Here’s the latest collection of articles that caught my eye over the last week or so. Enjoy!

Writing (general)

Outlining: Why I Made the Switch and Tips for Trying It
Elizabeth Craig at Writer Unboxed, on her switch from panster to outliner. This issue seems to be a thing, at the moment, but at least Craig has some tips to help those making the change.

Character driven or Plot Driven
Veronica Sicoe on why that’s not a helpful division. Interesting blog post and I agree with her totally – what matters is that there’s tension to drive the storytelling along.

Plotting The Non-Plot Driven Novel
Donald Maass at Writer Unboxed with a complementary post to Sicoe’s (above) that just proves her point. What matters is tension.

Are There Any Original Stories Left?
Cathy Yardley at The Writer Unboxed on how everything’s been done before. I particularly liked her notion that creativity flourishes under constraints. Yes. Yes it does.

Survey: Readers Prefer Books Written by Authors of Their Own Gender
A survey of Goodreads members reviewed by Time Magazine. The more I read about gender imbalances in the industry the less surprised I am by them. If someone told me men queued up all night to buy the next Jodi Picault, then I’d be surprised.

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Writing (skills)

Infodump, Mary Sue And Other Words That Authors Are Sick Of Hearing
Charlie Jane Anders at IO9 on a few things that depress this author, at least!

Tricks & Tips for Catching All Those Little Typos in Your Own Work
Jodie Renner at The Kill Zone with some hints and tips on self editing. One thing I try to do is read the stuff aloud—in the privacy of my own home, of course, so as not to get banged up for talking to myself on the bus to Sainsbury’s. That really can help with flow and cadence.

The Trouble with Frosting
Therese Walsh on the Writer Unboxed on the perils of self editing too soon. My favourite post of the last couple of weeks. Well, cake. It’s about cake.

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Marketing for Writers

Top Four Best Practices for Writing Great Book Blurbs
If not for writing the best possible title for your article… Still, Digital Bookworld with tips on how to help hook potential readers.

New Facebook Rules Will Sting Entrepreneurs
An article in the Wall Street Journal about small businesses generally and FB use, which is applicable to writers. Sigh. I wish there was a viable alternative to FB.

Social Media The Second Time Around
Jael McHenry on how to start marketing using a new pseud – something I know some of my writer friends have considered if they move to a different genre where a clean break with their current author name might be the best thing to do. Not a deep thinking article, but maybe enough to get you started.

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Publishing

Kindle Unlimited Crushed My Sales
H M Ward at Kboards, on the impact KU has had on her sales and income. This is a discussion board with a loooonnng discussion following Ward’s original post, but useful to read if you’re thinking about putting your books into Unlimited. Or even if you aren’t, because knock on effects.