NaNoWriMo is hovering ever closer to our doorsteps. And we writers are going to need quite a lot to defeat the writing beast - so why don't I give you some of my recommendations of writer-ly things? Who knows, maybe you'll find one that helps you charge right through that 50k for NaNo ;).
Books
Writing Magic was one of the first books on the writing craft that I read (actually, I think I still remember the VERY first book that I read on the writing craft, when I was about ten or eleven. I just can't remember the title for the life of me, sadly), and it's quite a fun book! Gail Carson has an awesome way of writing, whether it's a fiction or nonfiction book, so I remember enjoying this one. <3
I'd almost consider this one a 'sequel' of sorts to Writing Magic, as it's written by the same lovely author and (from what I can remember), it's similar to Writing Magic. So if you read and enjoy Writing Magic, go give this one a shot!
Storyworld First is an AH-MAZING book for us writers who need some help with worldbuilding (#me). Jill Williamson is incredible when it comes to creating worlds, so I expected some good stuff from this book - and it didn't disappoint! I'd definitely recommend this to all of you who are looking to make your fantasy world a little deeper.
Go Teen Writers was given to me as a gift by my epic aunt and uncle, and it's been an invaluable asset to my writing-life. Stephanie and Jill have the best advice and tips in this book that they co-authored. And it isn't only about the writing craft, it's also about the publishing industry! Go Teen Writers is absolutely one of my favorite books on the writing craft, so I'd definitely recommend that you go check it out - especially if you're a young adult/teen writer who's looking to go further with writing ;).
Websites
I only recently discovered Kingdom Pen, but let me tell you that it is a treasure trove of writer-ly information, and awesome short stories. And not only is it a great website for its info, but it also seems like a great community of writers.
K.M. Weiland is the author of Helping Writers Become Authors, and she always has amazing advice on the writing craft. Her posts are always super informative and to-the-point, and there's such a wide range of writer-ly topis on Weiland's website.
Every writers has struggles with naming characters at some point. And if y'all haven't found Namehunter (by Nameberry), you need to check it out. I use it all the time, and it's invaluable when you can't quite find that exact name you're looking for.
So I can't vouch for this one personally (yet - I really do need to find the time to check it out), but I've heard good things about it. Y'all will have to tell me if this is one of the sites you enjoy!
The same author who wrote Writing Magic and Writer to Writer has a blog where she answers questions for writers, and shares epic information on the writing craft. I haven't read many of the posts on there, but the ones that I have read have some awesome information, and Gail Carson Levine's writing style is just so easy to read, even in a blog post.
Blogs
I can honestly say that I wouldn't be where I am in my writing and blogging without Go Teen Writers. This blog is co-authored by Stephanie Morrill, Jill Williamson, and Shannon Dittemore, and they are the sweetest ladies. The information they share on the writing and publishing industry is amazing, and the community over on that blog is so supportive. Definitely go check it out.
The P.C. blog is still pretty new, but I have a feeling it's going to turn into something pretty big! The Project Canvas book doesn't release until 2018, but if you're excited to read it, definitely skip on over to the blog. It's turning into a great place with lots of cool information.
Freelance Editors
I haven't worked with Abi on a large-scale project yet, but she's helped me with multiple short stories and flash fiction, and her editing skills are amazing. Abi's great at finding those tiny details that other people might miss, and she's so fun and easy to work with. Plus, her current editing prices are to die for xD. So skip on over to her site and check her out if you're going to be needing another set of eyes to go over your story!
So I didn't know what I had coming when Jane Maree started alpha reading Asher Grey for me, but OH GRACIOUS is she an incredible editor. I'd talked to her about some of the problems I was having with the story beforehand (like the fact that I have to cut 17k words from it *cringe*), and she helped so, so much with all of that. Jane's super professional, and amazing at what she does. I'd definitely recommend that you check her out if you need an editor.
Well, there are some writer-ly recommendations from myself - what are some things that you think should be added to this list? Leave your recommendations for any of these categories down in the comments, and I'll add some of them into the post!
~ Savannah Grace
what are some of your recommendations for writers?
Have you ever heard of the Story Forger? It's a blog that I HIGHLY recommend for writers. Super informative and helpful. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Story Forger? Ooh, I love that blog title! I've never heard of it, but if you give me a link to it, I can add it to the list ;).
DeleteThank you so much for all these amazing resources. While I'm not doing NaNo, these will come in handy in my every day writing life. I will check out Teen Journal and let you know what I think. I've never heard of them.
ReplyDeleteAll these resources look awesome!!
<3
~Ivie
iviewrites.blogspot.com
You're welcome! I hope these resources will come in handy for you ;).
DeleteOkay, so I went to check Teen Author Journal out and it looks like they have some awesome articles. You can make a membership with them, too. I don't think I will, personally, but it looks like an awesome website. :D
ReplyDeleteReally? Awesome! I'll have to go take a closer look at all that when I have the time :D
DeleteOoooh, thank you for the recommendations! I will definitely be checking out some of those websites you mentioned. (K.M. Weiland's is the only one I know about.) Namehunter especially looks like something I've needed all my life! :O
ReplyDeleteYesssss to Go Teen Writers! The book AND blog. That's when my writing made its biggest turning point--when I started reading their blog and read the book. All their advice has become utterly invaluable to me! And they've helped point me to OTHER resources and basically made me go from not knowing what I was doing in any form or fashion, to being quite knowledgeable about the writing word. I owe so much to Jill, Stephanie, and now Shannon!
Anyways, I loved all of this! I'm always on the hunt for more writing resources, so this was perfect! :D
You're welcome! And YES, NAMEHUNTER. I use that thing so, so much. I don't know how I figured out character names without it xD.
DeleteSame! Those three ladies are epic, I'm so grateful for what they do.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this <3.
YESS GO TEEN WRITERS. I really like that book- I follow the blog, too, I just don't have time to read every post. It's always helpful when I do read them though. :D
ReplyDeleteI only found Go Teen Writers a few years ago, and I don't know WHAT I did without it! How did I ever find the answers to writer-ly questions?? I guess we'll never know xD.
DeleteGTW is the best! I also enjoyed Gail Carson Levine's Writing Magic. (Have you read her other one, Writer to Writer? Or checked out her blog? Lots of great articles, and all of them are long answers to questions people send her.) Ooh, ooh, I recently got Storyworld First! Looking forward to diving into that yet. And KM Weiland's site is new for me, but I've been finding it soooo helpful! Another one you might like is Kristen Kieffer's site, http://www.well-storied.com. :)
ReplyDeleteYup, I loved Writer to Writer as well - so much great information in that book. And OH, I totally forgot about her website! I'll have to add that to this post ;). I haven't checked out much of Levine's site, but the posts I did read were pretty awesome.
DeleteFantasy Name Generator is a good site to find names if you write a lot of fantasy (and even if you don't write fantasy.). I've use it multiple times cause it's got names for so many different nationalities and even for fictional world's like Harry Potter and Maze Runner. :D
ReplyDeleteI've heard about Fantasy Name Generator - I'll have to check that out at some point soon, it sounds really neat! Thanks for mentioning it :D
DeleteKingdom Pen and Go Teen Writers are both awesome!!! Probably honestly two of the best resources I have ever found. Writing Magic was also pretty good, I'm fairly certain that I've read it. :D
ReplyDeleteI love the community of writers at both of those places, it just so epic <3.
DeleteOoo, there are some awesome resources on here. I'm excited to check out the books and the writing blogs. :)
ReplyDeleteHope you find some that you like!
DeleteI looove Writing Magic! I remember reading it when I was smol writer. It really inspired me! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's such an epic book, I NEED to reread it at some point :D
DeleteMy top two recommendations for writers is the Theme Mastery course and K.M. Weiland's Creating Character Arcs book. They're both pure epicness. Kingdom Pen is the bestistest. One Year Adventure Novel is also a good one for newer writers.
ReplyDeleteMy sister owns Storyworld First but -shame on me- I somehow haven't gotten around to reading it yet. I really should though. *nodnod*
I've heard of both of those, and I NEED to check them out! Theme Mastery sounds so incredibly epic. I love theme so much, but I'm not that good at writing it xD.
DeletePRILL. You need to read it! It's a treasure trove for storyworld information, I love it <3.
Writing Magic is amazing! I love how Mrs Levine puts prompts at the end of her chapters - fun ones, too! Haven't read Storyworld First, but as soon as I can get my hands on it, I will. ;)
ReplyDeleteI really struggle with naming characters, so Namehunter will be a brilliant resource!
Thank you for an excellent writerly-recommendation post, Savannah :)
- Jem Jones
The prompts were one of my favorite parts - I feel like I actually wrote stories off a few of them, but I can't remember xD. And YES, Namehunter is amazing! I hope it helps you name some of your characters <3.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, my friend!