This is the last roundup for the year. 2016 has been a bit
of a rollercoaster with world events. Hopefully 2017 will be more settled.
Last week the folks at the Future Book conference were
looking forward to publishing in the future. This is a gathering of publishing industry
movers and shakers who try to do some crystal ball gazing for planning. Porter
Anderson writes about what issues were discussed and the way that the ‘book’ is making a comeback. An interesting read.
Kris Rusch talks about unexpectedly getting her rights back on some books and what that means for rejuvenating a series. This is a hot
topic for authors who are often abandoned by their publishers in mid series.
(All the reports I’ve read is that series traction is on Book 5 and publishers
are bailing by Book 3 just when it gets interesting.)
Two great posts on the Killzone blog this week.
Larry Brooks on the Bestseller code- he examines that new book
about how to make a bestseller and James Scott Bell on the Three Stooges of writing. Yes it is the Three Stooges!
Have you gone on a writing retreat? I go to a friend’s house
twice a week to write. No internet...
no housework... no phonecalls... no distractions... It has been the best
thing for my writing. Melanie Bishop writes about going away for long writing retreats and what happens to your brain, your soul and your writing.
Kelly McClymer talks about how and why you should be protecting your writing time. Sometimes it’s really hard. (This is why I leave
the house... I dream of a little office every time I do the laundry.)
In The Craft Section,
Planning Character arcs- Mythcreants. This is a fascinating
look at how to strengthen your characters. Bookmark
Rival Archetypes for your novel –Who’s the best antagonist
for your protagonist C S Lakin- Bookmark
Writing while traveling- best tips- If you are traveling
this Christmas break- Do some writing on the side.
Developing themes in the inciting incident- Excellent
discussion by Sara Letourneau- Bookmark
10 ways to write better plots- Now Novel- Bookmark. Also 50 Creative Writing prompts- Bookmark and Print out!
How to make readers deeply connect with your character –Jeff
Gerke (Hijack their emotions!)
In The Marketing Section,
Bookmark the Subscriber Newsletters Report by Virginia King
on Molly Greene’s site. Virginia studied author newsletters in depth and found
out what works and what doesn’t.
Writers Win has a great roundup of Author Cross Promotion ideas – Get a group together and have fun! Bookmark
Tara Spaldings Book Title generator- for that Christmas
writer game that just might generate plot ideas.
Joanna Penn talks to J Daniel Sawyer on audiobook rights. If
you thought there was only one right to exploit... think again... and they talk
about how overseas authors can get into ACX. (yay!!)
To Finish,
Janice Hardy and Jami Gold are two smart cookies and they
have blogs with EXCELLENT writing advice. This week Janice posted a great blog
about ways to fight the end of year writing fatigue.
Jami has an exhaustive list of great writer gifts. I’ve got
some great inspirations from this list to give myself... and others. Check it
out!
I wish you a Happy and Festive Christmas Break... with
lashings of plot ideas and laughter and friendship.
I’ll be back halfway through January 2017.
This year's christmas video. Enjoy!
Merry Christmas,
Maureen
