Welcome to this week’s Top Picks Thursday! Spring has crept into our neck of the woods, and we’re bringing you brand-new writerly links on craft, business, and oddities.
In sad news, author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini Pat Conroy has died, as has Louise Rennison, author of Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging.
World Book Day has just passed. Can you score better than the kids on this World Book Day quiz? (I got 14/20, which just missed passing.)
Kelly Jensen lists the best-selling YA novels and series of all time.
TED Talks are inspiring for many people in many different fields. Kristy Stuart weeded through them to find 5 TED Talks for writing inspiration.
CRAFT
If you are interested in picture books, Sophie Masson discusses writing picture book texts.
Do you write thrillers, or other “ripped from the headlines” type stories? Todd Moss talks about the dangers of writing novels that chase the news cycle—even unintentionally.
If magical realism piques your interest, Stephanie Carroll shares tips and tricks for using magical realism in your writing.
The large structure elements of our story support everything else. Martina Boone analyses how the hero’s journey draws readers in, Marie Lamba explores how to dig deeper for ideas, and Vaughn Roycroft examines high concept versus deep theme.
You can tell a lot from the way someone carries themselves. Pamela Hodges looks at posture and character development. Meanwhile, Pat Verducci shares 7 tips to writing great dialogue.
So many elements come together to create an engrossing book. Janice Hardy examines onomatopoeia, Kevin Pickard explores if we should use pop culture references in our novels, Joe Moore explains why plot elements matter, and Anne R. Allen shares 6 reasons “show don’t tell” can be terrible advice for new writers.
After we’ve written, we need to revise, which means self-editing, beta readers, and professional editors. Constance Cooper talks about lessening the pain as you cut words you have crafted, K.M. Weiland shares 15 places to find your next beta reader, and Roz Morris discusses how much to budget for editing.
Being a writer is as much a lifestyle as an occupation. Tracy Shawn analyses the care and feeding of an author, Stephanie Burgis explains her inspiration and influences, and Jo Eberhardt dissects the writer’s mind and it’s insatiable appetite for understanding. Jessie Kwak gives tips to start your passion project right now, Sarah Knight explores the power of pleasure reading, Brian A. Klems lists 7 reasons writing a book makes you a badass, and Kristen Lamb shares 10 ways to go pro.
BUSINESS
A lot goes into publishing a book successfully. Many of these items are taken care of by traditional publishers, but self-publishers have to deal with them on their own. David Kudler explains why a PDF isn’t an ebook, and Jay Swanson lays out 5 steps to great cover art.
If you are self-publishing you need to find your publishing path. Diana Hurwitz shares the top 10 reasons to publish through Amazon, and Jami Gold wants to know what your reader retention plan is.
If you are seeking an agent, Kate McKean of Howard Morhaim Literary put out a call for women’s fiction, contemporary YA & mid-grade, and more.
Rejection is a part of the publishing business. Chris L. Owens finds that rejection is easier the second time around.
Building buzz for a book and interacting with your readers is hard work. Diana Urban lists 9 free tools that can help build buzz for a book, and Joel Friedlander takes a look at creating a blog comments policy for your blog.
THE UNIQUE SHELF
Writers collect books. Geoffrey Best reflects on a lifetime collecting books.
Read Virginia Poe’s sad acrostic Valentine for husband Edgar Allen Poe.
We are fascinated by ancient writings, perhaps because they shine a light on how little we have changed over the years. This papyrus from the Book of the Dead of Nakht is over 3,000 years old. Homer’s Iliad is about 2,800 years old, and it’s the basis for Christopher Logue’s “War Music”. Why is the Iliad still important? “Because the idea of endless war is as fresh as this morning’s headline.”
Speaking of war, and the resonance between ancient and modern, read this 1,800 year old poignant letter from a Roman soldier serving far from home, then read Kurt Vonnegut’s first letter to his family after being a prisoner of war in World War II.
Reading is great and everything, but please, oh, please, remember that romantic novels can and will destroy your family!
If you thought novels were a bad influence, don’t let your family get their hands on these top 10 grimoires.
Perhaps it’s safest to stick with Beatrix Potter’s characters, who have charmed children & adults alike since 1902.
And if you are searching for new and different ways to insult someone, Oxford Dictionaries provides us with these historical insults that have become obsolete. (Although anyone familiar with the musical The Sound of Music will know the first one.)
That’s it for this week’s Top Picks Thursday! Enjoy the spring-like weather.
The Author Chronicles 
In sad news, author of The Prince of Tides and The Great Santini Pat Conroy has died, as has Louise Rennison, author of Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging.
World Book Day has just passed. Can you score better than the kids on this World Book Day quiz? (I got 14/20, which just missed passing.)
Kelly Jensen lists the best-selling YA novels and series of all time.
TED Talks are inspiring for many people in many different fields. Kristy Stuart weeded through them to find 5 TED Talks for writing inspiration.
CRAFT
If you are interested in picture books, Sophie Masson discusses writing picture book texts.
Do you write thrillers, or other “ripped from the headlines” type stories? Todd Moss talks about the dangers of writing novels that chase the news cycle—even unintentionally.
If magical realism piques your interest, Stephanie Carroll shares tips and tricks for using magical realism in your writing.
The large structure elements of our story support everything else. Martina Boone analyses how the hero’s journey draws readers in, Marie Lamba explores how to dig deeper for ideas, and Vaughn Roycroft examines high concept versus deep theme.
You can tell a lot from the way someone carries themselves. Pamela Hodges looks at posture and character development. Meanwhile, Pat Verducci shares 7 tips to writing great dialogue.
So many elements come together to create an engrossing book. Janice Hardy examines onomatopoeia, Kevin Pickard explores if we should use pop culture references in our novels, Joe Moore explains why plot elements matter, and Anne R. Allen shares 6 reasons “show don’t tell” can be terrible advice for new writers.
After we’ve written, we need to revise, which means self-editing, beta readers, and professional editors. Constance Cooper talks about lessening the pain as you cut words you have crafted, K.M. Weiland shares 15 places to find your next beta reader, and Roz Morris discusses how much to budget for editing.
Being a writer is as much a lifestyle as an occupation. Tracy Shawn analyses the care and feeding of an author, Stephanie Burgis explains her inspiration and influences, and Jo Eberhardt dissects the writer’s mind and it’s insatiable appetite for understanding. Jessie Kwak gives tips to start your passion project right now, Sarah Knight explores the power of pleasure reading, Brian A. Klems lists 7 reasons writing a book makes you a badass, and Kristen Lamb shares 10 ways to go pro.
BUSINESS
A lot goes into publishing a book successfully. Many of these items are taken care of by traditional publishers, but self-publishers have to deal with them on their own. David Kudler explains why a PDF isn’t an ebook, and Jay Swanson lays out 5 steps to great cover art.
If you are self-publishing you need to find your publishing path. Diana Hurwitz shares the top 10 reasons to publish through Amazon, and Jami Gold wants to know what your reader retention plan is.
If you are seeking an agent, Kate McKean of Howard Morhaim Literary put out a call for women’s fiction, contemporary YA & mid-grade, and more.
Rejection is a part of the publishing business. Chris L. Owens finds that rejection is easier the second time around.
Building buzz for a book and interacting with your readers is hard work. Diana Urban lists 9 free tools that can help build buzz for a book, and Joel Friedlander takes a look at creating a blog comments policy for your blog.
THE UNIQUE SHELF
Writers collect books. Geoffrey Best reflects on a lifetime collecting books.
Read Virginia Poe’s sad acrostic Valentine for husband Edgar Allen Poe.
We are fascinated by ancient writings, perhaps because they shine a light on how little we have changed over the years. This papyrus from the Book of the Dead of Nakht is over 3,000 years old. Homer’s Iliad is about 2,800 years old, and it’s the basis for Christopher Logue’s “War Music”. Why is the Iliad still important? “Because the idea of endless war is as fresh as this morning’s headline.”
Speaking of war, and the resonance between ancient and modern, read this 1,800 year old poignant letter from a Roman soldier serving far from home, then read Kurt Vonnegut’s first letter to his family after being a prisoner of war in World War II.
Reading is great and everything, but please, oh, please, remember that romantic novels can and will destroy your family!
If you thought novels were a bad influence, don’t let your family get their hands on these top 10 grimoires.
Perhaps it’s safest to stick with Beatrix Potter’s characters, who have charmed children & adults alike since 1902.
And if you are searching for new and different ways to insult someone, Oxford Dictionaries provides us with these historical insults that have become obsolete. (Although anyone familiar with the musical The Sound of Music will know the first one.)
That’s it for this week’s Top Picks Thursday! Enjoy the spring-like weather.
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Posted in Agents, Blogging, Character, Creativity, Dialogue, Editing, Marketing, Plot, Reading, Revision, Self-publishing, Social Media, Structure, The Writing Life, Theme, Top Picks Thursday, Writing Business, Writing Craft | Tags: 10 reasons to publish through Amazon, 10 ways to go pro, 15 places to find beta readers, 1800 year old letter from Roman soldier, 5 steps to great cover art, 5 TED talk for writing inspiration, 6 reasons show don't tell can be terrible advice for new writers, 7 reasons writing a book makes you a badass, 7 tips to writing great dialogue, 9 free tools to build book buzz, Adventures in YA Publishing, Anne R. Allen, Beatrix Potters' charming characters, best-selling YA novels and series of all time, blog comment policy, Blood Red Pencil, Book of the Dead papyrus of Nakht, BookBub, BookRiot, Brian A. Klems, British Museum, care and feeding of an author, Chris L. Owens, Constance Cooper, dangers of writing novels to news cycles, Dattatreya Mandal, David Kudler, Diana Hurwitz, Diana Urban, dig deeper for ideas, Electric Literature, Freelance Writers Online, genre mixing, Geoffrey Best, Gwendolyn Huber, Helping Writers Become Authors, high concept vs. deep theme, historical insults, History Today, how much to budget for editing, Irish Examiner, J. Thomas Ross, Jami Gold, Jane Friedman, Janice Hardy, Jay Swanson, Jeffrey Brown, Jessie Kwak, Jo Eberhardt, Joe Moore, Joel Friedlander, Kate McKean of Howard Morhaim Literary, Kelly Jensen, Kerry Gans, Kevin Pickard, KillZone Blog, KM Weiland, Kristen Lamb, Kristy Stuart, Kurt Vonnegut's letter after being a POW, lessening the pain of cutting words, Letters of Note, lifetime collecting books, Louise Rennison died, magical realism, Marie Lamba, Martina Boone, Matt Q. McGovern, Nail Your Novel, Nancy Keim Comley, New York Times, novels can ruin families, onomatopoeia, Owen Davies, Oxford Dictionaries, Pamela Hodges, Pat Conry dies, Pat Verducci, PDFs are not ebooks, plot elements matter, pop culture references in novels, posture and character development, power of leasure reading, reader retention plan, Realm of History, Rebecca Onion, rejection easier second time around, Roz Morris, Sarah Knight, Slate, Sophie Masson, start your passion project now, Stephanie Burgis, Stephanie Carroll, The Author Chronicles, the Book Designer, The Book Smugglers, The Guardian, the hero's journey, The Write Life, The Write Practice, Todd Moss, top 10 grimoires, Top Picks Thursday, Tracy Shawn, updating Homer's Iliad, Vaugh Roycroft, Virginia Poe's acrostic to Edgar Allen Poe, War Music by Christopher Logue, Warrior Writers, William Grimes, World Book Day quiz, Writer Unboxed, Writer's Digest, writers have insatiable need for understanding, Writing and Wellness, writing picture book texts