My favorite internet links of the week – some have to do with writing, others do not. Enjoy!
1. Study Shows Men Feel Bad Around Smart, Successful Women
I quoted this title to my husband, and he immediately responded, “Not me!” Gotta love him. Maybe I’ll ask again after I achieve bestseller status. Bwah ha ha! ;p
2. 101 Blog Topic Ideas – Molly Greene
Stuck on what to write about this week? Sometimes I am, too, so I was delighted to stumble across this list from Molly Greene. Now I’m set for quite a while. Hopefully you’re thrilled to hear that. (Don’t forget, you can subscribe to my ramblings so you never miss a scintillating update – find the subscription box over on the right side of the blog).
3. Why I Like the Term Author-Publisher – Chuck Wendig
I’ve got not one, but TWO blogs from Chuck Wendig on the list this week. I absolutely love his blog and envy his hilariously creative, engaging writing style. Here he tackles the negative connotations of self-publishing and proposes a new, more apt title, that of author-publishing.
4. 25 Steps to Edit the Unmerciful Suck Out of Your Story – Chuck Wendig
Oh yes, I’m neck-deep in editing my first story. Since it IS my first novel, it’s the first time I’m attempting this slog-through-it-fix-the-crap stuff. It’s hard, dude. So I’ve been scouring the net for advice on this whole editing process. Here Mr. Wendig dissects it with verve and wit and, well, truth. And hey, this blog post hits #1 on his list of suggestions!
5. 9 Tips for Writing a Really Good “Shitty First Draft” – Lisa Cron
Wow, people love lists, don’t they. 10 steps of this, 5 steps to that. But this is a really good list for those of us not in the editing stage, or already past the editing stage and on to the next project. The two phrases I’ve heard the most often since starting this writing thing are “Kill Your Darlings” and “All 1st Drafts Are Shitty.” That’s been hard to accept – all that work and it’s crap? But it’s O.K. – this blog helps us to figure out ways to make that first effort slightly less a steaming pile of horse poop. (Thanks to friend Sarah, aka @meta_murph_osis, for alerting me to this post!)
5. 19 Jokes Only Grammar Nerds Will Understand
Yes, I’m one of those people. You know the ones. We’ll mock your grammatical boo-boos on Facebook or trash talk your spelling snafus with our besties. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Especially since it’s not like I’ve been officially TRAINED in grammatical guruness. See there? Guruness isn’t even a word. I’m sure I’ve misplaced a zillion commas. And I’m pretty sure that while I excel at it, one is really not supposed to start sentences with conjunctions. Who cares? These jokes are funny, man. Funny.
6. 25 Worst Haircuts of All Time
Let’s end the list of links on a high note. Or a low note, depending on your point of view. But I guarantee at least one of these haircuts should strike a funny chord with you – unless perhaps you were one of the people who actually HAD one of these haircuts. O.K., maybe even then. (My favorite’s #13, by the way…)