Tales to Tide You Over - Margaret McGaffey Fisk
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I was introduced to the Internet (after being a computer user for many years) when I discovered Holly Lisle's Forward Motion. She passed the mantle to Lazette Gifford some years ago, and the philosophy stays the same. In my own efforts, I have tried to do the same. Below, you will find links to some of the sites I find beneficial and/or frequent as well as information about the workshops I offer.
Writing Articles
I have written many writing articles and had a chapter published in a non-fiction writing book. One of my articles in specific, Footsteps to a Novel, has been frequently linked and was named article of the month by a Romance Writers of America chapter. So if you're looking for some new approaches, you might want to wander through the non-fiction section of my bibliography. Non-Fiction Publications.
Writing Publications
My essay on surviving, managing, and learning from your rejection letters makes up one of the chapters in The Complete Guide to Writing Fantasy Volume 3: The Author's Grimoire available from Dragon Moon Press.
Order a copy at your local bookstore, or from:
Writing Blog
I started a LiveJournal account way back when so I could comment on friends' posts. However, one of those friends encouraged me to use the space to talk about my writing process. Since then, I have added notes about the various projects I'm working on, what struggles I've had, what went really well, and what made me laugh. Some of the posts are so far in my past that they seem alien even to me. It's an interesting look into my journey and something I could not recreate now by looking at my past. However, because I discuss projects in process, I do have to warn you that there might be some spoilers hidden within. The posts are labeled with the projects though, so you can avoid specific ones if you still want to see what's there. The link is on the sidebar of every page, or you can go here: Writing Blog.
Writing Links
I realized a while back that the links I was compiling in my favorites could be useful to others as well. Being a programmer as well as a writer, I put together a script that converted my links into something I could post on the web. I attempt to keep them updated as much as I can, adding new and verifying the older ones still work, but I'm only one person. However, there's a lot of useful information to be had here: Writing Links
Forward Motion
Forward Motion is an online writing community with more than 4,000 active members. The stated goal is to help writers along the road to publication with no distinction as to genre (with the exception of erotica so parents of the younger members can consider the site a safe place). In my tenure, I've seen many writers (myself included) go from unpublished to published. I've seen many more complete their first novels, or even just learn how to be in touch with their writer selves.
The site includes:
- discussion boards on pretty much every topic you can think of, though the amount of activity in the smaller boards varies based on whether someone has a question or comment to make.
- critique boards (both private and open to site members) where members can get feedback on their writing. These are all password protected to ensure no first publication rights are endangered, and posts are deleted once the critiquing is complete. None of these are searchable boards.
- a chat engine for live interaction with other writers, word wars when you need that extra push, brainstorming sessions for when you're stuck, or just a friendly conversation with someone who doesn't look at you strangely when you talk about the voices in your head.
- forum classes and workshops to help you improve your writing skills or topic knowledge.
- site tools for tracking your WIP progress.
- pips (small gifs) to display your achievements on your triumphs page.
- and many other features, including a record of agent turnaround data.
With the exception of the workshops I offer during the Muse Online Conference, currently all my teaching is through Forward Motion. Along with another moderator, Valerie Comer, I concocted a crazy plan to meet the needs of writers who have moved beyond the first draft and want to know what to do next. Since then the scope of the workshops have expanded quite a bit, but they still offer four to six weeks of intensive study revolving around a specific technique or topic. If you already are a member, pop over to the Learning Centers for 2008 and 2009 to see summaries of the classes that have been taught. If you are not, here's a teaser from a class I taught at the beginning of the year and which I will be teaching an offshoot of for the Muse Online Conference.
2009 Workshop 1: Non-Verbal Communication
Writers are, at the root, observers of language, culture, personal quirks, and whatever else might serve as fodder for their art. That said, much of this observation occurs on an instinctive, gut level, and isn't always available when writers need to call on it. This workshop focuses on both training your observation skills to create a greater awareness of non-verbal communication and on using those observations through writing exercises to increase your comfort level.
Part I: How to become aware, or increase your awareness, of non-verbal communication. (2 weeks)
Part II: How to use that awareness to enhance your readers' experience. (4 weeks)
Membership is free, though donations are welcome. Come check it out.
Online Writing Workshop
The Online Writing Workshop is a haven for science fiction, fantasy, and horror writers. The core is a critiquing engine with strict rules that govern participation so that in order to post beyond your first one, you must also critique. Once you get the hang of it, it's relatively easy to accrue the right number of posts, but by then, the social aspects take over to discourage worthless feedback.
As a sidebar to the critiquing site, there is an associated listserv where community members, former members, and folks who are not part of the Workshop but are interested in checking it out, discuss all manner of writing topics.
The Workshop is not free, but the annual charge is low and the benefits gained are high.
Holly Lisle's Writing Aids
As I mentioned above, Holly was a big influence on my pay-it-forward mentality. Though I've always loved helping people, through Holly, I've found new ways to do so. Her site, HollyLisle.com, is very informative with a number of articles about various writing topics.
If you have a little spare cash, you might also be interesting in these offerings:
Holly's Shop
Here, you will find books by Holly and other writers that can help you develop your writing skills and topic understanding as well as some that are there for the entertainment.
How to Think Sideways
Holly is a multi-published author with a knack for sharing her methodology in a way that makes sense, and is helpful, to writers of all levels. Though she plans to offer more courses in the future, Thinking Sideways is a look at the whole picture from teasing out solid ideas through writing, editing, and shopping them around all the way through to publication contracts. No matter how far along the path you are, you're likely to find something here that can help improve your process.
Note: These are my affiliate links. If you'd prefer, just go to HollyLisle.com and Holly has links there.
