Sunday, May 22, 2011

Reading About Writing

I love reading about writing.

When I first decided that I wanted to be a writer, one of the first things that I did was empty my hometown library of every "how to write" book I could find. I poured over those books, taking copious notes as if I were unlocking the secrets to the universe.

I was ten years old, and I believed that books held the answer to every question, the solution to every problem, and the map to every dream.

Okay, I still believe that.

These days, one of my favorite things to do online (along with checking out cake wrecks and fashion commentary) is read about writing. In case you're interested, here are a bunch that I bookmarked recently:

"The Ever-Popular I Suck Playlist" by Libba Bray

"How Not to Bug the F*** Out When Writing a Novel" by Chuck Wendig

"'Don't listen to them. They're both wrong.' And other reasons I love Steven Tyler" by Jo Knowles

"Making Story Happen" by Laini Taylor

"How to Steal Like an Artist" by Austin Kleon

"Writing Better" by Megan Crewe

"Choose Your Own Adventure" by Jessica Tudor

"And the Magic Begins" interview with Terry Pratchett

"Love What You Love" by Ray Bradbury (via Boing Boing)

"Our Best Advice for Writing Fantasy" on Enchanted Inkpot

"How Science Fiction Movies Can Help You Write Novels" by John Scalzi

"How to Survive a First Draft" by Delia Sherman

"Writing Weirdness" by Carrie Jones

"The Things That Save Us" by Terri Windling

Anyone have any writing-about-writing links you'd like to share? Any favorite writing-related sites or blogs?

In addition to reading about writing, I've also learned a lot about writing and publishing by hanging out with all manner of bookish people every chance I get, which is exactly what I'll be doing this week. I'm headed to Book Expo America (BEA), a huge gathering of booksellers, publishers, authors, etc at the Javits Center in NYC. Really looking forward to it!

Labels: , , ,

7 Comments:

At 9:25 AM, Blogger BookChic said...

I'll have to keep an eye out for you! Will you be there Wednesday and Thursday? I'm missing Tuesday unfortunately. Will Drink Slay Love ARCs be available?

 
At 10:08 PM, Blogger Sarah Beth Durst said...

Great! Hope to see you there. I'll be around on Tuesday and Wednesday.

 
At 7:11 PM, Blogger Ron Saxen said...

What a treasure trove of good information. If only you had a tip jar.

 
At 11:20 AM, Anonymous Kelsey said...

Clare Dunkle has a lot of writing advice on her website (www.claredunkle.com) which I've found helpful.
So excited about Drink, Slay, Love!

 
At 10:56 AM, Blogger Kaye M. said...

Is it true that BEA isn't open to the public?

 
At 10:19 PM, Blogger Sarah Beth Durst said...

Ron: Thanks! I've always liked the phrase "treasure trove." :)

Kelsey: I'll check her site out. Thanks! And thanks for being excited for Drink, Slay, Love!

Kaye: Not sure...

 
At 10:26 PM, Blogger BookChic said...

Kaye- Yeah, it's not open to the public. You have to be a part of the publishing/book industry somehow. I'm just a book blogger and I got in, though I've been doing it almost 4 years now.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home