Sometimes as an editor, I live tweet advice “from the field.” I also tweet things that are encouraging to fellow writers. Twitter Tuesday is when I compile all of the past month’s writing and editing tweets and post them on my blog. Read all of the Twitter Tuesdays here.
Be sure to check out my new Query Workshops! Submissions for July are open through the 15th.
June
A query shows you can write engaging prose. A synopsis shows you can write a plot. Query=voice. Synopsis=plot points. #writingtips #querytip
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014
@larathelark Query=talent, style. Synopsis=skill, mechanics. They have different functions.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014
Drama, that magic stuff that keeps us reading, requires CHARACTER (protagonist, w/ goals) and CONFLICT (obstacles, stakes). #writingtips
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 3, 2014
Tips for researching a novel: http://t.co/kaZHCt45wV #writingtips
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 6, 2014
"A metaphor should make a situation or a feeling or a condition more understandable, not less."—@Janet_Reid #writingtips
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 7, 2014
#Query goals: make reader 1) be invested in the character, 2) be intrigued by the conflict, 3) want more—of your story AND your writing.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014
Don't get fancy with punctuation in your #query. Unless you've been professionally published before, stick with commas and periods only.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014
(Chances are writers will either misuse or overuse semicolons, dashes, quotation marks, or parentheses. While I’m usually all for being a confident writer, don’t be overconfident in your command of punctuation.)
Number one #query rule: be SPECIFIC and CONCRETE, not vague or abstract. #querytip
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014
I concocted a plan. Each day I make 1K words, I add $1 to my book-buying fund. Each day I don't, -$2. Starting today. #amwriting
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 9, 2014
.@KMWeiland Or, in an active sentence, the subject is acting. In passive, the subject's being acted upon. #writingtips
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 10, 2014
@TheKenHughes @KMWeiland or any other "be" verb + past participle of verb. Often end in "-en," too. Was taken, has been broken. #grammargeek
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 10, 2014
@TheKenHughes @KMWeiland I like the "off center" description! A phrase like "by [person/force/thing]" thrown at the end is the true subject.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 10, 2014
If you're missing out on the SFF pitch party today, remember it happens 2x/yr. Make goal to finish & revise by next time! #amwriting
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 11, 2014
Here are the rules for #SFFpit. http://t.co/IGhjovTY0e RT your favorite pitches. Only agents & editors should star / favorite pitches.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 11, 2014
Seeking my genre & has professional website, social media presence. MT @thesevenseas What are your qualifications [in an agent]?
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014
Red flags: I've found agents whose websites haven't been updated in over five years. Ones who misspell their clients' names.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014
Literary fiction: voice, style, theme > action, plot, concept. Commercial fiction is flipped. #writetip
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014
Re: last tweet—The commercial elements expand your audience. The literary elements deepen your audience's loyalty to your work. #writetip
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014
How should you start your novel? Depends on genre: http://t.co/sNFZPkzPm8
+ read this about 1st chapters: http://t.co/fUeC3w7oSe #writetip— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014
#YouKnowYoureAWriterWhen rejection or criticism impels you to work even harder at your craft. Try, try again! #amwriting
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 13, 2014
#writetip—"Upmarket" or "book club" books are both commercial and literary. More: http://t.co/dKlbL4yRwO
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 14, 2014
"A first draft is the toddler version of your final manuscript…"
—6 Mistakes Authors Make When Writing a Book http://t.co/tKOQWjcrGI”— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 14, 2014
@thesevenseas Mine was toddler. Easily distracted, incomplete thoughts, wanders around, points at things with a grunt.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 14, 2014
@jtSNOH well, in a romance, the inciting incident is the "meet cute." Depends on your story. http://t.co/GycVevAmxy <hope this helps!
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 21, 2014
@MindyMcGinnis Clichés start out as evocative prose.
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 23, 2014
In July: @CampNaNoWriMo, @UI_VWU's Poetry course, @KeytopServices' #NovelBootCamp.
I signed up for all 3.
What. have. I. done.— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 23, 2014
#NovelBootCamp and @CampNaNoWriMo participants: I'll be doing #1k1hr pretty much every weeknight at 10/9c thru July. Join me!
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 24, 2014
It doesn't matter who you are or how long you've been writing. Your first draft will be terrible. Get it out, then revise. #writetip
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 25, 2014
Prose is prose because of what it includes; poetry is poetry because of what it leaves out.—Marvin Bell #heypoets #amwriting #writetip
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 26, 2014
This Depression Era jingle could be about poetry: Use it up / wear it out / make it do / or do without.—Marvin Bell #heypoets #writetip
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 26, 2014
From the archives: "10 Steps to Finishing a Novel"—http://t.co/Jvot68603t #amwriting #writetip @jtSNOH pic.twitter.com/EF6muvTUTO
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 26, 2014
New editor pet peeve: the word "curlicue." I've read it in at least four books this month. What's your least favorite word? #amwriting
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 29, 2014
"Everyone is innately creative… creators are just people who act." —http://t.co/73k3UcTFaR
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 30, 2014
Between scenes, demonstrate a “Therefore” or “But” relationship, not an “& Then…" (#writetip from @chavelaque—http://t.co/oOutT03S9f)
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 30, 2014
How to tell if a scene is a crock of $#!~ #writetip: http://t.co/J8wsGMVw1G
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 30, 2014
Retweets
Henry Miller’s 11 Commandments of Writing & Daily Creative Routine: http://t.co/u5UsLodtrN pic.twitter.com/FQ8B0zcVxb
— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 5, 2014
A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.
E.B. WHITE pic.twitter.com/EflxJHFm3D— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 6, 2014
An excellent Venn diagram. [via @ReidSpeed] pic.twitter.com/Nbk0FK6Wzu
— Steve Silberman (@stevesilberman) June 8, 2014
Question to ask if you're thinking of self-pubbing: do you want to be a small biz owner? Or do you want to focus on writing? #tfabea
— Taryn Fagerness (@tfagerness) June 6, 2014
Thank you @larathelark for sharing this with me! The 8 C’s of Plotting: Worksheets http://t.co/mNwhhTQDCg via @larathelark
— Ann Rose (@annmrose) June 10, 2014
Re-discovered these today – SO HELPFUL! The 8 C’s of Plotting: Worksheets http://t.co/veAdqwvH6A via @larathelark
— Julie Eshbaugh (@JulieEshbaugh) June 10, 2014
YA is not a genre. It's a category that contains genres. Horror, fantasy, realistic, dystopian, historical, sci-fi–those are genres.
— Lisa McMann (@lisa_mcmann) June 10, 2014
Q4: SF/F query. Be sure to know your genre. Also, don't attach chapters separately. Send one doc. Writing is not for me. Pass. #tenqueries
— Rena Bunder Rossner (@renarossner) June 11, 2014
Had to update again because there were even more than I thought, 26 agents from 20 agencies came to #SFFpit! http://t.co/Grksh0EwXu
— Dan Koboldt (@DanKoboldt) June 12, 2014
Are 5-Star Book Reviews Bad for Sales? by @Daryl_dcrdrr http://t.co/13ArEFnctu #amwriting
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) June 13, 2014
You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.
JACK LONDON#amwriting #writing— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 14, 2014
Do you want to write? Or do you want to be a full time designer/publicist/marketer? Things to think about if you want to self-publish.
— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) June 20, 2014
What’s Lost as Handwriting Fades: http://t.co/jrTBRhXGno
— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 21, 2014
Simple English is no one’s mother tongue. It has to be worked for.
JACQUES BARZUN#amwriting #writing— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 21, 2014
Truth that is naked is the most beautiful, and the simpler its expression the deeper is the impression it makes.
SCHOPENHAUER— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 21, 2014
@memoryletters I offered on something yesterday which I was sent in April. Depends on workload tbh! http://t.co/tEqUxuq8rk
— Juliet Mushens (@mushenska) June 21, 2014
@ChuckSambuchino I vote for a moratorium on describing the sky AT ALL in ch. 1, & looking out windows/into mirrors/waking up. @FuriousDShow
— Linda Epstein (@LindaEpstein) June 22, 2014
What's it About? How Movie Trailers Can Help You Write Better Query Letters http://t.co/E35Fx4ckEe via @janice_hardy's Fiction University
— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 23, 2014
Things that are worth it to spend money on: Editing. Proofreading. Cover design. #pubtips
— Laura Zats (@LZats) June 23, 2014
Great @SimonSchusterCA interview with @tjenkinsreid "Q. Advice for new writers? A. Value truth over wit." http://t.co/ZSBt6KRplY
— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) June 23, 2014
It's submission o'clock somewhere (@tomgauld) pic.twitter.com/iyDos87v44
— Berfrois (@berfrois) June 23, 2014
"That sentence has all the rhythm of a snake on skates i.e. not much."
—@Janet_Reid, the @QueryShark #quoteoftheday— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 23, 2014
I like this quickie formula via @larathelark! http://t.co/AcAU5pH28O pic.twitter.com/tASsFnvxff
— Better Novel Project (@BetterNovelProj) June 24, 2014
"Each new book has its own voice—and I have to be available to hear it." — Daniel Woodrell http://t.co/m6kLjdl7s2 #MorningCuppaCraft
— Loft Literary Center (@loftliterary) June 24, 2014
Flannery O'Connor: “You can’t clobber a reader while he’s looking. Divert his attention, then clobber him and he never knows what hit him.”
— Scott Myers (@GoIntoTheStory) June 25, 2014
Happy Birthday George Orwell. Here are his 6 Rules of writing (from Why I Write) which are as relevant today.. pic.twitter.com/dIzHf2kc03
— Jonny Geller (@JonnyGeller) June 25, 2014
Authors, this is your occasional reminder that you make everyone's life easier if you put your agent's name/contact info on your website!
— Hannah Bowman (@hannahnpbowman) June 26, 2014
@larathelark Also, I found an entry you wrote on POV and I thought this was the best example of limited omn. ever: pic.twitter.com/iJTa3x9Bz9
— Snoh (@jtSNOH) June 26, 2014
https://twitter.com/InsPowerTweet/status/482274633329434624
Want agent feedback? I'm trying something new: a query critique e-conference of sorts. Details: http://t.co/lld4ks1YrC #askagent #tenqueries
— Peter Knapp (@petejknapp) June 26, 2014
@ShannonKean I'm an agent. I know YA & MG. When I read your pitch, I won't be able to help but come up with my own comp titles.
— Peter Knapp (@petejknapp) June 27, 2014
Readers often moved less by actual character deaths than they are over the grief of the surviving characters. #WQOTD
— K.M. Weiland (@KMWeiland) June 27, 2014
What not to send. #badqueries #amwriting pic.twitter.com/0kLLUKpR6R
— Laura Heffernan (@LH_Writes) December 28, 2013
"It takes years to be a decent writer, just as it does to become a fine tennis player or neurosurgeon…”http://t.co/l3h3gi1kNf#amwriting
— Jon Winokur (@AdviceToWriters) June 29, 2014
BEST backstory tips (when to stop): @JaniceHardy http://t.co/3DmpJbVdHv, @MikeWells (Bruce Willis's Dog) http://t.co/Hz319Hd5u6, http://on.…
— Ken Hughes (@TheKenHughes) June 30, 2014
Worldbuilding and backstory = like salt. Necessary and adds delicious flavor but easy to overdo it. Sprinkle them in evenly, thoughtfully.
— Delilah S. Dawson (@DelilahSDawson) June 30, 2014
Funny! The truth about book hangovers : https://t.co/DFrL7aWO9Z
— Carly Watters (@carlywatters) July 1, 2014
Bonus: Nerdy Pangrams
Nerdy pangram for @notjustanybeth, whom I'd have adored in middle school. pic.twitter.com/1BbefvxYp0
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 4, 2014
Another nerdy pangram for @notjustanybeth, this one with a BTTF spin. (Husband drew the DeLorean) pic.twitter.com/wVxUOTYk1k
— Lara Willard (@larathelark) June 4, 2014
Lara Willard 