Miscellaneous Monday

What have you been up to so far this year? Any new projects on the horizon? Here are a few links that might help in your creative pursuits.

If you've been puzzling over how to create a good brand and platform, check out Jennifer Brown Banks' recent post, Is There a Disconnect in Your Brand Messaging? This award winning blogger has helpful insight for this important topic.

Want to write compelling dialogue? How to Write Dialogue That Captivates Your Reader, by seasoned author Jerry Jenkins, offers six no fail tips that will engage your audience.

Thinking about writing a memoir? Not sure how to begin? C.S. Lakin at Live Write Thrive offers encouragement and pointers in Important Considerations When Writing Your Memoir.

Looking to broaden your skills? Consider enrolling online at the Coffeehouse for Writers. Classes include How to Quit Your Day Job (Making a Living as a Full Time Freelancer), Blogging for Profit or Pleasure, Writer's Basic Boot Camp, Writing for the Chicken Soup series, and more.

If you need a little inspiration to get those cold weather cobwebs out of your head, check out Stimulate Your Mind with These Writing Exercises. They're quick and easy, and might give you the spark you need to light that writing fire.

 
Author Susanne Dietze stops by next week to discuss her latest book. Hope you can join us!

What's on your January reading list? Are you working on any special projects this month?

Happy writing,
Karen 




Photo credit: Pexels

Miscellaneous Monday

Hope this finds you enjoying the first days of autumn! Decided to share a few links in honor of my favorite season. So here goes...

Do you have issues with productivity? Most of us do at some point, right? C.S. Lakin examines reasons why we struggle in this area and offers great insight and solutions in this post, The Life of a Super-Productive Writer.

Marketing and social media can easily overwhelm us. (Or maybe that's just me?) In 6 Key Questions to Ask Before Creating Your Social Media Strategy, the helpful folks at Add This Academy offer questions to help focus on our goals and formulate a customized plan.

Who couldn't use a little writing advice? In The Best Advice for Writers, Gary McLaren offers a great compilation of trends, tips, and links for writers of all kinds - authors, freelancers, bloggers, content  creators, etc. There's a little bit of everything here.

Congratulations to Jennifer Brown Banks of Pen and Prosper! Her blog made The Write Life's 2017 "100 Best Websites for Writers". She's in great company, and those who've visited her blog already knew she was worthy of this honor. Jennifer's topics are relevant and timely; recent posts include Friction with Your Fiction? 5 Ways to Fix It! and 4 Reasons Blog Breaks are Good for the Writer's Soul.

Do you enjoy fall? What's your favorite season? Found any good online resources lately? What's on your to-do list this week?

Happy writing,
Karen 


Photo credit: Pexels

Miscellaneous Monday

Time to share a few links - hopefully something will strike your fancy. :) Have a great week!

We can all use a reminder of the basics sometimes, right? Writer's Digest's 5 Writing Rules Everyone Should Know provides a fun graphic offering just that.

Is it just me, or is finding a remedy for passive voice challenging sometimes? Jerry Jenkins offers solutions in this post, How to Fix Passive Voice.

Need help with Twitter? The Writing Life's Terry Whalin has been active there since 2008 and has it down to a science. He shares his insight in Twitter Tips: Who to Follow and Who to Block.

Your learning style can help direct you to the right writing course. How? Pen and Prosper's Jennifer Brown Banks explains in How to Match Your Learning Style to the Right Writer's Training.

Speaking of courses, the Coffeehouse for Writers offers year round writing classes. From Basic Boot Camp and Blogging for Profit or Pleasure to Writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul and E-publishing and more, they have something for everyone.

Are you a fiction writer who has difficulty infusing humor into your stories? C. S. Lakin at Live Write Thrive highlights her take on the topic in 4 Ways to Use Humor in Your Fiction.


Have any good resources to share? What are you working on this week?

Happy writing,
Karen 


Photo credit: Karen Lange's iPhone :)

Monday's Fabulous Finds

Monday is a great day to share fabulous links, right? Here are a few of my recent discoveries:

You don't have to have a published book to your credit to appreciate the Seven Most Useful Apps for Authors. These apps can address needs for any writer.

Did you know that a hyphen can change the meaning of a word? C.S. Lakin elaborates in Using Hyphens to Avoid Confusion.

What's the best way to market your work without being a pest? Check out Jennifer Brown Banks' advice in 5 Tips to Selling Your Works Without Working People's Nerves.

How do you know you're a writer? Jean Fischer's recent post invites us to finish this sentence, You Know You're a Writer When...

I'll be back on Thursday with a link to a guest post on my publisher's blog. If you can spare a minute, I invite you to stop by!


What are you up to this week?

Happy writing,

Karen

Question Time

Do questions help you move through the writing process? Whether brainstorming, writing, revising, or editing, I think questions are an important part of the sequence. That said, here are a few questions and answers that might aid your journey.

Are you "Avoiding the Vague Swamp"? C. S. Lakin illustrates ways to use a smart balance of specific and descriptive words to better engage readers in this post at Live Write Thrive.

Looking for ways to add variety to your blog posts? Carol Tice's My 23 Best Types of Blog Posts That Grab Attention offers great ideas that can help refresh and infuse variety.

Need advice on obtaining better freelance work? Check out this post at Pen and Prosper. Jennifer Brown Banks highlights pitfalls and solutions in 5 Things You Must Know to Get Better Clients and Get Paid!

Did you know that you don't need to register your writing with the U.S. Copyright office? According to a recent article on the Guide to Literary Agents blog, "Your work is copyrighted the moment it hits a tangible medium..." Learn more about copyright guidelines in Chuck Sambuchino's article, 6 Questions Writers Ask About Copyright and the Law.

Congratulations to Cecelia Lester, the winner of last week's book giveaway! Thanks to everyone who stopped by. :)

Are you inquisitive? What questions do you ask during the process?

Happy writing,

Karen


Photo credit: Stock Exchange

Tips for Every Writer

Just getting back into town after visiting a new nephew and his family. He's a keeper! :)  Thought it would be a good time to share a few links.


Ever visit Daily Blog Tips? It's a great site that offers posts like Seven Reasons to Keep Blogging (Even When You feel Like Quitting). Ali Luke reminds us of the perks blogging offers to keep us going during the tough stretches.

Gotten any criticism (constructive or otherwise) lately? Check out Linda Formichelli's 5 Ways to Deal With People Who Hate What You Write. Honesty, kindness, and humor help, Ms. Formichelli says, as she shares the feedback she's gotten during her writing career.

C.S. Lakin explains how to Show, Don't Tell, How Time is Passing at Live Write Thrive. Don't write fiction? No worries, this insightful bit of info sheds light on improving non fiction too. After all, our writing can have personality in any format, right?

7 Things I've Learned So Far is a regular feature at Chuck Sambuchino's Guide to Literary Agents. In this post, author Chuck Greaves shares his insight into the writing and publishing process. My favorite was point #3 - Write Now, Edit Later, where Mr. Greaves tells us that "when it comes to your first draft, okay is good enough".

Have you wanted to write for anthologies? Jennifer Brown Banks at Pen and Prosper discusses the ins and outs in this helpful post. From ideas about what to submit and how to increase your odds for acceptance to what to expect as a contributor, Ms. Banks covers it all.

In Other News

Congrats to author Becky Povich, whose new memoir is out! Here is a sneak peek:

In "From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More," Becky Lewellen Povich takes us from her young Midwestern childhood in the 1950s to present day. Each chapter is a scene from everyday life, and/or unexpected events, written in the way only Povich can, with humor and poignancy woven into them. She relates tales of Christmases, summertime fun, selling homemade potholders and putting on parades, the kids next door, classmates, her fear of the dentist and her parents’ scheme to help, plus long car rides visiting grandparents in small town Iowa.

Check out Becky's book on Amazon, or stop by her website. FYI: Becky will stop by in 2014 for an interview and giveaway. 


What do you think is the most challenging aspect of writing? How do you work through it?

Have a great week! 

Happy writing,
Karen


Photo Credit: Stock Exchange