on your lunch break. Write on your commute home. Write after everyone else is asleep. If you can write even a hundred words a day, eventually you’ll have a novel.
It’s not a bad message, but it’s aimed toward aspiring writers. And aspiring writers, I would argue, are very different from working writers, who are different, again, from professional writers.
Story Cake
by Sylvia Spruck Wrigley
The popular advice for writers is to write your first draft for just one person and then to revise for the world. Your voice, they say, should be personal and true and deep but the story itself must have mass-market appeal. This is a rainbow I chased for a long time. Lately, though, I’m starting to question the simple assumption that success is measured by the number of readers.
We Are All Allies
by Dan Koboldt
In some ways, publishing is a zero-sum game. There are only so many slots in the schedule of traditional publishers. Only ten books can occupy the top ten list, and only one can win the Hugo. Yet the most dangerous and pervasive threat to the aspiring author is not another author, nor is it a big bad publisher. Nor is it a certain online store. No, the biggest threat is the ever-shrinking reading time the average person has in our modern world.
Ask the Tax Czarina: Bartering
Last week, our own “Tax Czarina” discussed some basic tax issues writers face. This week’s Q&A, focuses on bartering.
Schrödinger Sessions Application Period Open
The application period for “The Schrödinger Sessions: Science for Science Fiction” is open now through March 20.
Tackling the Dreaded Bio
by Luna Lindsey
A lot of authors hate writing “bios.” We can crank out a 100,000 word novel no problem, but a 100 word bio for the back cover? Terrifying.
Guest Post: Guilt and Shame for Writers
by Theodora Goss I’ve been thinking about this issue a lot. Several days ago, I posted the following: 1. Guilt and shame are the enemies of the artist. 2. Guilt is when you feel as though your time should be spent doing something else, for someone else. 3. Shame is when you think what you’re producing […]
