Decorative Links

Holidays, the chance to go away from your usual busy life, explore new country, meet new people and try out new things.

Coming back through the front door always triggers the best moments of the holiday for me.... It is my last ditch effort to hold holiday mode around me as I stare at the mess left and the long list of catch up jobs, mail and end of the school year craziness. This morning, five minutes before leaving for school, one child announced they needed cardboard tube inners, wrapping paper and lollies...for making crackers.

Last week on Blog day I was traveling down the middle of the South Island staring at the back country and alpine scenery and pointing out likely film spots from the Lord Of The Rings. It helped that we knew The Hobbit was being filmed on location in some of the places we were going through. New Zealand=Middle Earth.

Holiday memories are getting squished to the back of my mind as this is the week before Christmas...a time that heralds that frantically busy period when you realise you have not sorted out the Christmas day menu or the in law presents or even found the Christmas tree decorations...

However I have a box of Blog Christmas tree decorations...

50 blinking lights....or 50 simple ways to build your platform in 5 minutes a day.

12 Great Big Golden Baubles....or 7 Lessons about Self publishing I learnt in 7th Grade and (from the wonderful Catherine Ryan Howard) 5 things I am always telling self publishers.  

Every tree needs special ornaments that trigger great memories. Here is a nice idea from the Teaching Authors Blog.

In the pretty ornament category we have three really sweet posts.

A new Y A Publisher in Australia from Publishing Perspectives.

How to get your writing ready to win a Pulitzer....

A great craft check list on characterisation that will save you a few years of hard slog to learn.

There are always a couple of ornaments that you know you have to put on the tree but are always challenging as to where they go....

Amazon has brought out a Children's Publishing Imprint, what impact will this have...

An Australian Agent talks about why they are so different from U.S. Agents and why....

In the new ornament category check out this pretty nifty advice from Lisa Schroeder...Let Good Reads Ads be your friend. (This one should be in the middle at eye level!)

Find the Christmas Star or Angel of your fulfilled writing resolutions....(ok still making mine...) and stick it on the top.

Next week you may even get a present to stick under the tree....

maureen


pic from here

Serving Up Link Dinner

The first day of December and officially Summer in the Southern Hemisphere and suddenly the weather remembers that it is supposed to be hot and sunny.

Of course being the first day of December the shops go mad with Christmas decorations, Christmas music and the Christmas count down.

Every Christmas I get frustrated by the lack of Summer Christmas celebration music and decorations in the town. My kids are singing Frosty The Snowman and the mall is decorated in ice sculptures for Santa...say what?

The temperature is climbing and any snowman here wouldn't last long....

I think it is time we shed the Northern Hemisphere winter solstice type celebrations and start making an effort with the uniqueness of Christmas in the Pacific...that's Christmas day BBQ's and beach cricket...or lying outside trying to get a tan while digesting Christmas dinner.

What interesting tidbits and yummy treats can I serve you up as appetizers for a Christmas dinner of links this week?

NaNoWriMo has finished and now the big edit begins. If you are scratching your head looking at your opus and wondering how you can make it better check out these writing craft links.

From The Editors Blog- no perfect characters needed.

From Bob Mayer's store of great advice- conflict the fuel of your story.

From the team at Adventures in Children's Publishing-stimulus and response.

If you are sitting down and need to dine on more substantial fare....

Publishers Weekly looks at the Amazon library mess and asks where do traditional public libraries fit in all this?

YA Highway has a thought provoking post on why Authors disappear...

The Passive Guy has a meaty post looking at the horrible clause, no compete, that is making its way into book contracts. You need to read this and digest it! 

Have a serving of 30 quick tips for speakers.

Seth Godin looks back at the year of the domino project and says what next...

Dessert, if you can fit it in....

Channelship ponders the future of book marketing

The wonderful people behind Writers Knowledge Base launched new novel writing software yesterday called Hiveword.

Jane Friedman warns writers that they are overlooking a vital skill.

For the after dinner mints...Kate Arms-Smith explores what you might need in a creative space and SCBWI has a fancy graphic on the lifecycle of the book.

Loosen your belt, stretch back and muse about all the goodies you have received....

Next week I will be away from my blog as I travel down to the South Island... this will give you time to digest your meal so you will be ready for the last serving of links for 2011.