Friday Links: A Mishmash of Inspiration for Your Weekend

Happy Friday! Hard to believe we’re halfway through November. For those of you diligently toiling at NaNoWriMo, I hope you’re making excellent progress. Actually, I wish you all excellent progress, no matter what you’re working on.

The weekend looms, however, and so I offer you this advice. Don’t forget to take a little break. Yes, I know you have words to write. I know you have work and family and other obligations. But take time to recharge a little. Read something fun. Go outside. Rekindle a hobby that’s fallen by the wayside. The rest of the year will only get busier, so take a moment to breathe while you can.

I hope these links provide a little inspiration and maybe some useful information. It’s a mishmash–something for everyone. Have a terrific weekend, and happy writing!

This Week’s Links:

Shelf Mythology: 100 Years of Paris Bookshop Shakespeare and Company. – This month marks the 100th anniversary of the famed Parisian bookstore. The Guardian offers a nice little history of the shop.

The Secret Society of Women Writers in Oxford in the 1920s. – A look at a group of women writers who supported each other in their literary efforts and ambitions considered inappropriate for women of their time.

Go Beyond Sally Rooney with These 13 Irish Women Novelists. – A nice roundup of titles you might consider for your TBR pile.

What Makes Good Comfort Food? Writers in Conversation. – Everyone always asks the literary dinner party question. What authors, deceased or living, would you invite to a literary dinner party? No one asks what everyone would eat. This seems to remedy that.

Reedsy Plot Generator. – For anyone needing a jumping off point for a new project or something to inspire a new tangent. It’s a fun exercise to help you run through a bunch of ideas fast and works across genres. With thanks to Yvonne Shiau for bringing it to my attention.

For N.K. Jemisin, World-Building Is a Lesson in Oppression. – Check out this world-building workshop that addresses the structural forces that lead to inequality.

Kurt Vonnegut’s Advice for the Impatient Writer. – Some wise (and often tongue-in-cheek) thoughts for anyone frustrated with various aspects of their writing career.

Friday Links: Revisit Writing Basics

What does it mean to revisit writing basics? Simply put, this week I’d like you to peel away some of the technology and bells and whistles and look at the bare bones of your writing habit. If you have writer’s block, this approach may help unmoor your ideas. Otherwise, going back to basics for a day or two can renew your creativity in general. A short hand way to think of this approach is “butt in chair, brain in gear.” You might also want to focus on the building blocks of your craft. Read some of your writing aloud, listening for rhythms and word repetition. Maybe forget your fancy computer program and work for a bit in longhand. Write daily and read good books.

I’ve collected the ususal assortment of links this week, with a fair amount of writing advice included. Keep in mind that the best writing style is the one you develop for yourself. So take a look at these varied ideas about writing and apply the ones that work for you. Not every writing trick inspires every writer. I hope at least a few of these will send you to your desk this weekend. Enjoy, and happy writing!

This Week’s Links

Why Digital Note-Taking Will Never Replace the Physical Journal. – Thoughts on why physical journals survive in this digital age.

An Oubliette of Unconventional Writing Advice. – Chuck Wendig offers some entertaining advice on writing advice as a whole, and some common-sense ways to get your work done.

How I Do It: Anne Rice on Writing Technique. – Some very specific ideas on how to approach the art of writing.

London’s Amazing Underground Infrastructure Revealed in Vintage Cutaway Maps. – Fabulous images to inspire either historical or fantasy fiction set in London – or something completely original.

NaNo Prep: Make a Box for Your Bully. – Some excellent advice on silencing that inner editor so you can just write. (Plenty of time to edit when the draft is done.)

Start It Already: How to Start Your Novel – Great tips on how to actually start writing that book, for those of you staring at a blank page/screen.