Friday's Interesting Links

Books I Recommend
(I only finished the one.)

Stakes & Stilettos by Michelle Rowen - How she manages to pull off a flippant, largely cowardly, main character, I don't know, but I love seeing what Sarah gets into. This novel largely resolves the relationship with her boyfriend Thierry (an ongoing thread of the series), and opens up a new plot to carry into the next book or two.

Promoting/Submitting

How to work with your local bookstores:
http://www.isnare.com/?aid=314301&ca=Writing

True Originality Is Overrated:
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/04/on-concepts.html

New Scientist flash contest:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17779-new-scientist-flash-fiction-competition-2009.html

Tips on synopsis writing
http://mysterygal.bravejournal.com/entry/36718

Tips on crafting a good hook:
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2007/05/how-to-craft-great-hook.html

Writing

A solid list of what to look at with revisions:
http://writing-novels.suite101.com/article.cfm/revising_a_novel

And a list of danger words. Remember that these are ones to pay attention to, not to eliminate out of hand. Even in the examples, there are cases to be made for the "bad" version in context as it changes the emphasis.
http://wordsharpeners.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/words-writers-should-delete/

A look at what makes up good writing:
http://chavelaque.blogspot.com/2009/09/defining-good-writing-possibly.html

This is an interesting concept and of use, I think, to people who are struggling with the concept of plotting. It seems to provide a solid base for an outline:
http://www.2writeabook.com/plot-structure.html

Tips on ferreting out over writing, but also how to define over writing for that specific work.
http://helpineedapublisher.blogspot.com/2009/09/big-mistake-3-over-writing.html

Quick review of show vs. tell:
http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2009/09/showing-vs-telling.html

Goal setting and management for writing. What's interesting about this one is the wide variety of approaches represented in the author quotes:
http://www.kateelliott.com/default.asp?cmsnumber=1&page_id=75

A group of quick tips for things to look at to strengthen your novel:
http://www.darcypattison.com/revision/30-days-to-a-stronger-novel/

Nice list of what being a writer means:
http://authorculture.blogspot.com/2009/09/youre-not-writer-unless.html

Reading

SF flash:
http://www.newscientist.com/special/sci-fi-the-fiction-of-now

Harlequin free online reads. For those who want a taste of Harlequin, they post both shorter and full-length novels. Here is one example.
http://eharlequin.com/article.html?articleId=1224

Science

Weeblies wobble but they don't fall down...and now they scope out unknown territory:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20327267.800-army-heliweeble-hops-to-avoid-rubble-trouble.html

This comic illustrates my concerns with some of our assumptions so perfectly I think it belongs under science:
http://xkcd.com/638/

And dinosaur news...I couldn't pass it up :).
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/090918_raptorex

http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/dn17804the-body-of-raptorex

For a road-trip junkie like myself, this comes as no surprise, but it's an interesting look at the US roadmap:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17691-follow-the-roads-if-you-want-to-look-for-america.html

Possibility of new answers in Mayan Ruins:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/columnist/vergano/2009-09-19-mayan-collapse_N.htm?csp=Tech

Social/Psychological

An interesting look at depression from another direction
http://maudnewton.com/blog/?p=9551

Why Twitter for writers:
http://www.migwriters.com/2009/06/25/10-ways-twitter-can-help-writers/

Balancing life and work at home:
http://www.deadlinedames.com/?p=1675

Crafts

Quick and easy tied-quilt. Though I like piecing and quilting mine, I'm thinking of adopting the edging suggestion for sure.
http://tipnut.com/tied-quilt/