Around the Web: Best Posts on Writing I've Discovered This Week

I subscribe to and follow several authors, blogs, and writing sources throughout the week.

Each Friday, I include links to FIVE sources to improve your writing that I found of great help. Here are my offerings for this week. 

Hope they inspire you to start writing and to continue to write!

I’ve been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul and I’ve enjoyed reading the stories written by others. If you haven’t read the books, here’s how you can read some stories for FREE: https://www.chickensoup.com/stories And maybe you’ll be inspired to write and submit one or two of your own!

I watched an interview with Harold Ramis who wrote Groundhog Day – which is one of my favorite movies. He spoke about the universal appeal of the movie for people of different faiths or no faith at all. He said the movie grabbed at their hearts. Isn’t that what we want to give our readers? Something that will keep them reading and recalling the story even after it’s done. Here’s a post that talks about touching the emotions of your readers. Think about that as you read it. https://www.livewritethrive.com/2022/02/14/how-writers-can-mine-emotions-with-music/

Do you write poetry? Could you write poems that are Texas themed? You can submit up to 3 poems for the Texas Poetry Calendar. Deadline is March 15, 2022. Entry fee is $3 per poem and if selected for the publication, you’ll be paid $25. Here’s the link for more information. https://www.livewritethrive.com/2022/02/14/how-writers-can-mine-emotions-with-music/

If you write mysteries or YA novels, this publisher might be a fit for you. This link describes some of their current call outs for stories and submission guidelines for other genres as well. https://authorspublish.com/quirk-books-now-accepting-manuscript-queries/

You know the importance of having an outside source edit your book, but do you know how to go about choosing the right editor. This post lists the questions to ask an editor before you decide to sign a contract with them. https://prowritingaid.com/editor-red-flags

Around the Web: Best Posts on Writing I've Discovered This Week

I hope to make this a weekly post to help authors starting out or those who want to improve their craft. 

Each Friday, I will include links to FIVE sources to improve your writing that I found of great help. 

So, here are the ones for the first week...

No matter what genre you write, this gives you a good reference point as to what readers expect in the length of a book for that genre. If you're thinking of switching or starting with a new genre, bookmark this post. https://mczellbookwriting.com/blog/book-word-count/

There is NO reason why you don't have a spell-check program on your computer that will give you a heads up in writing to editors, agents, publishers, as well as friends. Spell check won't catch everything, but when you see your errors with suggestions, you'll start self-editing after you see the same issue a couple of times and improve your writing.  https://prowritingaid.com/spell-check-definition-meaning

Attitude is everything, especially in writing as you'll have to learn to deal with rejections from publishers to readers. Here are some tips of how to do that: http://terrywhalin.blogspot.com/2022/02/an-important-attitude-for-every-writer.html

Even if you're planning to indie:publish, it helps to get insights from literary agents who can share their experience from reading books and submissions. This post deals with the best ways to start your book.  https://www.thenovelry.com/blog/marilia-savvides

I'm a big fan of James Scott Bell books on writing. I like the way he explains the writing process. Here's a post that starts out with what makes Tom Brady such a great athlete, but skip past that if you're not a fan and get down to the part where he compares it to being a great writer. It's well worth the read. https://killzoneblog.com/2022/02/writing-the-tom-brady-way.html

If you haven't written anything today, start now. Make it a daily requirement - even if it's only a paragraph. You can't edit a page, unless it's been written!