Words of Writerly Wisdom: The Search for Inspiration Continues

I love reading blogs about writing.

(Reading food blogs is also a favorite activity. Which explains the crumbs on my kkkeyboard that occasionally cause the "kk" kkkkey to stickkkk. But I digress.)

I enjoy the blogs that offer tips and suggestions for writing better. Or cleaner. Or clearer. Or faster. They help me add to my writer's toolbox and improve my craft.

I adore blogs that cheerlead and encourage other writers. They form a vital, global support system that shines through our laptops and illuminates the recesses of our solitary writing dens. These blogs celebrate successes. They applaud milestones. They w00t and hoot-n-holler over things like achieving word count, solving plot problems, and landing publishing contracts. They reach out to other writers. They enable us to realize that we are not alone.

Photo by Lisa Solonynko.

I am grateful for the blogs of agents, editors, and publishers. These act as spotlights and spyglasses into the weird, wonderful world of publishing. Because of them, I can readily discover my agent of choice's query letter preferences. I can stay up-to-date on the vagaries of Penguin, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and British tabloid law. I can sympathize with the overqualified, underpaid intern wading through the slush pile. I can (and do) lurkk, listen, and learn.

Photo by Mark Miller.

Finally, I appreciate the blogs that use humor to illustrate the strange subculture we writers inhabit. Because, really, who in their right mind chooses a career that is so difficult to wriggle one's way into and that carries so little clout?

Q: How does a manuscript get published?
A: Someone forgets to say "No."

Writing blogs inspire me. They provide hours of entertainment, allowing me to rationalize that I'm not really procrastinating. Honest! I'm... uh... doing research. Yeah. 

Write to Done is currently hosting their 6th Annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers Contest. Do you have a favorite writing blog -- one that consistently enriches your writing life? Mention it below. Linkkkk to it, if you wish. I'd love to checkkk it out. Then, once you've finished your practice run, go to Write to Done's contest and make your nomination. (Only 1 nomination per person counts at Write to Done. I, however, don't care how many writing blogs you wish to name.) It's easy:

1.) Go to Write to Done's Writer's Blog Contest and tell them your favorite writer's blog in the comments.

2.) Include the web address of the blog you nominate. (http://museinks.blogspot.com for example. Just sayin'.)

3.) Tell them why your chosen blog is so fabulous. (Hint: "She promised me Heath Bars if she wins" is probably *not* going to help your favorite place well in the polls...)

4.) Do it now. Or at least before December 10, 2011. That's when contest entries close.

A poem to commemorate the occasion (ahem):

Go spread the wisdom 
And the holiday cheer. 
What's your favorite writing blog? 
Tell the world here.