Today, a podcast. The Odyssey Podcast, which is made up of 10-15 minute extracts from guest speakers at the Odyssey Writing Workshop.
There probably isn't a speculative fiction writer out there who isn't already aware of Doug Smith's Foreign Markets List - but just in case one stumbles across this - go forth and submit reprints across the world!
Today's entry is a website I love, because it's full of weird and wonderful things that show that sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction - http://www.atlasobscura.com/.
Like a lot of writers, I'm a pantser not a plotter. I'd really like to learn how to plot though (I might get more finished that way). Writer Julie Frost pointed out this series of blog posts on exactly that - The Secrets of Story Structure. I haven't read them yet, but I've heard good things.
Today's advent entry is another useful tool, for writers who want to design their own e-book covers. Because let's face it, while being able to hire someone to make art for you is great, sometimes it's not possible or affordable. Canva lets you do all the work yourself, and comes with handy tutorials. Mostly it's free, although some of the pre-designed layouts and custom bits have a (small) price tag. Obviously pay for any pictures you bring in from stock sites or the like.
For today, we have http://www.ambient-mixer.com, a white noise generating website for writers who like their noise with a bit more of a specific atmosphere than rain or oceans (although these are probably available). It has offerings like Gryffindor Common Room, and In Rivendell, and a number of "ambient categories" to choose from. It also allows you to create your own sound mix. Perfect for those who are tired of pretending they're in a coffee shop.
Today's is a useful tool for putting up links to Amazon. ASIN.info allows you to enter the ASIN or Amazon link to your eBook and it will take the user to their local Amazon site. There's a bunch of stuff on the website about commission and Partner-IDs, but honestly I just use it so I don't have to put up multiple links every time, or risk clickers ending up on the wrong Amazon site.
For today, here's an article on writing fantasy creatures from earlier this year: Gender Determination in Fantasy Creatures. This is a guest post by entomologist Robinne Weiss over at Dan Koboldt's blog. It turns out even some normal earthly creatures sort out their biological sex in weird and wonderful ways.
Since we're at the beginning of the month, and there's still plenty of time for Christmas shopping, I thought I'd start with a gift idea. Courtesy of The Literary Gift Company, here's the Writer's Block Notebook - a notebook that looks like a block. For writers. If all else fails, I guess you could prop up a table leg with it.
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