Busy week, so a little light on links today. But, bonus! I’m going to share more info on each link. You’re welcome. And through the wonders of the WordPress, I am away at a training as this post goes live. In fact, I’m probably in class right now. Technology is kind of bad ass.
- Kathryn Stockett’s ‘The Help’ Turned Down 60 Times Before Becoming a Best Seller by MORE Magazine (via James Scott Bell): Bestselling-novel-and-now-movie turned down 60 times. Kathryn Stockett‘s personal story of never giving up. And why you shouldn’t either.
The point is, I can’t tell you how to succeed. But I can tell you how not to: Give in to the shame of being rejected and put your manuscript—or painting, song, voice, dance moves, [insert passion here]—in the coffin that is your bedside drawer and close it for good. I guarantee you that it won’t take you anywhere. Or you could do what this writer did: Give in to your obsession instead.
- Ladies Who Critique: Find a critique partner in pretty much any genre you could write in. Find me there.
Think of it like a dating website, but ‘The One’ is your perfect critique partner.
- Most Common Mistakes Series: 10 Stylistic Mistakes Sabotaging Your Story by KM Weiland: Number 8 in a series on common mistakes and so fantastic. This is real advice on grammar and word choice and formatting.
-Ly Verbs: It is incorrect to connect a pair of modifiers with a hyphen when the first modifier ends in “ly.”
Punctuation: Commas and periods always go inside quotation marks; colons and semi-colons go outside.
- Maintaining Your Enthusiasm Until the Book Is Completed, guest post by Gene Perret (who has a book! He also has an Emmy.) (via Elizabeth S. Craig): How not to sabotage ourselves into letting a story die before it’s even had a chance to live.
There will be times when writing becomes a struggle. There will be setbacks and disappointments. Fatigue will set in. Writing a book is a delightful chore, but it is a chore nonetheless. There will come times when only your original fervor will pull you through.
When available, the author link goes to their Twitter page. If I tell you who linked me to the article, it’s so you can follow those clever people on twitter. Because I love twitter. And you should, too.