This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Nov. 27, 2022

Reading Time: 7 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

5 Tips For When You’ve Fallen Behind During NaNoWriMo by Lewis Jorstad

How to get back on track when you’ve fallen behind in your writing — and the tips don’t just work for NaNoWriMo. Lewis Jorstad is a developmental editor, writing craft author and the founder of The Novel Smithy. The Novel Smithy is a site that helps writers build a robust writing toolkit. Follow them on Twitter @TheNovelSmithy.

Video: Is Writing By Hand Better Than By Keyboard? by Daphne Gray-Grant

Use pen-and-paper for brainstorming and planning because science shows that it does actually help creativity — and a computer for actual writing. 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.

Podcast: Planning For Authors With Sarra Cannon by Sacha Black

Guest Sarra Cannon talks about planning for authors, including planning systems, how to plan effectively, planning for the unknown, balancing family and career, and mindset shifts. Host 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).

Podcast: The Long Game With Dorie Clark by Joanna Penn

How can we shift our mindset to thinking about a long-term creative career? What can we do now that will make our future selves happy? Business coach and bestselling author Dorie Clark gives some ideas for playing the long game. 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.

Writers: Why You Need To Say No More Often by Daphne Gray-Grant

You don’t have to do all the things. Do the three most important things, and you’ll find that you might actually get farther. 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.

Writing To Save Your Life by James Scott Bell

Our culture right now is a roiling sea of hate, anger, vitriol, scorn, and mendacity—and that’s just on Twitter. So it is a noble task for writers to provide a few hours of entertaining escapism. 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 motivational advice this week:

The art and craft of writing

What Swear Words Can I Use? by Oren Ashkenazi

What’s the best way for characters to swear in fantasy or sci-fi settings? Is it more effective to make up words, use modern language, or just say that the characters are swearing? 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.

Podcast: Toy Story: Soooooo Good, But Why? by Melanie Hill And Valerie Francis

There are a handful of stories that theorists use as great examples of the craft, and Toy Story is one of them. If you’re writing a buddy story, a story with two protagonists, or want to better understand character development, this movie—and this episode!—is for you. Melanie Hill and Valerie Francis are literary editors and writers. The Story Nerd podcast demystifies story theory so writers spend less time studying and more time writing.

Wings Of Fire by Oren Ashkenazi And Chris Winkle

The Mythcreants team discusses the writing lessons of Wings of Fire, a 15-book middle-grade fantasy series by Tui T. Sutherland. Oren Ashkenazi is the speculative fiction manuscript editor and Chris Winkle is the founder and editor-in-chief 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

Tap Into The Power Of Collaborations by Lisa E. Betz

Collaborating with other writers on promotions enables you to leverage off each other’s followers, so you can quickly reach a whole new audience. This article offers some tips to make collaborations work for you. An engineer-turned-mystery-writer, Lisa E. Betz infuses her novels with authentic characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her debut novel, Death and a Crocodile, won several awards. For more from her, check out LisaEBetz.com, follow her on Twitter at @LisaEBetz or on Facebook at @LisaEBetzWriter. Almost an Author offers writing and publishing advice. For more this this, follow them on Twitter at @A3writers, on Facebook at @A3writers and subscribe to their RSS feed here (direct Feedly signup link).

Video: The Author Helper Suite by Mark Dawson And James Blatch

Guest John Logsdon published over 100 books and founded the Author Helper Suite. In this episode, he talks about book pricing, author mindset, and tools authors can use to maximize success. Mark Dawson is a USA Today bestselling author who teaches courses about book production and marketing. Check out his website at MarkJDawson.com. James Blatch writes military thrillers. For more, check out his website, JamesBlatch.com. On the Self Publishing Formula show, Mark Dawson and James Blatch talk about building a career as a self-published author.

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.

Edited by Melody Friedenthal

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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