Port of Call

The Daily Port of Call: May 27, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll find insights that lead to successful publishing careers, three instances when you should stop writing, and a different way to offer your e-book for sale.

Check out these three insights that lead to successful publishing careers.

Here are ten free e-books to motivate and inspire your writing adventures.

You don’t need a creative boost, one writer argues: “Often when we feel like we need a boost of creativity, what we really need to do is get to work.”

There are three instances when you should stop writing.

Feeling distracted while you write? Perhaps you should try a standing desk. “In the way that it mimics a lectern, a podium, or a drafting table, it reminds the writer that this activity requires blood, enzymes, and exertion. Here is your novel, spread out like a map or a campaign speech. Here are your poems, arranged like blueprints. Pace, stamp your feet, fold your arms, but stay upright. Stand there like it’s the prow of a ship.”

Discover a different way of offering your e-book for sale: Pay What You Want.

BitLit can help you get e-book copies of the physical books you already own.

If they share the same root (terror) why does terrible mean bad and terrific mean good?

The Daily Port of Call: May 23, 2014

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

Photo by Alexander Lvov/bigstockphoto.com

In today’s Daily Port of Call, you’ll find why short stories are on the rise, the battle over internal or external motivation, and lessons learned from a creative writing workshop.

Find out why short stories are on the rise. And check out these twelve reasons to write a short story this month.

Should you write for yourself or for the reader?

The battle over external or internal motivation: “We let ourselves sit in a stagnant spot for too long sometimes. We wait for an outside force to give us that nudge in the right direction – but what if a nudge never comes?”

Make “Wow” blog images with PicMonkey. Jami Gold shows you how.

Lessons learned in a creative nonfiction workshop.

Jane Austen read reviews of her work and took notes on them.

Want to find your crutch words and phrases so that you can eliminate them? Check out the online Word Frequency Counter.

Discover the top writing tools of famous authors.