If you are like me and are writing the first draft of your first novel, you've probably noticed the pattern by now. The number of questions in your mind grows at the same pace than your manuscript. From the existential queries like: "What is pacing? How does one's novel can lack of it?" to the pragmatic frustrations about the proper use of dialog tags, I'm sure your questions are piling up. Fortunately (or not), there is a world of documentation you can find online about how to develop your writing skills and make your place in the industry. So far, beside the Writer's Digest's sponsored sites, the quality of most of them is varying like the weather in Guadalcanal Island. Sometimes it's really hot, sometimes it's not even worth checking out.
Here's a good one. Fellow Canadian writer Claudia Del Balso has put up a blog with a purpose in mind: Help aspiring writers to get better and get the blogging writers to stick together . You could say that she's ahead of the pack because the accuracy of her advices and the concise nature of her posts make her easy to read and understand, and you would be totally right. But what I like about Claudia is that she's really there for the writers. Not in a I'm-your-sponsor-please-wake-me-up-at-4-AM-With-Your-Existential-Anxiety, but she checks out her blog on a daily basis and answers every questions. She makes sure her answers are researched and practical for you.
This is rare, fellow writers. In the writing/publishing business (like in any other competitve market), genuinely nice people are more rare than the burning bush. Claudia is one of these rare pearls who cares about the other and the greater plan to build a writing community. She's currently working on an anthology herself (she's in the editing process, so keep an eye on it)and meanwhile she's working as a book publicity marketing assistant (needless to say, that makes her point of view even more relevant) and she's working some wonders for the local writer's community. Amongst all things, she's organizing a writing workshop for this Fall. Check her out, stick around, you'll thank me for it:
Claudia Del Balso, Writer
