This week’s top writing advice from around the web for Jan. 29, 2023

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Reading Time: 9 minutes
(Image by Maria Korolov via Midjourney.)

I subscribe to more than 150 writing advice sites and gather the best posts for you every single Sunday. You can see all the previous writing advice of the week posts here and subscribe to the RSS feed for this writing advice series here (direct Feedly signup link).

Productivity, mood management, and battling the demons inside

A Powerful Resource For Moving Past Writer’s Block by Lisa E. Betz

A review of the book Overcoming Writer’s Block: The Writer’s Guide to Beating the Blank Page by Marcy Pusey. An engineer-turned-mystery-writer, Lisa E. Betz infuses her novels with authentic characters who thrive on solving tricky problems. Her debut novel, Death and a Crocodile, won several awards. For more from her, check out LisaEBetz.com, follow her on Twitter at @LisaEBetz or on Facebook at @LisaEBetzWriter. Almost an Author offers writing and publishing advice. For more like this, follow them on Twitter at @A3writers, on Facebook at @A3writers and subscribe to their RSS feed here (direct Feedly signup link).

The Dunning-Kruger Effect, Or, Dealing With Author Despair Syndrome by Tiffany Yates Martin

The Dunning-Kruger Effect is where a person tends to overestimate their knowledge early in learning something new, and underestimate it as they gain more knowledge and skill. In other words, the more you learn, the better you get — and yet the more you realize how much there is still to learn. You’ve moved along the axis of knowledge, but dropped on the axis of confidence. Otherwise known as impostor syndrome. Those times when you may begin to despair about your talent or skill or accomplishments are indicators of just how far you’ve progressed in those very areas. Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors, as well as indie and newer writers. She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial and author of the bestseller Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing. FoxPrint Editorial offers online courses, workshops and presentations, and advice to authors.

Writing Goals And Intentions: 25 Prompts by Amy Jones

Make this year your most successful writing year ever by considering the following questions to help set your goals and intentions. Amy Jones is the Editor-in-Chief of Writer’s Digest and was the managing content director for WD Books. She is the editor of the Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market and Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market. Follow Writer’s Digest via their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link), on Twitter at @WritersDigest and on Facebook at @writersdigest.

Other motivational advice this week:

The art and craft of writing

How Is A Strategist Different From A Leader? by Oren Ashkenazi

By default, whoever comes up with plans is the leader, since they’re the one telling the other characters what to do. However, this doesn’t necessarily have to be the case, and the key is to separate creating the plans from executing the plans. Oren Ashkenazi is a speculative fiction manuscript editor at Mythcreants. Mythcreants is my all-time favorite writing advice site. Get their RSS feed here (direct Feedly signup link) or follow them on Twitter @Mythcreants and on Facebook at @mythcreants.

Why We Stigmatize Enjoyment by Chris Winkle

Why do we stigmatize bringing people enjoyment? This strange behavior affects the way we view, discuss, and ultimately design our stories. We’ll have trouble making our stories enjoyable if we aren’t willing to admit that this is our goal and work for it. Chris Winkle is the founder and editor-in-chief of Mythcreants. Mythcreants is my all-time favorite writing advice site. Get their RSS feed here (direct Feedly signup link) or follow them on Twitter @Mythcreants and on Facebook at @mythcreants.

Video: Training With A Book Coach by Mark Dawson And James Blatch

We all want to write the best story that we can. Yet the process can be challenging and at times, we might not know what to do next. That’s where book coaches can help and Jennie Nash talks about the role of a book coach, how much they cost, and if book coaching services are right for you. Mark Dawson is a USA Today bestselling author who teaches courses about book production and marketing. Check out his website at MarkJDawson.com. James Blatch writes military thrillers. For more, check out his website, JamesBlatch.com. On the Self Publishing Formula show, Mark Dawson and James Blatch talk about building a career as a self-published author.

Video: 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before Writing My Debut Book by Jenna Moreci

Why outlines are important, why you should write what you want to read, how to mingle with the writing community and more. Jenna Moreci is a best-selling fantasy author and the host of a YouTube show about writing that has hundreds of thousands of subscribers. Writing with Jenna Moreci is a YouTube channel that offers seven years’ worth of writing advice, with new videos posted weekly.

21 Popular Fantasy Tropes For Writers by Robert Lee Brewer

Here are 21 examples of fantasy tropes for writers to consider and subvert when writing fantastical fiction. Robert Lee Brewer is senior editor of Writer’s Digest. Follow him on Twitter @robertleebrewer. Follow Writer’s Digest via their RSS feed (direct Feedly signup link), on Twitter at @WritersDigest and on Facebook at @writersdigest.

Podcast: Falling Action by Oren Ashkenazi, Chris Winkle, and Wes Matlock

The team talks about what falling action is, whether you need it, and how one is supposed to pronounce “denouement.” Oren Ashkenazi is the speculative fiction manuscript editor, Chris Winkle is the founder and editor-in-chief, and Wes Matlock is a content editor at Mythcreants. Mythcreants is my all-time favorite writing advice site. Get their RSS feed here (direct Feedly signup link) or follow them on Twitter @Mythcreants and on Facebook at @mythcreants.

Other writing advice this week:

The business side of writing

Podcast: Multi-Six Figure Book Sales And The Power Of Daily Habits With Marc Reklau by Joanna Penn

How can small, daily habits make you more successful as an author? How can you use the 80/20 rule in your author business? How can you create multiple streams of income when you sell mostly print? Guest Marc Reklau is the best-selling author of 13 books on habits, productivity and happiness. Joanna Penn has been sharing writing and publishing advice since 2008 at The Creative Penn, and is the author of Successful Self-Publishing and many other writing and publishing advice books. She also has one of my favorite writing advice podcasts, and you can subscribe to it on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. The Creative Penn offers articles, videos, books, tools, and courses for independent authors.

Podcast: Hybrid Publishing With Katlyn Duncan by Sacha Black

A discussion with Katlyn Duncan, author of The Successful Hybrid Author, about what a hybrid author is, deciding which publishing path to take, and pros and cons of being hybrid. Sacha Black is a fantasy author and writing coach, with several writing advice books including 13 Steps to Evil: How to Craft Superbad Villains (Better Writers Series) May 9, 2017. Follow her on her website, Sacha Black, on Facebook at @Sacha Black or on Twitter at @sacha_black. Sacha Black is a site that offers writing advice, courses, and podcasts. Follow the site via their RSS feed (direct Feedly link here).

Video: Book Publishing Trends For 2023 by Jaqueline Kyle

Trends in book cover design, using AI-generated images, social media, digital sales, and more. Jaqueline Kyle is the book production manager for Book Launchers. Book Launchers is mostly aimed at non-fiction book authors, but with useful advice for fiction authors as well. You can also follow them on Facebook at @booklaunchers and on Twitter at @booklaunchers. And, of course, subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Other business advice this week:

Am I missing any writing advice sites? Email me at maria@metastellar.com or leave a note in the comments below.

 

Edited by Melody Friedenthal
Maria Korolov

MetaStellar editor and publisher Maria Korolov is a science fiction novelist, writing stories set in a future virtual world. And, during the day, she is an award-winning freelance technology journalist who covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and enterprise virtual reality. See her Amazon author page here and follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn, and check out her latest videos on the Maria Korolov YouTube channel. Email her at maria@metastellar.com. She is also the editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business, one of the top global sites covering virtual reality.

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