Author Jane Lindskold (the Firekeeper series, many others) is writing a multipart series of blog entries over at Tor.com detailing her opinions regarding the covers created for her books.

Turns out that authors have very little control over what will be representing their work on the crowded retail bookshelves, and since an awful lot of readers make their choices based on a quick glance at the cover this can really help (or hurt) an author's career. Covers, both their the subject matter and color palette, set an expected tone for a book and one that isn't always accurate:

My second problem with this cover is the implied audience for the book.  It looks like a kid's book--and not a Harry Potter-type YA that might appeal to adults as well, but a solidly "kiddie" book.

This is due, in large part, to the one glaring representational error in the art.  By the time this scene occurs, the children are not children any longer.  The boy with the panpipes, for example, is actually a muscular young man of twenty-two.

However, I don't know how many times I had to (reluctantly) stop an adult from buying The Pipes of Orpheus for some eager, bright-eyed, eight-year-old. Usually, I'd ask the adult to at least read the opening--which features the detailed evisceration of a small child--before they made their purchase.

Her entries on the subject include "Look at What They Wrapped Around My Baby!", "When Right is Completely Wrong" and"Series Doesn't Equal Set." Be sure to read the comments as well, where other writers and artists chime in with their own experiences.

I try to write, I really do. And most times I succeed. But I spend plenty of time "researching," wandering aimlessly around the Web, rearranging the papers on my desk, or just staring aimlessly out my window as my deadlines loom over me like the last scenes of a monster movie. For people like me, now our browsers can use the principles of operant conditioning and jolt us out of our laziness.

"Write or Die" from Dr. Wicked's Writing Lab is a text window you open up in your Web browser that pays attention to see if you're typing. You enter your word goal, a time goal, or both, and select a mode of punishment. Once you begin typing the dire consequences are activated. If you stop typing - say, to go hit Wikipedia for a fact or AintItCool because you're bored - each mode delivers increasingly horrible punishments. Gentle mode blinks a reasonably polite reminder at you to get back to work already. Normal mode plays horrible songs (yes, goofing off may get you repeatedly RickRolled). And Kamikaze, the worst, actually begins deleting what you've already written, word by word, until you begin writing again.

Write or Die is not a word processor in any way; it exists only to force you to get words on the screen. You still have to copy what you've written and paste it somewhere else to save it (the newest version of Write and Die automatically copies your text to your clipboard if you close that browser window or tab, as a precautionary measure). But for people who need constant nudging (ahem), Write or Die can be an effective goad. Especially once he gets the "Electric Shock Mode" up and running...

This year marks the 10th annual National Novel Writing Month, meaning that somewhere out there are people who have written at least one book every year for a decade.

This event, started by writer Chris Baty, encourages would-be novelists to get over their stalling ways and finally take the plunge by whipping out a 175-page novel (50,000 words) in 30 days. Quality is largely optional and, frankly, beside the point.

The secret to success in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) lies in a single motivation: an insanely tight deadline. The event begins at 12:01 a.m. on Nov. 1 and stops at the stroke of midnight Nov. 30. No time for editing or polishing, and writer's block is a luxury you can no longer afford. Their motto: "No Plot? No Problem!"

"When you sort of look at this you think this is really a stupid idea, you know. Everybody's out there just trying to write a bad novel," NaNoWriMo creator and freelance writer Chris Baty said. "Really when you write for quantity instead of quality on the first draft I think you end up getting both. A first draft is where you want to be taking risks and making mistakes."