1. The No-Stress Way to Create Your Story’s Logline – Logline? What the heck is a logline? I was clueless until a few months ago, when I learned that authors are expected to condense the essence of their book – their 50K, 70K, 90K opus of love – down to a single sentence in order to be able to pitch it to agents, editors, readers – anybody, really. Say WHAT? (My current logline draft reads: “A bookstore owner must choose between fantasy and reality after discovering the men she’s dating are fictional characters she’d created years ago.” Perhaps I need to read the article again?)
2. The 400 Year Old Color Chart – Good to know I’m not the only one obsessed with colors. And shades of colors. My husband just rolls his eyes when I start talking to him about reds under-laced with blue versus yellow. He thinks there’s just red. I’ll have to show him this.
3. The Numbering of Houses in Regency England – Thank goodness pizza delivery wasn’t an option. It would have been much harder to find the correct address for that Regency gaming hell (although I supposed its reputation probably preceded it).
4. Classifying Your Book: How to Research & Target Literary Agents – I post this one for your benefit, but also for mine. I’m still trying to figure out if my book works best for marketing if it’s seen as a paranormal romance, or as a chick lit book with elements of magic. Guess I have some reading to do!
5. Six Things Writers Can Learn From Elvis – Thankya Thankya Verra Much! People who know me in real life know my husband and I have 50s Elvis posters plastered across our basement wall in homage to how we met. Now it turns out The King can help writers, too?? Mercy!
6. 33 British Slang Words You’ll Want to Start Using Regularly Because They’re Awesome – Brilliant! I’m chuffed to know I’ll soon be passing as a native Brit. Or an American obsessed with Britain, at least. Bob’s your uncle!
7. How To Tell If You Are in a Jane Austen Novel – Just in case, like me, you occasionally confuse fiction with reality, this handy list will help you discern if, perhaps, this time, for realz, you are stuck in a Jane Austen novel. Although I have to say, I once took a walk with a cad, but I’m pretty sure that was in 1993.