40 Questions for a Stronger Manuscript

40 Questions for a Stronger Manuscript - Adventures in Children's Publishing offers an extensive list of questions that should be asked before starting your next story (suitable for all genres).

Jane Friedman: 7 Writing Competitions

Jane Friedman: 7 Free-to-Enter National Writing Competitions That Impact Your Career

Details seven contests that are free to enter.  The comments after the post cover who may or may not be eligible, and one very lengthy, ill-advised, don't-ever-do-this post by someone who obviously can type, but not read. ;)

Joke: The Nature of Predators

A tiger was walking through the jungle one day and saw two men relaxing under a tree. One was reading a newspaper, and the other was working feverishly on a manual typewriter.

The tiger leapt on the man with the newspaper, and ate him up. The tiger did not bother the other man at all. That's because any predator knows that readers 'digest' but writers 'cramp'.

- Posted by Joni in the Facebook Group Writers Inspiration

Write Naked

Seth's Blog: Writing Naked (nakeder than Orwell)

Seth Godin rewrites Orwell's writing advice, then adds in a few tips of his own.

Inspiration for Writers -- 5th Grader Style

Perhaps all we needed to know didn't get taught to us in Kindergarten, and maybe, just maybe, we ARE smarter than a 5th grader.  However, there still may be a lesson or two we can learn. :)

Inspiration for Writers -- 5th Grader Style

Want a First Class Bad Guy? X-Men Can Help!

Janice Hardy: A First Class Bad Guy: How X-Men Can Help You Craft a Better Antagonist

What makes your bad guy tick?  How can you make him more human?  Will your reader relate to him?  Can you give him a good trait or two?

A Spreadsheet for the Self-Published

Spreadsheet for the Self-Published - by Jenny Blake

Her description:

Thousands of books are published every year, and yet many authors feel like they have to figure out the road to promotion alone. Authors (together with their publicists and agents) work tirelessly to reinvent the promotion wheel every single time. There is no one size fits all approach, but there can be a more streamlined way to get organized.

I knew I needed a way to track the hundreds of book promotion action items and ideas floating around in my head — everything from website development to book tour planning to advance copy recipient lists. I created this spreadsheet as a way of organizing the hundreds of things an author thinks about on the road to book launch, in hopes of making others’ lives easier in what can be an overwhelming and stressful process.

[Editor Top Choice] The Bookshelf Muse

The Bookshelf Muse

Growing thesaurus of settings, emotions, shapes and colors, weather, and symbolism. Quite possibly one of the top 10 writers resources on the 'net.  They also include examples, advice, and caveats.

19th Century Slang Dictionary

19th Century Slang Dictionary - meanings and usages of colloquialisms  and slang popular during the Civil War era.

Snarky Grammar Guide

Snarky Grammar Guide - They use a combination of examples, wit, and criticism in order to help people learn proper grammar.  Sporadic posts, but fun anyway.

An example picture shows Rachel Ray with the caption:

Rachel Ray finds inspiration
in cooking
her family
and her dog

Duotrope's Digest

Duotrope's Digest

From their site:

... an award-winning, free writers' resource listing over 3425 current Fiction and Poetry publications.

They update the site multiple times a day - an excellent resource for any writer looking to be published.  Listings are organized by genre and sub-genre.  Also includes a free online submissions tracker - very useful!

Note: Special thanks to Mary M. for pointing this one out. :)

Welcome!

I am creating this blog as a resource for writers.  It will most likely be light on textual posts.  Its sole reason for being is to serve as a collection of links to posts and articles of interest to writers.  Or, at least, of interest to me!