Month: November 2014

A Treasure Trove of Research Sources for Authors

Christine FrostGuest Post
by Christine Frost

I confess — I’m a digital hoarder. Spending many years in the academic world and being a historical fiction author, I’ve collected a tremendous amount of research. Over the years, I’ve taken notes from countless books to ensure I’m accurately portraying the historical figures, cuisine, and cultures I’m portraying in my writing. It’s easy to get swept up in taking notes. New ideas for the story come with each interesting detail.

There is a delicate balance in historical fiction. In order to be able to move comfortably within the realm of the story you’re creating, the scale of research needed can be huge. The risk for writers is spooling out endless facts in prose just because there were dozens of fascinating details that were discovered in research. While working on my second novel, set in medieval Ireland, I happened to find a book describing everyday life in rural areas. Soot houses dotting the Irish landscape may provide just the right touch of authenticity, but an expository paragraph on their construction and functionality bogs down the narrative and removes the reader from the story. Continue reading “A Treasure Trove of Research Sources for Authors”

November Twitter Fest

hashtag tweeterDue to complications from a server migration, we had to close comments on this follow-fest. We will re-run this on Wednesday, 11/26/14, so everyone can have a fair shot at getting followed back. Thank you for your patience!

Have you been feeling lonely on Twitter lately? Well, our Jim Devitt wrote a couple of posts which might help you get more eyes on your tweets. Check that out, then come back here and have some fun with the November Twitter Fest.

This is how it works: If you are an author, publisher, publicist, literary agent, book reviewer, (or especially a book-lover), etc., in the comments below, paste in the link for your Twitter Handle. Tweet the link to this post, inviting all your followers to do the same. Make sure you show some love to the handles in the comments above yours, and check back throughout the day to catch up. (Remember: If you right-click the link, you can open it in a new tab so you don’t have to constantly page back and forth.)

This should be fun and should generate a lot of follows for everyone who plays. We’ll kick things off with ours. Let’s get the party started! http://www.twitter.com/IndiesUnlimited.

PLEASE be sure to reciprocate by following those who follow you. This is give and take. If everyone plays by the golden rule, we all benefit.

Technical Improvements

Technology. You gotta love it.
Technology. You gotta love it.

Here at Indies Unlimited, we’re glass-half-full types. We don’t like to say technical “difficulties,” especially when that’s not really what we’re having.

Last night, we upgraded to a super-duper, lightning-fast, bionic web hosting server. Because our IU readers deserve it. And because the DeathStar was getting just too big for the server we were on. Pretty cool, huh?

So, for the next couple of days, your ISP may need some time to adjust to this new technological awesomeness. Don’t worry, any glitches you are seeing are just temporary. We promise.

Discipline in Writing: Necessary or Overrated?

discipline-clipart-clipart-bootcampWe’ve all heard about the authors who sit down at the computer and crank out 1,000 words a day, every day. Or write 50 or 100 pages, every day. Maybe some of you reading this are just that kind of writer. You believe in discipline. You believe in practicing your craft every minute of the working day. I’ve heard some say that it doesn’t even matter if what you write is good; it only matters that you write. Continue reading “Discipline in Writing: Necessary or Overrated?”