Writing About Writing About Writing

Which is a long way of saying "no post today."

Ghost 6.0 - Grow faster. Connect to the world's largest open publishing network, understand your audience with native analytics, and build a sustainable publishing business.

Hey folks, Ghost did a major upgrade while I was away and I think I'm going to take one more week to figure out the Bluesky integration among other things.

I've also worked on #writingabtwriting articles for you, finished reading or re-reading three writing books, and working on my revisions.

Even if you are publishing in other genres, give this Writer Beware a read. A big reminder to read every line in a contract and make sure you understand what each section does. And if you don't understand you need to ask a lawyer.

I see grocery/takeout shaming discourse going around again, so this is your periodic historian reminder that cooking from scratch daily while working has never been sustainable, and for millennia everyone either relied on takeout & restaurants or ate in huge households w/ big dorm-like group dining.

Rest like you mean it We interrupted this program to remind you to rest.

#writingabtwriting is on a two week hiatus while I recover from dental surgery and visit my parents. Thanks for your support.

The cover of THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST by Premee Mohamed on a dark green background with floral motifs. In golden plaques, we see: LitHub, BookRiot, Washington Post, Polygon, and NPR Best Books of 2024; Amazon Editors' Choice Science Fiction & Fantasy; Aurora, Ignyte, Nebula, Locus, World Fantasy, and Hugo finalist. A small plaque also suggests you just buy the stupid book, everybody seems to be enjoying it, you can see for yourself right here, seriously. This is the LAST DAMN UPDATE I swear to God.

Okay I am NOT updating this graphic any more (go buy THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST so I can feed my cats tho)

us.macmillan.com/books/978125...

Tool: Put events in order What is the actual order of the events, as the point of view character witnesses them?

Today's #writingabtwriting tool may sound obvious, but it's devilishly hard to do in practice. Try the challenge to write deliberately out of order and then in order, and let me know if it helps.

💙📚🖋️ #writing

NIGHT SHADES Night Shades Mag

i’m reading your stories :)

🛸🛸🛸we’re still open by the way, send your stuff! pro+ rate 🛸🛸🛸

www.annareser.com/night-shades...

Tool - Extreme Specificity What specifically happened in that particular time when light fell through those particular leaves.

"...you’ll have a moonlit night if you write that on the mill dam a piece of glass from a broken bottle glittered like a bright little star, and that the black shadow of a dog or a wolf rolled past like a ball.” -Anton Checkov

What are your favorite memorable descriptions?

For sure. It was one of my concerns when I started. Would it distract from my own writing? Would it distract people from theirs?

My goal is to put out an "only the good tips" collection and help people pick books that will actually be helpful to them.

Writing Tool: Outlines These two books tell you exactly what bullet points to list, how many you’ll need, and how to get through the middle of your novel.

Can't make the start of your story meet up with the ending? Here are two books with online tools to get you through the messy middle.

🖋️📚💙 #writing #author #outline #writingabtwriting

Hi!
We've gotten a few questions lately about "Why doesn't [Super Cool Magazine] have a full listing, and says 'does not qualify for a full listing'"?"
We have updated our FAQ with a detailed answer, but I will also thread here. :)

“He Painted Bugs Like Jewels” In a collaboration with the National Gallery of Art, Evan Puschak made a video about 16th-century Dutch artist (and all-around polymath) Joris Hoefnagel, who painted some of the first dedicated and detailed images of i

“He Painted Bugs Like Jewels”. 16th-century Dutch artist Joris Hoefnagel painted some of the first dedicated and detailed images of insects in the world. If he’d lived 200 years later, you would have called him a naturalist. [kottke.org]

I'm working through Steering the Craft by Le Guin right now and that's at the top of a lot of people's lists as well.

Oh, I haven't read Burroway. I'll take a look at that one.

Honestly, Charlie Jane Anders is probably a better modern take on writing scifi. Or Art of X-ray Reading from Clark for learning how to take apart a story.

Yeah, it's not without its problems. That's one of the reasons why I haven't reviewed it yet.

I feel the same way about Orson Scott Card's how to write scifi book. It's got tons of good info but the author is so problematic that it spoils the whole thing.

Here's mine: Damp seeped between pinstripes and out of oxfords as they fidgeted at the wait. Sweat like a fine mist in the air, the stillness went long enough to prompt eye contact. When the announcement crackled it was inevitable.

Today's #writingabtwriting is about getting specific with your description.

Can I drop a challenge here?
Read the Delany quote in the article, then take a moment to write the most specific description you can of the place you are in right now in the comments.

🖋️💙📚 #writing #author #prompt

For nonfiction: The Glamour of Grammar, Writing Tools, and The Art of X-ray Reading by Roy Peter Clark.

For advanced info on writing fiction either The Emotional Craft of Fiction (Donald Maas) or About Writing (Samuel Delany).

For introducing teens to writing fiction: Wonderbook (Jeff Vandermeer), for adults: Techniques of the Selling Writer (Dwight Swain).

My all time favorite is a book called Science Fiction 101 by Robert Silverberg. It has maybe my favorite collection of short fiction as well as Silverberg's commentary on how to learn from them. Probably made the biggest impact on me wanting to write my own work.

Books for Beginning and Beginning Again Four books for getting started or getting back to basics.

Books for sharing with a new writer or for getting back to basics yourself in today's #writibgabtwriting article.

What's your favorite writing book for beginners?

📚💙 #writingcommunity #author

Expand your reading lists...

Sorry to throw all this at you in a big lump. Thanks for being open to listening.

If you are going to @ everyone who follows you, don't use the exact same text every time. It makes you look like a bot. Take half an hour and write 5-10 different versions of your pitch and switch between them. Start with "Hey @. I think you'll love my new book. It's the story of..."

3. Link to something with a photo. I know Amazon direct links are recommended, but just the Amazon or audible logo image is a tough sell and lowers the quality of your pitch.

2. Target people who are actively looking for book recommendations. Try searching for phrases like "looking for a book" or "need book recommendations" and comment on their posts with your phrase and link.

1. Include what your story is about *precisely* in the text. "The true story of a London cop as she struggles to balance life and service while chasing the killer of her husband" gives a reader far more info about why they might want to read your book. The more hooks you can put in, the better.