Category: Kristine Kathryn Rusch

Writerly Inspiration

I don’t need an excuse to check out author or writing-related sites and you probably don’t either. But if you want to add a new blog stop to your regular roster or you simply want a few minutes away from your WIP, check out any one of the following links. All of these blogs offer up great content; some are inspirational, others are educational and occasionally they’re both.

C.S. Lakin’s Live Write Thrive  http://www.livewritethrive.com/ is a favorite of mine. Lakin covers everything from scene structure and character development to boosting productivity, growing your audience and the power of positive thinking.

Prolific mystery author Elizabeth Spann Craig  http://elizabethspanncraig.com/blog/  is quickly becoming a favorite too. She addresses all things relevant to the writing life: how to make a living at this crazy gig; why she’s gone indie over traditional; top time savers and tips on public speaking to name only a few. She also provides a weekly roundup of the best writing links on the web.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi’s Inky Girl http://inkygirl.com/  is the place to go if you write or illustrate children’s books. She shares her original comics (reason enough to pop by, in my opinion), provides information on new releases, sometimes interviews industry experts and is always good for a smile.

A feel good stop high on motivation is Lucy Flint’s Lionhearted Writing Life. http://www.lucyflint.com/  If you’ve ever felt stuck, been derailed or struggled to find a balance between work and play this is the place to check out.

To help give your characters psychological depth, to understand what readers really want, or to find out how to deal with writing fears, check out Tamar Sloan’s PsychWriter. https://psychwriter.com.au/ And be prepared to stay a while. There’s a lot of terrific content here.

A book within easy reach in my office is The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi. I refer to it often and I also like to stop in at their blog Writers Helping Writers http://writershelpingwriters.net/ where the focus is on helping writers become better storytellers. You’ll find some great resources here.

Who doesn’t love Writer Unboxed http://writerunboxed.com/ and the rotating daily column by a variety of writers? It’s delivered to my in box daily and I’ve come to recognize who posts when and I look forward to the different styles and viewpoints. It’s a fairly interactive community with lots of comments on each post and that’s fun too!

And last but definitely not least is Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s  Kris Writes http://kriswrites.com/category/on-writing/  I love her down-to-earth take and I appreciate the fact that she’s in the trenches trying to make sense of this crazy business. I don’t find her site all that easy to navigate so I subscribe to her blog instead. If you’re unfamiliar, visit her site and scroll back through her posts to find her take on how U.S. election years impact book sales. They should be required reading for indie authors.

 

A Blog a Day Keeps Boredom Away

winter_storm_victoriaWhen I lost my email connection last week, it reinforced how much I rely on email, and, in particular, how much I look forward to the automatic arrival of several blogs I’ve signed up to receive.

Given that we were buffeted by gale force winds and heavy rain, I expected a power outage.  I pulled out some candles, brought in wood for the fire, backed up obsessively and hunkered down.  The wind blew for days it seemed, but the lights – and my computer – stayed on. We made a pot of Mulligatawny soup, reminded ourselves that it was January and, considering what our friends and relatives to the east were experiencing, we were just fine.

A few days later, my email stopped. Nothing came in or went out for more than a day. When it came back up, it was sporadic at best for another twelve hours. It had nothing to do with the weather; it was an issue with my service provider. I wasn’t the only one with the problem either according to the live (and cranky) tweets on their site. Luckily I have a second email address on a different server so I quickly fired off emails to a couple of editors to let them know I was still at the keyboard.

All was fine. Until Passive Guy didn’t show up in my inbox as he usually does. Nor did Writer Unboxed or Live, Write, Thrive.

I survived. In the same way I’ll survive when door-to-door mail service stops a few years from now.   But the thing is, I like hearing that metallic slam of my mailbox when the letter carrier brings news (even if Team Sheltie doesn’t). I love the ping of email hitting my in box. I’ve gotten attached to some great writing blogs too. I don’t need to subscribe – I know that – but I happen to like home delivery. Half the time if I don’t sign up, I forget to pop over and check things out.  Here are a few of my favorites:

The Passive Voice   http://www.thepassivevoice.com/      Subscribe and receive a daily round up of publishing news and views from the Passive Guy.  It hits my in box every day around lunch and I usually read it while I eat my salad.

Writer UnBoxed http://writerunboxed.com/   is there when I first check email in the morning and I read it with my first cup of coffee. What I love about this blog is the range – a different writer every day and a ton of different topics.

Live, Write, Thrive http://www.livewritethrive.com/  Another early morning arrival and becoming a favorite. Posts by author/editor C.S. Lakin who publishes both traditionally and independently in e and audio form. Great blend of craft, business and all round inspiration.

There are other blogs I love too:

Chuck Wendig’s  http://terribleminds.com/

Rachelle Gardner’s Books & Such Blog:  http://www.rachellegardner.com/

The always informative Kristine Kathryn Rusch:  http://kriswrites.com/

And last but not least:   http://writersinnerjourney.com/

What writing blogs are on your must read list?