Thirsty Thursday Blog RoundUp

It’s that time of the week where we take a look at the best advice and articles the interwebz has to offer.

 

On Writing

• (Most) Characters Can’t Read Minds — The Editor’s Blog (Beth Hill)
• TTYU Retro: Tired of cliché? Want to be unique? Pursue the why. — TalkToYoUniverse (Juliette Wade)
• Joan Swan on Nailing Emotional Turning Points in Your Novels — Adventures in YA and Children’s Publishing (Guest Joan Swan)
• Structure Part 2–Plot Problems–Falcor the Luck Dragon & the Purple Tornado and Structure Part 3—Introducing the Opposition — Kristen Lamb
• Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing — Book Riot (Maria Popova)
• The Curse of First-Person Narration — The Editor’s Blog (Beth Hill)
• Revision: Checklist for Compelling Characters — The How to Write Shop
• Creative Power Tool #1: Words — DIY MFA (Gabriela Pereira)
• How to Keep The Reader Hooked: The Dan Brown Secret — Procrastinating Writers (Guest Dr. John Yeoman)
• Five Things to Consider During Revisions with Loucinda McGary — Romance University (Guest Loucinda McGary)
• Beginnings: Action and Change — Pub(lishing) Crawl (Jodi Meadows)
• 25 Ways to Get Your Creative Groove Back as a Writer — Terribleminds (Chuck Wendig)
• Shh! It’s a Secret: Raising the Tension and Conflict in a Scene — The Other Side of the Story (Janice Hardy)
• Writing Danger: Don’t Create a Cliché — Writability (Ava Jae)
• Ax Your Cliches: Why and How — Writers In The Storm Blog (Guest Margie Lawson)
• 5 Tips For Creating Characters Readers Can’t Wait to Come Back To — The Creative Penn (Joanna Penn)
• Scene/Sequel Checklist — The Writer’s Resource (Charissa Weaks)
• Restrictive or Not—When Do Clauses Need Commas? — The Editor’s Blog (Beth Hill)
• 5 Characters Every Writer Needs to Master — Wordplay (K.M. Weiland)
• Creative Writing and Revising: Rewriting, Editing, and Proofreading — Writing Forward (Melissa Donovan)
• Creating story flow: the secret power of cause and effect — The Writer’s Alley (Karen Schravemade)
• Jodie Renner on Uncluttered Prose — The Bookshelf Muse (Guest Jodie Renner)
• When Not to Show the Action — Wordplay (K.M. Weiland)

On Publishing & Agents

• How Do Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing Compare? [Video] — Aliventures (Ali Luke)
• Hard Truths: Why being unpublished is better than being poorly published — Rapid Progressive (Victoria Marini)
• A Brief History of E-Publishing, Part 5: POD — A Game Changer — WordServe Water Cooler (James H. Pence)
• How to Beat 7 Common Self-Publishing Fears — CopyBlogger (Ali Luke)
• Do you fit the Profile of a Successful Self-Published Writer? — BubbleCow

On Social Media

• Twitter for the Absolutely Terrified Newbie Author — The Book Designer (Joel Friedlander)
• Some Twitter Truths You Need to Know — The Bearded Iris (Leslie Marinelli)
• The Ultimate Guide to Writing Email Updates (Your Fans Actually Read) — Duolit

On Blogging

• How to back up your blog and a better way to do ellipses — The Bearded Iris (Leslie Marinelli)
• 3 Free Photo Tools for Author Bloggers — The Book Designer (Joel Friedlander)
• Why Great Writers Win Out in the Blogosphere—And How to Join Them — ProBlogger (Ali Luke)

On Reading

• 5 Reasons to Consider Audiobooks — Rachelle Gardner

Other Useful Stuff Too

• How Nitpicky Do We Need to Be With Our Manuscripts? — Jody Hedlund
• What You, J.K. Rowling And George Lucas Have In Common — Fuel Your Writing (Christopher Jackson)
• Should We Rethink Pseudonyms? — Books & Such (Rachelle Gardner)
• 5 Obnoxious Marketing Techniques Writers Should Avoid — Jody Hedlund
• Countering Bad Advice to Aspiring Writers — Diana Peterfreund
• Why Rejections, Failures and Setbacks are the Key to Awesomeness — Men With Pens (Bea Kylene)
• Every Writer Needs a Bio — Novel Rocket (Edie Melson)
• Self-Discipline for the Distracted Writer — Pub(lishing) Crawl (Julie Eshbaugh)
• Who Needs A Platform? — Rachelle Gardner
• 7 Things That Make the Chronic Finisher Put Down a Book — Roni Loren
• Professional Resources for Writers — Wordplay (K.M. Weiland)
• The 15-Minute Writer (Part 3): Building Your Platform — WordServe Water Cooler (Dena Dryer)
• Five Simple Reasons Why Your Query Might Have Been Rejected — The Blabbermouth (Linda P. Epstein)
• Guest Author Amie Kaufman: Six Ways to Make Researching Easier — The Other Side of the Story (Guest Amie Kaufman)