Friday's Links to Writing & Marketing Blog Posts

THE LATE BLOOMING NOVEL

By: Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

There's a lot of advice and support on how first drafts are supposed to be messy. It's just a brain dump onto the page, and after we get the story down we can figure out how to make it "perfect."

I wholeheartedly agree with that, but just because we've gotten one draft done, doesn't mean we can perfect it in a single round of edits. Most drafts take several passed before they're ready, and trying to be "perfect" while you're still figuring out how a story works puts undue pressure on a writer.

Truth is, a novel will take as many drafts as it needs. For some novels (and writers) that might be one, for others it might be twenty. No drafting process goes exactly the same every time, and it's unrealistic (and unfair) for us to think so.

If you're faced with a novel that needs multiple drafts to get right, don't feel bad about it, or feel like you've failed in some way. You haven't. Some novels just take more time than others.

I like to call these novels late bloomers.

They often start out ugly, stumble along and can't really figure out who they are or where they fit. They make us doubt their worth, we try to change them or force them to fit what we think they ought to be. Then one day, the right pieces fall into place and everything works. The novel becomes beautiful, rich and vibrant, and everything we always knew it could be.

How can you tell if you have a late bloomer novel?

You love the idea, and you refuse to give up on it just because something isn't working yet. 

. . .

Read the full article HERE! 

~*~

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

1. [Zetta’s Reference Desk] – The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression | Zetta's Desk http://ow.ly/Jja6H
2. How Being Specific Helps You Show And Not Tell - Writers Write http://ow.ly/Jji2m
3. Fantasy Sub-Categories | Writing and Illustrating http://ow.ly/Jjjyk
4. Finding a Plot Structure by Kay Keppler - Writer's Fun Zone http://ow.ly/JjjJv
5. Your 10 Point Website Check Up - Author Marketing Experts, Inc. http://ow.ly/JjjWN
6. Writer Unboxed » The World According to You http://ow.ly/Jjk94
7. 40 Places to Find a Critique Partner Who Will Help You Improve Your Writing http://ow.ly/Jjkcc
8. How to Tell if Back Story is Sabotaging Your Novel http://ow.ly/Jjkgq
9. Writer Unboxed » Corrections Are Good: How to Take Critique Like a Dancer http://ow.ly/JjkjX
10. Anne R. Allen's Blog: 6 Mistakes that Can Sidetrack New Writers http://ow.ly/JjknT
11. Email Marketing Copy: Weekend Reading http://ow.ly/Jjljl 13 Simple Questions to Help You Draft a Winning Content Strategy [Free Worksheet] - Copyblogger http://ow.ly/Jjlxq
12. The 9 Must-Have Components of Compelling Email Copy
13. How to Use Twitter Lists for Business | Social Media Examiner http://ow.ly/JjlBI
14. 9 Effective Ways to Engage Your Readers - Where Writers Win http://ow.ly/JjlRe
15. Ruby Slippered Sisterhood » SHOW AND TELL: Read My Lips! http://ow.ly/Jjmbs
16. Writability: How to Use Comments in Scrivener http://ow.ly/JjnHz
17. AdviceToWriters - Advice to Writers - Find What Gave You Emotion http://ow.ly/JjnUw
18. Hyphenating More + Adjective http://ow.ly/Jjo0C Daily Writing Tips
19. Fiction University: Creating An Author Business Plan: Choosing Your Stories http://ow.ly/Jjoas
20. You’ve Got to Pay Your Dues: Kevin Morris's Indie Success | The Passive Voice | http://ow.ly/JjoBJ
21. Who owns the copyright to my book cover? | http://ow.ly/JjCBG
22. Should You Join KDP Select? | Michael Dalton http://ow.ly/JkUII
23. What Are Your Favorite Writing-Related Books? | Jami Gold, Paranormal Author http://ow.ly/JkZpO

Happy writing and running, Kathy