Writer's Workshop

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

Renaming something long-used, whether it's a sports team or a novel's hero, requires some steep considerations. It's easier when you're dropping something offensive.

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

The inside story of how Cleveland Indians became Cleveland Guardians – Terry Pluto https://t.co/7ppcaXVyh3

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

A lot of "he asked helplessly" or "she cried ecstatically" or "she added irrelevantly" is hard to take. On the other hand, those are from the first chapter of The Great Gatsby, so everything in moderation, as Benjamin Dreyer writes in his calendar Dreyer's English.

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

Is a character is drifting off in mid-sentence during dialogue? Use ellipses, not a dash.

[Trung Phan @TrungTPhan]

Doing chores, explained

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

Advice from a fantasy novelist, traditionally published: "An editor I know told me a couple years ago that most of the fantasy novels she rejects are turned down to due to inadequate (or no) world building." The work we do outside the writing helps sell our books.

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

Agent Hannah VanVels @hannahvanvels shows us how to open a novel without a backstory dump. Good advice to apply to your current book's draft. https://t.co/9tgHLhOrDK

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

Why you must build worlds for any fiction, regardless of genre

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

I'm reveling in the pages of Roger Ebert's "Life Itself." That autobiography includes a bit on his appreciation of Shakespeare, "a voice for what it means to be human." After a professor told Ebert the plays were short, "I plunged in deeply, in reading that was a form of prayer."

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

People often misconceive bravery as the absence of fear. They think to be brave, one must be fearless. Brave is greater than fearless. It acknowledges fear, then faces it.

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

Ted Lasso takes off next Friday with a pair of actresses who celebrate the connection women can make in a too-common competitive world. Great scripts. https://t.co/mTN7ZVZs1t

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

In a memoir scene, two elements form its base. The situation, or plot, plus the sensation, or physical experience. The first element should spark the second to make the scene more unique and memorable.

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

The biggest revelation for an author who's presenting a book for editing is to discover their novel doesn't have heart. It sparkles with cleverness but it isn't giving readers a chance to feel for these characters. The emotions aren't there.

[Ron Seybold @ronseybold]

Here's the state of audiobook publishing arts. Andy Weir's latest, Project Hail Mary, notes, "To accommodate this audio edition, some changes to the original text have been made with the approval of author." Sometimes what works on the page can be better performed with revision.

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

NYC indie press Heliotrope has advice about an author's role in publishing. "Each book is its own small business that deserves a customized marketing plan...looking for authors who understand the book will not “make” them—but rather, that they have the power to “make” the book."

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

Complain and campaign about overlooked nominees. Here's how the voting rules work to earn a nomination. A lot more math here than you'd expect. People decide on nominees based on who made movies lots of... https://t.co/Zu8tYlptuX

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

Cat advice written by an animal who drinks from that wash tub https://t.co/lmHfR0csPP

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

Getting Barnes & Noble to pay attention to selling books more than sidelines is a new mission for its new CEO. Bestseller James Patterson will reward bookselling staff with bonuses. "I'm excited about all of the... https://t.co/GpnHZEPEdp

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

Abby and I remain un-cruisers, among friends and relations. Get a big ship if you do cruise, it seems. Here's how the lines are making the old boats bigger, and why. https://t.co/mIgqJ2Uuxk

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

Beach time means fun reading like this Hem biography that’s not really about him or his boat https://t.co/Jk1boB1xXk

[Writer's Workshop @austinworkshop]

Some days you’re just gonna tumble into the trash. Get a hand and get out. https://t.co/9aPg4oi790