Links for Authors

I’m always adding more, so keep checking back!

FOR THOSE REQUESTING ME TO POST A LINK:
I don’t post unsolicited links, period. This is my list of things that have been personally useful, and spots on this page are not for sale. If you cold-email me or message me with a request, you’ll be deleted and blocked.

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Get to Work!

Favorite programs and sites that help me write! (Other than a text editor, or a notebook and pen!)

• Scrivener – awesome word processing software, amazing for collecting and organizing your notes
• Word Counter – a free, straightforward site that helps track your word count and other useful things
• yWriter – free word processing software that helps you track chapters, scenes, characters, locations and items throughout your book
• OmmWriter – word processing program that creates a bubble of focus and calm for you to write in
• Celtx – free script writing software
• Mindmup – free online idea mapping software that can save your maps to Google Drive
• Aeon Timeline – software for mapping out timelines in your story
• Inkarnate – useful free map drawing website, for D&D campaigns or novels
• Evernote & Skitch – free note taking software, spanning multiple platforms for ultimate convenience
• Noisli – free online focusing and relaxing helper
• Trello & Notion – I use (or have used) these to manage my tasks, and they’re just so dang helpful

Polish & Learn

Here are some sites or articles with resources I found really helpful, or wanted to remember! I’m leaving them here they’re here as constant self-reminders. So, get editing, and learning!

• K.M. Weiland: Helping Writers Become Authors
  • Structuring Your Novel Workbook & Outlining Your Novel Workbook
  • Why Gut Feelings Are a Writer’s Secret Weapon
  • 6 Must-Know Tricks for Getting to Know Your Characters
  • 8 ½ Character Archetypes You Should Be Writing
  • K.M.’s Resource Page

• Kristen Lamb: WE ARE NOT ALONE (W.A.N.A.)
  • Everybody Arcs! How to Use Emotional Growth to Propel the Story and Capture the Reader
  • Pirate Codes & Writing Rules—When is a Flashback a Literary Device?
  • Starting the Story “In the Action”—Understanding “In Medias Res”

• With a K: Writing Services
• Advice to Writers
• Live Hacked
• Learn How to Structure Your Novel–in Five Minutes!
• Author Culture
• Mythcreants
  • Six Plot Excuses No One Wants to Hear
• 101 Best Websites for Writers from Writer’s Digest
• 50 Websites Every Author Should Bookmark in 2014
• NaNoWriMo “Now What?” Months
• Writer’s Digest Free Webinars

• 9 Crippling Beliefs Holding Writers Back From Writing Their Book (and How to Overcome Them)
• 7 Keys To Write the Perfect First Line of a Novel
• How to Write the Perfect First Page
• Eight Points to Consider When You Name Your Book
• How to Write an Irresistible Book Blurb in Five Easy Steps
• How to Plot (or Revise) Your Book
• Subtext and Metaphor
• NaNo Prep: The Truth of What It Takes to Be a Writer
• Suck It Up & Writer Up—Preparing for Greatness

Challenges

Ways to challenge your bad writing self!

• National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) & Camp NaNoWriMo (my entry about it)
• Written Kitten! – Shows a new kitten pic each time you write a certain amount of words
• How to Write a Book In Your Spare Time
• Exactly 1000 Words – write a 1000-word story based on an original photo

Character & World Building

Create your own well-rounded characters and a world for them to live in!

• The Hero’s Journey
• Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions by Patricia C. Wrede
• Creating a Realistic Fantasy World
• Worldbuilding at Mythcreants
  • Starting a Fictional Culture
  • Costuming Your Characters
  • How to Make Your Dastardly Villain More Memorable
  • Creating Rites of Passage
  • How to Create a Rational Magic System
  • Crafting Plausible Maps

Protect

These sites tell you who to stay away from in this big writing world.

• Writer Beware
• Writer Beware: Blog
• Warnings to Writers

Marketing

Get your name out there! I know it’s not easy, but I hope these will encourage you, like they did for me.

• Suck It Up & Writer Up—Preparing for Greatness
• Should Authors Have to “Market Themselves”?
• The Importance of Being Bloggish
• Author Media
• Making the Most of Goodreads
• 105 Author Blog Prompts: Banish Your Blank Blog!
• 40 Blog Post Ideas For Novelists, Poets, And Creative Writers

Submission Time

Connect your work with the right people!

• Coming soon!

Lend a Hand

Writing nonprofits!

• Office of Letters & Light
• 826 Valencia (my entry about it)