J. Mark Miller | A Writer's Fantasy |

The weekend is here, and it’s time for me to buckle down and get some writing done—in between yard work, family in town, and special events. Oh, and I must not forget the Sunday ritual of watching Stargate Universe and Doctor Who.

On to this week’s links.

Slush Metrics at Gabrielle Edits

Writing Wisdom from Dave Cullen at Rants & Ramblings (Rachelle Gardner)

The Worst of Contracts by Chip MacGregor

FAQ: Fanfic by Charles Stross

Feeling Like A Loser? Go Outside for Five Minutes at Consumerist (great advice for writers)

The Series Bible by Nathan Bransford (Scrivener is a killer app for helping you accomplish this easily)

7 steps to creativity – how to have ideas at Write to Done

Are You Getting These 5 Daily Writing Vitamins? at Write it Sideways

Agent Barbara Poelle On: Three Things Debut Authors Should Know When Signing With an Agent by Chuck Sambuchino

Happy writing and enjoy the weekend!

Here’s my weekly review of great reads from my feed reader.

Asimov’s starts accepting digital submissions TODAY. [tor.com]

Need a Story? Check Lost and Found by Roy Peter Clark

Taking My Art Seriously at Messy Canvas

Choosing the first lines at DGLM blog

A fragilistic look at the expialidocious by Jason Henninger [tor.com]

The key to selling your book is the cover letter at Write for Your Life

Have a great weekend.

Happy writing!

So, it’s been a couple of week since I’ve done one of these. That should mean even more great stuff for you to read.

By the by, I must say I’m really enjoying the new Stargate Universe series. We just started catching up recently, and it’s pretty good so far, but I hope it gets better. It kind of seems like it’s Star Trek: Voyager stuck in the Stargate universe while striving to become the next Battlestar Galactica. It’s none of those things, and I hope the show finds its own voice soon enough.

Ah well, on to the links.

11 Science Fiction Novels for Fantasy Fans at io9 (The Boat of a Million Years is one of my all time favorites.)

How to Improve Your Writing at Men with Pens

Change in the Meaning of Words Demands Care in the Use of Language by Roy Peter Clark at Poynter Online

Hook vs. First Plot Point — Don’t Get Fooled at StoryFix

Keeping Track of Things by Rachelle Gardner

Why I Love Writing: Discovery by Natalie Whipple

Sub Ops Ten at Paperback Writer

Footnotes: 5 Articles about Creating Characters by Chuck Sambuchino

Q&A: Agent Donald Maass at Editor Unleashed

5 Signs of Bad Writing – How to Recognize Your Poorly Written Work at The Adventurous Writer

Agent Irene Goodman: Common Submission Mistakes by Chuck Sambuchino

The Importance of the Pitch by Nathan Bransford

Test Yourself: Show Off Your Writing at Procrastinating Writers

Rethinking Your Novel: The Rationalization of Mediocrity at StoryFix

Finding An Agent: Part 2 at Suvudu

Be a Writer by Rachelle Gardner

Query Formatting at BookEnds, LLC

Interesting and informative reads from my feed reader over the last couple of weeks. Happy Spring everybody.

How to Format a Query Letter by Nathan Bransford

10 Things You Can Do Now to Promote the Novel You Haven’t Even Sold Yet at Novel Journey

How to Create a Strategic Writing Plan—Tips for Organized Writers at Quips and Tips for Successful Writers

Rethinking Your Story: The Power of ‘Arena’ at Story Fix

Kindle for Mac has been released

Stretching the Tension: Keep Threats Alive at There Are No Rules

what if a submission needs more work? at Editorial Ass

Guns, Lots of Guns – Ten Tips for Writing about Guns at Fiction Matters

Write What You Don’t Know at Science Fiction & Fantasy Novelists

Writing Tips from Max Lucado at Guide to Literary Agents

The Ten Best Things You Can Do for Your Manuscript by The Intern

Motivation Tips that Actually Work: 6 Sure-Fire Ways To Get Writing and Keep Writing at write to done

How to Flip Your Self-Doubts as a Writer at Write it Sideways

An Aside | Ten Rules for Writing Fiction by Daniel Abraham at A Dribble of Ink

Interesting, informative, and inspirational links from my feed reader over the last week. Enjoy.

The Best Science Fiction Would Work without any Science at All at io9

Best Eclipse Photo Ever at Mental Floss

The #1 Reason You’ll Never Finish Your Novel at Write it Sideways

6 Ways to Hook Your Readers from the Very First Line at Write it Sideways

Autocorrect is your friend by Gary Corby

How did you get the word out? by kt literary

10 Book Burnings at Mental Floss

The Last-Glance Editing Checklist at Gabrielle Edits

A Plot-Defining Disturbance at There Are No Rules

Tales from the Slush at Futurismic

Why prologues often don’t work at Pub Rants

Freewriters vs. Outliners at Suvudu

How to Trim Your Query to 250 (or Fewer) at Guide to Literary Agents

Tight Focus: Resist Telling Nonessential Details at There Are No Rules

Attacking by Retreating at SF Novelists

Here are some good links that came through my feed reader over the last week. Some are industry news, and some are meant to spur your imagination. Enjoy.

Antarctica’s “Blood Falls” on Mental Floss

Debut Analysis for Aspiring Writers by Tia Nevitt

How to Leave Your Readers Better than You Found Them

Gadgets and/or Words that are Fun to Say on Tor.com

Lost’s Off-Island Character Coincidences Mapped Out on io9

12 Secrets to Being a Super-Prolific Short-Story Writer on io9

The Importance of Writing Every Day on Writing Without Supervision

How to Improve Your Writing in One Step on Fuel Your Writing

Travel the Universe on Zero Units of Energy Per Day on io9

Five Ways to Overcome Fear of Success for Writers on The Adventurous Writer

“Smirk” and Other Words to Avoid by kt literary