Catching up on Links

Today is one of those rare days when I’m taking an hour to catch up on reading all the cool links I’ve clicked through to and left sitting open on my browser until I have so many windows open my computer is struggling to breathe. Among them is stuff that might be of interest to you, so I thought I’d share it here. I’ve lost track by now of who pointed me to which link, but thank you to all who post interesting things I do eventually find a few minutes to look at!

Jennifer Weiner on what she calls “Goldfinching”: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/24/good-books-women-readers-literary-critics-sexism

K.M Weiland offers a useful Story Structure Database where you can have a look at the plot structure of books and movies you’ve already read or seen to see how they do what they do: http://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/story-structures/page/31/

This giveaway on smartbitchestrashybooks.com is over, but the comments it inspired are wonderful snippets of people’s lives. Well worth a read: http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2015/11/giveaway-grape-escapes-memoirs-and-a-market-basket/

An interview about how Mary Robinette Kowal learned to tell good stories. This line resonated with me particularly: “So back up a little bit, remind yourself why you were excited about the story in the first place, and then write that story. It sounds very flippant, but it really makes a difference when you start thinking: ‘what is it I want to read?” http://www.wiltgren.com/2015/11/23/learning-to-write-good-stories-reliably-an-interview-with-mary-robinette-kowal/