Welcome to the last Top Picks Thursday of April! Hard to believe tomorrow is May 1st, but we made it!
If you are looking for a writing challenge in May, check out the StoryADay May short fiction challenge. It’s basically NaNoWriMo for short stories.
What to do if you find your ebook has been pirated? Nate Hoffelder has details on how to respond if someone steals your ebook online.
Writers are in a unique position, in that we have the tools to capture this moment in time for posterity. Former British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy has launched an international poetry project to document the pandemic in verse, and Katherine Sharp Landdeck explains why we should all be keeping coronavirus journals.
Meanwhile, independent bookstores need our help! Dana Hull examines how independent bookstores are getting creative to survive the long lockdown, and Electric Literature tells us how to support indie bookstores without leaving your home.
With COVID-19 messing with life as we knew it, the ALA announces a virtual option for their canceled annual conference, and Publisher’s Weekly has begun a COVID-19 impact listing of cancellations, closings, policy changes, and more.
CRAFT
Lots of people love crime novels that are fast reads, but Tarashea Nesbit writes in praise of the slow, complex crime novels.
While many authors have too many ideas, sometimes it can be hard to spark one. Alicia Ellis has an author’s actionable guide to story ideas, while Janice Hardy suggests salvaging old manuscripts.
Once we have the idea, we kick off the story and (if we are so inclined) plot it out. Nathan Bransford tells us everything we need to know about inciting incidents, and Justin Attas walks us through the puzzle-piece plotting method.
Every story is build on scenes. Stavros Halvatzis explains how to write fabulous scenes, and Jami Gold discusses how to use sequels with our scenes.
There are a million nuances authors have to pay attention to as they write. Nathan Bransford reminds us that if it’s not on the page, your reader doesn’t know it, Angela Ackerman tells us how to describe a location you’ve never visited, and Mary Kole debates using the rhetorical question in fiction writing.
Then there are the intangibles. Lisa Hall-Wilson defines emotional context and why your story needs it, Iola Goulton shares 5 tips for realistic dialogue, and Heather Webb explores how to find and hone your author voice.
Once you think you are done, you need to edit and polish. Katherine Grubb has a writer’s guide to ruthlessly killing your darlings, and Karen MacKenzie checks out the 8 best grammar checkers of 2020.
Getting to The End can be a slog. Susan DeFreitas talks about developing a writing practice, Elizabeth S. Craig discusses increasing productivity with writing sprints, and Colleen M. Story lists 5 reasons you should finish your novel.
Joanna Hershon shares writerly lessons from an early ‘90s improv class, Laura Drake explores writing past the imposter syndrome fear, and PJ Parrish tells us it’s a mistake not to make mistakes.
Lots of writers are not able to write now, some for practical reasons, some for emotional ones. Ruth Harris has 10 ways to feel like a real writer when you can’t write thanks to coronavirus, K.M. Weiland gives us 15 productive tasks you can still do even when you don’t feel like writing, Janice Hardy reminds us that it’s okay if you’re not feeling productive right now, and Christina Kiefer muses on writing and hope in the time of pandemic.
BUSINESS
People are buying books during lockdown, but Jim Milliot reports that the pandemic is changing book-buying patterns.
Thinking about having your book translated? Reedsy tells us how to find the right book translator in 8 steps.
There are a lot of ways to reach your potential audience. Joanna Penn outlines 7 steps to turn what you know into an online training course, Dave Chesson has 9 tips for creating Amazon ads that convert, Sandra Beckwith explains the must-have online press room elements for authors and books, Scott La Counte shows how to tweet like a bestselling author, and to see how all your efforts are working, David Hartshorne compares the 8 best social media analytics and reporting tools.
Blogs are a perennial favorite way to reach people. Jane Friedman provides a definitive guide for authors on how to start blogging, Patrick Ross goes the other way and shares 7 reasons you shouldn’t launch a blog, Cristian Mihai says your unique perspective makes your blog unique, and Victoria Atanasova discusses how to brand your blog with a mascot.
THE UNIQUE SHELF
Many writers have adoring fans. Elisa Wouk Almino wonders, why are we obsessed with writers’ houses?
For your research pleasure, E.L. Skip Knox has the history of banks.
Genres evolve as society evolves. Gina Fattore explores Frances Burney and the birth of “chick lit”, while Paul Levine traces the evolution of lawyers on screen and page.
Fowzia Karimi explains how the letters of the alphabet are some of the oldest forms of storytelling.
The COVID-19 pandemic is changing much in our lives. A UNC doctor and his son created a children’s book for families of healthcare workers, Emma Pettit noted that reading has gotten a lot harder, Literary Hub gathered 5 Shakespeare scholars on the past, present and future of the theater amid COVID-19; Molly Odintz lists 14 mysteries and thrillers set against a backdrop of epidemics, contagions, and outbreaks; and Valerie Jones wonders why are we drawn to fictional pandemics when we’re in the midst of a real one?
Who knew dictionaries were so controversial? Emily Temple compiles the 30 best one-star Amazon reviews of the dictionary, and Harry Harris explores what the history of rhyming dictionaries reveals about literary snobbery.
For fun (and possibly for research!), Debbie Burke shares some crazy but true laws.
That’s all for this week’s Top Picks Thursday! Stay strong, stay healthy, and we will see you next week!
The Author Chronicles 
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