This week’s top writing advice from around the web for May. 28, 2023

Reading Time: 7 minutes
(Image by Maria Korolov via Midjourney.)

I subscribe to more than 150 writing advice sites and gather the best posts for you every single Sunday. You can see all the previous writing advice of the week posts here and subscribe to the RSS feed for this writing advice series here (direct Feedly signup link).

Productivity, mood management, and battling the demons inside

7 Things I Wish I’d Known As A Beginning Writer by September C. Fawkes

Some great advice here for novelists just starting out, like making sure every scene has a goal. Even if you’ve been writing for a while, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and start slipping on the basics, so it’s worth revisiting. I got a few good ideas from this article for the book I’m currently writing. September Hawkes is a freelance editor. Follow her on Twitter @SeptCFawkes and on Facebook at September C. Fawkes. At SeptemberCFawkes.com, Fawkes offers writing advice. Follow the site on its RSS Feed (direct Feedly signup link).

Aspiring Writers Need To Quit Now by Kristen Lamb

She doesn’t mean to quit writing. She means to quit using the word “aspiring.” And the article as a whole is actually pretty inspirational and worth reading. Mystery author Kristen Lamb is also the author of the social media guide book, Rise of the Machines: Human Authors in a Digital World as well as We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media and Are You There, Blog? It’s Me, Writer. Follow her on Twitter at @KristenLambTX or on Facebook at @authorkristenlamb. If you want more advice like this, follow the Kristen Lamb blog via its RSS feed (direct Feedly link).

How To Make Better Writing Decisions by Daphne Gray-Grant

This post suggests looking beyond yes or no options and getting more alternatives before you make decisions about your life. You could also think ahead to how your choice could lead to failure and why. Another way to make better decisions is to think about what you would advise a friend in a similar situation. Daphne Gray-Grant is a writing coach, author of Your Happy First Draft, and host of The Write Question show on YouTube. Publication Coach offers books, courses, videos, and one-on-one coaching for authors. If you want more advice like this, subscribe to their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link) or follow them on Twitter at @pubcoach or subscribe to their YouTube channel.

I Was Right All Along – How To Write The Right Way by Johnny B. Truant

This is a fun, inspiring read about how you don’t have to write the “right” way in order to be successful. Sometimes, the “wrong” way is what’s going to work best for you. Johnny B. Truant is a best-selling sci-fi author with over 100 books to his name, one of which was made into a SyFy network series. Find out more at JohnnyBTruant.com. Writers in the Storm is another great site for writing advice, with a group of regular contributors and guest writers who post frequently. It is very well worth following on RSS (direct Feedly signup link here).

Other motivational advice this week:

The art and craft of writing

Video: Character Backstories by J.P. Beaubien

Fun video about how not to write back stories. J.P. Beaubien’s current project is a book series named Aeon Legion. Follow him on Facebook at @authorJPBeaubien and on Twitter at @JosephPBeaubien. Terrible Writing Advice is a very popular YouTube channel where J.P. Beaubien offers only the most sincere and genuine writing advice delivered with absolutely no sarcasm at all.

Six Signs You’re Dehumanizing A Species Or Culture by Chris Winkle

A group doesn’t have to be evil to be problematic. Chris Winkle is the founder and editor-in-chief of Mythcreants. Mythcreants is my all-time favorite writing advice site. Get their RSS feed here (direct Feedly signup link) or follow them on Twitter @Mythcreants and on Facebook at @mythcreants.

Podcast: Stories Within Stories by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, and Wes Matlock

This week, the team at Mythcreants is talking about stories within stories: how they work, what their problems are, and when you should use one. Oren Ashkenazi is the speculative fiction manuscript editor, Chris Winkle is the founder and editor-in-chief, and Wes Matlock is a content editor at Mythcreants. Mythcreants is my all-time favorite writing advice site. Get their RSS feed here (direct Feedly signup link) or follow them on Twitter @Mythcreants and on Facebook at @mythcreants.

Other writing advice this week:

The business side of writing

The 5 Marketing Strategies We Used To Help My Wife Become A Six-Figure Author by Matt Holmes

One of the best book marketing howtos I’ve seen so far. Matt Holmes helps self-published authors bring their work into the world through intentional and strategic marketing. He writes a free book marketing newsletter called The Saturday Self-Published Author as well as online courses. Follow Written Word Media via their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link), on Facebook at @writtenwordmedia and on Twitter at @WrittenWordM.

Video: Cover Images & Author Branding by Kevin Tumlinson

Guests Gene Mollica and Sasha Almazan are the co- owners of G&S Cover Design Studio and have designed some of the most iconic visuals in publishing. Novelist Kevin Tumlinson is also the director of marketing at Draft2Digital. Draft2Digital is one of the leading publishing platforms that helps authors publish their books to multiple platforms. It also has a very nice and easy ebook creation and formatting tool.

Other business advice this week:


Am I missing any writing advice sites? Email me at [email protected] or leave a note in the comments below.

MetaStellar editor and publisher Maria Korolov is a science fiction novelist, writing stories set in a future virtual world. And, during the day, she is an award-winning freelance technology journalist who covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise virtual reality. See her Amazon author page here and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn. Email her at [email protected]. She is also the editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business, one of the top global sites covering virtual reality.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *