Image from Ploughshares.

We kick off this week’s links with a fantastic discussion between two debut authors. I always love it when writers interview other writers because of the “me too!” moments that occur, such as the struggle to find the right POV for a book. “The biggest thing I struggled with the first few years was what POV it would be in. And I went back and forth and back and forth from first person to third person to first person.” It’s like the struggling writer’s version of Us Weekly’s “Stars — They’re Just Like Us!” For more of those moments, read on.

• Authors Angela Flournoy and Kaitlyn Greenridge discuss Race, Research, and the High-Stakes Choices of the Debut Novelist, and how — as Flournoy says — “everything is a choice that seems like it could make the whole house of cards fall down.”
• “Once a manuscript leaves your desk, subject matter is the primary (and often only) way it is discussed. So if you haven’t figured out a quick way to answer that cringe-inducing question ‘What’s your book about?’ in a way that interests other people, somebody else will.” How To Tell People What Your Book Is About.
• Maybe you can’t tell people what your book is about because you aren’t sure what your characters want. Michelle Hoover offers her wisdom on tackling The Duplicity of a Character’s Desire.
• David Abrams outlines his 14 Notes to Myself Prior to Entering the Cave of Rewrite.
• Meanwhile, deep breaths, drinks, printouts, and reading aloud work for Jennifer S. Brown. She shares these tips and more for Facing the Edits for a Happy Revision.