Fiction Scribe

I wasn’t really planning on doing a ‘What I’m Reading’ post this week, but I’ve come across so many good and interesting posts that I can’t help myself. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

*My lovely friend Susan at West of Mars is having a bit of Thursday Thirteen block, so stop by and say hello. She doesn’t bite, but I would keep an eye on Trevor.

*Paperback Writer (can you tell I’ve become a big fan recently?) put up a post I love called The Seven Deadly Writing Sins. And no, it’s not like the other ones you’ve seen that have things like, “dialogue tag addiction.”

*Ecataromance has put up a lovely post welcoming new visitors that is filled with links to interesting things on site and so on. As they say, they are “pro ebook, pro romance” so you should check them out - especially if you are interested in those areas.

*There is a great post by author Marta Stephens at Murder by 4 called Grammar Made Easy… Believe me, it’s not quite what you’re thinking.

*The awesomely awesome (she gives away books every Monday!) Katrina Stronoff has guest posted at Happy Endings with excellent thoughts on figuring out your characters’ motivations. This could very well be exactly the advice I’ve been needing lately…

*Rather than mentioning a specific post, this is a link to a blog: The Intern There is absolutely no way I can put it better than she does:

“THE INTERN is the unpaid toiler on the publishing house floor, licking stamps, reading slush, and copy-editing your train-wreck of a manuscript (for free) because the “real” copyeditor is down with the genital crabs. THE INTERN wears mismatched socks, clunky glasses, the same shirt she wears every day and jeans she found in the dumpster. No bra—bras are expensive, and THE INTERN is unpaid. THE INTERN sees all, hears all—the tense phone calls, the well-oiled editorial meetings at which your manuscript is used as a receptacle for pretzel crumbs, the wheeling, dealing, and long hours of apathy that make publishing publishing. THE INTERN knows everything about—your ambitions, your secret shames. She knows you pee in the shower. Basically, THE INTERN has you dialed.

And—lucky you—THE INTERN is about to tell you everything she knows.”

Enjoy!

As I’ve said in the past, quoting a quote that is somewhere in the chaos of my desk, you have to make time for things because you’ll never ‘find’ time. Well, I’ve made time for more blog reading, and I have come across some interesting posts.

I’ve also decided to add an ‘E-Publishing’ category, as there is no doubt readers here will consider e-publishing as a possible publication route just as much as they consider traditional publishing or self-publishing.

On to the good reads!

*InkyGirl has a fantastic category on her blog called Rejections, which features famous authors and how many times they were rejected before getting published. This is a sure category to help build the confidence of aspiring writers.

*Paperback Writer touches on the subjects of writer superstitions and rituals (a subject I’ll probably post on later), and things she avoids putting in her stories. Are there any things you avoid writing about in your stories?

*Nice Mommy~Evil Editor has put out an informal call for submissions, so if you have a holiday-themed story, head over to this post for further details.

*Dear Author has a poll regarding e-publishing and the results may surprise you. How many readers have bought an e-published book?

*EcataRomance asks if ebook publishing is a bad career choice…

*Have I mentioned Query Shark before? If you’re looking to submit a query any time soon, I highly suggest you go through the Query Shark archives - run by an actual agent - and give your query a professional polish before sending it in.