Five Links 2/29/2020

Traci Kenworth

Writing:

1. https://writershelpingwriters.net/2020/02/5-mistakes-to-avoid-if-you-want-to-finish-your-book/ “You begin with a wave of excitement. A new book holds so much promise. Then somewhere along the way, something changes. The story gets more difficult. It takes longer to finish a chapter or even a page.

And then suddenly you’re in the middle of the book and you’re stuck. Before you know it, it’s been weeks or even months since you’ve written a word.

Your project dangles dangerously on the precipice of the giant wasteland known as “unfinished manuscripts.”

You must not allow this to happen! If you do, you become one of those writers who don’t finish their projects. We never hear about them.” Keep on even if you think it’s the worst thing ever written. You can always edit. You can’t fix a blank page.

2. https://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/book-category-why-writer-should-care/ “Having recently decided not to represent a number of writers for the same reason, I’m reminded how important it is to know what book category or genre a manuscript belongs in. Or as we talk about it in publishing: Where does your book fit on a bookstore’s shelves? Yeah, yeah, I know we’re pretty much talking about virtual shelves nowadays. But for the aspiring author, it doesn’t matter which shelf, just so it’s on a shelf.

Why Book Categories Matter

Sometimes a writer creates a manuscript that’s neither beast nor fowl. It’s not exactly a memoir that centers on grief yet it’s not exactly a prescriptive book on grief. Hello! It needs to be true to its “kind,” to be one thing or the other…”

3. https://sachablack.co.uk/2020/02/26/017-what-should-writers-quit-with-becca-syme/

4. https://conniejjasperson.com/2020/02/26/self-editing-looking-at-paragraphs-and-sentence-length/ “I was recently asked how long sentences should be. There is no hard and fast rule, but opinions abound, so I will offer you some things to be considered in the editing process.

Let me say first that sentence length is a matter of the author’s personal style. Some of us write long sentences strung together with commas, and others break things out into shorter, more concise packets of information.

If you are familiar with the rules of punctuation and use your commas wisely, longer sentences will flow well.

If you’re unsure of how to use commas, and simply put them anywhere you pause, or take a breath, you’ll have a long, convoluted mess on your hands, similar to this sentence.

In writing genre work, we consider the age and reading experience of our intended reader. Generally speaking, for younger readers, we use shorter sentences and a narrower vocabulary.”

5. http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2020/02/twitter-misbehavior-by-agents.html “One comment that popped out was from Nicole:**

Twitter Misbehavior

This could be an entire comment/article unto itself, but it’s really demoralizing to see agents taking to public-facing Twitter to complain about their day-to-day. 

Every industry has crappy aspects you complain about with your coworkers, but you do it at the water cooler or in a private Slack. You don’t take to Twitter where your potential clients and current clients can see you. 

Watching agents subtweet honest mistakes on queries, give air to the trolls in their inboxes, blame writers for daring to get an offer on a manuscript they’ve left sitting in their inbox for months and months and then not notifying them (b/c of the NORMAN expectation, but only sometimes) or not giving them long enough to read (despite giving the industry standard of 10 days to 3 weeks)—it’s exhausting and feels so much like a punch-down. 

This also applies to agents always complaining about how busy they are for such little money; newsflash to them, what do you think writers do before they’re signed?”

Research & Fun Bits:

1. https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/open-book-blog-hop-what-is-the-most-unethical-practice-in-the-publishing-industry/ “

2. https://franceandvincent.com/2020/02/26/the-mother-of-all-living/

3. https://litreactor.com/interviews/blood-in-the-gears-chuck-palahniuk-on-consider-this-and-the-craft-of-writing “Chuck Palahniuk hardly needs an introduction, especially at LitReactor. It’s no surprise to be getting a new book from Palahniuk—he typically releases one per year—but his new book, Consider This, marks the first time since 2004’s Stranger Than Fiction that Chuck has published a work of non-fiction. Consider This is a remarkable combination of writing advice, wisdom, and snapshots of America as seen through the readers Chuck has met while touring the country.

Consider This is something that longtime members of LitReactor, and the writing workshop at The Cult before that, have been waiting for since Chuck released a book-length series of essays exclusively to members on The Cult. (Essays, he reveals in Consider This, which were actually illegally bound, printed, and used as a guide in the MFA program at a big university.) And the final product does not disappoint. The culmination of lessons Chuck has compiled to make his writing hit harder, faster, and with maximum heart and head authority, he dispenses invaluable tips for writers looking to push further into that place where writing isn’t just consumed, but lived in and felt as deeply as a broken heart or a punch to the jaw.

Published on January 7th, 2020, Consider This is the beginning of a busy year for Chuck. Next, on April 28th, the Fight Club 3 complete graphic novel will be released, followed by the prose novel The Invention of Sound on September 8th.

Chuck was kind enough to answer some questions about Consider This.”

4. http://litreactor.com/columns/how-late-nights-are-killing-you-and-your-writing “Writers love the romance of an all-nighter. Oh, we’re so into our coffee and our quiet and our manic hammering away deep into the night.

Like most romantic things (showering together in a one-person tub shower, making out in a vehicle, dance in general), the all-nighter is a lot better in concept than it is in reality. It might be hurting you more than you think.

Not Me!

Let’s knock this out right away: Most folks will say some version of, “I only need about six hours to function.”

This is, scientifically speaking, complete bullshit.

There’s a statistically insignificant percentage of the population who won the genetic lottery, and these unicorns function perfectly on less than 8 hours of sleep. You are not one of these people. You’re more likely to be a pro basketball player, which you are not. You’re more likely to process Wendy’s into pure muscle, which you can’t. These people are rare enough that you’ve probably never met one. 

So why does everyone think they’re good on six?

In simple terms, when you’re tired, you don’t know how much you suck. Because you’re too tired to sense it. Think about the drunk guy who’s so drunk that he thinks he’s fine to drive. He just thinks he’s good to go because he’s so impaired that he can’t evaluate himself.” If I don’t get my sleep, I find myself nodding off while at my desk.

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Some Things More Serious:

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Teaser Fiction & Poetry:

1. https://colleenchesebro.com/2020/02/25/colleens-2020-weekly-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenge-no-166-themeprompt/

2.  https://padresramblings.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/the-watch-keeper/

3. https://charmedchaos.com/2020/02/26/the-canvas-sky/

4. https://padresramblings.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/fleeting/

5. https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/how-do-i-love-mosaics-let-me-count-the-ways/

Book Reviews, Cover Reveals, & Author Interviews:

1. https://pitchwars.org/happy-book-birthday-to-the-sound-of-stars-by-alechia-dow/ “Don’t miss this spectacular debut novel… Can a girl who risks her life for books and an alien who loves forbidden pop music work together to save humanity? This road trip is truly out of this world! A beautiful and thrilling read for fans of Marie Lu and Veronica Roth.

Two years ago, a misunderstanding between the leaders of Earth and the invading Ilori resulted in the deaths of one-third of the world’s population.

Seventeen-year-old Janelle “Ellie” Baker survives in an Ilori-controlled center in New York City. With humans deemed dangerously volatile because of their initial reaction to the invasion, emotional expression can be grounds for execution. Music, art and books are illegal, but Ellie breaks the rules by keeping a secret library. When a book goes missing, Ellie is terrified that the Ilori will track it back to her and kill her.

Born in a lab, M0Rr1S was raised to be emotionless. When he finds Ellie’s illegal library, he’s duty-bound to deliver her for execution. The trouble is, he finds himself drawn to human music and in desperate need of more. They’re both breaking the rules for the love of art—and Ellie inspires the same feelings in him that music does.

Ellie’s—and humanity’s—fate rests in the hands of an alien she should fear. M0Rr1S has a lot of secrets, but also a potential solution—thousands of miles away. The two embark on a wild and dangerous road trip with a bag of books and their favorite albums, all the while creating a story and a song of their own that just might save them both.”

2. https://colleenchesebro.com/2020/02/27/colleens-2020-book-reviews-james-witch-hunter-sophie-witch-hunter-by-author-k-s-marsden-ksmarsden/ “James Bennett is a Yorkshire lad, making the big move to Oxford to start university.
His ambitions involve getting a good education; impressing the Rugby Club; and not throttling his roommate. All perfectly normal drama, until Hallowe’en.

A girl’s murder throws James into the dangerous world of witches, and those that hunt them.”

3. https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2020/02/26/bookreview-different-seasons-by-stephen-king/ “This is a collection of four novella’s by Stephen King. Two of these stories I had already seen as movies prior to reading this collection, and two were entirely new to me.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is the story of a prominent banker, Andy Dufrense, who is convicted of killing his wife and sentenced to life in a notorious prison. The story depicts in fairly graphic detail, the boredom and hardship of life in prison with hardened and malicious criminals, some who are also rapists and prey on any they deem to be weak. Andy befriends another “lifer” called Red and, during the course of his journey to finally becoming a prisoner whom the prison manager and wardens rely on for financial services, becomes firm friends with Red. Andy learns how to survive and makes some interesting decisions about his life. This story provides a lot of insight into the different types and characters of men and how they react and plan in”

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