Look! There is a thing!

 

You may or may not know that I've been attending regular acupuncture sessions for over a dozen years. I was having increasing pains (felt like electrical jolts) in my fingers, caused by carpal tunnel syndrome. I did not want surgery; considering that I cared for two horses, and all the other daily chores of country-living, I knew there was no way to avoid over-using my hands during the healing period. After my hands were better, sessions segued into alleviating the irritating pains of increasing age.

ANYway, he's a very personable man, and we always chat a little before we get down to business, so he's known for years that I read, write, and edit fanfic. Several months ago, he asked me for writing advice. He has a bunch of letters from his grandfather in WWII, and wants to turn them into a book.

Picture me with a frozen-deer-in-headlights look; I consider fanfic -- at least the way I approach it -- far different from planning a book. Finally I told him to just start writing, like writing a college essay, which he agreed he had experience with, and gave him the old saw about, "You can edit what you've written, but you can't edit a blank page." Then I said I'd ask online and bring back the advice.

I posed the question in a Reddit comm, and got the name of a writing book, which I passed on. Then sholio offered a couple of good suggestions for connecting with local writers. He was surprised at both additions; I think he expected that my first quick suggestion was all I had. So now it's in his hands, but I still keep my eye out for tips or sources that he might find useful.

A few weeks ago, an answer on Reddit included a link to a post from Writing Advice from a Poorly Drawn Spider. It was very good -- clear, concise, and short enough to not be overwhelming. I thought, "That's exactly what (my acupuncturist) needs!" But, in true StarWatcher fashion, I figured why stop at one post, when there might be other valuable advice?

In short, I went to the archives and checked out each post. They're mostly aimed toward novel-writing, but the advice applies toward most writing efforts. So of course I made a list to give my acupuncturist -- title, link, and a short snip from the post that explains what's inside. And now that the list is made... well, might as well share, right? (I can't help it; I think it's the eldest sister in me. Or maybe the teacher.)

So, behind the cut -- an alphabetical list of titles, with (month/year) in case you want to access through the archive. Below that list, linked titles in random order, with the blurb. I figure if the title looks interesting, you can copy/search to find the linked title.

( This way to the goodies. )

So there it is. I know not everyone here is a writer, but you may know folks who are. If you think any of this is useful to them, feel free to link to this post.

 

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kennedy_bowman was asking about spirit guides for a story she's working on, and I remembered a link I had saved. Since spirit guides are canon in Sentinel, many of us might be able to use this information somewhere along the line. So here's a site on shamanism, and the characteristics / attributes of the various spirit guides --

http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/4076/index1.html

I found it interesting that some of the most innocuous animals (to human eyes) can have very powerful psychic characteristics. It's kind of fun (and eye-opening) to browse through the animals, and find their "hidden meaning".

Here's to happy writing.
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