September has begun, which means it’s time once again to sum up the month that was. This month, our attention was captured by massive fundraising efforts, cutting huge posts of our novels, and changes to the NYT bestseller lists.
Take a look over the links below, and, as always, tell us of the amazing writing links you find throughout the month by leaving comments below!
Inspirational
Have you heard the incredible story about how YA writers – headed by the amazing Patrick Ness – have raised almost 400,000 pounds (just over US$600,000) for Save the Children? Check it out and donate now.
Looking for something to listen to to fire yourself up while you write? Or inspire you to get back on track when you’re succumbing to yet another episode of the latest tv show you’re marathoning on Netflix? Take a look at this list of podcasts hosted by authors and get your butt into gear!
Writing Life
Author Maile Meloy wrote a thought provoking article for the Sunday Book Review examining the act of writing for kids when you don’t have kids yourself.
While YA and NA are all the rage right now, we loved Will Taylor’s essay on why he writes middle grade fiction. It’s a great reminder that a love of reading begins before we ever reach the ‘teen’ shelves.
Looking for something fun? EpicReads has put together a post detailing what YA books you should read depending on your star sign. Having read exactly 0 of the recommendations for my sign, I can’t say I agree, but it was a fun way to become aware of some new books.
Have you ever struggled with writer’s block and wanted to slap the next person who told you that the way to get past it was to “just write”? Alexis Radcliff has the post for you as she details why “just write” is bad advice for struggling writers!
Craft of Writing
Justine Ireland has written a down-and-dirty post on getting over yourself and learning to write characters that… well… aren’t a carbon copy of you. It’s an honest heart-to-heart, and a refreshing reminder to add some character diversity to your work.
Ever struggled with understanding tropes and why, if they’re born out of such popularity, they’re a bad thing? Take a read of Zoe Marriot’s breakdown on what to do with tropes.
Struggling to come up with new ideas? Why not follow Emma Pass’ lead and turn to the newspaper for inspiration.
Cutting a major part of your novel is every writer’s worst nightmare, but sometimes it just has to be done. Janice Hardy knows how difficult it is, and she’s put together a post to help us writers out when the deed just has to be done.
Every novel revolves around some conflict with some villain. Often, it’s something intangible, like a big picture concept or an aspect of the protagonist’s personality. Sometimes, however – particularly in sci fi and fantasy – resolving the conflict means killing the villain. Biljana Likic examines cheap villain killings and how to avoid them.
On Publishing
The New York Times adjusted the way it presents its bestseller lists, separating hardcovers (i.e., new releases) from paperbacks. This is a huge change, and great news for authors with new books going on sale.
It’s a well known fact that the people who read YA… aren’t necessarily the original target audience. Megan Basham has written an article on World Mag about YA growing up.
