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Friday Links: The Leap Year Edition

Nephele Tempest

This week’s Friday Links decided to leap over to Saturday, courtesy of my insane schedule. I considered skipping the post entirely, but I missed last week and guilty feelings won out. No great unifying theme, however. Just a bunch of things I’ve come across and found interesting, informative, and/or entertaining.

Is anyone doing something special with the extra day this year? I love the idea of considering February 29th a bonus day–one you get to spend at will. I’m devoting my day to a project that I’ve been trying to squeeze into my regular calendar for way too long. Fingers crossed I can make some huge progress.

Wishing you a wonderful Leap Day, whatever you choose to do. Enjoy!

This Week’s Links:

Wired’s 13 Must-Read Books for Spring. – Some fun titles to consider adding to your TBR.

The New Wave of Fantasy: How Millennial Authors Are Transforming the Genre. – A quick round table with four prominent young fantasy writers.

The Man Responsible for Cut/Copy/Paste Has Died. – A brief acknowledgement for the passing of Larry Tesler, who made the lives of many writers easier.

Author’s Guild Releases Grim 5-Page Report on “The Profession of the Author in the 21st Century.” – Not great news, but really, it’s never been great news.

A Library Story. They Say Everyone Has One. – A lovely, uplifting read about the good libraries do.

Open Access Image Libraries: A Handy List. – A helpful roundup of the libraries currently making collections of images available for open use through their websites.

Confessions of a Hate Reader, or Bad Writing Habits I Picked Up from Bad Criticism. – Takes a look at the difficulties of creating with a laundry list of “shouldn’t”s in one’s brain.

 

Friday Links: Small Ways to Level Up Your Writing

Nephele Tempest

It seems impossible to start off today without mention of the sad passing of Harper Lee. Last year was her year, no matter how you look at it, with the release of Go Set a Watchman and the controversy that accompanied it, and the number of people reading To Kill a Mockingbird either for the first time or as a refresher. She had an interesting life and career, and left us with her art to remember her by.

However this week’s links are not about Harper Lee’s writing, but about yours. How goes it? Need a little push? Some easy references to help you over the tough spots? A touch of inspiration? Something to aim for? Today’s Friday Links should help you along. There are few fun things thrown in to mix it up, but for the most part this week’s links are aimed at giving you a little boost on your writing journey. Enjoy, and happy writing!

The Grammar Rules Behind 3 Commonly Disparaged Dialects – Did you know even dialects have grammar systems? A handy bit of info if you’re writing regional characters.

The Punctuation Guide – An online reference for all those pesky punctuation marks, plus some useful tips.

How I Changed My Submissions after Editing a Major Lit Mag – Suggestions of things to look out for from someone in the know.

Writing with the Mentors: Why Voice Is like a Piece of Very, Very Good Cake – A few basic pointers on how voice can make your writing stand out.

Famous Literary Locales, Visualized – Images from the NY Public Library collection to fit with various well-known books. Nice inspiration if you want to get some visuals for your own WIP.

Opportunities for Writers: March and April 2016 – Upcoming deadlines for writing contests, calls for work, etc.

One Man, One Obsession, 100 Typewriters – Collect something writing related? Love old typewriters? Check this out, especially the photos of these beautiful old machines.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday, and happy long Labor Day weekend to those of you in the U.S. Even though we technically have a few more weeks of summer ahead, this weekend marks the unofficial close of the summer season for many people, so by all means, put this weekend to good use. It’s time for quick getaways, splashing in the ocean or a nearby lake or a lovely pool, backyard cookouts, or reading a great book in a shaded hammock. However you spend this weekend — holiday or not — I wish you a terrific one. And, of course, offer up a few fun links to help kick things off. Enjoy!

I Smell Your Rookie Moves, New Writers – Some excellent advice from the always-funny Chuck Wendig.

A Writing Lesson from Ursula K. LeGuin – As stated.

One Shade of Grey – A virtual peek through the doors of London’s Persephone Books.

10 Instagram Tips for Writers – Share images of your bookish world.

Making Maps for Books: 2 Cartographers Show Us How It’s Done – Wonderful interview with two map makers who frequently provide maps for fantasy novels, etc.

Friday Links

Nephele Tempest

Happy Friday, everyone! This week flew by. In fact, summer seems to be flying by. A friend cornered me the other evening to let me know about her Labor Day bbq, and all I could think was “September? Already? No!” It’s the same every year, yet it always manages to catch me unawares.

But we have a few more weeks of summer to enjoy, and I hope you intend to get some good reading and writing time in along with your other activities. And of course, if you’re in the southern part of the world, I hope you’re anticipating spring’s arrival by staying inside, keeping warm, and cranking out pages on your WIP before sunny days lure you outside. To mix in with all these activities, I offer this week’s links to check out. Enjoy, and have a fabulous weekend!

World Building 101 – N.K. Jemisin recently taught an online class in world building, and here she offers a downloadable PDF of the steps she takes when creating worlds. Not as complete as taking the course, obviously, but still a great resource.

How Romance Novelists Got Such a Silly, Sappy Rap – In the wake of this year’s national RWA convention, an interesting look at romance writers as business people.

Can’t Get Into It – Artist and writer Danny Gregory talks about attention span and reading — briefly.

How to Access a Million Stunning, Copyright-free Antique Illustrations Released by the British Library – A fabulous resource for bloggers, etc.

World’s Coolest Bookstores – Some amazing photos. You’re going to want to add a few of these to your travel list.