Friday Links Return: Jump Start Your Vacation Brain

Friday Links Return feels like an appropriate title for my first blog post in a while. These links should help get your writer’s brain working, whether you’re stuck in summer vacation mode or the winter doldrums. Stir things up, jostle some new ideas around, or tackle that project you set aside months ago.

Likewise, I plan to use this post as a segue back to some regular blogging. Both work and life remain busy, but writing always serves as an excellent distraction from larger concerns. Time for me to remember that and get back on schedule. Friday Links Return is by no means a one-shot deal.

Despite the radio silence, I continued to collect interesting tidbits as if I were blogging the past few months. Today you benefit from my hoarding. I discarded things I considered time sensitive, but plenty of the slightly older links remain. I bring you writing advice and publishing culture. Also, I apologize now for what I’m about to do to your TBR piles. So many book recs. I hope you feel inspired on so many levels. Wishing you a wonderful weekend, and happy writing!

Friday Links Return:

10 Fairy Tale Retellings that Are Deeper, Darker, and Sexier than the Originals. – I love a good fairy tale for grownups just as much as the versions from my childhood. Some great ones on this list.

Read It Forward’s Favorite Reads of July 2018. – A wonderful list of great titles released this month.

Most Anticipated: The Great Second-Half 2018 Book Preview. – One of my absolute favorite lists of upcoming releases, this biannual collection from The Millions always leaves me excited about so many new titles on the schedule.

That RWA LTA Speech (News from Suz). – Romance author Suzanne Brockmann received the Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s national RWA conference in Denver, and her speech caused quite a stir. It’s an excellent, inspiring read.

How Finland Rebranded Itself as a Literary Country. – Interesting for the literary angle, but also as a lesson in changing up your image.

Our Fiction Addiction: Why Humans Need Stories. – A look into the whys behind our obsession with books, movies, TV series, etc.

On Becoming an American Writer. – Alexander Chee takes an honest and often-difficult look at the realities of being a writer in the U.S., and offers up some advice.

Geniuses Need Not Apply: On Creative Writing Courses. – A brief look at some different approaches to learning how to write, and their potential worth.

How to Write Great Dialogue. – Some quick and dirty tips from editor Kat Brzozowski.

The Novel within the Novel. – A look at some books that have secondary stories nested inside of them. I love this device when it’s done well. Anthony Horowitz’s Magpie Murders is another great example. Intriguing reads, whether or not you intend to give the structure a try in your own project.

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