On Writing & Publishing, & Everything In-between

A miscellanea of interviews with writers & articles on writing and publishing. www.SandraGulland.com

By Sandra Gulland

Drafting
How to Write a Novel: 10 Crucial Steps
dailywritingtips.com - Ali Hale
Whatever you write: blog posts, short stories, client pieces – I suspect that, at some point, you’ve at least considered writing a novel.Maybe it’s …
Interview with Elizabeth Bell, author of Necessary Sins, first in a four-book family saga
readingthepast.blogspot.com - noreply@blogger.com (Sarah Johnson)
Lovers of engrossing family sagas: here's a new historical series to add to your list. Necessary Sins, the first book in Elizabeth Bell's Lazare …
entertainment news
'I Put 1,400 Pages in the Trash.' The Tiger's Wife Author Téa Obreht on Killing Two Books to Create Her New Novel
TIME - Belinda Luscombe
For someone convinced that nothing lies beyond the grave, Téa Obreht brings a lot of stuff back from the dead. The living and the unliving mingle in her books like uneasy teens at a party, half recognizing
Emoji
Don't ditch the adverb, the emoji of writing
The Guardian - Gary Nunn
The adverb gets people fired up, and the chorus calling for a ban is getting too loud to ignore Should we brazenly ditch the adverb? For those who spotted the nerdy linguistic pun in that question, my
5 Tips to Save a Hard-to-Write Book
romanceuniversity.org - in Editing/Revision by Adrienne Giordano
Anyone who has written (or even tried) to write a book knows how hard it is. In the beginning, it’s a fun adventure where you’re meeting and getting …
Shirley Jackson
“The Greatest Menace to the Writer is the Reader” and Other Advice from Shirley Jackson
lithub.com - By Emily Temple
In case you haven’t noticed, at Literary Hub, we love Shirley Jackson. We might even say that we stan Shirley Jackson. We would all like to be more …
Kate Atkinson on writing: A good day is when you’ve written a good sentence
csmonitor.com - Euan Myles/Courtesy of Little, Brown and Co.
Unlike most serial detectives, Jackson Brodie doesn’t always save the day. He doesn’t always get the girl. And in “Big Sky,” Kate Atkinson’s fifth …
Infographics
Infographic: Writing tips from famous authors
nicholasrossis.me
Ages ago, I shared with you some of J.K. Rowling’s writing tips. Today, I’m sharing some more great tips from 12 famous authors. I hope they help …
Are there Any Good Exercises for Character Creation? | McKee Seminars
mckeestory.com - McKee Story
Lifestyle (Canada)
Is it worth paying $7,500 to have your book published? Maybe
sfchronicle.com - Barbara Lane
My ex-husband’s uncle was a World War II fighter pilot who went down with the plane. A true hero. Several years ago, the family paid someone to write …
Kittens
Writing Tips: 7 Ways To Write Funnier Fiction
thecreativepenn.com - joanna@TheCreativePenn.com (Joanna Penn)
As Dan Brotzel points out in this post, humor is another skill writers can develop, just like plotting and character development. If you're looking …
Rebecca Godfrey Investigates the Murder That Shook Her Hometown - Electric Literature
electricliterature.com - Jenny Offill
In 1997, 14-year-old Reena Virk was found murdered in Victoria, British Columbia. The case shocked Canadians, especially when they learned how Virk …
Poetry
At age 101, this woman released her first collection of poems
The Washington Post - By Tara Bahrampour
Sarah Yerkes was in her 90s when a friend invited her to try something new. A graduate of Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, Yerkes had had decades-long careers: first as a landscape architect
Amazon
Why Self-Publishing Authors Should Consider Establishing Their Own Imprint
janefriedman.com - David Wogahn
Today’s guest post is an excerpt from Register Your Book: The Essential Guide to ISBNs, Barcodes, Copyright, and LCCNs by consultant David Wogahn …
19th Century
Why Don’t I Read All My Books?
lithub.com - By Karen Olsson
I own a book called Love and Loss: American Portrait and Mourning Miniatures, itself a small object with a haunting image on the cover: a tiny …
On Breaking Down the Barrier Between YA and Adult Fiction
lithub.com - By Alexi Zentner
Even when I was in elementary and middle school, my parents never set limits on what I could read. I dipped liberally into their vast store of …
20th Century
Raymond Chandler: The Art of Beginning a Crime Story
crimereads.com - Dwyer MurphyDwyer Murphy is the managing editor of CrimeReads.
There are times in life when you need a good opener. Maybe you’re caught in a rut and need the charge of a new world, new characters, something that …
Poker
How to raise the stakes in a novel
nathanbransford.com
Along with “show don’t tell” and “write in an original voice,” “raise the stakes” is one of the most oft-repeated and misunderstood bits of writing …
The Top Writing Competitions for Debut Authors
wordpress.com - By Vicky
Getting published can be a tricky business- especially if you’re a first-time author. After all, JK Rowling was rejected by fifteen publishers before …
I Didn’t Write This Column. I Spoke It.
The New York Times - By FARHAD MANJOO
A few months ago, I stumbled onto a new way of writing. I don’t mean an unusual literary or textual style; I mean a new physical method for the painstaking task of chiseling the formless geologic schists
What Hemingway Cut From For Whom the Bell Tolls
lithub.com - By Seán Hemingway
During the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), Spain became a battleground in the fight between freedom and fascism. Fascism prevailed. To gain a powerful …
Historical Fiction
Hilary Mantel on the secrets of successful historical fiction
historyextra.com - GuestEditor
"No novelist thinks historians have an easy job. If historians think fiction is easy, you wonder what novels they are reading": As the final novel of …
J. K. Rowling
Notes and diagrams show how famous authors including J.K. Rowling and Sylvia Plath planned out their novels | Daily Mail
dailymail.co.uk - By Tara Brady
Losing the plot: Fascinating collection of notes, diagrams and tables show how famous authors including J.K. Rowling and Sylvia Plath battled to plan …
Fantasy and Science Fiction Award-Winning Author Fonda Lee On Research, Letting Ideas Age, and Getting Clear On WHY You -
writingroutines.com
Claim To Fame: Fonda Lee is a science fiction and fantasy author for both adults and teens. Her novel Jade City, the first of the Green Bone Sage, won …
100 Best Writing Websites: 2019 Edition
thewritelife.com - Dana Sitar
Endless definitions of “writer” exist in the world. And they’re only growing with the proliferation of blogging and digital publishing.Whether you’re …
The Liberation and Consternation of Writing a Whole Book with Paper and Pen
lithub.com - By Jeff Gordinier
“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.” I was going to write this essay on a flight …
Ray Bradbury
Better Your Writing By Being a Beginner—Every Day
janefriedman.com - Yi Shun Lai
Today’s guest post is by author Yi Shun Lai (@gooddirt).I’ve been a writer nearly all my life. When I was younger, and way more earnest, and probably …
How to Write and Use a Beat Sheet (Free Template)
nofilmschool.com - Jason Hellerman
Stuck and can't write your way out? A beat sheet can help you pick moments that keep your narrative thrust moving forward. So why aren't you using …