MuseTracks Link of the Week

Looking for a place to get great read recommendations? How about a place to promote yourself as an author? Better yet. How about a one-stop-shop to read or request reviews from multiple review sites? For FREE!

Check out Manic Readers!

http://manicreaders.com/index.cfm

Not only can you get information on authors, books, reviews, upcoming releases, there are also opportunities for authors to opt into special features such as a royalty tracker and promotional services. Plus there are author-sponsored blogs, contests, chats, and free reads.

Pop on over and take a tour.

http://manicreaders.com/index.cfm

Link of the Week

Need help with naming a character or setting? How about a jump start on  story ideas.

The Seventh Sanctum is a site with tools to help get your creativity flowing through  a number of generators. There you’ll find generators not only for naming people and places, but also to help jolt your imagination on topics like combat moves, weaponry, magic spells, technology, character skills/traits, and much, much more.

Check it out!

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

Link of the Week

This week’s link is the fun “word cloud” generator, Wordle.

http://www.wordle.net/

This is great for writers who may be looking for key words to describe the mood and tone for their book. Simply copy and paste text into the generator and, presto, a cloud of words used most often within the chosen text.

You can choose language, fonts, upper and/or lower case lettering, and color schemes. For the techno savvy, the word cloud can even be customized further. Plus, your clouds can used however you see fit. How cool is that?

Link of the Week

This week’s link is to the Second Annual Ruby Slippered Sisterhood
Winter Writing Festival! Is this shameless plugging? Well, yeah.

http://rsswwf.com/

So what is the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival? It’s a writing challenge custom made just for you! 50 days  from January 11th through the end of February to write, edit, brainstorm, polish, format, or whatever the little author in you needs or wants to do.

The RSSWWF work with a “point” system, and YOU decide the terms for earning your point each day. And you define what it takes to earn that point.

No matter what stage you’re at right now (brainstorming, plotting, free-writing, revising, layering, polishing…or any combination) you can make it work for you.

Here are some examples of the sorts of things you might define as worth one
point (you fill in the variables according to your needs) :

-writing X number of words or pages
-deep revising Y number of pages
-polishing Z number of pages
-freewriting / brainstorming for Q number of minutes/hours
-doing R number of 20-minute writing sprints
-keeping butt in chair and hands on keyboard for S number of hours

Another example of how one person might commit to earning points according to the following terms:

-writing 500 words per day OR
-deep revising 10 pages per day OR
-doing a final polish on 25 pages per day
-participating in an hour of writing sprints

Any day that person meets ANY of those goals, she gets a point.

There’s no falling of the wagon either. You can get points for slacking, too.

This isn’t a competition, it’s a supportive process for MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR WRITING.

For more info, visit the website.  Oh, and there will be swag tiven away, too, so check it out.

http://rsswwf.com/

Link of the Week

Writer Unboxed is an acclaimed award-winning blog dedicated to the craft, marketing, and business  of fiction writing. This site has great information on marketing,the writer’s’ life, interviews, industry, and lots of resources. Many star-studded contributors can be found here.

This is a blog site for all writers.

http://writerunboxed.com/

Let the dialog speak.

I LOVE dialog. No really, really, love it.

I think most readers feel the same. It says so much, so easily, about who your character is, what they believe, what they feel and what their faults are. Dialog is moving and touching and scary and brilliant. Let it speak for your characters, after all, it IS their voice you’re going for right?

This is one of my all time favs. If you haven’t seen Tombstone, I suggest you do so. (Warning – It’s addictive.)

Wyatt Earp is fighting, none too successfully, an attraction to a woman who lives outside what was considered decent for women of that time.

Josephine: I’m a woman, I like men. If that means I’m not “lady-like”, then I guess I’m just not a lady! At least I’m honest.
Wyatt Earp: You’re different. No arguin’ that. But you’re a lady alright. I’d take my oath on it. 

TWO lines. That’s it. TWO lines and I know so much about these people it’s almost ridiculous.

Here’s another, and I hope Stephanie Perkins doesn’t mind me using her novel Anna and the French Kiss as an example. It’s a brilliant read with one of the best character voices I’ve heard in a long time.

St. Clair: “Definitely not.” He laughs. “Second lesson, the words on the chalkboard. Listen carefully and repeat after me. Granola.” I narrow my eyes as he widens his in mock innocence. “Means ‘granola’, you see. And this one? Yaourt?”

Anna: “Gee, I dunno. Yogurt?”

See! So much can be gleaned about a character from simple sentences of dialog. I  know they both have a sarcastic, witty personality. I know she’s somewhat outspoken and that he’s a flirt. This one gets SO much better. It’s a must read, btw. I read it in an evening.

Okay, I won’t beat this one to death, but it’s pretty important. I know we’ve all seen it. What could have been said with dialog, instead is written out for us. Can you see it? He’s being sarcastic, of course, so I search for a witty response. As if I can’t figure out the simple translation…

We tend to over-explain, whether by author intrusion or internal thoughts. When in doubt, let your characters speak it out. It’ll keep the pace humming and let your readers get to know so much about them and connect on a personal level.

Candi

Link of the Week

Looking for great read from an Indie Writer?

Indie Reader has book reviews on independently published authors of fiction, non-fiction, young adult, and even children’s books. What a diversified selection.

They offer features such as The Book That Changed My Life, Hot Off The Press,  Can’t Bleiewve It’s Not Vanity, Trad Pubbed Book F**k Up, among others.

This venue has an interesting take on the Independent Market.

http://indiereader.com/

Link of the Week

Hey kiddos~

Want to know what impression your book’s cover gives readers? Check out this blog hosted by author Jude Hardin. Honest and constructive feedback is given on what commenters like and dislike about a cover.

Check it out.

http://coverartreview.blogspot.com/

Jenn!

Link Of The Week

Ask a question….go on ask any question you want for your manuscript. Need to know more about medieval torture? What about building a log cabin? Desire a spell to banish something evil? Look no further!! I have some cool web sites for you researching genre specific items

http://www.ehow.com/

http://www.ask.com/

http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html

Link of the Week

How about some Twitter love this week.

Got an eBook available on  Amazon you’d like to market? These Twitter folks tweet Kindle suggestions and will tweet your book. Your book could potentially reach thousands of readers!

http://twitter.com/#!/KindleCoyote

http://twitter.com/#!/KindleSurprise

http://twitter.com/#!/TweetYourBooks

http://twitter.com/#!/BookNutter