This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Nov. 20, 2022

Reading Time: 8 minutes
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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

How To Become An Author: From Beginnings To A Lifelong Career by Jason Hamilton

A very approachable and clear guide to building a career as a fiction author, starting right out with learning how to write, and ending with diversifying income streams. This is a very broad overview to help you create an overall strategy to follow. Jason Hamilton is a fantasy author. Check out Hamilton’s site, MythBank, full of reading and viewing guides to the most popular sci-fi and fantasy works. You can also follow him on Twitter at @StoryHobbit and on Facebook at Jason Hamilton. Kindlepreneur is pretty much the top site out there for self-published authors who want to sell more e-books on Amazon. The RSS feed is here (direct Feedly signup link). Follow them on Facebook at @KindlePreneur and founder Dave Chesson on Twitter at @DaveChesson.

Podcast: Writing Fuel For Indie Authors With Cassie Newell by Sacha Black

In this episode, guest Cassie Newell, a writing coach, talks about changing your mindset as an indie author and creating the fuel you need to keep writing. Sacha Black is a fantasy author and writing coach, with several writing advice books including 13 Steps to Evil: How to Craft Superbad Villains (Better Writers Series) May 9, 2017. Follow her on her website, Sacha Black, on Facebook at @Sacha Black or on Twitter at @sacha_black. Sacha Black is a site that offers writing advice, courses, and podcasts. Follow the site via their RSS feed (direct Feedly link here).

Other motivational advice this week:

The art and craft of writing

Charlaine Harris: On Shifting Perspectives In A Fantasy Series by Robert Lee Brewer

New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris discusses the shift in point of view with her new fantasy novel, The Serpent in Heaven. Robert Lee Brewer is senior editor of Writer’s Digest. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer. Follow Writer’s Digest via their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link), on Twitter at @WritersDigest and on Facebook at @writersdigest.

Keep Readers Turning The Pages by Ellen Buikema

If you want your readers to keep turning the pages, answering some vital questions early on will help them commit to your story. Ellen Buikema writes non-fiction and YA fantasy. For more about her, check out her website, EllenBuikema.com. or follow her on Facebook at @ecellenb or on Twitter at @ecellenb. 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).

How Useful Are Blake Snyder’s Rules Of Storytelling? Part 2 by Oren Ashkenazi

In this article, Oren continues tearing apart Blake Snyder’s “Save the Cat,” one of the most influential current books on storytelling. I liked “Save the Cat,” but now I’m having second thoughts! Oren Ashkenazi is a speculative fiction manuscript 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.

Why Realism Is Toxic To Fiction by Chris Winkle

In some circles, realism is highly prized. But too strict a focus on being realistic can limit or even hurt your writing, especially when it comes to speculative fiction. This article is a deep dive on this issue, and is a useful read for writers coming out of academia. 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.

Down In The Writing Weeds by James Scott Bell

Some persnickety advice for using crutch words like “suddenly” and “very.” Thriller writer James Scott Bell is the author of more than twenty books about writing, and you can follow him on Twitter at @jamesscottbell. His website is JamesScottBell.com. The Kill Zone is the home of eleven top suspense writers and publishing professionals. They cover the publishing business, marketing how-tos, and the craft of writing. Follow them on RSS here (direct Feedly signup link). Follow them on Twitter @killzoneauthors.

Other writing advice this week:

The business side of writing

Podcast: 5 Steps To Author Success With Rachel Mclean by Joanna Penn

Thriller author Rachel McLean talks about how you can find the intersection between what the market wants and what you love to read, and how you can strategically seed book sales to improve your marketing. Joanna Penn has been sharing writing and publishing advice since 2008 at The Creative Penn and is the author of Successful Self-Publishing and many other writing and publishing advice books. She also has one of my favorite writing advice podcasts, and you can subscribe to it on Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotify, or Stitcher. The Creative Penn offers articlesvideosbookstools, and courses for independent authors.

How A Luddite Learned To Love Instagram by Fran Hawthorne

Until last October, I had never texted a photo. I used my Instagram account only to follow family updates. I still can’t access a QR code via my phone to save my life. (Literally: When I went for a Covid test in February, the annoyed clinic staffer finally had to click on the code and […] Women Writers, Women’s Books is an online literary magazine by and about contemporary women writers from around the world. Follow them via their RSS feed (direct Feedly link here).

Video: Honor Your Connection To Readers by Dan Blank

Social media and email newsletters should be less about trends and algorithms and more about your goals as a writer and the experiences you want to have with readers. Dan Blank is a marketing expert who’s worked with thousands of writers and creators over the past ten years. At We Grow Media, Blank offers one-on-one marketing consulting to help authors grow their platforms, create meaningful connections with readers, and prepare for big book launches.

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.

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