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.

Awards Season

or, Thoughts on Having "One Lovely Blog"

Since I was not nominated for an Oscar this year, I assumed that the early-March awards season would pass me by. Thanks to Karen at the always interesting Fiction for Dessert, I was mistaken.

Karen has bestowed my humble blog with the One Lovely Blog Award. Thanks! I'm touched. I really am. I don't know Karen. I've never met her. To think that someone other than my mother reads my posts and finds something to appreciate about them is exceedingly gratifying.

I researched the 1LBA to find its origins and -- after a brief, but targeted search online -- I couldn't. I did discover that other recipients have also failed in the task, so at least I'm not alone in my search-engine shortfall.

Accepting the award comes with certain responsibilities. One must:

1.) Post it on your blog and include the name of the person (and a link to his or her blog) who bestowed it upon you.

2.) Pass the award on to 15 other blogs you have recently enjoyed. [This one changes, depending upon the blog you check. Some say "10 other blogs." Some say "another blog." It's a sort of chain-letter approach to alerting the world to blogs you like.]

3.) Contact the awarded bloggers and let them know that you have awarded their work.

Now, I am all for telling people that I like their work. However, I have several minor speedbumps to address as I wend my way down the road to award acceptance.

Some of the blogs that I follow are -- well -- HUGE. Their writers certainly don't need lil ol' me telling them that I love their work.

Others have decidedly masculine writers who, I daresay, may not be all that thrilled with having a veddy, veddy pink, flowery award flung in their direction.

Still others are maintained by personal friends. Awarding them smacks of nepotism. Kind of like my Mom sending me kudos.

Ah, but where would the world be without flowers, little people thanking big ones, and supporting our friends? With this thought in mind, I hereby bequeath the award of "One Lovely Blog" to these gems (in no particular order):

1. Red Headed Quilter by writer & avid quilter Kelly Smith.

2. Author & educator Trudy Morgan-Cole's Hypergrafitti.

3. Barbara Simpson's funny, poignant, introspective comments on a life in which she is Never a Barbie.

4. Christian writer, book reviewer, and Nashville-to-Michigan transplant Janet Morris Grimes' Pursuit of Sappiness features reviews, devotionals, musings on parenting and writing, & more.

5. The prolific and poetic agent Suzie Townsend's Confessions of a Wandering Heart.

6. Agent's assistant Rayna Erlick's transparent and articulate Rayna Reads.

7. Stuntman and dedicated freerunner Paul Darnell's Live Free or Die is a motivating, energetic, behind-the-scenes look into an athlete's life.

8. The indispensable blog of uber-agent Nathan Bransford.

9. Missy Frye's Incurable Disease of Writing. (Snapshots on this blog can be annoying, but Missy is very transparent about her writing struggles & she regularly features guest posts.) [Truth in advertising -- sometimes she features Yours Truly...]

10. The amazingly versatile and prolific Cherie Burbach's Working Writers & Bloggers blog is packed with writing advice, guest posts, & interviews. [More truth in advertising: she featured an interview with me in December, 2009.]

11. The technically gifted Terisa Green writes a brilliant blog that is chock-full of tips to strengthen the writer's craft.

12. Trucker and aspiring adventure writer Daniel Audet writes lyrical posts about the roadblocks that all writers struggle with on The Writers Road. He only writes occasionally, which makes each post resonate even more.

13. Literary agent Chip MacGregor's regularly answers reader's questions about the publishing industry on his blog.

14. Adrian-Luc Sanders -- eternally interesting and hyper-opinionated -- discusses writing and editing in great uncensored detail at Kowloon by Night.

15. The charming Australian-by-way-of-NZ YA writer Karen Healey (not to be confused with the amazing equestrienne of the same name) chronicles her life in Chocolate in the Fruit Bowl. She is also the guest blogger / Writer in Residence at Inside A Dog for the month of March.

Thanks to all of you for enriching my reading, expanding my understanding, or just making me laugh! For those of you who are unfamiliar with the blogs I've mentioned: I encourage you to check them out at your earliest opportunity. Happy reading!