Start Preparing for NaNoWriMo Now
lifehacker.com – Saturday August 22, 2020
Even under normal circumstances, early planning for major events is critical to their success. This year, of course, we are in far from ordinary circumstances, which makes it that much more important for writers to begin planning for National Novel Writing Month (or NaNoWriMo, for short—NaNo, for even shorter) right now.
A couple years (decades?) ago, an amazing colleague spelled out a game plan for succeeding at the challenge of writing a 50,000-word novel draft within the month of November. But like most structured plans, it takes time to get into a groove and properly form a habit. NaNoWriMo should be treated no differently. It may sound easy to some—you’re just writing 1,667 words per day, not training for a marathon—but take it from someone’s who’s done both: the preparation involved in both is, in many ways, is quite similar.
The realities of being an Instagram poet
thebookseller.com – Thursday August 13, 2020
I have been writing poetry most of my life. Encouraged by my English teacher as a child, I used writing as a way of dealing with emotions, anxiety and, as I grew older, with heartbreak.
In February 2019, I decided to set up an Instagram page on the advice of a friend, who thought the platform would be a good place to share my poetry. It’s fair to say I was dubious at first, particularly given the fact that Instagram is such a visual medium; not a platform one would assume would be a good fit for the written word.
But I took his advice and began to publish one or two short poems every day, in the hope that a handful of people may enjoy it. Eighteen months later, I have over 98,000 followers and I’m on the third print run of my self-published debut collection, Tell the Birds She’s Gone. My second book, Beekeeper, is released on September 8th, 2020, and pre-orders are already going well.
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE! My short, strong sentence can beat up your fancy long one
nwaonline.com – Monday August 10, 2020
This week I'm going full-bore on long phrases that can so easily be shorter. I hope going full-bore doesn't make the topic a complete bore.
I've been out of college for decades now, but I still have the end-of-semester nightmare where I have to write a 1,000-word paper by the next morning. I decline to comment on whether I padded out sentences in those days.
But when I'm awake and living in the present, I fully advocate writing concisely.
I'm not alone in this belief.
12 (Plus 1) Ways to Promote Safely at Home
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Sunday August 2, 2020
When I first published a couple of books, of course I went to all the conferences in various cities to speak on panels and promote. I did readings in bookstores.
Those were the days.
Those days are gone.
Now, while we might deliver hometown bookstore readings in some locales, in other towns and cities, we might not be able to. We’d certainly have to think twice about the risks anywhere (if the stores are even open).
Why are women now dominating the literary landscape?
irishtimes.com – Thursday July 30, 2020
he past few years have been a boon for women novelists, often young and often literary debutantes. Sally Rooney is the standard bearer of this trend. And though we should resist comparisons between two successful female writers simply for the sake of it, snapping at Rooney’s ankles is Naoise Dolan (28) with her accomplished (if slightly naive) debut Exciting Times.
Dolan’s refreshingly sharp perspective on how women are perceived, coupled with Rooney’s stratospheric success, and Anna Burn’s Milkman winning the Man Booker Prize in 2018 all point to one thing: books by, and about, women are in vogue.
This upsurge in commercial success and critical acclaim is not just the preserve of Irish women, of course. In 2019 the Booker Prize was awarded to two women (that the award was split between Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo was a disappointingly lazy cop-out from the judges and no comment on the inimitable talents of either author). And so too this year the Booker Prize longlist contains just four men out of the total 13. Women’s domination of the literary landscape seems all but complete. But of course it raises the question: Why? And why now?
How These Writers Got a Literary Agent
thecut.com – Friday July 24, 2020
What do you do if you think the document you’ve been working on maybe, just maybe, might possibly be a book? There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, but for some writers, the next step is to look for a literary agent who will work to sell your manuscript to a publishing house and help guide your career from a business standpoint (typically for a fee of 15 percent). Below, eight writers explain how they connected with their literary agent.
So You Want to Write?
thecut.com – Wednesday July 22, 2020
When it comes to making it as a writer, there’s no magical shortcut to success: You just have to show up and keep doing the work. But there are some things that might be helpful to know and bits of wisdom to encourage you to keep going. Below, nine writers share what they wish they’d known and the advice they would give fledgling writers.
Writing Probably Won’t Pay the Bills
thecut.com – Tuesday July 21, 2020
It probably won’t shock you to hear that it can be difficult, if not downright impossible, to make a living as an author. Successfully selling a book doesn’t often lead to financial security, and the publishing industry hasn’t been known for its transparency on these subjects (which recent conversations like #PublishingPaidMe have worked to correct, specifically when it comes to racial inequities). In practice, making any kind of money as a writer can mean a million different things: holding down a full-time job and writing on the side, steadily applying for grants, cobbling together some combination of teaching and freelance writing gigs.
Below, six writers talk about how they make writing work financially.
Character Backstory?
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Saturday July 4, 2020
One question that often arises for an author is what comes first, the protagonist’s backstory or an introduction to the character in action.
Well, the reader might not care about the protag’s history immediately, but a quarter of the way through the novel, once we readers have seen her in action—her heroism, her vulnerability, the sacrifices she makes for others—we might wonder how she came to be this way. Well, let the author finally tell us…
Effective Writing Advice That Is 100 Years Old
news.clearancejobs.com – Friday June 19, 2020
Regardless of your job, writing is an important communication skill that when fostered, improves over time. If you want to become a writer or improve your craft, I would highly recommend studying the techniques of a few of the American masters. While these men mostly wrote fictional books, they were strongly based on real events. Hemingway was also a correspondent over the years for many newspapers and magazines; his coverage of current events is worth a study as well. Below are some of the useful tips I took from a few of my favorite authors, and one editor who knew them all.
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