This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Sep. 4

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

Finishing Writing-Related Tasks Quickly by Elizabeth Spann Craig

With all the other things on our plate, writing-related tasks can fall by the wayside. Here are some tips for getting those tasks done by using a batching or grouping technique. Elizabeth Spann Craig is a best-selling cozy mystery author. You can find her on Twitter at @elizabethscraig or on Facebook at Elizabeth Spann Craig Author. She also collates a weekly list of the best new writing-related articles, called Twitterific Writing Links, which then all get added to the Writer’s Knowledge Base database. On her website, ElizabethSpannCraig.com, Craig and her guest authors offer advice on writing and publishing.

Find Creativity In Your Writing By Ditching Expectations by Janna Lopez

The weight of expectation can be lifted by homing in on tiny details and reveling in the joy of the moment to unlock freedom and creativity in your writing. Janna Lopez is an intuitive book coach, creative writing teacher with a MFA, and published author. She leads creative writing retreats for individuals and small groups in Santa Fe, New Mexico, through Land of Enchantment Writing. BookBaby bills itself as the nation’s leading self-publishing services company. For more advice like this, subscribe to their RSS feed (directly Feedly link here), or follow them on Facebook at @BookBaby or on Twitter at @BookBaby.

How To Embrace Idea Doubt by Daphne Gray-Grant

The difference between self-doubt and idea doubt is a really important distinction for most writers. 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.

Other motivational advice this week:

The art and craft of writing

Five Tips For Writing Multi-POV Stories by Jennifer Craven

Writing multi-POV books isn’t exactly easy, and authors shouldn’t do it “just to do it.” It can be complicated to get right, and you run the risk of creating a story with one-dimensional characters that just skim the surface. Here are five tips to get it right. DiyMFA offers classes, advice articles and other training materials for writers. For more advice like this, follow them on Twitter at @DIYMFA and on Facebook at @DIYMFA or subscribe to their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link).

Can Framing Devices Be Better Than Terrible? by Chris Winkle

Fancy or not, the reality is that framing devices are usually an active detriment to the story. 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.

Character Description Examples: Creating People Not Caricatures by Jordan Kantey

Effective character description examples from a range of authors from Victorian to modern times show the many ways to convey characters’ personalities, desires, strengths and shortcomings. Jordan Kantey is a writer, marketer, community manager and product developer for Now Novel. You can find out more about him on his LinkedIn page. Now Novel is a company that offers writing sources, coaching, and editing. If you want more advice like this, subscribe to their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link) or follow them on Twitter at @nownovel or on Facebook at @nownovel or subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Adding Sensory Details To Your Fight Scene by Carla Hoch

Trained fighter and author Carla Hoch discusses the importance of adding sensory details to your fight scenes, and how doing so connects us to each other and to the scene itself. Carla Hoch is the author of the Writer’s Digest book Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes. Her blog, FightWrite.net, was in Writer’s Digest Top Websites for Writers 2019 & 2020. She has training in almost a dozen martial arts and competes in Brazilian jiujitsu. She regularly teaches the craft of writing fight scenes, as well as the mechanics of fighting for writers. Follow Writer’s Digest via their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link), on Twitter at @WritersDigest and on Facebook at @writersdigest.

Other writing advice this week:

The business side of writing

Why You Must Market Your Book by Elizabeth Javor

If you want to make a career out of book publishing, you must make peace with the fact that you will be marketing your books. Elizabeth Javor is the director of sales and marketing for Outskirts Press, a group of publishing consultants who focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process to help them publish the book of their dreams. Self Publishing Advisor offers tips and advice for self-published authors.

Other business advice this week:

Podcasts

Author Habits, Myths, And Big Decisions by Bryan Cohen and H. Claire Taylor

The author myths could be holding back your author career, how Brandon Sanderson is the biggest threat to traditional publishing, and how to set up your own author page on Amazon. Bryan Cohen is an experienced copywriter, bestselling author, and the founder of Best Page Forward and Amazon Ad School. You can find out more about Bryan at BryanCohen.com. H. Claire Taylor is a humor author and fiction strategist, as well as the owner of FFS Media. The Sell More Books Show is a weekly podcast focusing on helping new and experienced authors stay up-to-date with the latest self-publishing and indie news, tools and book selling and marketing strategies.

Omens And Prophecies by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, and Wes Matlock

The Mythcreants team tackles omens, prophecies, curses, and all manner of predictive magics. 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.

Space For Everyone by Dan Wells and Mary Robinette Kowal

Chemist, USAF Colonel, and NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman joins the Writing Excuses team to talk about actual travel to actual space. Dan Wells is an American horror and science fiction author. Mary Robinette Kowal is a science fiction author best known for The Calculating Stars, part of the Lady Astronaut series. Writing Excuses is a podcast about the art and business of writing. Support them on Patreon.

Other podcasts from this past week:

Videos

How To Deal With A Creative Dry Spell by Daphne Gray-Grant

How to handle a creative dry spell. 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.

First Book Lessons: What Authors Wish They’d Known Before Hitting Publish by Kristina Adams and Ellie Betts

Guests Elizabeth Spann Craig, Alexa Whitewolf, Matty Dalrymple, and Daniel Willcocks talk about what they wish they’d known before they published their first book. Kristina Adams is a bestselling author and writing instructor. Find out more at her website, KristinaAdamsAuthor.com. The Writer’s Cookbook offers advice, podcast, videos, coaching, workshops, and writing courses. Follow the site via their RSS feed (direct Feedly link here).

Is This Replicable? by Becca Syme

How to avoid burnout by building a sustainable writing process and author business. Becca Syme is a Gallup-certified strengths coach, author coach, and nonfiction author. The QuitCast for Writers is a video podcast where Becca Syme discusses what to keep, what to quit, and what to question, if you are trying to make a go of an author career.

Other videos from this past 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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