Writing Cross-Culturally

Ten great resources for understanding how to include diversity in your writing. 

http://blog.leeandlow.com/2014/01/24/10-great-resources-for-writing-cross-culturally/

Conference Dos and Don'ts

Get the most out of your conference attendance by following a few simple "rules." 

http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2014/02/conference-dos-and-donts.html

Thought Verbs

Show your story instead of telling via what your character thinks, wonders, believes, understands, etc. something. 

http://marmaladia.org/2013/08/07/practical-writing-advice-from-chuck-palahniuk/

Starting Your Novel

Find the place that feels right and start your novel there. 

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2014/02/where-do-you-start-your-story.html

Characters with Disabilities

How should you portray characters with disease or disability?

http://writewithfey.blogspot.com/2014/01/writing-about-character-with-disease-or.html

Color Thesaurus

What a great idea--color names to enliven your writing, displayed atop a swatch of the color. 

http://ingridsnotes.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/the-color-thesaurus/

Overused Words

Here are some great suggestions for words you can cut from you manuscript. 

http://writewithfey.blogspot.com/2014/01/words-to-cut-out-of-your-writing.html

First Drafts

It's not just you. Nobody writes good first drafts. 

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2014/02/good-first-drafts/

Is it MG or YA?

What determines if it's middle-grade or young adult--the age of the protagonist? the themes? the word choices? something else? 

http://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2014/01/question-mgya-divide.html

Advice From an Editor

Writing is editing and editing is writing. 

http://cynthialeitichsmith.blogspot.com/2014/02/guest-post-kallie-george-on-what-being.html

Endings

Make sure your book ends as strongly as it begins. 

http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2014/01/14/tips-on-writing-endings/

Book Trailers

Eleven tips for making the most out of a book trailer. 

http://querytracker.blogspot.com/2014/01/11-tips-for-making-book-trailer.html

New MG/YA Agent

New agent, Laura Zats of Red Sofa Literary is open to queries for MG and YA novels. 

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/new-literary-agent-alert-laura-zats-of-red-sofa-literary

Writing Race

Ten questions to ask yourself when writing cross-culturally. 

http://www.mitaliblog.com/2009/04/writing-race-checklist-for-writers.html

Protecting Your Ideas

Even if another book comes out based on a similar idea to yours, it's all about the execution of that writing. 

http://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/protecting-your-idea/

Positive Traits

Use your characters' morals and basic needs to showcase their positive traits. 

http://elizabethspanncraig.com/1658/morals-basic-needs-influence-characters-positive-traits/

Interiority vs. Telling

How can you show your character's interior thoughts without lapsing into the dreaded "telling?" 

http://kidlit.com/2011/05/18/interiority-vs-telling/

Don't Quit Writing

Here are a few tips to help keep you on your writer's journey. 

http://taralazar.com/2014/01/27/students-authors-and-skype-believe-the-hype/

Skype Visits

A school librarian shares why Skype visits work for her and her students. 

http://taralazar.com/2014/01/27/students-authors-and-skype-believe-the-hype/

Writing a Series

If you're planning a series, it's a good idea to plan out the broader strokes. 

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2013/08/7-tips-on-writing-series.html

Rewriting History

Ten rules of thumb for writing historical fiction. 

http://elizabethspanncraig.com/1712/process-approaching-large-revisions/

Large Revisions

Organize before you revise to help avoid being totally overwhelmed. 

http://elizabethspanncraig.com/1712/process-approaching-large-revisions/

Inciting Incident

What is the even that really starts your story? 

http://ingridsnotes.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/inciting-incident/

Transitions

How to change scenes without resorted to the hackneyed, "meanwhile, back at the ranch." 

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/12/17/meanwhile-back-at-the-ranch/

World Building Tips

Even if you're writing realistic fiction, you still need to build the landscape of your story. 

http://kathytemean.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/world-building-tips/