Posts I loved this week

A fantastic set of posts this week as we start September. These are awesome!

With her own set of posts she loves this week, Live to Write and Write to Live is a blog not to be missed. A huge thank you to Jamie Lee Wallace for her awesome post!

A great post on how to write better dialogue on The Write Practice. And while you’re there check out this post on Mondegreens, a great way to add humour to your story.

Do you have an author platform? Here’s a post with 12 rules you need to know to build one on Writer Unboxed.

A great post that made me stop and think, this one is by Jodie Llewellyn.

For those who are curious about Scrivener but need a little help getting started, here’s a link to a video course that will teach you the program step by step from Helping Writers Become Authors.

I never, ever get poems…but this one is incredible by Callum McLaughlin.

The Best Websites for Indie Authors according to Molly Greene.

Some great tips and tricks on how to create genuine characters for your novel from Live Write Thrive.

Top 30 websites for Indie authors from Author Marketing Experts.

If you’re considering getting a business plan, you’re doing awesome. Don’t take my word for it, check out this post by Jami Gold on why and when writers need a business plan.

Catch this one at the very start. It’s a brand new blog by Gene’O. Fantastic already!

This one has a bit of math and a great kick for indie authors. I loved it so a big thank you to Shawn Coyne at Steven Pressfield.

Total self-indulgence, here‘s a great review of Outlander S1 Ep 2.

If your book is published but you want to pitch it to an agent, this post is for you by Chuck Sambuchino in Writers in the Storm.

Finally, super-interesting on how to research for a book. I loved this post by Margarita Morris.

Posts I loved this week

I loved these posts because they were so eclectic. From congratulations to Shakespeare, there’s everything in here. An absolute feast for the reader.

The top 5 posts Ever for Sourcerer, absolutely an awesome post. I loved checking them out and seeing what was a hit. Only five but they’re incredible. Thank you so much to Sourcerer for that post!

Bill Ferris is a funny, funny writer. I always enjoy his posts. This one is a ‘dictionary’ for the aspiring writer. (again, don’t drink hot liquids while reading this–snorting almost guaranteed). A big thank you to Writer Unboxed for the great post.

A huge congrats to Harliqueen for her upcoming book “Prophecy of Stones”. The cover is absolutely breathtaking and the book sounds even better. Check it all out here. There’s even an excerpt.

On that note, a great congrats to Nancy H. Doyle for finishing that first draft! Her plan of action now inspired me. So smart! Congrats again, Nancy! That’s awesome!

This one got me because it’s such a good cause but also because of it’s ingenuity. I never thought of board games as a way to help little kids read. What a great idea! Thanks to Katey Writes for that inspiring post!

The Ten best Blog posts of the year, this had me at the title. But this particular post is by Pecked to Death by Chickens an awesome site. This post is not to be missed. (Laughter guaranteed, I recommend no one drink coffee while reading in case of snorting).

I loved this post because it made me stop and ponder why do I only write one genre of books? Hm. If you’re considering that thought, check out the post by Jodie Llewellyn. It’s simply fantastic.

A huge congrats to Winter Bayne for her First Place Finish. Not only is she one of the most supportive people I know, she’s an incredibly talented writer. Check out her site and see. This one is going places!

Funny and witty, I loved this post. The ten characters I’d want with me on a deserted island…I gotta admit those are really good choices. Another top notch post thanks to Sourcerer.

I’ve often read posts from Drifting Through my Open Mind. The writing is superb and the topics are awesome. Plus, there’s an honesty that just really appeals to me. Check out this great, funny post on Night Owls and see for yourself. A big thank you for that great post!

I’m always interested in movies made after books. I might curse like a sailor when I see they took liberties with my favourite characters, but odds are I’ll watch. Check out this post on upcoming movies made from books. Everything from Fifty Shades to Outlander is there. A huge thanks to Frances and Lynne for the great post and links!

My favourite reblog of the week is this one by Harliqueen. Small but powerful.

Fascinating post about Shakespeare in the Original Pronounciation. A huge thank you to Part Time Monster for that awesome post!

This one was just too funny to leave behind. It’s by Outmanned, which already means it’s awesome, and 14 Ways Fifty Shades of Grey is like Disney Land. I laughed out loud. So good.

An awesome post on how to create Mind-Blowing heroines by K.M. Weiland, I thought this one was brilliant and dead on. A huge thank you to The Procrastiwriter for the fantastic post!

Both funny yet moving, Why: Reading is a Modern Superpower was definitely one of my favourite posts this week. A big thank you to James Radcliffe for that great post!

Finally, this one was simply delicious, 10 Awesome Fictional Females. What a great post by Infinitefreetime.

Posts I loved this week

I’m humbled and delighted with these posts. They’re simply amazing. Bloggers are highly talented people and, in my opinion, produce amazing posts. Check out this week’s great offerings.

I really appreciated this post on reasons to keep going when the editing gets tough. Editing is tough. You’ve created this beautiful story and, in editing, you cut it to pieces. It’s hard to do it day after day. I loved hearing reasons to keep going especially now that I’m editing Amy’s Courage like mad. A big thank you for the awesome post to Victoria Grefer.

I loved this post by Jodie Llewellyn because I think all writers find themselves in that place of doubt at one point or another. She writes with incredible courage and raw honesty that made me not only feel for her but identify very strongly with that incredible post.

A really cute post (and funny!) about lessons learned from the 80’s movies. Check it out and laugh! A big thank you to Dadmissions for the great post!

Seven great tools to hook your reader. Of course, great writing should always be our goal as writers but these are gems to keep in mind. I know I will keep these close to my fingertips. A big thank you to Monica M. Clark for the great post on The Write Practice!

I loved this post because it spelled out just how to connect emotionally to your readers. I find that my enjoyment of a book depends directly on how well I connect emotionally to the hero or heroine. That’s such a key point, so I loved this post and I’m very grateful to Nate Philbrick and Writerology for the great ideas!

Wow. Don’t miss this picture post by The Writing Catalog. Just…wow.

A big question all writers have to answer is what name to be published under. This post interested me because I struggled with that question myself and it offers a myriad of answers. A big thank you to Catherine McKenzie for the great post!

I loved this post by Mishka Jenkins on characters’ backstories. I love having characters with a rich backstory. I love reading about them too. Her post brought that to life for me. Plus, it had links to other posts on the subject! Bonus!

Oh, this post touched my heart. A dog’s eyes can say a million things. Incredibly, Part Time Monster caught a picture of this phenomenon. Amazing post.

If you’re an author thinking of starting a website, this post is for you. If you are considering starting a blog or want to know what yours should include, check out this one instead. A big thanks to Mishka Jenkins for sending those beauties my way and to Callisto Green for the awesome posts!

If you’re editing, you might want to check this one out. I have to admit, I make those mistakes. This post has great examples that really clarify the difference–for example between whom and who. Who knew! A big thank you to Jon Gingerich for the great post and excellent examples.

Finally, four tips for writing a great novel. This one was a hit for me because it’s only four, not twenty or fifty. A big thank you to Jan O’Hara from Writer Unboxed for the great post!

Posts I loved this week

This week’s posts are just below. Interesting and inspiring, I’m always amazed by the quality of writing in blogging posts.

I loved this post by Jodie Llewellyn because it made me think about my own writing and my self-awareness. An excellent post and very thought-provoking.

If you’re looking for inspiration, go no further. This collection of great quotes by great writers will get you moving. A big thanks to Jen for the post!

Nathan Bransford had a guest post from Natalie Whipple who posted about the differences between indie publishing and traditional publishing. See the post here.

DBCII had this great post about newspapers in the internet age. Really, really interesting. If you’re wondering what the trends are and what’s going on, definitely check it out.

Mishka Jenkins had an awesome idea on her blog to help anyone looking for a good read. We’ll share links to our books! She’s got a list going and it’s got some very interesting choices. Some of them are free! 😀

And don’t miss out this superb post by Gene’O on Narrative. Beautifully written, with links for support, it’s insightful and captivating. I started reading and I just wanted it to go on. Then go onto this one on Pacing. With great insights and very clearly written, it’s one not to be missed. A big thank you for the great posts to Gene’O on The Writing Catalog!

A really alarming post about males and reading (I suspected male readers weren’t on the rise but I didn’t think it was this bad) and trends. I found it through Alianne Donnelly’s great post on Readers and Reading.

Dialogue tags

He said, she said…dialogue tags. We put them in during dialogues to tell the reader who is talking. Easy right? Hm. Not so much.

If you repeat them too often, it sounds monotonous and pretty artificial. That’s bad. If you don’t put them in, no one has any idea who’s talking any more. You’ll lose your reader and that’s bad too.

It’s tricky.

To try and avoid repetition, I once tried to replace the famous ‘said’ with something more…flowery. I got horrid things like: ‘sarcastically rebutted’. It wasn’t pretty. So, I started reading and seeing what the pros did.

Some work it in. Watch.

Here’s an example with the tags.

‘”Have you seen the man who works on the third floor? Who is he?” Anna asked sipping her coke.

“I have no idea,” Michael said, seating back on his chair and scratching his nose.’

Here’s an example without the tags.

‘Anna sipped her coke. “Have you seen the man who works on the third floor? How is he?”

“Michael sat back on his chair and scratched his nose with gusto. “I have no idea.”‘

In the second example. We know who’s speaking, even if the writer doesn’t actually say it.

Did my example help or make things worse? No worries, here come the experts! 🙂

Jodie Llewellyn has a great post about dialogue and tags here.

Here are three other great links about dialogue how-to’s and questions I never dared to ask; scary things like hyphens, comas and ellipses.

http://www.youngwritersonline.net/showthread.php?t=20

http://jordanmccollum.com/2009/05/verbs-dialogue-tags-stop-smiling-words/

http://clevergirlhelps.tumblr.com/post/61370173627/how-to-write-dialogue

Posts I loved this week

Beginning of Spring and blogs everywhere seem full of inspiration. These are the posts I particularly loved this week.

Poor Infinitefreetime…I felt really badly for him after this post. We all have days like that…but they sure suck. On the other hand, I’m not the only one who likes this blog, check out his numbers here. However, don’t click on this post. Do as he says and don’t click on it. It scared the bageezees out of me. Instead go to this post. It’s both cute and funny.

From Live to write – Write to live, a totally cute post. These are problems only readers will understand. And they are all so, so true! Plus the pictures are hilarious.

I’ve had to do it. I’ve had to erase chunks of a story because it just wasn’t right. Just like D. Emery Bunn says, you have to be true to the story. Loved his post on this subject. Absolutely, true. Great post.

Great set of resources in The Writing Catalog for writers. Check them out here. Thank you Gene’O!

Check out what’s happening at Sourcerer, a round up of great blogs! Love discovering new blogs and this is a great selection.

This was a lovely post about an adopted doggie becoming part of the family. Since we’ve just adopted River into our home, I both related and loved the story. Set with beautiful pictures, it’s a great read. Enjoy it in the great blog Rachelmankowitz.

While on the subject of doggies, check out this new doggie-friendly version of Veda’s Blog! Loved the change!

Chris Musgrave had this amazing post on narrative points of view. He didn’t just explain the difference between each one, he added examples and pros and cons. I absolutely loved it. A big thanks to him for that great post!

Another great post was Winter Bayne’s Teaser Tuesday. Loved that idea! Not only does it make a great post but I get to see a little bit of another book to try! A win-win in my book. As well, check out this great post full of promos for other blogs!

Outmanned did it again and wrote another post that both moved me and left me awed. She’s one incredibly talented writer. Check out the post here.

An excellent post on what to do if the thrill of writing is gone. Now, I’m only just discovering my thrill of writing, but burn out is a real issue for writers just like for anyone else. I loved this post by Barbara O’Neal. And here’s one for that dreaded Writer’s Block. Awesome post (and funny!) from Chris Musgrave.

I also loved this post by Mishka Jenkins on writing attraction well. Mishka writes historical romance, where attraction is even harder to write with today’s impatient readers in mind. Thank you for the great post, Mishka!

And finally, a big congrats to Jodie Llewellyn for reaching her word goal for ‘Wrapped in Darkness’! A thousand words a day. Absolutely awesome.

Posts I loved this week

Here are the blog posts I loved this week. From the funny to the amazing, they’re all memorable.

Ah…Infinitefreetime. How I love this blog, let me count the ways. Here’s one. And two. And three. Funny, succinct, loud and always gripping. It’s such a good blog.

I loved this post by laekanzeakemp on Binge Reading. So interesting for me as both a reader and a writer.

And check out this amazing and very funny blog Pecked to Death by Chickens by Susan Maccarelli. Here’s one very funny post with humorous tips for bloggers. A big thanks to Outmanned for the link to this great blog!

This one is particularly useful for when I’m stuck. I don’t know what to write in this scene, what should happen…Here are 4 ways to get unstuck on the Procrastiwriter.

I love this blog Live to write – Write to live. It’s written by these incredibly talented ladies and it shows. The quality of the posts is unbelievable. Week after week. Here’s this week’s example of those awesome posts. This post by Deborah Lee Luskin is not to be missed. I really related to it because I edited Olivia’s Choice for two years. Two years. Over and over, until I knew it was done. And, just like her, I suddenly knew. I was done. And this one by J.A. Hennrikus is amazing. She explains the book-writing process from concept to finished product. It details everything from letting a book sit, to Betas, to editing. Great post!

Loved this post by A Writer’s Life for Me on point of views (POV). Mishka Jenkins brought up such a good point! One point of view can be very limiting but doing different POV’s can confuse the reader. What to do, what to do. Ah, such a great post! And a big congrats on finishing!

I was amazed by this post from The Writing Catalog. It breaks down the process of how to write a Political and Social commentary. Point by point, with a step by step break down of the structure that optimizes getting reader attention and the standards he adheres to. It blew my mind because it was so thought out and so clear. What a great post!

This one is about blogging. Dumb mistakes I made as a new blogger. The Procrastiwriter has this great post on mistakes to avoid. An excellent eye-opener for me!

Jodie Llewellyn had a great idea in her post. What a lovely, generous thing to do for other authors! Love it! A big thanks to her! (And the chicken .gif was hilarious).

Winter Bayne wrote an amazing guest post on the blog Theresolutionthebook on romantic tension. It has both great tips and humour–“Juggling angry, wet cats”. I both laughed and loved it. What an awesome post!

Posts I loved this week

Early March and there are a lot of talented writers writing their way through this relentless winter. I loved this week’s selection of posts!

Outmanned wrote a post that terrified me. I just kept wondering how she does it. How does she do it? I would have been crying on the floor. My hat goes off to her! And a big congrats on her award!

Another big congrats to Scott Bury, fellow Canadian and very talented author who’s book, “One shade of red” is out. Check it out in David C. Cassidy’s blog. David C. Cassidy is another very talented Canadian author who also does some amazing photography, book covers and featured Scott in his blog. Way to go guys!

I tend to love countdowns in just about anything but this one is particularly awesome. Jeff Moore‘s Top 10 Most Popular Posts. Check them out.

Live to write – Write to live just blows my mind. Week after week, they consistently come up with amazing posts. Not only are they well written, they’re full of great information that just hits the spot. This week Lisa J. Jackson wrote a particularly awesome post with great ideas! A big thank you for that great post. Then Jamie Lee Wallace wrote this great post about being creative (with help from John Cleese!). So positive and instructional! Awesome!

Finding balance is always a struggle for me. Kristen Lamb is definitely a go-getter and she has a great post on balance. I found this one thanks to Winter Bayne, another awesome writer and definitely another go-getter (check out her to-do lists!). Big thank you for the suggestion!

Here’s yet another example of why I love Infinitefreetime. Just check out this post. Hilarious! It’s tiny and yet soooo funny. I have no idea how he does it but I suspect genius has something to do with it.

K.M. Weiland wrote a delicious post titled: The lie your character believes. Ohhh. Just that title had me going. I thought: how absolutely amazing to create a lie, a piece of denial for a character. I loved it. I was thinking of my character, Amy. She believes she can’t handle her fear. The plot in the book, makes her face that fear. This great post is part of a great series on Character Arcs. Check it out here.

I’ve mentioned Sourcerer before and Gene’O because I believe he’s incredibly talented and that blog is amazing, but I’d like to mention his personal blog this week, The Writing Catalog. Gene’O wrote a powerful and gripping post this week. It really hit me because it was so honest and emotionally raw. I find honesty online is both rare and incredibly refreshing.

Speaking of honesty, check out Jodie Llewellyn’s very honest post on fear. I started reading and couldn’t stop. Her fears were exactly my own! I loved that post.

Posts I loved this week

Here are the posts I loved this week!

Congrats to Nina Kaytel who’s published. Big congrats! And a great follow up post on how to start any novel. Excellent post!

A very cool idea at Sourcerer (Cool ideas happen often at Sourcerer–just saying) but this one is pretty neat. But there another fantastic one here. I highly recommend this one. It’s basically a how-to for those interested in building their Twitter accounts. Amazing. A big thanks to Gene’O!

This one is not writing related. I love this blog because it’s about doggies and Rachel (who runs the blog) seems to love them in that caring, selfless way animal-lovers have. This is a very sweet, humour story of her two doggies in Washington. So cute!

Jodie Llewellyn has such a great blog I actually had trouble choosing the best among her blog posts. They’re all really good! Here’s an example. I really liked that one. But…here’s another! 

Infinitefreetime is one of my guilty pleasures. I think he’s just a hoot. Hilarious. The posts he comes up with! Here’s this week’s example. But, on a serious note, he can also write. he got some really good news this week. A big congrats to him!

Jamie Lee Wallace had an excellent post on writer’s doubt. The blog, Live to write – Write to live is just superb. Please note the amazing round up of blog links at the end of Jamie’s post. An awesome resource!

A big shout out to Penny Dreadful Books and Reviews. I always check out her blog because she has the best reviews and reads everything under the sun. Here’s an example.

Molly Greene had a great post on how to increase blog traffic. Check it out here.

The Procrastiwriter had a great post on staying motivated and making plans. Part one and part two. Great tips!

This one is a lovely, lovely post that just made me relax and feel over all amazing. I have James Need to thank for that.

What an awesome week in blog posts!