Catching Up with the Links

No, I'm not playing golf today.
Or ever, for that matter. ☺
Though I do love a good game of Putt-Putt.

But I've been reading a few blogposts and writing craft articles and other inspiration, and I decided to share.

My friend Rosi Hollenbeck always does this! And I always find something helpful. Here's her link->  https://rosihollinbeck.com/blog/

Just now, while gathering her link, I found this quote. 
I'm not sure if I've ever made a million think. But I like this thought.

“A drop of ink may make a million think.”
~ Lord Byron ~

(Okay, you need to hurry over to Rosi's blog. I could stay all day reading her fabulous quotes! Here's another.)

“Don’t say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream.”
~ Mark Twain ~

Just in case you have some time to Wander around the Web this weekend, here are some more ways to spend your time!
 
On what to do with a negative review:  
http://insights.netgalley.com/coping-with-critical-reviews/

For those of you who blog book reviews, check out and join up with Greg's "Middle Grade Monday" collections. I found him via Rosi's blog, too.
https://gpattridge.com

My writing group is headed out on a short retreat. We have lots to celebrate and plenty of work to do. I read this in preparation for the time away. Read all the way to the end for advice on ways to get into your character's head:
https://kidlit.com/2017/10/23/what-interiority-is-and-why-it-matters/

If you're a newly-published author, if you have a new book coming soon, you might want to be one of my buddy Kirby Larson's Friday friends. Here's her blog. You meet the nicest people there. AND check out her Wednesday Wisdom quotes. I could fill my entire bulletin board with them:
http://www.kirbylarson.com/blog/
 
Hey, here's an idea. I'll spend/ waste quality time and re-arrange my bulletin board. Inspiration Awaits! 

(A peek at one corner of the bulletin board above my desk)

Frankendraft

I didn't make up the term. But I totally get it.

I read it on Janice Hardy's excellent post about whether or not to pull that "trunk manuscript" out of the drawer and revise. Here's just a tiny bit of what she has to say:

Does it fix what went wrong? Before you dive in and spend who knows how long just to wind up in the same spot, try outlining or summarizing the new direction. Does it fix the original problems?
Is the draft salvageable or do you need to start over? Reworking an old draft that didn’t work risks turning it into a Frankendraft (pieces of novel sewed together to form a plot, but it really doesn’t fit), so consider how you want to proceed carefully. Starting over can seem like more work, but not if it takes you three times longer to revise what’s there. 

Thank you, Rosi Hollinbeck, for your excellent blogposts that always give me something to ponder. AND she almost always has a book to give away!



(And, maybe this is actually what I'm doing here...) 

Super Site!

You know what they say about southerners and their stories? If there are three connections to describe a person, you know that's a southerner telling the story.

Kind of like what I said the other day about my best friend's husband's sister's child. Get it?

That's how I feel sometimes about the GREAT links on my buddy Rosi Hollinbeck's blogposts.
When I go there, I may have to click through several posts- all good- but I find connections.


Like this one, TIME TRAVELER.
Words! A big help for anybody who writes HISTORICAL FICTION.

Here's an example:

Words from 1967

1967 was the first year you could do “aerobics,” ponder “biotech,” go to “B-school” or go on an “ego trip,” take “estrogen replacement therapy,” and live in a “fantasyland.” 

Thanks!

Two lovely things happened this week.

My buddy and book sibling (Glory Be and May B.), Caroline Starr Rose, shared that Glory was listed as one of the Top Ten Historical Fiction Favorites for Tweens. You can find the list HERE.

Caroline is also writing about SUCCESS on her own blog, what it means to writers. I'm following with interest. You might want to also.

And this blogger gave MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG a truly lovely review.  
There's also a giveaway going on at that blog. I'm not sure how long it will last but hurry on over and throw your name in the hat for a signed copy of my book.

The last paragraph of the review really made my day.

"The characters are complex, palpably real, and easy to like and relate to. The setting gives a real taste of small-town America in the 1950s. The story is rich and the writing is simply lovely. This is a book that deserves readership far beyond its intended middle-grade audience. I loved it. Honestly, I think this one just might be my favorite of Augusta's books."

Wow. See what I mean?

More on Characters

As a rule, I'm not a fan of those character study things. But I am a fan of having at least a vague idea of what you're going to be writing before you start writing. 

Note, I said VAGUE. 
My characters seem to develop as I write.
Other writers may know it all before they put pen to paper. I say, whatever works.

Thoughts?

My Highlights buddy Rosi Hollinbeck has a really good blog. She finds super stuff to share. And she just shared THIS, via Kathy Temean, a kind of fun way to look at/for a new character.

There are 90 questions. 
I figure if I dream up ten of them, I'm good...

1. Any negative forces around your character?
2. Does your character have anyone to confide in?
3. Is your character afraid of anyone? Or anything?
4. What is his/ her biggest fear?
5. Would you say your character is selfish?
6. What annoys him?
7. Is she a bully?
8. What makes him laugh?
9. How old is your character?
10. What does your character look like?