For authors

I spotted some really great resources for authors and I had to share them. Here they are, with a tiny explanation as to why they’re awesome.

1. How to query. This one is from Heather Webb an editor and writer herself, from Romance University. She tells you what to do and what to avoid in those so-important queries.
2. If you’re writing a query, you must start by finding an agent. You can look everywhere, or you can go to Agent Query. Truly the best site on the web for such a search. It’s not only the largest online but the most up to date.
3. If point number one only ended up terrifying you (which happened to me), then hang on and read these posts on the Fear of Writing from Kelly Leiter or try this one from the Tiny Buddha on how to transform Self-Criticism into Self-Appreciation!
4. Finally, if you’re shouting, great links, Taylor but I want more! Here’s a great resource site from Tina Hunter with tons of links. Her site rocks! Just check out this page filled with reviewers by genre!

Yeey links!

 

On self-doubt

I’ve thought about stopping. I’ve had days where I wondered why I thought I could do it in the first place. English is my third language. Third. I have an accent that shouts out loud it’s not my Mother Tongue. I studied Math in university. Not English. How could I ever be a writer?

Every writer struggles with self-doubt at some point. We all have those little voices in our heads that tell us the many reasons we can’t be writers. I’m not going to tell you that you can do it or that you can’t. But I can share what other authors have written on self-doubt that helped me.

Bryan Hutchinson wrote a great article on self-doubt. The quotes alone he includes are worth the read (at least for me).

This one by June Whittle is a great post with links to resources for overcoming self-doubt and also has a link for those of us who’re not native English speakers!

Jeff Goins talks about dreaming when others think you’re…well nuts. It’s a lovely post and really encouraging.

Jody Calkins has this great post on positive things you can do to shut up those negative thoughts.

I absolutely loved this one by Joanna Penn on persistence. She has great advice and tips for authors struggling with self-doubt.

Finally, Kelly Leitner did this great article on overcoming self-doubt and this one on the fear of writing.

As always, I hope these help you when you’re thinking of shutting the laptop for good. Hang in there. 🙂

How to get writing

Writer’s block, drawing a blank, writer’s rut, call it what you like but most writers experience it at least once in their writing careers. Writing isn’t easy. Getting down and doing it is hard. I’m not alone thinking so. Here’s Nathan Bransford’s take on this same topic.

I have to say I have different ways of sitting on the chair and getting busy. Some days are better than others. Some places are definitely more conducive than others.

K.M. Weiland has a great section to inspire you into writing: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/category/writing-inspiration

Kelley Leiter has some great quotes to get you writing: http://www.thebeginningwriter.com/2012/03/helpful-quotes-to-inspire-and-guide-you.html

Here’s Nathan Bransford’s take on this: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2012/08/why-writing-is-so-hard.html

Finally, Live to write – Write to live has this category to help you find your inner muse. http://nhwn.wordpress.com/category/motivation/

How about you? What motivates you to write?

For writers: showing versus telling

New authors often get told: show, don’t tell. It’s a biggie for writers. I’ve read it, heard it and seen it more times than I can count in reputable helpful sites. I know I probably ‘tell’ and don’t show. My issue is not that I wasn’t willing to do as I was told, my issue is I have trouble telling the difference. What does ‘telling’ mean? What constitutes a ‘show’?

So, I found a couple of sites that really impressed me because they were so clear on this issue and I thought I’d pass them on.

Nina Kaytel has this amazing post with amazing examples that are not only clear but they’re small and easy to read. Her post helped me to actually see the difference. Here’s the link: http://ninakaytel.wordpress.com/2014/01/01/what-ive-learned-beta-reading/

Kelly Leiter wrote a wonderful post on the difference and she brings it down to three rules that are awesome because they’re easy! Better yet, she also adds a group of links to other sites where they also explain ‘show vs. tell’. (Let’s just admit it, Kelly Leiter’s site rocks).

Here’s the link: http://www.thebeginningwriter.com/2012/03/explaining-show-dont-tell.html

But those are not the only people who’ve written on ‘show vs. tell’.

Nathan Bransford, a former literary agent, has a great blog full of resources and here’s his post on this topic: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/09/showing-vs-telling.html

* K.M. Weiland, another powerful resource, wrote this great post on the topic here: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/2013/02/the-secret-to-show-dont-tell.html

One more, I found that I thought was particularly good (and a great site):

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/show-dont-tell/

Personally, I’ve also rearranged and re-organized my Resources tab so, hopefully, things are easier to access to those checking it out.

I know, I know. Overwhelming. No more links. We’re done! 🙂