HWG HAS IS ALL COVERED!

Check us out, not only do we have this AMAZING blog page, but we also have a BRAND NEW website @ HWG WEBSITE CLICK HERE, AND we are now on TWITTER @ CLICK HERE FOR TWITTER and we are also on FACEBOOK at HWG on FACEBOOK CLICK HERE.  WOW!  That's FANTABULOUS!!!  See you all there :-)

Blogs via Twitter - Good Articles

A few interesting blogs that came my way via Twitter. The first is chock full of articles so take your pick!

http://www.caroclarke.com/writing.html

http://thebusinessofwriting.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/608/ (10 Tips to Reveal Your Character's Character)

and though this refers to blogging, it can help with any kind of writing I'm sure - 10 Tricks for Getting Inspired to Write:

http://www.copyblogger.com/tricks-for-writing-inspiration/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Copyblogger+%28Copyblogger%29

Twitter Part 2

To re-inforce my statements on the benefits of Twitter, I share with you the following links:

http://bookmarketingmaven.typepad.com/book_marketing_maven/2010/03/why-do-i-love-twitter.html

and

http://onlinedegreeprograms.org/blog/2010/100-twitter-feeds-that-will-improve-your-writing/

LONG RIDGE E-NEWSLETTER FEB 22-10

http://www.thelongridgewritersgroup.com/T6020/rx/wc13/webletter_022210.shtml

SPOTLIGHT: Tweeting for the Life of Your Book by Carolyn Howard Johnson

A MUST READ! Pat mentioned Twitter.


FROM THE INSTRUCTOR'S DESK-- Answers the question: What about self-publishing?


Reviews & Tips – Reviews software Snowflake Pro Novel Writing Software

DON’T FORGET IT – IT’S ONLY AVAILABLE FOR A SHORT TIME!

Twitter

The question was brought up on Sunday as to whether anyone was following Twitter. I said I was but only so that my Triond posts could be seen. I went on to say the only people I follow are celebrities. I'd like to correct that. I follow Writer's Relief, some agents, other writers. I should probably "follow" Writer's Digest.

Today I posted a new article on Triond - "Beyond The Writing Group". You can check it out here: http://writinghood.com/writing/beyond-the-writing-group/. (By the way, my last post, which was a prompt from two weeks ago, has been requested by another member. He wants me to submit it to his blog. The Flash Fiction - Fifteen Minutes of Fame - was better than I thought!)

Shortly after my article posted I received an email saying Daniel Audet is now following me. I looked at his profile. He is a writer. I checked out his blog and thought it might be of interest to some of you. You can see it here: http://thewritersroad.com/

Twitter is another form of networking that you might want to think twice about. Just be careful who you follow (though you can always block them) because some people will post relentlessly. There is one writer on there who wants her work to be seen to the point where she will post and repost the same thing over and over again. A bit annoying but I just skim through them.

Blog Roll-Up: Best of the Week's Writing Blogs

Okay, so I missed a week or two. I’ll make it up to you by including a few posts from those weeks in the roll-up.

Tips, Tips and More Tips

• If I’ve ever helped you edit a piece of writing, C. Patrick Schulze’s Tips for Editing Your Novel won’t come as a surprise to you. He doesn’t nag about “as-ing” construction as much as I do (okay, no one nags about it as much as I do), but he does explain the problem with it, and several other errors you might make in your writing as well.
• Add “Ka-Pow!” to your writing with How to Write Better—5 Quick Tips for Clear, Effective Writing from Quips and Tips for Successful Writers.
• Melissa Donovan at Writing Forward writes, “You can do just about anything in a poem. That’s why poetry is so wild; there are no rules.” So, instead of rules, she brings you 36 Poetry Writing Tips.
• If children’s books are more your thing, stop by the Guide to Literary Agents blog for 10 Tips on Writing Picture Books, a guest post from picture book writer Jean Reidy.
• Also on the Guide to Literary Agents blog, you’ll find Footnotes: 8 Articles on Synopsis Writing. If you scroll down the list of categories on the left hand side and click on “Synopses,” you’ll also find several examples of movie synopses to help.
• Freelance Folder offers Productivity Tips for Freelancers with Toddlers Underfoot. Don’t let the title fool you—there are some great tips here for every writer.
• Deb at The Freelance Writing Jobs Network’s 6 Tips for Finding New Freelance Writing Markets are applicable for short story and poetry markets as well.

“Best of” Lists

• Writing and Illustrating is a blog for “sharing information about writing and illustrating for children,” but Kathy Temean’s  Top Twelve 2009 Posts is useful for any writing. Her list includes posts about proofreading, revision, character arcs and dialogue.
• QueryTracker.net has a feature on their blog called Top Ten Lists. You can find the most queried agents, the most requested (by agents) fiction genres and the most non-responsive agents. I won’t tell you who the number one requested agent (check out the blog post to find out!) but I will say this: I’m not surprised.
• Lisa Romeo Writes shares the best information and tips from the notebooks she filled during her MFA program in a series of 14 posts: Gold in Them Notebooks.
• Be sure to stop by The Freelance Writing Jobs 20 Top Posts of 2009, which include tips for starting your freelance writing career, free online writing courses and who to follow on Twitter.
• Speaking of Twitter, Jane Friedman at There Are No Rules posts a weekly Best Tweets for Writers, with links to great posts such as “When to Stop Revising.”

Defining Genres

• Writing children’s books? Writers’ Digest Questions & Quandaries blog tackles Defining Picture Books, Middle Grade and Young Adult.
• Agent Scott Eagen of Greyhaus Literary Agency visits the Guide to Literary Agents blog to talk about Romance vs. Women’s Fiction.

Finally, I know that Christmas is over, but, you’ll need some time to practice Toni McGee Causey’s An Author’s 12 Days of Christmas before 2010’s Christmas party.

Blog Roll-Up: Best of the Week's Writing Blogs

Sorry to have missed last week, but I've got lots of great blog posts to share with you this week.

Self-Publishing
First off, in case you somehow missed it, is all the hoopla about Harlequin's new self-publishing endeavour. Jane Freidman of There Are No Rules offers this indepth post: Harlequin's Self-Publishing Venture: Is it the Future of Publishing?

Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent offers her take on it all with Self-Publishing: A Rant and a Q4U, and her follow-up post, My Final Thoughts About Self-Pub.

And if that's not enough info about self-publishing for you . . . 

If you're considering self-publishing your own book, don't miss Pimp My Novel's post, Self-Publishing...Great Idea or Worst Idea Ever? and There Are No Rules Jane Freidman's 3 Self-Publishing Paths You Should Undertsand.

E-Books

While we're discussing the future of publishing, take a look at Nathan Bransford, Literary Agents post, The Top Myths About E-Books, which includes why you won't go blind from reading them, and they aren't hot to the touch.

Marketing

Whether you are self-published or have gone with a traditional publisher, you'll need to market your book. Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent offers a three-part series about Four Major Marketing Principles:

• Part 1 of 3: Marketing Principle #1: You Must Shock Broca
• Part 2 of 3: Marketing Principle #2: If You're Not First, Forget it and Marketing Principle #3: Website Blunders to Avoid
• Part 3 of 3: Marketing Principle #4: Olympic Caliber Networking

Agents and Traditional Publishing
When can you query agents? How do you know your project is ready? Chuck over at the Guide to Literary Agents blog answers these questions.

Have you read a book that is similar to yours and want to pitch the author's agent? Chuck also offers you Three Ways to Identify the Literary Agent of any Book.

Pimp my Blog offers this glossary of publishing Terms to Know.

And finally, Casey McCormack goes back to basics on Literary Rambles to give us the answer (or remind us) to the question How Do I Format My Manuscript? Be sure to double-check before you submit your latest project.

Memoir-Writing

Are you writing about family, history or family history? Check out this guest post on Christina Baker-Kline's A Writing Life blog, Laura Schenone on Writing About the Past.

Miscellaneous

Jane Freidman's weekly Tweet Roundup: Best Tweets for Writers (week ending November 20th) on There Are No Rules.

The Guide to Literary Agents blog has a new recurring column, 7 Things I've Learned So Far. This installment features an inspirational post by Lynnda Ell, a former engineer who built a new career as a writer at the age of 62.

Member Blogs

Diane Bator's had a rough time creatively over the last couple of weeks. Read about her Little Creative Blocks. The Three-Ring Circus has also had a quiet couple of weeks post-wise, but returns with some editing help in this week's Links Tent and a Quick editing Tip about Word's Find feature.

Last But Not Least

The blog roll-up would not be complete without at least one link to Janet Reid's blog. This literary agent, also known as the Query Shark, offers some fail-proof advice about How to Get No More Rejections. You won't want to miss that!

Did I miss your favourite blog? Drop me a line and let me know, and maybe we can include a link in next week's roll-up.

Blog Roll-Up: Best of the Week's Writing Blogs

Stop Making Excuses
Christine Baker Kline's blog, A Writing Life has a couple guest posts this week about making kids your excuse for not writing. Louise DeSalvo's on Why Having Kids is No Excuse and Lisa Romeo Adds Her Two Cents to the Writer-as-Parent Manifesto. Are you choosing.to rake leaves rather than write?

Social Networking
Jane Friedman of There Are No Rules posts her weekly Best Tweets for Writers. Most of these are links to some great online articles and blog posts.

Are you on LinkedIn? Freelance Folder explains why you might want to be in The Freelancer's Guide to Getting Started on LinkedIn.

Fiction Writing
On QueryTracker.net, Elana Johnson offer tips for finding your voice in Don't Use that Voice With Me!


Rachelle Gardner, Literary Agent, talks about Giving Your Characters Life.Their own life, not yours.


Query Letters
Nathan Bransford, Literary Agent, suggests you Get the Big Stuff Right. He swears that agents won't reject you at the first hint of a typo.


Over at BookEnds, LLC, Jessica Faust helps you get one of the big things right: An Author's Credentials. What do you put in your author bio, especially if you don't have much to add? The good news is: it's all good news.



Just to be on the safe side, A Victoria Mixon, Editor, talks about Getting Credentials that will impress potential agents.


Book Review
On Writing Forward, Melissa Donovan discusses A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver.

Member Blogs
What Colour is Your Palette? Diane has been at a painting all this week and shares her experience over at Pens, Paints and Paper. The Ringmaster of the Three-Ring Circus has been busy writing and posts about NaNoWriMo Success.



Weekly Laugh
And finally, The Rejectionist presents the winners of the best rejection letter contest: Author-friends, We Have a Winner.

Blog Roll-Up: Best of the Week's Writing Blogs

I don't make it to our meetings very often, and sometimes I even feel like I'm doing okay on my own. And then I come across a post like this, One is a Lonely Number--Why You Need a Writing Mentor on Write to Done, and I'm reminded of not just what the group can do for me, but what I can do for the group.

Do you Tweet? Do you blog (and if you do, let me know so we can add you to our blog roll)? Should you? The Guide to Literary Agents blog answers these questions with another post from the South Carolina Writer's Conference: Literary Agents Talk Blogging, Twitter and More. If you need more incentive to check out Twitter, then head on over to Freelance-Zone.com for an explanation of how TweetMyJobs Changes the Game and Freelance Folder sends out a Call to All Freelancers to get included on a Freelance Folder.

Also, make sure you head over to There Are No Rules by Writers Digest's Jane Freidman for her list of Best Tweets for Writers. There are tweets about craft and technique, getting published, self-publishing and marketing and promotion--and more!

Are you looking for new markets for your work? Are you trying to break out as a freelance writer, or even as a short story writer? The Freelance Writing Jobs Network offers 15 Places for Freelance Writers to Find Magazine Markets (note: you can use these for fiction markets as well) and 10 Ways to Get Your Freelance Writing Foot in the Door. The Renegade Writer is offering a New FREE Teleclass: Breaking into Food Writing.

Men With Pens is hosting a special fiction writing week with posts about Creating Character Flaws and Creating a Setting. Be sure to check out the full week's posts!

If dialogue is your weak point, C. Patrick Schulze brings you a couple of posts that should help: The Hidden Secret to Dialogue and How to Punctuate Dialogue.

Rachelle Gardner has some suggestions for Writing a First Draft in honour of NaNoWriMo, and The Three-Ring Circus posts this week offer tips for writing that draft quickly. Diane, our prolific writer updates us on the progress of her work, and the Brian Henry workshop over at Pens, Paints and Paper.

Finally, if you need a little inspiration, head over to Jennifer Lawler's Finding Your Voice blog for a quick lesson in The Power of Yet. And if you prefer your inspiration in laughter, definitely check out The Official Rejectionist's Death Match of Wittery, a tongue-in-cheek contest to find the best rejection letter. Scroll down to the comments to find them.

Exposure, exposure, exposure...

You all know the importance of exposure, having your work out there for people to see. This was shown very well recently when author Saralee Rosenberg saw a review I wrote on one of her books. Ms. Rosenberg has contacted me and will be joining our writing group via SKYPE.

I receive many newsletters from writing websites. If you pay close attention you may see that they are on Twitter. I am registered on Twitter but have paid little attention to it. I certainly don't have it going to my cell phone. But today I decided to "follow" Writer's Relief on Twitter... they in turn requested to follow me. I have Triond connected to Twitter. Everything I post on Triond is also posted on Twitter. That means everyone following me will see my work! Today I posted some of my best work from Triond on Twitter in the hopes that the right people will see my work.

This is just one way to get exposure and something you may want to consider, or something like it.

Happy writing!