ruth harris | Phil Giunta – Paranormal, Fantasy, & SF Writer

This week, Chris Winkle reviews common IT mistakes in fiction and how to correct them while Angela Ackerman helps us improve our character descriptions. Speaking of characters, Ruth Harris runs through a roll call of irresistible rogues and shows us how they can spice up our fiction.

Nate Hoffelder offers financial advice for first time self-publishers and Crystal King provides a brief tutorial on Instagram. Kristen Lamb talks breakout novels and gatekeepers, Maria Grace reminds us that mere machinery does not good science fiction make, and writer pal Donna DeLoretta Brennan is in the spotlight for her new short story collection!

All that and a bit of counseling from Konrath, too. Enjoy!

Five Information Technology Blunders and How to Fix Them by Chris Winkle

Character Descriptions: Avoiding the Boring Stuff by Angela Ackerman via Jami Gold

Six Things Writers Need to Stop Worrying About by Joe Konrath

Instagram 101 for Authors by Crystal King

How to Waste Money When Self-Publishing a First Book by Nate Hoffelder

Rogue Characters: The Secret to Compelling Fiction by Ruth Harris

Forget the Mess-It’s a Time for a Story with Donna DeLoretto Brennan via Catherine Castle

Science Fiction: More than Gizmos by Maria Grace via Kristen Lamb

The Breakout Novel and Why Publishing is Desperate for the Next Big Thing and Gatekeepers & Good Books: Trophy Fishing in a Literary Tsunami by Kristen Lamb

This week, David Gaughran and Anne R. Allen analyze Amazon’s heavy-handed measures of fraud detection that are forcing the innocent to suffer for the guilty. P.J. Parrish illustrates the revision process using one of her own manuscripts while Ruth Harris and Andrew Falconer offer tips on writing historical fiction.

We strike gold with… who else, but… Jami Gold! Jami is busy with NaNoWriMo, so she has invited guest bloggers to discuss such topics as Imposter Syndrome (Kassandra Lamb), Deep POV (Lisa Hall-Wilson), and Productivity (J. Rose).

From the latter, this statement leapt out at me: “We’re trained to work ourselves to the bone, and that we should best each other about “who’s the most busy” or “who has the least amount of time.” I challenge you to step away from this game! Do you really want to be #1 at being stressed and being busy all the time so you don’t have time to enjoy your life?”

All that and a little more. Enjoy!

Amazon’s Hall of Spinning Knives by David Gaughran

Don’t Let Impostor Syndrome Ruin Your Writing by Kassandra Lamb via Jami Gold

Deep POV and Hidden Messages in Subtext by Lisa Hall-Wilson via Jami Gold

Creating the Right Mindset to Be Productive by J. Rose via Jami Gold

Cutting Open the Sausage: A Hard Look at Rewriting by PJ Parrish

Plunge Into Story Action—and Genre by Kathryn Craft

A Character’s POV = A Character’s Truth by Sarah Callender

Five Essentials of Historical Fantasy by Andrew Falconer

How to Use Authentic Historical Detail to Trigger Emotions and Memories in Your Readers by Ruth Harris

The Most Important Rule of Backstory by Andrea Lundgren

Amazon’s Latest Crackdowns: Do They Include Amazon Review Trolls? by Anne R. Allen