Don’t forget my big blog giveaway!! You can enter until October 6th, 2015!
Lots of fiction links and writerly links today! Plus one on how to give better compliments to little girls, and how to create a brand for yourself as an author.
A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War (Greg Forster) – A review of an interesting-sounding book about how the war and the increasingly secular worldview of society influenced and inspired Tolkien and Lewis to write what they did. I want to get this book now!
The Best Way to Compliment Little Girls (Sarah Powers) – Beautiful tips here! “I try to stay away from complimenting little girls on their pretty hair or long legs, but I do find ways to admire their natural beauty as it relates to their whole self. ‘I love the way your whole face lights up when you smile,’ or ‘You looked so confident up there on the stage’ takes the focus off the features and onto the person they belong to.”
The Big Push to 50 Thousand Words (Janice Hardy) – Good tips for those wanting to draft a story fast…like for the upcoming NaNoWriMo!
Check Your Underwriting (LiveWriteThrive) – Great editing tips to make sure your scenes are clear, realistic, advance the plot, and convey what the readers need to know.
25 Things That Would Happen if Book Lovers Ruled the World (Goodreads blog) – Just some fun and amusement. 🙂
Branding and the Brain – What We Post Online Matters (Kristen Lamb) – Advice for authors building a brand. “Every time our name floats by on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. what emotional experience are we tethering it to?”
Tony Breeden on Story Evangelism (Speculative Faith) – Lots of good stuff here. “Christian fiction is as Christian as we make it to be. The Christian element is intentional. If we wish our fiction to be recognizably Christian in any sense of the word, we will have to want authors to write it so on purpose. On the other hand, if your view of Christian fiction is simply a synonym for excellent craftsmanship, so be it. As a preacher, I would remiss if I didn’t point out that you certainly have a Biblical precedent for your position and, more importantly, the Bible says absolutely nothing about how to outline, write and edit fiction.”
Your Fiction May be Failing for One Simple Reason: You’re Not Being Honest (K.M. Weiland) – “Do you hate your bad guy? If so, you’re not doing a good job of writing him. To write characters well, to write them honestly, we must be able to put ourselves into their skins and brains and understand them so completely–even in their objective reprehensibility–that we can love them even as we love ourselves. This absolutely doesn’t mean you have to agree with him or condone his actions. But it does mean you have to step away from the subjectivity of your own personal pulpit and instead try to write from his subjective perspective.”
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