Weekly Roundup

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To start off, advice for self-editing your own writing and the top 10 tips for self-editing.

What's the value of adversity in a writer's life?

While building a social media presence as an author, a facebook page is becoming essential. But how do you build one that works?

A warning for bloggers: be careful which pictures you use.

And lastly few fun and hopefully inspiring videos:

Alas the sorry state of our English language in the present day. John Branyan tries to illustrate what we've lost.

What a breathtaking and inspiring video! (Enlarge to full screen for maximum effect.)

Until next time!

Have I Gone Insane to Try Pathfinders?

Perhaps I have gone off the deep end to consider stepping into the world of D&D (Pathfinders is an offshoot game from D&D) but the improbable has happened. Three weeks ago on a Wednesday, I found myself at a group with four others, character sheet in hand, ready to play. And it's been surprisingly fun.

But I digress slightly. Why did I, a non-gamer, decide to join in? Because the format of a typical D&D game forces the participants to focus on character building (and to some extent world building) while leaving the plot completely in the hands of the DM. And those areas happen to be my weak spots. Therefore, I joined the group to force myself to exercise those ill used writing muscles. Creating a character from scratch before the plot begins has illustrated just how bad I am at the whole process when separated from interesting events I can throw them into and see how they react.

So, what is the end result of this experiment? The answer to that lies in the second blog feature I mentioned a few posts ago. My character is, in-game, the chronicler (pathfinder). Therefore, my job is to write up the events of each week's adventure. And, those "journals" will be posted here, once a week on Wednesday, as a blog serial.

Yes, the second feature I mentioned is a blog serial which will run until my character finishes the Pathfinders campaign or until I can no longer participate. The first installment will go up next Wednesday. Hopefully you'll see how my character building skills improve over time. Comments would be highly appreciated as I blaze this new uncertain trail.

Until next time!

CSFF Feature

Last post I mentioned two features which will be starting on this blog. This is an elaboration on the first feature I mentioned.

A few months ago I discovered CSFF and decided to join. What is it? Well, the full title of the site should explain it: Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy Blog Tour. It is a site where bloggers gather to promote Christian books that are Sci-fi and Fantasy which is a genre that is shockingly under represented in the publishing world. More information on how it works can be found on the CSFF website, but the general overview is as follows: once a month a book tours (is featured on) all the participants' blogs for three days. At least one post is required from each participant over the three day tour.

A clue! (photo credit)

The next tour will take place in late August. Since I'm new, I'm not quite sure when the dates will be, but it'll probably take place the third week. I won't say which book is on tour yet, except that it is fantasy and I requested a review copy so I'll be posting a review for one of my three posts. Look forward to it!

Until next time!

Where I've Been (and Links to Prove it!)

As you may have noticed, I've been rather silent for the past, oh, around 1 1/2 months? So, some explanations are in order.

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Firstly, I know several of you have commented on the fact that I stopped Camp NaNoWriMo last month. This is because we went on a vacation for a week and I was thrown off track by shiny other projects (non-writing) I've been meaning to get done. In my defense, I did and still have been plugging away at writing the new plot-line featuring the 2nd POV of Lia, but at a very slow pace. The point is that I never ground to a complete stop. However the initial torrent of Camp turned into a trickle.

Secondly, there will be a new feature appearing on this blog on a monthly basis. The first appearance will be late in August. More on this in a later post.

Thirdly, another feature! Maybe. This one might be a weekly/bi-monthly blog serial...Once again, more info later. Stay tuned!

And now onto the links! I've still continued to read and collect links in the meantime so here's a list:

Patricia C. Wrede on whether or not to preach in one's writing.

Rayne Hall lists 13 mistakes writers make in fight scenes.

Query Tracker's Ash Krafton gives tips to conquer cliches and how to use writing contests to improve one's game.

Inkpunk's Andrew Romine tells how he applied gesture drawing to writing to capture the essence of ideas.

John Yeoman reveals the secrets of Kathy Reich's excellent writing.

Do short stories have a higher payout than novels in the long run?

David Sims guests posts a series on structure featuring the heroic journey (20 posts in the series to date).

When should one kill their story darlings? Natalie J. Damschroder helps unravel the how and when.

K M Weiland lists the top 25 ways to blow a book and suggestions for fixing and avoiding the problems.

How does one define success as a writer? (with a Weird Al Yankovic illustration!)

And finally, a cute (but relevant) poem going around on tumblr: I Once Dated a Writer and

Until next time!