travel

Friday Links: Setting Writing Goals and Leveling Up

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! It’s been a ridiculously busy week, as evidenced by the crickets chirping around here, but I have several things planned for next week that I hope will make up for the quiet.

As I mentioned last week and a few times on Twitter, we’re into the final quarter of the year now, so it’s a great time to reassess your writing goals if you haven’t had the chance yet. It doesn’t need to be a big deal. If you made goals for the year, pull them out and see how you’re doing, where you might need to focus more time or effort, or — if you’re ahead of the game — change things around a bit to give yourself a challenge in the coming months.

If you didn’t make goals for the year, even easier. Think about where you are with your writing and what you would like to achieve before 2016 rolls around. Keep in mind holidays and such make this time of year busy, but don’t just let yourself off the hook and think you can procrastinate on all the big stuff until January. Break things into bite-sized pieces and figure out what you can tackle now, even if it’s just an aim to write a little each day. And don’t forget that National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is coming in November, a great way to recommit to your writing.

To help inspire you, I’ve got this week’s links, a broad range I hope you find intriguing and entertaining, and that might give you some ideas on how to level up with your writing. Enjoy, and have a wonderfully productive weekend!

Anatomy of a Discovery: How a Literary Magazine Editor Finds New Writers – Some food for thought for those of you submitting shorter work to the lit mags, or considering it.

53 Wonderfully Pointless Facts about the English Language – For a chuckle.

My Paradoxical Quest to Build a Personal Brand – More food for thought. Ever more pertinent, whether you’re writing novels or freelancing or just designing your blog.

Immigration, Dislocation, and the Search for Home – How immigration and the economy have affected one writer’s work, and outlook. Another good argument for reading diversely in a global sense.

Win a Writer’s Retreat in Iceland – Details for a scholarship covering flight and attendance to the April 2016 program.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! And for those of you here in the U.S., happy Independence Day weekend! Please make sure you stay safe in the midst of all your revelry.

As for my plans for the weekend, there’s a BBQ with friends on my calendar, but in the meantime I plan to be lazy and catch up on both sleep and my personal reading. It’s been a crazy few weeks and that’s about all my energy levels will allow. However, I’m leaving you all with this week’s links in the event you have a quiet moment or two and want something entertaining to check out. Enjoy, and happy weekend!

How to Write a Series: 8 Novice Mistakes to Avoid – Ever wonder how authors juggle series writing? This might give you a few clues.

10 Captivating Short Stories Everyone Should Read – Some great classics, a few of which you may have read before, but all worth checking out or revisiting.

Women Writers on Twitter: In Their Own Words – A number of women writers discuss their experiences with Twitter.

Travel Journals – A peek into Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s travel journals from 1960, 1961, and 1982, for a breath of summer adventure and some inspiration.

Where to Start with Brazilian Literature – A nice round up of titles for anyone looking to read more books in translation or just farther afield.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! I am in London on vacation right now, so I’m afraid this is rather an abbreviated post. However, I hope you find it entertaining and informative regardless. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend, filled with books and writing and sunshine. Enjoy!

An Argument for Reading in Chronological Order – A look at what’s to be gained by reading books based on their pub dates.

Eight for Eight: A Literary Reader for Passover – Interesting reading suggestions for the holiday, whatever your religious inclinations.

Randomized Dystopia – Suggestions for those of you having trouble coming up with an original setting/scenario for your sci-fi WIP.

T.S. Eliot’s Old Summer Home May Become Writer’s Retreat – What it says. Beautiful and inspirational location to keep in mind.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! I hope you all had an enjoyable week and that your plans for the weekend are shaping up. If you’re planning to participate in NaNoWriMo this year, you might consider starting to plan (assuming you haven’t already). Three weeks and counting to the madness. It’s also a great time to pick up some spooky, Halloween-type reading if you’re so inclined.

Whatever your plans for the weekend, I’ve got some great links here to inspire you. I hope you find them entertaining and educational. Happy writing!

The Introvert’s Guide to Planning a Book Launch – Some helpful tips for those of you who’d prefer to hide under a blanket with your laptop instead of promoting your book.

Judge Overturns IRS on Artist Tax Deductions – Useful for anyone juggling a day job that requires work similar to your art.

20 Amazing Writing Residencies You Should Apply for This Year – Looking for some time away to write? Check these out.

How to Write a Kick-Ass Essay, with Ann Hood – Wonderful Tin House podcast featuring Ann Hood’s workshop lecture on how to write a stellar essay.

Our Favorite Spooky Tales – Some recommendations for seasonal reading from the New York Public Library.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday! It’s officially the start of the Easter weekend in much of the world, and so for all of you celebrating, enjoy. Our offices are closed today, so I’m taking the time to catch up on some non-work related things and — I hope — do some personal reading. My TBR pile has been glaring at me especially hard the past few weeks.

But before I go “off duty,” I have some fun links for you to kick off the weekend. They’re definitely a bit all over the place today, so I hope you find something that sparks your imagination or just entertains you. Have a great weekend!

The Virtual Moleskine – A look at the history of this popular notebook, and at their efforts to add a digital option.

A Photographic Tour of America’s Libraries – In honor of National Library Week.

Bookmarks Competition Winners – Book Depository held a contest, and these charming designs were the winners.

In Pakistan, Literary Spring Is Both Renaissance and Resistance – A look at the book festival behind held in Lahore, despite the atmosphere of political instability and oppression.

The Power of Garcia Marquez – A look back at the writer, who passed away yesterday.

Holiday bonus: Peeps Show 2014, Winner and Finalists – An adorable and entertaining use of Peeps — those traditional too-sweet, sticky Easter-time treats — in storytelling. Worth a look, whatever your beliefs.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

I realize my readership crosses all sorts of weather patterns and seasons, but in my neighborhood we’ve scheduled a heat wave for this weekend. Triple digits right through Sunday, of varying levels of evil. I suspect I’ll be retreating to places like the movies and the library for a good chunk of the next few days, if only to let someone else pay for the air conditioning for part of the time. I will, of course, be taking some reading material along for the ride.

But before I go hide from the heat, I offer up a fun selection of links to kick things off. Wishing you all a lovely weekend, wherever you are. Keep cool, keep warm, and keep writing. Enjoy!

A Day in the Life: Amy Einhorn – An interesting look at one day in the life of the publisher and vp of Einhorn books.

10 Literary Restaurants for Hungry Book Nerds around the World – A fun run down. Anyone planning a vacation to one of these spots?

Kate Atkinson Interview – Learn a bit about the author of Life After Life.

Inside an Illegal Party in an Abandoned Subway Station Deep Under NYC – Cool photos for some potential inspiration.

Cool Bookish Places: Gladstone’s Library – Check out this fabulous library and then check in — they rent rooms to travelers.

The Return of Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday, everyone! I’ve been back from New Zealand for a few days, but reentry was a bit bumpy — missing luggage, loads of work waiting for me, confusion regarding time and day — so blogging hasn’t been high on my priority list. But Friday Links seemed like a great way to get back to it, so here I am.

This week’s list of links is a combination of my usual books/writing/inspirational type sites and a smattering of fun New Zealand links that I felt the need to share. It was a terrific trip — more on that later — and I had a wonderful time at the RWNZ conference, as well. Thanks to all the lovely ladies there, who made my trip so much fun and who shared their stories with me, written or otherwise.

So, without further ado, I give you this week’s links. Wishing you all a lovely weekend, and — here in the U.S. — a great Labor Day holiday. Enjoy!

China Mieville: The Future of the Novel – From his speech at this year’s Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference.

First Read: Michael Chabon’s ‘Telegraph Avenue’ – A peek at the opening pages.

Just Write – A look at photographs of people writing all over the world, courtesy of Steve McCurry’s blog.

Is My Book Too Quiet? – A few thoughts on what this means from literary agent Carly Watters.

8 Ways Reading Makes You a Better Dater – Just for fun.

And from New Zealand…

Auckland Museum – I spent an entire morning here, and particularly loved the photography exhibition.

Waitomo Caves – They take you through the dark caves by boat so you can see the glow worms that coat the ceilings. Spooky and beautiful.

Hobbiton Tours – The farm where they shot the Hobbiton scenes, both for The Lord of the Rings films and the upcoming Hobbit films.

Whakarewarewa: The Living Thermal Village – In Rotorua, New Zealand. This village sits on a geo thermal site where the hot steam seeps up through cracks in the earth and heats their bath water and homes, and cooks their food. Fascinating way of life.

 

Mini Hiatus

Nephele Tempest

I’m off to New Zealand this evening. First there will be vacationing (and playtime with Nalini Singh), and then there will be the Romance Writers of New Zealand conference.

Chances are good that I won’t have much time to blog while I’m gone, so apologies now if I disappear for the duration. Regardless, I return on the 27th, and so should have some tales of travel for you soon after.

Be good while I’m gone! Don’t break the internet! And go write something wonderful…

Reading on the Road

Nephele Tempest

I’m traveling for both business and pleasure starting tomorrow, so I’ve started thinking about what to read while I’m gone. There will be some work-related projects, of course, but I have a few long plane rides and a full week that’s technically vacation time, so I’m excited to dig into books that will remind me why I love to read.

Anyone who reads a lot for work can tell you that there’s a certain giddiness associated with reading for pleasure. I love books of all sorts, but there’s something elicit about stealing time to read just for me these days. I liken it to reading “naughty books” as a child, things you might not necessarily want your parents to catch you with, even if they never forbade you from reading them. Books addressing subjects that were a little too sexy, too violent, too mature… Reading for work is a pleasure as well, but it’s still work, and you maintain a critical focus from first page to last. And for agents, there are plenty of stories that fail on some level, that make you wonder, if only for an instant, why you like to read at all.

Choosing my vacation reading is the biggest challenge. I can pack my suitcase and my computer and my camera, no problem, but I will linger over my bookshelves trying to figure out what to take. Having a Kindle makes things a little easier, since there are always plenty of choices packed into its compact space, but I am, at heart, a paper book kind of girl. Besides which, you need something to read during take off and landing, when electronic devices are powered down.

I blame my indecision when the clock is ticking on my lack of free-reading time. The choice feels weighty, important. I want to take the right books with me, the books that will complement my travels without distracting from them. Books I can lose myself in completely, as is appropriate on vacation. And I worry about taking the wrong ones. Books that might be perfectly wonderful when read under the covers at home on a chilly Sunday afternoon but that will fail to hold up to the spirit of adventure inherent in a long journey.

The temptation to reread sets in a few hours before I have to leave. I’ll linger in front of favorite volumes, thinking how much simpler it would be to just take a few of them, knowing they’ll be perfect for the trip. Old friends tagging along as you discover new places. But again, there’s that time shortage thing rearing its head, reminding me that I should read something new, that I should take advantage of the time away to discover a new favorite instead.

Eventually I’ll decide. I’ll grab two or three books and shove them in reserved spots in my tote bag and my suitcase. Will they be the right choices? Only time can tell.

How do you decide on your vacation reading? Are there any books you’ve read on vacation recently that you loved? Any you’re looking forward to?