Sunday Links : August 28, 2011 Edition

Another week has gone by and it's felt like a really good writing week. I've gotten some work done with new stories that I feel very pleased with. I wish there were more hours in the day, though...

Sunday is the day that I go through articles and blog posts I've read on the internet and link to ones that I found especially fun or interesting.

Today, I have one special link to present first. Rachael Harrie has kicked off her third Writers' Platform-Building Campaign. For those of us who are working to build our networks as writers this looks like a fantastic opportunity to reach out to those who share our interests and connect with them.

Now, on to the rest of the links!

"Creating an Uncomfortable Situation" (Mystery Writing is Murder / Elizabeth Spann Craig) - We've heard to "torture our characters" before but sometimes just making them really uncomfortable can be just as good. Elizabeth talks about how to make uncomfortable situations for our characters work for your story.

"Setting Goals" (Paranormal Point of View / Lisa Gail Green) - Six step model for reaching big goals. I love articles that talk about the psychology of writing because I think that's such a big hurdle for many writers.

"Shutting the Drawer: What Happens When a Book Doesn't Sell" (Edan Lepucki) - A personal essay by the author about her feelings when her first novel had trouble finding a home. The essay itself is interesting and the comments are instructive, too. There's a lot of sentiment in the comments that the author shouldn't be so quick to consider her novel "dead."

"Top Ten Reasons To Become a Writer" (Kristen Lamb's Blog) - Because sometimes you just have to stop and laugh.

Additionally, here's a recap of the posts from this week on my blog:

"Dave Zeltserman Interview" - The week started off with a bang with Monday's original interview with Shamus Award-winning author Dave Zeltserman as a follow-up to last week's "Dissecting the Short Story 'Hostage Situation' by Dave Zeltserman" post.

"Rejecting Rejection - A Survival Guide" - Tips for authors on how to deal with the rejection that almost all of us have to face on a fairly regular basis.

"Six Mystery Writers You Should Be Reading" - An examination of what we can learn from six great mystery writers and their stories.

Finally, I have one other special link to share this week. My father, a movie fan and an organizer for each of the 43 Cinevent classic film conventions held in Columbus, Ohio, has started a blog called Film Musing. If you're interested in movies, especially older ones, I think you'll be interested in reading what he has to say.