#Hashtags for #Writers

If you’re on any form of social media, then there is zero chance that you’re managed to avoid hashtags. These are words (or phrases all mashed together) with a hash sign (or number sign - #) stuck on the front.

Hashtags are a great way of finding posts, pictures, articles, or just about anything else because they give you keywords to search on. Looking for writing prompts? Search on the #writingprompt tag, and bam, you’ll find tons of them.

But there are gazillions of hashtags out there, and finding the ones you want aren’t always easy. To help you out, here’s a list of some of the most common and useful hashtags for writers.

Writing Motivation

Looking for ways to get motivated to write? Check these out:

#1K1H – Can you write 1000 words in one hour? Of course you can!

#CampNaNoWriMo – A laid back camping retreat (all online, of course)

#MondayMotivation – Start your week off right

#NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month (November)

#sixwordstory – Write a story using six or fewer words

#StoryStarter

#TuesdayMotivation

#vss365 – Write a Very Short Story, 365 days a year

#WordAThon

#wordsprints – How many words can you cram into just a few minutes?

#WriteGoal

#WriteMotivation

#WriteTip

#writingblitz

#writingparty

#WritingPrompt – For when you can’t think of anything to write

#writingsprint

#WritingTip

Show Off Your Writing (or Someone Else’s)

Ready to share your writing with the world? Want to give a shout out to a great book you just read? Looking for ideas on what to read next? Take a look:

#99c – Buy books for only 99 cents (usually Kindle or other eBooks)

#AuthorRT

#BookBuzz

#BookGiveaway

#BookMarket

#BookMarketing

#FreeBook

#FreeDownload

#FreeReads

#FridayReads

#GreatReads

#KindleBargain

#MustRead

#Novelines

#SampleSunday

#SaturdayShoutout

#WhatToRead

Genres

Everyone has their own personal favorites when it comes to genres. Find yours here:

#Biopic

#Erotica

#FanFic

#FlashFic

#History

#Horror

#KidLitChat

#MemoirChat

#MGLit – Middle grade

#ownvoices

#Paranormal

#PBLitChat – Picture books

#poems

#Poetry

#PoetTues

#Romance

#RomanceChat

#RomanticSuspense

#SciFiChat

#Scriptchat

#SteampunkChat

#TVWriterChat

#UrbanFantasy

#WomensFiction

#YA – Young Adult

#YALitChat

#ZineChat

Writing Communities

Find other authors with the same interests as you, and get to know them in a laid back, informal setting:

#AmEditing

#amwriting

#BlackBookChat

#BookWorm

#IndieAuthor

#IndieAuthors

#KidLitChat

#KindleChat

#LitChat

#lovewriting

#RomanceWriter

#teenauthors – One of my favorites! I just wish it got used more

#WordCount

#write

#WriteChat

#writer

#writers

#writersblock

#WritersLife

#writersnetwork

#writersofinstagram

#WritersRoad

#WriterWednesday – Also #WW

#writing

#writingcommunity – This one has really exploded recently

#writinglife

#youngauthors – Another one of my favorites!

Independent and Self-Publishing

Here are some great hashtags for those who want to go the self-publishing route:

#D2D

#eBook

#EBooks

#ePubChat

#eReaders

#IndiePub (or #IndiePublishing)

#IndieThursday

#KDP

#Kindle

#Kobo

#SelfPub

#SelfPublishing

#SmashWords

Traditional Publishing

These hashtags aren’t exclusive to traditional publishing, but you’ll find a lot of professional authors, agents, and editors hanging out here:

#AskAgent

#AskAuthor

#AskEditor

#CopyWriting

#Editing

#EditorChat

#GetPublished

#MSWL – Manuscript Wish List, where agents and editors post what they want

#PromoTip

#Publishing

#PubTip

#RWA – Romance Writers of America

#SCBWI – Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators

Odds and Ends

#Books

#StoryFriday

#TeaserTues

#ThursdayThoughts

#TuesdayThoughts

#TuesdayTreat

#WednesdayWisdom

#word

#wordgasm

#wordporn

#words

This is far from a complete list of all the hashtags floating around out there for authors, but it should be plenty to get you started.

If you have any other favorite hashtags you want to add to the list, please leave a comment. I’d love to see them!

C. Wombat

5 Ways of Knowing That You Are a Writer

There are many writers in this world, and many others who want to be writers. There are even more who think it might be fun to be a writer, but have never given it any serious thought.

But what makes a writer? How do you know if you are one? Or if you even have what it takes?

Here are five characteristics that most writers have in common.

You Read All the Time

Writers don’t just pop up out of nowhere. Every single one of them was a reader first.

In most cases (but certainly not all), writers tend to be those kids who were the first to start reading. The ones who read anything and everything they could get their hands on. The ones who were reading books that their parents, teachers, and friends told them were too hard for them.

Imagine trying to go out on the field and play baseball when you’ve never watched a single game. That’s like trying to write without reading. You have to know the rules. You have to understand the flow of the game. To write, you have to read.

If you’re a voracious reader, you’ve already taken the first steps towards being a writer.

Can you be a writer without constantly reading? Yes, but it might be quite a bit harder, and you'll probably make more mistakes that could be avoided just by reading more.

You Read Actively

It’s a sad fact that many teens, and even more adults, don’t read anything they don’t have to. And even if they do read, a lot of people—probably even the majority—read just for fun. They only see what’s on the surface.

But writers dig deeper when they read. They examine the structure of the story. They revel in the descriptions. They don’t just read the dialogue, they hear it. They try to predict what’s going to happen next.

There’s nothing at all wrong with reading just for pleasure. Every writer does it, many of them every single day.

But if you find yourself looking past the words, if you envision yourself in the story and how it might play out differently, then you’ve definitely got the makings of a writer.

You Collect Ideas

Just about every writing conference, panel session, or author talk I’ve ever been too, one of the questions that gets asked is, “Where do you get your ideas?”

And the answer is the same every single time: everywhere.

Writers don’t invent their stories out of thin air. They look closely at the world around them. They observe events. They watch people. They listen. And they find ideas.

But here’s the important part: they not only find ideas everywhere they look—they write them down.

One of the biggest, most important things you can do as a writer is to keep your eyes open for story ideas, and write them down! Keep an idea journal. Carry it with you whenever you can. When you can’t, at least carry some note cards or scratch paper.

Ideas are everywhere, but they’re incredibly fleeting. You might think you’ll remember that absolutely wonderful idea forever, but what if you don’t? Jot it down right away, any way you can, and add it to your idea journal when you get a chance.

Good writers never have to struggle to come up with ideas. Just by watching the world around them, they find far more ideas than they can ever use.

You Connect Ideas

So, what do you do with all of those ideas you’ve collected? All those characters, settings, turns of phrase, puns, events?

By themselves, individual ideas aren’t that useful. But once you put them together, that’s when you have a story.

Writers will often begin a story by taking two or three (or more) of their ideas and mashing them together. I felt like writing a zombie story, but not just the same old zombie story. While thinking about what to write, I watched some birds splashing around in a birdbath. I asked myself what zombies and birdbaths have in common, then sat down and wrote my story.

If you find yourself connecting ideas, asking yourself “what if this happened” and “how would this person react to this event,” you’re ready to write.

You Write

What is the one thing that every single writer has in common?

They write.

You can want to be a writer. You can daydream about book tours and movie deals. You can fantasize about hoards of fans screaming for the release of your next novel. I’ve spent far more time that I’d care to admit doing all of those things.

But until you start writing, you’re not a writer, and never will be.

All of the other characteristics are important, but this one is vital. If you want to be a writer, you have to write. Every day, if possible. You have to want to write. Many writers will tell you they find it painful not to write. If that’s you, you’re in good company.

So, what’s the best way of knowing if you’re a writer? You write.

Start today. Start now. Create something amazing.

C. Wombat