writing – Page 8

Tag Archives: writing

Writer Links – Creating Worlds, Building Heroes, and Wrapping it all Up

Posted on 23 May 10 by Editor

It’s that time again in my three-part cycle of link soup.

Just like how, at the cafeteria where you work, the middle of the week means taco bar, the beginning of the Leith Literary soup cycle means links to stuff other writers are writing about! There’s no guac or salsa here, but there certainly is a lot of spicy goodness.

So, set your laptop somewhere it won’t overheat (the cooling vents are probably on the bottom!) and enjoy the following links offering advice and other neat stuff from writers. Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: authors, becky levine, christine kling, ink phantom, juliette wade, les edgerton, lydia sharp, publishing, talk to youniverse, the sharp angle, write it sideways, writing

Writer Links – Obscure Characters, Back-Ups, and What Writers Read

Posted on 17 May 10 by Editor

I have returned, completely mostly moved in to my new place of residence, and ready to shout “clear!” and slap the paddles to this flatlining blog.

Also, now that I’ve switched WordPress themes, I can go back to regular text hyperlinks; Andreas09 gives them a nice, clean look. However, I still like the idea of card suit bullets distinguishing the different categories of link soup, so I think I’ll keep them too.

So, without further introduction, let’s look at some good stuff posted recently by writers: Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: authors, becky levine, bethany wiggins, bookfox, dawn simon, fiction, jade smith, john fox, kelly morgan, lydia sharp, publishing, scott meek, the sharp angle, writers, writing

Archaic Definition of the Week – Cockswain

Posted on 13 May 10 by Editor

COCKSWAIN, or COXEN, the officer who manages and steers a boat, and has the command of the boat’s crew. It is evidently compounded of the words cock and swain, the former of which was anciently used for a yawl or small boat, as appears by several authors; but it has now become obsolete, and is never used by our mariners.

– Yon tall anchoring bark
Diminish’d to her cock; her cock a buoy, &c.
SHAKESPEARE..

– Wm. Falconer’s Dictionary of the Marine (1780).

Category: ADOTW | Tags: cockswain, definition, shakespeare, words, writing

General Update and News

Posted on 07 May 10 by Editor

I know the next week or so may be rather slow, so I want to publish a little update.

First of all, I am moving! Adams Morgan is a great neighborhood, but unfortunately great neighborhoods are not always blessed with great property managers, rational parking arrangements, or reasonable housing prices.

So, I’m off to the Waterfront, literally a couple blocks from where the sailboats dock, the Cantina Marina, the historic Maine Avenue Fish Market, Zanzibar, the Arena Stage, Hogate’s, and the Thomas Law House built in the 1780s.

It’s also very close (a 15 minute walk) to the National Mall. I can have lunch at NMAI‘s Mitsitam Café whenever I want! And, if you haven’t eaten there, go. Seriously. Venison loaf, chili short ribs, maple brined turkey, quinoa verde, bison chili, cherry dusted scallops, lobster whipped potatoes, roasted salmon, and drinks from juice to beer and wine. It’s absolutely the best food on the Mall.

I’m taking the move gradually during the overlap period. So far, I have moved 21 bankers boxes filled with books; I’m about halfway done with that part. The big stuff (mostly, as you might guess, shelves) will be moved on Monday, after which will be a week of organizing the new place and cleaning the old.

Also, as you can see, I’m trying out a new WordPress theme: Andreas09. I’m not too fond of the sans-serif font, but I like the clean hyperlinks and the more expansive layout. If I can figure out how to do Typekits, the fonts will be shifted to something more serify and old-fashioned.

Finally, I have been thinking of expanding outward from my Story Behind The Story posts. I have three writing advice blogs in the draft stage, tentatively (and humbly) titled “Advice From A Dude Who Hasn’t Even Been Published.” And, of course, I will get back into the fiction-writing habit as soon as the move is accomplished.

But, never fear: the Amalgam Poems and Archaic Definitions are front-loaded and ready to go!

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: adams morgan, arena stage, books, cantina marina, fish market, font, hogate's, housing, maine avenue, mitsitam, national mall, national museum of the american indian, publishing, thomas law house, washington dc, waterfront, writing, zanzibar

Archaic Definition of the Week – Sixes and Sevens

Posted on 23 Apr 10 by Editor

SIXES AND SEVENS. Left at sixes and sevens: i.e. in confusion; commonly said of a room where the furniture is scattered about; or of a business left unsettled.

– 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue : A Dictionary of British Slang, University Wit, and Pickpocket Eloquence (unabridged) compiled originally by Captain Grose

Category: ADOTW | Tags: words, writer, writing

Lit Agent Links – Jewels of Wisdom from the Gatekeepers

Posted on 21 Apr 10 by Editor

Now that I’m returning to the link soup model (see my previous post about writer links for the whole sordid confession) I might as well go ahead and pump out some links to literary agent stuff I have found interesting recently.

In keeping with the new style — and until you tell me it makes you bat-crazy — these links will use the bullet method to avoid that ugly dotted underline hyperlink marker.

Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: BookEnds LLC, Dystel & Goderich, fiction, Janet Reid, literary agent, nathan bransford, publishing, writing

Writer Links – Things to Heart

Posted on 21 Apr 10 by Editor

So, my little experiment of setting aside the link soups in favor of just posting whenever I read something interesting? Yeah, that didn’t turn out so well. I would read something, tell myself to remember to blog about it, then forget to blog about it.

In other words, that plan was chock full o’ fail.

But, never let it be said that I don’t respond rationally to contrary data! Back to the status quo ante we go, with this week’s collection of links dedicated to the writers I read online.

Continue reading →

Category: Blogroll | Tags: becky levine, brandi guthrie, fiction, jade smith, john fox, juliette wade, lydia sharp, publishing, sammy suzuhara, writers, writing

Writer Links – Contradictory Advice, Micro-Themes, and Evil Memes

Posted on 30 Mar 10 by Editor

I want to start this week’s writer link soup with two author success stories from the Shooting Stars blog: Sarah Wylie and Mary Lindsey. Check them out; their story could be your story someday!

At the suggestion of her son, Becky Levine digs into the metaphorical Professor Umbridge, while Kelly Morgan of Distracted By The Internet gives us an intriguing peek into her writing process.

Heather Singh writes in her Composition Book about the Top Ten highlights from the Novel Writing Retreat at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, while John over at BookFox gives into the “evil meme” and presents his list of the Top Eight books that have influenced him. I may give into this fad myself soon.

Les Edgerton advises writers to avoid “as” and “-ing” phrases, while Lydia at The Sharp Angle discusses how to use micro-themes to bring energy to your writing.

Juliette Wade at Talk To YoUniverse explains how to let your characters use their social skills, and Liesl at Writer Ropes and Hopes kicks off her Contradictions series (a very clever idea, by the way) by navigating between showing and telling.

And big THANKS to Jade Smith for including my “In Defense of Coffee Shop Writers” in her latest link wave!

Publishing Links – Tons of Advice and Questions Answered

Posted on 29 Mar 10 by Editor

We have some interesting links from publishing biz pros this week. By the way, subscribed yet? Check out the sidebar and sign up!

The Author magazine editor’s blog attacks some intriguing issues for writers: the great discipline it takes to write without an outline, ending a story before the readers expect it to end, and how the lowest of lows proves that there is a high within us. Good reads!

Rob Asghar explains, in a special and snarkily funny piece for the Huffington Post, seven lessons for aspiring authors: Go Rogue! Definitely worth the click.

Eric at Pimp My Novel explains the epistemology of publishing in five easy minutes, while the Moby Lives blogs addresses something near and dear to my heart as a religious scholar who focused on Islam during my heady days at the University of Virginia: better textual analysis of early copies of the Qur’an.

Alan Rinzler of The Book Deal asks “Is a bestseller hiding in your academic papers?” and offers some insider tips for preparing and delivering a winning pitch.

Finally, Moonrat at Editorial Ass answers the following ass-tastic questions: