Quote of the week:
It seems to me, this quote from teenlifequotes.com is the essence of story. Or at least my current story. Nice of them to nail my theme so precisely:
Writing Process:
A great meme YA Highway shared on tumblr shows my writing progress this week.
Writing that Inspired Me:
“Question everything. Your love, your religion, your passion. If you don’t have questions, you’ll never find answers.” ― Colleen Hoover, Slammed
Changes this week:
I really need to get back in shape. The lovely Lia Keyes wrote about converting to a standing desk, and I decided to give it a try. Because I’m cheap, I didn’t go out and buy a new desk. I just stacked some of my fave craft books on a credenza in front of the window, and voila. Standing desk and extra sunshine.
If I were to get really crazy about this fitness thing, I could also try the new book workout:
Commencement and Life Moments
Tis the season for commencement and taking stock of achievement. All week, I’ve been bursting with pride, nursing fears, and offering encouragement. But I also love this quote from Susan Anthony:
“Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these.” ― Susan B. Anthony
More Great Links of the Week
Tons of great stuff about writing and reading this week. Click on the link to jump to the appropriate section or just scroll down.
Books and Giveaways
Inspiration and Smiles
Writing Craft
Story Elements
Story Structure
Getting Published
Networking and Promotion
Industry News and Trends
Other Roundups
Share Your Thoughts and Links
What have you read (or written) this week (books, blog posts, articles, thoughts, whatever) that struck a chord with you? Share your thoughts and links in the comments!
Happy reading and writing. Have a great weekend.
Martina
Books and Giveaways
- PW Review of How I Lost You! from Janet Gurtler- YA Addict
- PW Picks: The Best New Books for the Week of May 20,… from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- New Release THE BINDING STONE by Lisa Gail Green …… from Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffee
- I’m giving away signed books … check them out! from Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffe
- Haunted South Spring Blog Carnival Winners! from Adventures in YA Publishing
- Little women: children’s literature’s stand-in parents from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar
- Sunshine Award + BOOK GIVEAWAY!! from Artzicarol Ramblings
- Cover Reveal: KINSLAYER by Jay Kristoff + Giveaway! from Latest blog entries
- Happy Book Birthday to THE GIRL GUIDE by Christine… from Writer on the Side
- Bookanistas Review: Truth or Dare by Jacqueline Green from Seanchai
- Character Bucket List: Nisha Arvi from CITY OF A THOUSAND… from Adventures in YA Publishing
- WRITING ON THE ETHER: Writers in the Inferno from Jane Friedman
- Tell us about TRUTH OR DARE and enter to win the book! from Confessions of a Bookaholic
- Review & Giveaway: Dare You To by Katie McGarry from Realm of Fiction
- Read J.K Rowling’s Hand-Written Plan For “Harry Potter… from BuzzFeed – Latest
- Teens Review ‘Kindness for Weakness’, ‘Solstice’,… from School Library Journal
- Reviews by a Real Teen: Of Triton by Anna Banks from The Story Siren
- ONCE UPON A DARKNESS by Aria Kane … cover reveal! from Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffee
- Waiting On…THE DREAM THIEVES by Maggie Steifvater from The Book Swarm
- The Rules by Stacey Kade: Review from Emily’s Reading Room
- Blog Tour / Book Review: GOLDEN by Jessi Kirby from Mundie Moms
- 65 Books You Need To Read In Your 20s from BuzzFeed – Latest
- HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY – EYES EVER TO THE SKY!!!! from chasingthecrazies
- Books for Teens You Might Have Missed | YA Underground from School Library Journal
- Last Lines of Great Books: SPOILER ALERT! from BookBaby Blog
- Giveaway: Win Dark Days Tour Signed Books! from Latest blog entries
- Top Ten Books About Tough Subjects from Reading Angels
- Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects from Pure Imagination
- RELEASE DAY BLITZ & GIVEAWAY: UNTOUCHED by MELODY… from The Bookish Babe
- RELEASE DAY GIVEAWAY: UNTIL I BREAK by M. LEIGHTON from The Bookish Babe
- TWO Giveaways & InsomniaDare Report! from Friday the Thirteeners
- If you like books like these: historical fiction for… from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar
- Tarot for Writers: Using Tarot to Find & Nurture Your… from Adventures in YA Publishing
- [Giveaway] SEPTEMBER GIRLS by Bennett Madison from Reading Teen
- The Big Move Giveaway! [27 Books] from Reading Teen
- [Blog Tour & Giveaway] SIRENS by Janet Fox from Reading Teen
- Tour: Guest Post – NO ATTACHMENTS by Tiffany King from Confessions of a Bookaholic
- Teens Review ‘Walking Dead’, ‘Lego City Undercover’,… from School Library Journal
- Giveaway to celebrate my good news from Cassandra Page
- Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers from Bookittyblog YA Book Reviews
- WIDE AWAKE by Shelly Crane Excerpt & Giveaway from The Autumn Review
- Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith from A Blog about Nothing
- The Chocolate War: First Impressions from Stacked
- So You Want to Read YA?: Guest Post from Author Cecil… from Stacked
- BLOG TOUR, REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY: FRIENDS & LOVERS TRILOGY… from The Bookish Babe
- Pick of the Day: A Corner of White from School Library Journal
- Wistful YA: Meet the Djinni Leela from THE BINDING… from Writer’s Alley
- Humongous stupendous giveaway! from Laura Pauling
- KELLEY ARMSTRONG INTERVIEW AND LOKI’S WOLVES GIVEAWAY from Literary Rambles
- Talk is Cheap—For Great Fiction Drive the Demons to… from Kristen Lamb’s Blog
- Why We Still Need to Write, Even When We’re Scared from Copyblogger
- How to Get Things Done (A Flowchart) from 99U
- Just Say No from The Indelibles
- The Process, or Lack Thereof from Mystery Writing is Murder
- The Age of Transformation from Pub(lishing) Crawl
- Writer Body, Writer Heart, Writer Mind from This Is My Secret
- Ask Alex: Editorial Assistants from Pub(lishing) Crawl
- 17 Important Life Lessons From “The Princess Bride” from BuzzFeed – Latest
- How Success Raises the Stakes…in Our Life from Jami Gold, Paranormal Author
- parents of writers: a memo from real actual hilary
- The Artist Unleashed: FINDING A WRITING NICHE IN NATURE,… from The Alliterative Allomorph
- Where’s the Magic? (There is No Magic.) by Amy McNamara from Adventures in YA Publishing
- The Transformative Power of Pain and Kindness from The Kindness Project
- “All those people who changed the world” from Janet Reid, Literary Agent
- Guest Post: Shirley Reva Vernick on Defining Success from Cynsations
- Screenwriting 101: Michael Werwie from Go Into The Story
- How winning a literary prize can change your life from The Book Deal: A Publishing Blog for Writers and
- The Value of Taking Your Time from From the Write Angle
- “Critics who treat ‘adult’ as a term of approval,… from LEIGH BARDUGO
- Are you a Tough Writer? from Time to Write
- How Dan Brown and other authors defeat writer’s block from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar
- 10 Life Lessons From Pokemon from BuzzFeed – Latest
- Announcing The Karen and Philip Cushman Late Bloomer… from The Official SCBWI Blog
- Sh*t My Mom Said from Writer Unboxed
- The Lighter Side of Editing from Blood-Red Pencil
- Does Good News Make You Worry? from Jami Gold, Paranormal Author
- Find Your Passion Again And Follow It from Babbles from Scott Eagan
- How To Write Whether You Feel Like it Or Not from The Write Practice
- It is impossible to live without failing from The Passive Voice – Latest Updates
- Writers’ Monday Alert: Get going with ginseng from Time to Write
- The Craft of Creative Writing from Stavros Halvatzis
- 2 Tricks for Breaking Writer’s Block in One Day from A. Victoria Mixon, Editor
- Putting Passion in the Pages from Live Write Thrive
- When to trust the reader’s intuition – and when to… from Nail Your Novel
- Win a 100-Page Critique From Janice Hardy from The Other Side of the Story
- Physical Attribute Entry: Chest from The Bookshelf Muse
- Highlights from New England SCBWI from Anna Staniszewski
- Should Authors Read Their Own Reviews? from Rachelle Gardner
- A Powerful Storytelling Tool: Getting Readers to Fill… from Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors
- 45 Synonyms for “Old” and “Old-Fashioned” from Daily Writing Tips
- ‘The Old Editor Says’ from Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Bett
- Writing, Editing, and the Power of Three–A Guest… from How to Plan, Write, and Develop a Book
- Using a Sense of Wonder in your writing from The League of Extraordinary Writers
- The Necessity of Fresh Eyes & Critique Partners from The Lucky 13s
- Tensiontrons & Quasicrystals (from the Archives) from YA Muses
- First Page Feedback: Alpha and Omega from Write Line Blog
- The biggest summer writing stumbling block from Jenna Avery
- Layering Conflict from Blood-Red Pencil
- Are You an Over-writer or an Under-writer? Revision… from WOW! Women On Writing Blog
- How Ian Fleming Turned James Bond Into A Bestseller from Write to Done
- Fact and Fiction: How to Weave Both Elements into… from fcmalby
- The complications of a writer’s location & nationality… from The Alliterative Allomorph
- Writing exercises to keep you writing every day from YA Stands
- Flog a Pro: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter from Writer Unboxed
- Where do you get your ideas? from Magical Words
- Funding for Writers: How to Get a Grant from BookBaby Blog
- Left-Brain, Right-Brain, or No-Brain At All from Storyfix.com
- Telling Your Personal Story from Rachelle Gardner
- Pros and Cons of Treadmill Writing from Excuse Editor
- What If? A Method for Developing Ideas from Mystery Writing is Murder
- Answers to Questions About Tense from Daily Writing Tips
- On Finding Your (International) Voice from Publishing Perspectives
- Writing lessons learned from BRUISED from Julie Musil
- Must-Read Monday: Another Screenwriting Gem For Writers from Roni Loren, Author
- Synopsis Support Pt 2 from MOODY WRITING
- Using Nonverbal Communication to Wow Readers WEBINAR from The Bookshelf Muse
- Point of View Choices from Just Jemi
- 25 Things You Should Know About Outlining from terribleminds: chuck wendig
- 10 Functions of the Comma from Daily Writing Tips
- What is the Objective Correlative? from Ingrid’s Notes
- Write what you know love from Pub(lishing) Crawl
- To Be Great, Strive to Be Ordinary from Jane Friedman
- Tarot for Writers: Using Tarot to Find & Nurture Your… from Adventures in YA Publishing
- A Cool Way to Outline Your Novel from YA Stands
- The Benefits of a Standing Desk from Lia Keyes: The Scribbler
- 3 ways the author temperament hinders our writing… from Nail Your Novel
- Physical Attributes Entry: Butts from The Bookshelf Muse
- Novel v. short story – is there a difference? from All Write – Fiction Advice
- 5 Ways Writing Short Stories Can Boost Your Writing… from The Creative Penn
- 17 Steps to a Reader-Grabbing Title from Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors
- Top 10 Questions from New Writers: Answers to Your… from Anne R. Allen’s Blog
- Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” – Part 1: Structure… from Go Into The Story
- How to Build a Scene, Addendum: Do You Have a Surface… from Cockeyed Caravan
- Are you an overwriter or an underwriter? from WOW! Women on Writing
- How can I improve my dialogue? (A guest post) from Chip MacGregor .com
- What Is Your Take-Away – Thinking about theme in writing from Babbles from Scott Eagan
- Three Ways to Make Your Protagonist More Realistic… from The Write Practice
- Donald Maass Wisdom: Cultivate Reader Interest Through… from The Bookshelf Muse
- Books You Can’t Stop Thinking About: Part Two from Stina Lindenblatt
- What Is Your Take Away – Thinking about theme from Babbles from Scott Eagan
- Theme: What is It? And How Do We Develop One? from Author, Jody Hedlund
- Tip Tuesday #162 AND HOW TO BE ALMOST FAMOUS IN TEN… from Literary Rambles
- On Writing and Creativity: Who Are Our Characters? from Magical Words
- Keeping You in Suspense (from the Archive) from YA Muses
- Character Archetypes 101: The Rebel from The Character Therapist
- Three act structure in real life: Act 3 from Time to Write
- JUST ADD CONFLICT from YA Muses
- Are Your Bad Guys Dying in the Right Order? from Wordplay: Helping Writers Become Authors
- How to Write a Novel: Start with a Novel Outline from Writers On The Move
- 3 act structure in real life : Act 2 from Time to Write
- The 7 Basic Plots: Voyage and Return from The Write Practice
- How To Plot Your Fantasy Novel from There And Draft Again
- 11 Keys to Making a Novel a Page Turner from The Kill Zone
- Mystery vs. Suspense: The 8 Keys from The Indelibles
- 3 act structure in real life : Act I from Time to Write
- The Five Stages of Editorial Letters from Operation Awesome
- Think Like a Bookseller, part 1 – On Turns, and Returns from Jennifer Represents…
- So Why DID I Want to be an Agent? from Adventures in Agentland
- FIRST FIVE FRENZY with Annie Bomke of Annie Bomke… from chasingthecrazies
- Jessica Hill’s Current Query Critiqued from The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experime
- Why I’m Paying Someone to Edit My Guide to Writing… from Nathan Bransford, Author
- Send Your Multimedia Story Ideas to Audubon from 10,000 Words
- How to Fire Your Agent-a post by Jenny from Bent on Books
- Don’t Underestimate the Power of the Snail: paper… from From the Write Angle
- Should You Self-Publish? 15 Questions from Jane Friedman
- A Full Year Of Critiques – Brenda Novak Auction from Babbles from Scott Eagan
- Compare My Manuscript to a Famous Book—A Writer’s… from The Editor’s Blog
- From a Finalist of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards… from Seeking the Write Life
- Judging A Book By Its Cover from YA Confidential
- How To Pitch A Self-Published Novel to A Publisher… from Blood-Red Pencil
- Six Core Issues Facing Writers Today from Writer Unboxed
- Storyville: Ten Ways to Evaluate Fiction Markets from LitReactor
- Two Contests for National Flash Fiction Day from Nick’s Writing Blog
- Ask The Agent: 20 Insights Into a Successful Agent/Client… from LitReactor
- Literary Agent Misconceptions from Carly Watters, Literary Agent
- Twitter Pitch Party … the details! from Brenda Drake . . . under the influence of coffe
- When Agents Wave the Red Flag from The Daily Dahlia
- Always Keep Your Options Open from Babbles from Scott Eagan
- Where To Find Cover Artists from Karen Woodward
- Nine Agents Tell Us What They’re Looking For (Plus… from Adventures in YA Publishing
- Announcing the Top 25 for the May Pitch+250 Contest from Adventures in YA Publishing
- A New Feature on Operation Awesome: Query Critiques! from Operation Awesome
- Saying, “NO!” to an Editor from Fiction Notes
- Introducing Author Services from YA Author Elana Johnson
- What Indie Authors Should Understand About Amazon’s… from BookBaby Blog
- 7 Secrets to Writing Persuasive Back Cover Sales Copy from The Book Designer
- Guest Post: What Does a Book Publicist Really Do? from Nick’s Writing Blog
- Conference Tips for BEA and Beyond! from The League of Extraordinary Writers
- Book Marketing Q&A: Jeff Yamaguchi Talks Advertising from Publishing Perspectives
- Writer Apps for Your Phone from The Kill Zone
- Seven Ideas for Crafting Creative Book Reviews from Author, Jody Hedlund
- A Love Letter (Of Sorts) from YA Highway
- Let’s Get Visible. Cracking The Amazon Algorithms… from The Creative Penn
- 3 Ways to Improve Your Website Design from Jane Friedman
- HOW TO PROMOTE AUTHORS AND BOOKS AND REQUIEM/DELIRIUM… from Literary Rambles
- How to Land a Guest Blogging Spot by Rochelle Melander from Amwriting Blog | Amwriting Blog
- The Annual Great YA Blogger Meet Up — ALA 2013 from YA Highway
- The Reading Rules–Guest Post by Ariel Allison Lawhon… from Novel Matters
- 5 Reasons to Attend the Reaching Readers Book Marketing… from Publishing Perspectives
- Number of Publishers’ Branded Reader Communities Set… from Publishing Perspectives
- How to Price Your Book and eBook with Guy Kawasaki from Author Marketing Experts, Inc. » BLOG
- Guest Post: Sharron L. McElmeel on Creating an Author/Illustrator… from Cynsations
- How To Build Your Brand On Pinterest [Research] from Heidi Cohen
- How To Stream Tweets at Your Literary Event from GalleyCat
- The Week in Writing: My Favorite Posts & Tips 5/10/13 from Kami Garcia — NYT Bestselling Author (The Beaut
- A Checklist of Basic Promotion Materials for Indie… from BookBaby Blog
- Everything You Need to Know About the Retweet from Writer Unboxed
- The Week in Writing: My Favorite Posts & Tips 5/17/13 from Kami Garcia — NYT Bestselling Author (The Beaut
- Cary Goldstein Joins Simon & Schuster as Executive… from GalleyCat
- Friday Roundup 5.17.13 from Write Line Blog
- Essay: Beautiful Creatures from NYT > Books
- Penguin, RH Merger Remains on Track from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- Discussion: Do Writers Need Social Media? from Writability
- 10 Biggest Book Adaptation Flops from PWxyz
- 2013 Innovations in Reading Winners: E-books in Developing… from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- Big Library Read Allows Millions of Library Patrons… from GalleyCat
- Indie Writers Can Now Get Their Books Into Bookstores from Karen Woodward
- Children’s/YA Sales Rose 13% in 2012 from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- Children’s Bookselling: An Expansion and an Addition… from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- In Pictures: The 2013 Children’s Choice Book Awards from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- How Much Does Style Matter? from The Kill Zone
- Is this the end of fiction’s genre wars? from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar
- You CAN win the Kobayashi Maru. from Epiphany 2.0
- Is Interactive Fiction Finally Reaching Critical Mass? from Publishing Perspectives
- Trade Sales Rose 6.9% in 2012 from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- Children’s Choice Awards Announced from PublishersWeekly.com News Articles
- Survey Says — eBooks Are Good for the Book Business from BookBaby Blog
- Direct sales and community building from Joe Wikert’s Digital Content Strategies
- Innovation Taking the Publishing Business Beyond Borders from Publishing Perspectives
- Children reading more on screen than print, NLT finds from Bookseller news
- Ebooks Responsible for Nearly $1 Billion Growth in… from The Passive Voice – Latest Updates
- New Book Sharing Site Goes Live from GalleyCat
- Meet the Man Booker International prize finalists:… from Books news, reviews and author interviews | guar
- How We Read: Indie vs. Traditional from IndieReader :: the first and only source for new
- National Book Foundation Announces 2013 Innovations… from School Library Journal
- Google told to tidy up auto-complete from BBC News – Home
- The Surprising Origins Of 35 English Phrases from BuzzFeed – Latest
- Update: Word Cloud Logline Challenge – Winners Revealed! from Go Into The Story
- Neil Gaiman Knocks It Out Of The Park On This Week’s… from BuzzFeed – Latest
- Fanfiction: A Guilty Pleasure from YA Stands
- Readers Don’t Owe Authors from The Passive Voice – Latest Updates
- Edgar Award for CODE NAME VERITY from Huffington Post
- Oxford Circus Tube Station Gets GREAT GATSBY Makeover from Radio Times
