Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

HOW AUTHORS KILL SUSPENSION OF DISBELIEF BY CALLING ATTENTION TO THEMSELVES

By: K.M. Weiland

I’m totally a fan of in-jokes, the little nods to shared knowledge or experiences that make those in the know feel just a little extra awesome for being able to pick up on what’s going on. This is something authors can take advantage of, especially in series, in which we can stick in little references to other aspects of our characters or stories. Devoted readers are delighted to pick up on these references because it feels as if the author is giving them a little wink of comradeship.

But you got to know this can be taken way too far way too easily. The moment your in-jokes or references become too author-centric, that’s a clear sign that you’re about to yank your readers out of their suspension of disbelief. For example, there was a book I read a long time ago (I don’t even remember the book’s title or what it was about), in which the author planted another of his own books on one of the character’s shelves. Immediately, I was yanked out of the world of the story and smack dab into my world, where the author may be real, but the character who owned his book sure wasn’t.

To read the rest of the post, click here.

~*~

If you missed my writing & marketing tweets and retweets Tuesday and Wednesday, here they are again:

1. Social Media Marketing Strategy for 2014 | Social Media Today http://ow.ly/rQm1Z
2. Blog Headline Tips to Double Clickthroughs | Social Media Today http://ow.ly/rQmka
3. Entrepreneurial Publishing, Book Marketing And Prolific Living With Farnoosh Brock | The Creative Penn http://ow.ly/rQmS4
4. Indie Author: Don't Be Too Quick To Shut Down That Author Blog http://ow.ly/rQnFf
5. How to Be a Happy Indie Prawn with Patty Jansen | Lindsay Buroker http://ow.ly/rQo5o
6. Are Indies Getting Clobbered by Big Name E-book Discounts? http://ow.ly/rQopS
7. Book Sales Dismal Lately? Could Be The Big 5! | Molly Greene: Writer http://ow.ly/rQpiU
8. 52 Top Websites to Post Your Book for FREE | Savvy Writers & e-Books online http://ow.ly/rQq9t
9. How to Get Your Author Page on Google’s Page 1 | Savvy Writers & e-Books online http://ow.ly/rQqhj
10. Unbraiding the Short Story: An Interview with Author and Conference Co-Director, Dr Sylvia Petter | fcmalby http://ow.ly/rQqF3
11. Ask Jami: Can We Use Beat Sheets with Scrivener? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/rQqRW
12. Four Unspoken Promises All Authors Make to Readers | Creative Writing with the Crimson League http://ow.ly/rRA3a
13. Changing Book PR Landscape | Digital Book World http://ow.ly/rRA9i
14. Kindle Countdown Confusion | Indies Unlimited http://ow.ly/rREgX
15.  12 Days of Book Sales: A Dozen Holiday Book Promotion Ideas — Self Publishing Team http://ow.ly/rREox
16. Karen Woodward: How To Evoke Emotion Through Your Writing http://ow.ly/rRExJ
17. Three Words for 2014 - Charlotte Rains Dixon http://ow.ly/rRETA
18. How to Harvest Creative Writing Ideas from the News http://ow.ly/rREXs
19. 7 Amazon Tools To Help Market Your Book Like A Professional | http://ow.ly/rRFdo
20. 15 Tips for Writing a Murder Mystery @elizabethscraig http://t.co/rXxlnVuTcm
21. Writability: 5 Things All Writers Should Have http://ow.ly/rSETD        
22. 7 Reasons Every Startup Video Looks the Same http://ow.ly/rSFvO
23. Prologue Done Right | WRITERS HELPING WRITERSWRITERS HELPING WRITERS http://ow.ly/rSFJI
24. How To Be A Good Guest Blogger | Catherine, Caffeinated http://ow.ly/rSFVl
25. How to brainstorm about characters and plots for your novel or screenplay - Time to Write http://ow.ly/rSG5M
26. Writing Tip #118 | Making 'Baby Grand,' the Novel http://ow.ly/rSGjO Idea capture is not writing, but it IS the first step to writing
27. De-constructing Criticism is a Required Skill for Writers http://ow.ly/rSGyC
28. How to Fail as an Indie Author | Authopublisher http://ow.ly/rSGIs
29. Relationships Matter: Do You Need Your Own Book-Selling Website? http://ow.ly/rSGVx
30. The Write Conversation : Business Basics for Today’s Writer: Over Writing—The Mark of a Lazy Writer http://ow.ly/rSH72
31. How Authors Kill Suspension of Disbelief by Calling Attention to Themselves - Helping Writers Become Authors http://ow.ly/rSHvY
32. How to Customize Your Social Share Buttons for Increased Traffic | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/rSHBT
33. Long Form Content vs Series of Blog Posts : @ProBlogger http://ow.ly/rSHXf
34. 3 Reasons You Want to Write a Book in 2014 http://ow.ly/rTdMI

Happy writing and running, Kathy