The Best #Bloggers = Quill & Quotes

... Featured for today's #AtoZChallenge - @RayRhamey & Writing Quotes ...  
   

Over the years I've learned so much, made so many friends, and been uplifted by so many great bloggers! As a result, I'm recognizing some of the best bloggers for this year's A to Z Challenge. These bloggers have shared knowledge, promotions, jokes, guidance, support, and more. Scroll on down to meet the next set of bloggers.

To the BEST BLOGGERS in the world - I say, "Thank you!"


Q is for Flogging the Quill and Writing Quotes.


Ray Rhamey's Flogging the Quill blog has ALWAYS been one of my favorites. If you're looking to improve your writing, especially the beginning of your story, you must check out this site! In addition to a twelve-step checklist, Ray offers daily critiques (floggings) of writers' first pages. Ray says it's essential that the first page "begins connecting the reader with the protagonist ... and raises a story question."


If you need some quick daily inspiration to put a spark into your writing, check out Writing Quotes. Recently they featured this great quote by Lettie Prell: "I must write now and quickly, before I begin to prefer the perfect version that lives in my head." 


Please take two minutes to stop by these two awesome blogs and thank them for all they contribute to the blogosphere!

#Book Review: Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling

SO MUCH GREAT ADVICE! I highly recommend.

 

 

Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling by Ray Rhamey

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I've read a lot of books on the craft of writing, and I've come to judge these books based on how many passages I've highlighted or bookmarked. And man ... I marked up this book! I've been a fan of Ray Rhamey's for a long time (especially his Flogging The Quill website), and I was excited to read this book to learn more from him.

What I loved:
1. This book contains SO MUCH great advice - from big ideas of storytelling down to little facets of word choice.
2. His writing style is very easy to read.
3. He's included practical tips and exercises for the reader to put into immediate practice.

What I disliked:
1. Sometimes Ray criticized himself when he gave actual writing examples. While some people may see this as humility, I felt it undermined his authority as an expert in the field.
2. Much of the book's beginning chapters read like a laundry list of Ray's personal writing pet peeves.
3. I read the Kindle version, and many of the pictures were hard to see. When I clicked on them they were blurry.

The list of things I loved FAR outweighed the list of things I disliked. Not only would I recommend this book to all of my writing friends, I will also read this book again and again to master the concepts presented within its pages.

[Note: I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.]



View all my reviews

F is for Flogging the Quill

 

So … you want to be a writer? Where do you start? How do you get there? No worries. This month I’ll be sharing my A to Z list of writer’s resources: books, blogs, and beyond! Check back each day to find helpful resources for improving your writing and navigating your way through the publishing industry.


F is for Flogging the Quill

How important is the first page of your manuscript? How many times have you read the first page of someone else's story and made a gut decision about whether or not to buy the book and keep reading? That first page is ESSENTIAL. But how do you make it great?

Flogging the Quill is an excellent website where Ray Rhamey posts the first page of a writer's manuscript and critiques it, but that's not all, the visitors to the site also critique the writing by voting yes or no about whether or not they'd turn the page and by leaving comments on the post. A writer can learn essential story writing techniques by not only visiting this blog but also by participating in the critiquing of other people's writing.

Do you have the nerve to submit your first page for public flogging?

Your First 250 Words

Why are the first 250 words of your manuscript so important?

Why do many agents not read beyond that point?

Why do readers pick up a book in bookstore, only read the first page, and then put the book back on the shelf?

Why does Amazon offer a sneak peak at the first page of many books?

...

ANSWER: Because if you can't capture a reader's interest in the first 16 lines, first page, or first 250 words, chances are ... you're not going to do it later on in the story either.

...

According to one of my favorite websites Flogging the Quill:

"[the first page] ... includes each of these ingredients ... The one vital ingredient not listed is professional-caliber writing because that is a must for every page, a given.
•Story questions
•Tension (in the reader, not the just characters)
•Voice
•Clarity
•Scene-setting
•Character"

According to one of my favorite literary agents Suzie Townsend:
Stand out from the slush!

As soon as possible:
1. Establish your character and voice
2. Establish the conflict and move the story forward
3. Establish the tone
4. Establish an indication of setting
5. Catch the reader off guard - to grab them and keep them reading

Goals of first two pages:
1. Create interest in the character and the plot
2. Create intrigue
3. Create investment

...
What do you think? Do you think it's necessary or POSSIBLE to accomplish these things in your first 250 words?