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Hello, and welcome to this week’s WEN-zine nuggets.

After decades of working in a home office, I haven’t found the need to trick myself into work mode. That’s not to say procrastination on a challenging task or project does not occur! But walking into my office means simply I’m at work. Chris Baily, however, wrote today, “Despite all the benefits of WFH life, I do occasionally miss elements of my long-ago morning commute: the audiobook time as I rode into the office and the quiet moments of transition that bookended my workday.” So he tried a fake morning commute ... and has been surprised at how well it works. Some writers like to transition ... and some have favorite tools ...

1. Legendary writers and their preferred tools

Interesting how several typewriter brands were sandwiched between Shakespeare’s quill and Tolkien’s fountain pen in this BaronFig story. I have a particular affinity for Mark Twain’s Remington No. 1 ... having grown up in the town where he wrote many of his books, possibly using that Remington. Nearly a century later, my Aunt Kay worked in the Remington factory there in Elmira, and I was the lucky recipient of her hand-me-down Remington my junior year in high school. Love how trivia floats memories to the top of mind.

2. Popular new literary genre mixes romance and fantasy

TikTok’s popular BookTok channel has been buzzing about a new genre called romantasy, and it’s spawning whole sections in bookstores.

PBS NewsHour recently visited an LA bookstore for the launch of Iron Flame, the hotly anticipated second novel in a series that began with the breakout bestseller Fourth Wing.

Together, the two books have now sold more than six million copies worldwide. Author Rebecca Yarros had been writing and publishing for 10 years, but had no idea what would ensue when she turned to a story that mixes dragons and magic with romance.

You can read the transcript or listen to the segment on PBS.org

3. Turn old blog posts, articles, and unused research into fresh, engaging material ...with Content Maximizer Guide ... On sale now!

Prefer to read the full sales page first? Read it here.

4. FYI items

▪ Joanna Penn has updated and “nearly rewritten” her Author Blueprint, with sections on writing craft, publishing, book marketing, and making a living with your writing, as well as a new chapter on Thinking Ahead which addresses the impact of AI. It’s available as a PDF or Kindle ePub. It’s free, but only available to her email subscribers. If you’re not one of those yet, sign up at www.TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint

▪ Thsrs - The shorter thesaurus. Suggests shorter synonyms for your words, instantly improving the efficiency and impact of your writing. If you input the word “examine,” the tool might suggest the shorter synonym “check.” https://ironicsans.com/thsrs/ - Shared by Janel from BrainPint.com

▪ Jane Friedman’s next Business Sermon is tomorrow: 3 Keys to Pitching with literary agent Lucinda Halpern; 1:00 pm EST. Register free so you get the replay notice if you cannot attend live.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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To Your Writing Success,

Dana K Cassell

Editor

(Dana Cassell is founder of Writers-Editors Network, and has been freelancing/creating full-time for 47 years. In addition to writing, editing, and fact-checking for numerous business clients, she has published more than 2,000 articles and has ghosted or authored more than a dozen books.)

Not a Network member? Join now: https://freelancekeys.com/join-now/ Temporary discount codes:

Save $10 on Basic options: use TESTING coupon code

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