I've been quiet lately. The holidays came and went very
quickly, and now I'm embroiled in a new semester at the college. I've also been
starting the time-consuming and terrifying process of querying my novel. For
the uninitiated, this means that I had to polish up a query blurb or pitch and
come up with a short synopsis and go through yet another polishing pass on my
novel.
And of course, there's the process of compiling a list of
agents who appear to be interested in representing the kind of novel I've written
(a secondary world fantasy that is stand alone but definitely looking to be
first of at least three, and at the upper end of the recommended length for
first-time authors).
This last is more time-consuming than one might think. Each
agent has their own submission guidelines. Some want just a letter, some want a
letter and a few pages, some want x number of chapters, some want a synopsis
with the query and or pages and so on. So checking and double checking to make
sure you know who wants exactly what is very important.
I've sent just one small stack so far. I'm taking the go in
small batches approach for several reasons. One, if it turns out I have a bum
query letter or that the opening of my novel is not as appealing as I and my
beta readers hope, I can reconsider before I've blown through all my preferred
choices. Two, January isn't the best time of year for querying, both because of
the backlog many agents have after the Holidays, and because November is
NaNoWriMo, so I'm guessing many of them get a pile of unpolished, 50,000 word
manuscripts during December and January. There's that New Year's Resolution
thing too.
So my plan is to wait for whatever feedback (or lack
thereof) I get from this round and revise my approach as seems appropriate.
These past few years have gone by quickly. Time flies when
you're writing and editing, I guess. I've learned a lot, both from the two
online writing communities I participate in, and from the Cascade Writer's Workshops I've attended.
I've also amasses a pile of web sites I've consulted over the years. I figured
it might be helpful to create a blog entry that places links to these in one
place for easy reference. There's an emphasis on fantasy writing, since that's my primary interest, but many of the sites and blogs I've linked are aimed at all writers.
As always, if anyone has any recommendations, let me know,
and I'll add them.
Hope everyone's 2015 is prosperous, healthy and happy.
List of Writing Sites
I've Found Helpful
General
Grammar, Punctuation
etc.
Point of View,
Narration, Dialog, and Voice
Present and Past
Tense in Writing
Character Creation
World Building
Place Names and Geography in World Building
Science in Sci-Fi, Fact in Fantasy (Dan Koboldt's Blog, which contains a plethora of resources)
The Fantasy Language Problem I
Science in Sci-Fi, Fact in Fantasy (Dan Koboldt's Blog, which contains a plethora of resources)
The Fantasy Language Problem I
The
Fantasy Language Problem II
The Language Construction Kit
Tips to Create Better and More Believable Fantasy and Science Fiction Species
The Language Construction Kit
Tips to Create Better and More Believable Fantasy and Science Fiction Species
Process and General
Writing Advice
Giving and Receiving
Critiques
Online Writing
Communities
Cliches and Tropes
15 Myths about the Middle Ages
Arms and Armor: A Farewell to Persistent Myths and Misconceptions
Limyaael's Rants
Arms and Armor: A Farewell to Persistent Myths and Misconceptions
Limyaael's Rants
Novel Length
Querying
Researching Agents
and Publishers
Author Blogs
Social Issues in
Writing and Fandom
Alternate Visions: Some Musings on Diversity in SF
Appropriate Cultural Appropriation--Nisi Shawl
Writing With Color--Describing Asian Eyes
As Others See Us: More on Writing The Other
Appropriate Cultural Appropriation--Nisi Shawl
Writing With Color--Describing Asian Eyes
As Others See Us: More on Writing The Other
Liking problematic things
It Matters if You're Black or White: Racism in YA Book Covers
Links to sites about women that may be of use to writers of SF and fantasy
Malinda Lo's Diversity in Fiction Archives
Mary Anne Mohanraj Gets You Up to Speed, Part I
Mary Anne Mohanraj Gets You Up to Speed, Part IISome Thoughts on Writing (or Not Writing) the Other
It Matters if You're Black or White: Racism in YA Book Covers
Links to sites about women that may be of use to writers of SF and fantasy
Malinda Lo's Diversity in Fiction Archives
Mary Anne Mohanraj Gets You Up to Speed, Part I
Mary Anne Mohanraj Gets You Up to Speed, Part IISome Thoughts on Writing (or Not Writing) the Other
Books I've Found
Helpful
Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress
Characters, Emotion and Viewpoint by Nancy Kress
Characters and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
Creating Character Emotions by Ann Hood
Description by Monica Wood
On Writing by Stephen King
Plot by Ansen Dibdel
Rivet Your Readers With Deep PoV by Jill Elizabeth Nelson
Scene and Structure by Jack M. Bickham
Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave
King
The 10% Solution by Ken Rand
The Definitive Book of Body Language by Allan and Barbara
Pease
Violence, a Writer's Guide by Rory Miller
Writing Fight Scenes by Marie Brennan
Writing the Fight Right by Alan Baxter
Writing the Other, a Practical Approach by Nisi Shawl and
Cynthia Ward
