Great Writing Blogs

I owe my thanks to a number writers who give up their valuable time to maintain writing blogs that both instruct and inspire. Today, to help celebrate the release of The Emotion Thesaurus, The Bookshelf Muse has declared this Random Act of Kindness Day, where writers (and anyone else!) are encouraged to thank those who have helped them.

This is a great idea, and a wonderful way to launch a book! In that spirit, here are blogs I have found invaluable:

1. Elizabeth Spann Craig (blog: Mystery Writing is Murder)
One of my favorite writers, Elizabeth Spann Craig, not only has a blog chalk full of great advice for writers, she also has an amazing Twitter feed (@elizabethscraig). I love the links she tweets, they both inspire and instruct. I highly recommend her writing.

2. Joe Konrath (blog: A Newbie's Guide to Publishing)
If anyone is the father of the indie publishing movement, it's Joe Konrath. Whether or not you agree with his perspective, his blog posts are timely, instructive and witty. Joe doesn't post as regularly as he used to, but when he does I do a little happy dance.

3. Kristine Kathryn Rusch (blog: Kristine Kathryn Rusch)
I thought I knew a bit about the business of publishing before I starting reading Kristine's blog. It turns out I didn't. Kris Rusch knows the business of writing from the perspective of a writer, an editor and a publisher. For anyone who would like to be a professional writer Kris' blog is a must read.

4. Dean Wesley Smith (blog: Dean Wesley Smith)
This is another great blog on the business of writing. Dean has written a number of series on both writing and publishing that are well worth the read.

5. Passive Guy (blog: The Passive Voice)
Passive Guy is a lawyer who specializes in contract law, especially as it relates to the publishing industry. He has a knack for finding great articles about writing and publishing and, occasionally, talks about what to look out for in contracts -- he calls them gotcha clauses. A must read for anyone seeking to be traditionally published.

These are five blogs among dozens that inform and inspire me every day, I hope they'll inspire you as well. Cheers!

Photo credit: What Orli Did