Writing Links!

It’s time for some links to great articles on writing again…

It’s time to start a new story. (It is NaNoWriMo month after all.) But how to begin it? Hmmm… You want your opening to pop. You want something for the reader to sink their teeth into. Should the MC be on the first page? Start with Dialogue? When does this story start anyway? Is that where you should start? Darn, if only there were some examples! To help you through the mess we call the first page, agent Lucienne Diver gives you the goods (and some examples).

You are clicking those keys along, writing like the wind, and then one day… nothing. There seems to be a brick wall in front of you. Some call it <gasp> writer’s block. No matter which way you move, it doesn’t. Need some ideas on how to get past it? Try Women on Writing’s tips.

I can’t write, my cat ate my pen.

After many arduous hours you declare it finished! You finished your book and you are ready to query it. But hang on a second, what the heck genre is it? Is it a mystery? Thriller? High Fantasy? Commercial Fiction? Agent Jennifer Laughran presents the genre glossary.

Now that you have the genre pinned down, what makes for a good ‘hook’ in a query letter? Again, another lovely face in the biz comes to the rescue! Jane Friedman gives you the basics on what that hook should include.

You’ve sent out your query and crossed your fingers. And it worked! You got a request from an agent! They want to see more. You decide you’d better take one quick look through your manuscript and make sure there aren’t any glaring typos, etc. But how long do you have before the agent says, “Aw. Forget it. They won’t send it. I take back my offer.” Agent Mary at her wonderful Kidlit blog weighs in.

It’s been sent. Your manuscript has been sitting on an agent’s desk for what feels forever, waiting to be read. It’s been hours, days, weeks, even months. Do you give the agent a friendly email nudge to make sure they haven’t forgotten about you? Here’s the scoop on when to nudge from QueryTracker.

Okay, so you’ve beat the odds. You snagged an agent (landing you in the top 1%) and now you have a book deal! (About 50% of represented writers land a book deal on their first book.) But how many copies do you need to sell to stay in the game and not be considered a complete flop? There’s no easy answer, but Bubble Cow gives you a scoop or two of chocolate fudge to keep you going.

And because you are so wiped out from this all, you need a little break. Maybe a laugh. Maybe a gasp or two. And so I present to you, ads from the past.

Good Links: June ’10 Edition

I’ve been neglecting my monthly tradition of posting good links that I’ve come across for several months now. Which means I have a mitt full. To be kind, I will only post a few.

Here goes:

Writer Advice and Other Interesting Writerly Stuff:

Word Counts at Renaissance Learning. Have you been wondering what the word count is on Junie B. Jones and a Little Monkey Business (6603), The Princess Diaries (58,954), Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (169,441), or Pride and Prejudice (121,342)? This great little online store is searchable by title and will tell you the reading level, interest level, and word count of each title. It doesn’t have many adult titles, but it is a great resource for those writing for kids or teens and would like to see word counts for comparison purposes.

Terrible Minds…not so terrible advice on how to get writing down on the page. (If you are offended by f-bombs, etc, this site might not be for you.)

The First Page of your manuscript. A nice little smack upside the noggin by Editorial Ass in case you were deluding yourself that your first page doesn’t truly matter. You have a few pages to get the story right, right? Er… you’d better read this one.

Writerisms and Other Sins. A few things to avoid in your writing by C.J. Cherryh. Some essential tricks and tips that will instantly improve your writing.

Laura Miller weighs on a five things writers need to keep in mind when writing. (What do you mean? Atmosphere/Setting isn’t as important as the story? I’m kidding, but it is a good thing to keep in mind as well as her other tips.)

How do you name that character? Advice from writers on picking that perfect name.

Queries:

Rachelle Gardner offers a few query mistakes that may make you look amateur.

Slush Pile Hell. It’s funny because lines from my worst query hasn’t been included.

Research and Conferences:

60 Awesome Search Engines For Serious Writers: A list of links to publishers, encyclopedias, online communities, and more. A place to go to start your search. (If you visit this link, scroll down to the list. It’s pub date is June 20th.)

Some people I ‘know’ on the internet are creating a wonderful (free?!!!) online conference (Write On Con) for kidlit writers. It sounds like it’s going to be great.

Fun Stuff:

Window Farms: If you are a city dweller bemoaning the fact that you can’t grow your own garden, moan no more. These smart little indoor farms are an earth-friendly solution to your gardening woes. (Those not in a city can build them too, of course.)

How to Make Your Stuff Last Longer from Life Hacker. Because I am the queen of stretching every last bit of life out of my belongings, I pass this on to you. (I have a new Mac waiting for me to use it, but I am still using my PC. Why? Not because I have 32 tabs open in Firefox and can’t be bothered to get them over to my Mac, or because I have literally over 3000 messages in my inbox (807 unread) and don’t want to sift through them or forward them. Okay, yes, that might actually be a large reason seeing as my PC had issues starting up (again) this morning, but I swear, there is still a bit of life left in it! I can keep using it, right? Right? You know, on second thought I’d better finalize switching over before I lose everything…. (again)

Have a great July!