Every month on this blog I post a collection of the most helpful writing sites and blog posts I come across during the month. This is a continually updated master list of those sites and blog posts collected together in one place. I’ve grouped the links under headings so it is easier to find what you’re looking for. You can either click the heading to view all links under that heading or scroll down to view the entire masterlist.
Table of Contents
1.Writing Sites (packed full of fantastic writing information)
11. The Technical Side of Writing
23. Author Platforms/Social Media
1. Writing Sites (packed full of fantastic writing information)
This blog is written by an agent named Mary Kole (who is also a published author)and offers some great tips on various aspects of writing, as well as some great insight into agents’ thought processes. It also occasionally runs contests. I have it bookmarked and I highly recommend it to any aspiring author.
This blog is written by a published author named Barry Lyga and he covers a lot of different areas of writing. His advice isn’t only very helpful for those wishing to develop their craft, but he also writes his blog in a very down-to-earth manner. This is another site I have bookmarked.
His tagline is ‘help for writers’. He specifically offers advice on querying agents and approaching publishers
The Kill Zone consists of seven authors who each take a turn at blogging over the week. This blog is filled with great writing tips on the various aspects of writing a novel. Although the authors involved are all mystery/thriller writers their advice is applicable to writers of any genre.
Looking for some inspiration to get your creative juices flowing? Zachery Petit offers writing prompts as well as some other writing tidbits.
A comprehensive blog covering a variety of advice on novel writing.
2. Writing Communities
This is a writing community forum for those who write Young Adult, although they also have sections for Middle Grade and picture book writers. Some of the great sections they have include: Query Kick Around, where you can post your query to have others critique it; First Pages Critique, where you can post your first five pages to be critiqued; and Agent Insider, which lists agents who represent YA. YAlitchat also hosts a chat once a week on Twitter at 9pmEDT on Wednesdays (which just so happens to be 11am Thursday for me as I’m in Australia). These chats are a great way to connect with other writers and have guests such as agents and published authors to answer your questions. Just use the #yalitchat hashtag.
Even though Write on Con is over for this year the forums are still open. If you write picture books, middle grade or young adult there are sections for each where you can get critique or connect with fellow writers.
This is where you sign up if you want to be an official participant in NaNoWriMo. You can set up a bio page, connect with fellow NaNoWriMoers and find out information about National Novel Writing Month. There’s also a handy link to the forums.
A networking and promotions resource for the Australia and New Zealand book industry, especially those in children’s Literature. Includes critique forums and information for writers.
A community of picture book writers. It includes a very active and supportive Facebook group and a forum for writers to exchange manuscript and query critiques. As well as being a supportive and informative community of picture book writers from all stages of the writing journey, you can also watch webinars from professionals in the industry and at Gold level you have the opportunity to submit directly to Literary agents. They’re open for registration in January to February each year and run for the entire year.
3. Writing Tools
I used this tool last year for NaNoWriMo and I don’t think I could have got as much written as I did without it. The idea is you have to keep writing until you reach the amount of time/words you set or you get ‘punished’. The punishments range from mild (an annoying noise) to severe (it starts erasing what you’ve written!). You get one pause, but once you’ve used it you can’t use it again for that session. I would use this one a lot if I got writers block, because it forced me to just write. It is also good if you are so many words off reaching your word goal for the day, as you can set the word goal you want to reach and just keep writing until you get to that goal. Don’t forget to copy and paste into your Word doc when your session is over.
These worksheets are primarily geared towards planning for NaNoWriMo, but they are great planning tools for anyone thinking about starting a new novel idea. There’s a planning sheet for everything from story idea maps to character sketches to act one, two and three plot goals.
Free novel writing software for writers designed by a writer. Some of its features include the ability to separate your MS into chapters/scenes, keep track of characters, and include character/location descriptions. My favourite feature is the one where a computer voice reads aloud your writing – it’s a bit robotic sounding, but also a great way to pick up on typos.
An online program for creating word clouds. It gives prominence to words found most frequently in the text you paste in – a great tool for discovering crutch/overused words in your writing. You have the option to switch off common words (like ‘and’ and ‘the’) and there is an option (under language) to show the word counts for each individual word.
8 Apps Every Writer Should Have
A list of 8 helpful writing apps for your phone, including a story tracking app for those who are in the process of submitting queries and a rhyming app for poets/picture book writers.
4. Openings
In the style of Query Shark, and run by two literary agents, the idea is to submit the first 250 words of your manuscript for critique.
The Power of the First Sentence
We all know how important that first sentence is in a manuscript, Brenda Hineman, a freelance writer, guest posts on this blog on what makes an opening sentence memorable.
Twelve dos and don’ts for writing a compelling first page.
The Increasing Importance of the First Chapter
Author Jody Hedlund explains why the first chapter is so important. She also includes a link to a post on ‘Potential First Chapter Problems’.
Killzone author James Scott Bell outlines opening chapter no nos based on statements by literary agents.
Five Tips for Your First Five Pages
From things you shouldn’t do in your opening to things you should do.
Using their soon-to-be-published anthology of stories as examples, The Australian Literature Review outlines the elements of effective story opening lines.
Where Should a Second Chapter Start?
There’s always a big focus for writers on getting that first chapter perfect, but what about chapter two? This post looks at building a strong second chapter.
5. Character
Some great ideas on how to really get into your character’s head and make him/her come alive.
In A Series, Foreshadowing A Character
Using the Harry Potter series as an example, this post shows how characters can be foreshadowed in a series before making their major appearance.
Make Your Characters Earn Their Keep
Author Wendy Lyn Watson offers a trick for weeding out unnecessary characters.
Heather McCorkle offers a few tips and tricks for keeping track of you character details so you don’t end up with inconsistencies.
Know Your Female Character Stereotypes
Wondering if your female character is stereotypical or original? Try this flowchart. Start at the start and answer the questions truthfully to see where your character falls.
7 Things Your Characters Do Too Much
A self-explanatory title!
An excerpt from Teresa Neilsen Hayden’s lecture on ‘Stupid Plotting Tricks’ giving a look at cliches revolving around villains and the genres of science fiction and fantasy.
How to Write Intriguing Male and Female Characters
A post on how understanding gender differences can improve your writing in any genre.
Lovable and Admirable Characters
We all want to create characters our readers will want to read more about. Author Denise Jaden shares some advice she received about qualities your main character should have to ensure he/she is engaging and lovable.
What the Fiction Editor Looks For Part 1
Literary agent Rachelle Gardner points out what an editor looks for in regards to characters. Some great points to keep in mind when revising your manuscript.
10 Tips to Keep in Mind When Naming Your Character
Author Jody Hedlund gives some advice on naming characters.
The Truth About Passive Protagonists
This post outlines when it’s ok to have a passive protagonist and when it’s not.
14 Dos and Don’ts for Introducing Your Protagonist
Author Anne R. Allen gives a list of fourteen great points to take into consideration when introducing your story’s protagonist.
Your Formula for a Kick-A** Young Adult Heroine
These tips are drawn from a panel of authors who all have kick-butt heroines in their novels.
Writing Fantasy Genre Stereotypes Part One: Your Heroine is Too Beautiful and Part Two: Writing the Opposite Gender
This two-part series looks at gender stereotypes in fantasy writing and how to avoid them. In particular, it looks at how in fantasy female characters are often stereotyped as either a sex object or a man in women’s clothing (or often both combined). Part one deals with visual stereotyping in the fantasy genre and part two deals with women who act like men and men who act like women (particularly aimed at women writing male characters or men writing female characters).
How to Make a Boring Character Interesting
This post outlines the various reasons your character could be coming across as boring or flat and offers some solutions to make your character more interesting
6. Dialogue
Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue
Ginny Wiehardt outlines eight ways you can improve your dialogue so it sounds more realistic, advances the story and fleshes out your characters.
A great little reminder on the correct use of dialogue tags with examples of correct and incorrect usage.
This post explains the difference between a conversation and dialogue.
7. Tension/Pacing
Spawned from the #storycraft chat on tension, this post talks about ‘The Knitting Exercise’. By applying this exercise to your novel you can check to see how well tension is working in your novel. You can even apply it to your outline before you start writing.
Keeping Pace: Maintaining Momentum in Fiction
This article is based on a session from Aussiecon4. An in-depth look at creating effective pacing in your novel.
5 Ways to Make Your Novel Helplessly Addictive
Five things you should be including on every page of your book to ensure your reader keeps on reading.
8. Description
Anyone who reads my blog knows how much I’m a big fan of ‘show, don’t tell’ in writing, and whenever I talk about showing in writing I refer to using the five senses of taste, touch, sight, sound and smell. This workshop handout covers eleven senses, including pain, balance, sense of time, joint motion and acceleration, temperature differences, and direction. Not only does it describe how each of the senses work, but how they can be applied to writing, some writing exercises and, best of all, a comprehensive list of verbs for each of the senses to spice up your writing.
There’s my favourite writing mantra again! A short post covering verbs and nouns, sensory details and dialogue.
How to Write About a Real Location if You Haven’t Been There
Joanna Penn gives some ideas on how to write a location even if you’ve never been there.
Stories That Cross Borders and Boundaries
Tips for writing multicultural fiction.
8 Ways to Pile on the Fear in Your Horror Fiction
Great post for horror writers looking for ways to amp up the fear factor in their writing.
A look at the way J.K. Rowling uses touch in the Harry Potter series as a way of showing emotion, rather than telling.
A great post for fantasy writers on creating a magic system that fits best with the world in your novel.
Five Ways to Show Emotion in Your Writing
Based on the book From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction by Robert Olen Butler, this post looks at expressing emotion in your writing with a focus on showing vs telling.
9. Plot
7 Techniques for a Dynamite Plot
An editor offers some solutions to common problems writers have when constructing their plot.
5 Ways to Make Your Novel Unforgettable
Editor A. Victoria Mixon lists the main elements of getting to the climax of your novel in an engaging and unforgettable way.
Brooke Johnson, self-proclaimed panster, outlines how she still does some plotting when she writes.
Brooke Johnson talks about mastering the skills of back story and exposition without resorting to the dreaded ‘info-dump’.
How to Get the Biggest Bang for Your Plot Point
This post outlines where your main plot points occur in your manuscript and what you should be doing at these points to create a deeper connection with your reader.
Jenn Johansson posted on her blog this great article about the three act structure of a novel, including a diagram of what the 3 act structure looks like.
Checking for Plot Holes: Does Your Story Add Up
A list of questions to ask yourself to make sure you haven’t left any plot holes in you novel.
10 Ways to Create a Plot Twist
Plot twists are a great way to keep your story exciting, but it’s all about finding the right moment and right scenario to introduce the twist. This post provides ten ways for adding a plot twist into your story.
I’ve seen a lot of different ways to plan out story structure, but I just love the simplicity of this idea. It’s not only a simple way of plotting out your novel/short story/picture book (yes, it can equally be applied to all three), it manages to incorporate the main points of the story arc. I’ll definitely be using this system in future.
10. Genre
8 Ways to Pile on the Fear in Your Horror Fiction
Great post for horror writers looking for ways to amp up the fear factor in their writing.
A great post for fantasy writers on creating a magic system that fits best with the world in your novel.
An excerpt from Teresa Neilsen Hayden’s lecture on ‘Stupid Plotting Tricks’ giving a look at cliches revolving around villains and the genres of science fiction and fantasy.
Genre Novels – Word Count Rules, Subgenres, and Guidelines for Getting Your Book Published
A short guide to word count rules and subgenres for the various genres (fantasy, romance, historical, mystery, thriller, horror, YA, and Western).
What Makes for a Great Thriller
Some tips from two thriller authors on the essential elements of a thriller.
Identifying Your Fantasy Novel’s Subgenre
When querying your fantasy novel it’s best to be specific about your novel’s subgenre. This post gives a brief outline of each of the fantasy subgenres.
Taking it a step further than the above post, this post outlines all the various genres and their subgenres. A handy list to have when wanting to check which genre/subgenre your novel falls under.
This is quite a helpful writing tool for anyone writing historical/period pieces. Just type in a modern word and it will tell you the equivalent word Jane Austen would have used.
Writing Fantasy Genre Stereotypes Part One: Your Heroine is Too Beautiful and Part Two: Writing the Opposite Gender
This two-part series looks at gender stereotypes in fantasy writing and how to avoid them. In particular, it looks at how in fantasy female characters are often stereotyped as either a sex object or a man in women’s clothing (or often both combined). Part one deals with visual stereotyping in the fantasy genre and part two deals with women who act like men and men who act like women (particularly aimed at women writing male characters or men writing female characters).
20 Tips for Writing the Perfect Horror Short Story
A dark fiction writer gives a comprehensive list of tips for making your horror story more effective.
11. The Technical Side of Writing
Do You Know the Real Reason Not to Use the Passive Voice?
The dreaded ‘passive’ voice. It’s something I’m working on cutting in my novel revisions at the moment. This post by an editor shows an example of the difference between using the passive voice and the active voice when writing.
This is by far the best site on punctuation I’ve found. It covers colons, semicolons, commas, dashes and apostrophes. It is very straightforward and clear and makes understanding how to use punctuation very easy. I always thought I was good at punctuation, but reading so many complicated posts on punctuation on the internet has often left me confused on whether I’m doing it right. This site is now my go to site when I need clarity.
Ten Mistakes Writers Don’t See (But Can Easily Fix When They Do)
Before you submit your work, double-check to make sure you haven’t made any of these mistakes that are easy to fix. (Sometimes this is where a critique partner can come in handy.)
NOTE: For number one, I find Wordle is a helpful website for weeding out crutch words. For number nine, reading aloud is a great way to pick up on awkward phrasing.
Have You Ever Heard the One About “Was”?
I’ll admit to being wary of using the word ‘was’ in my writing, though I’ve now come to be a little more accepting of it. Author Emma Darwin makes some good points about why ‘was’ isn’t as bad as a lot of writers are led to believe. She tells how often it isn’t the word ‘was’ that’s the problem and goes on to outline the underlying problems that are often blamed on ‘was’.
You know those tricky words, like ‘lie’ and ‘lay’? This post clears up some of the confusion with commonly misused words.
Not sure what the difference between them is? This posts helps clear it up.
12. General Writing Tidbits
Process of Writing: From Draft to Published Novel
In this four minute video author Kate Forsyth describes her writing process, with visual examples, from the initial idea all the way through to receiving her author’s copy of her book. It’s a bit of insight into the entire process.
The Secret to Getting Published
Published author Karen Gowen offers some down-to-earth truths on what is and isn’t the secret to getting published. My favourite line: “You have to want it more than you want anything else. You must want it with every fibre of your being.”
The Worst Mistake A Writer Can Make
I know this is something I’m guilty of doing. I sit hunched over at my computer for hours at a time and I wonder why I get a sore back and neck. This is a post all writers should read and remember. Some great advice for those of us who spend a lot of time writing at our computers.
5 Reasons You Should Do NaNoWriMo
Still undecided if you should do NaNoWriMo or not? There’s still time to join! Johanna Penn lists some great reasons why NaNoWriMo is beneficial to any writer. I agree with every one of them.
Three Essential Tips for Writing a Publishable Novel
This post outlines three quick tips you can apply to write a publishable novel.
Key Elements of Strong Fiction
Shennandoah Diaz writes about creating the foundation of strong fiction by establishing dynamic characters, an intriguing plot, a compelling voice, and a vibrant setting. She gives great examples to illustrate her points.
A post explaining what makes a story ‘high concept’.
The Very Basics: Ten Things All Writers Need To Do
Ten things writers should do if they want a shot at getting published.
My Writing Success: The ONE Thing That Helped Me Most
Author Jody Hedlund explains the one specific thing that helped her most on her journey towards writing success.
How to Make Your Most Ordinary Scene Interesting
How to recognise a boring scene and what to do about it.
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Writers
Doing at least one of these can help improve your productivity as a writer.
The 50 Things Every Graphic Design Student Should Know
I know this is aimed at graphic design students, but a lot of the points can equally be applied to writers. For example, “If your work doesn’t excite you, then it won’t excite anyone else. It’s hard to fake passion for mediocre work – scrap it.”
50 Books That Will Make You a Better Writer
A list of 50 of the best writing books, from Stephen King’s On Writing to Stunk and White’s The Element of Style.
Need Some Bling for Your Title? Try PRISM
Five elements to keep in mind when brainstorming an effective title for your novel.
How to Write the Ending of Your Novel
Author Joanna Penn gives tips on writing the ending of your novel so the reader will finish the book wanting to buy your next novel.
How to Write (a Book). A Wee Rant
12 points on how to write. No, this isn’t about the technicalities of writing, or plot, it’s about sitting your butt down and actually putting words on a page. One of my favourite lines, “No wonder we all have writer’s block. We’re not even writing. Plumbers don’t have plumber’s block, do they? NO, THEY GET ON THE FLOOR AND CLEAR OUT THE WINDEX AND EVIDENCE OF MOUSE POOP UNDER THE SINK AND GET TO PLUMBING.”
3 Signs You’re Writing a Condemned Novel
How to recognise problems in your manuscript and how to decide whether they are fixable or whether the novel needs to be put aside.
While it takes courage for a writer to put his/her work out there to get published, this article talks about having the courage to realise your work may not be publishable and to hold back from publishing. It specifically targets writers who either think their writing doesn’t need fixing because they think an editor will sort it out, or those who want to self-publish after being rejected by traditional publishers.
The Single Most Powerful Writing Tool You’ll Ever See That Fits on One Page
A listing of everything you need to know about your story before you can successfully finish it. Written in the form of questions, the list covers the four parts of the story structure.
A guest post by author Sydney Salter on seven things she’s learned on her writing journey so far. She has some great advice on rejection and criticism of your work.
How to Write with Kids at Home
As a mum with two young children at home I know how difficult it can be to find five minutes quiet time to get some writing done. This writer/mum offers some tips on keeping the kids occupied so you can write.
4 Writing Crutches That Insult a Reader’s Intelligence
Some great reminders for writers on writing crutches and how to avoid them. (Are you guilty of using too many adverbs or telling instead of showing?)
Five Telltale Signs of an Amateur Writer
An acquiring editor tells how she can reject an MS in 8 seconds and lists the five telltale signs of an amateur writer.
Be careful about using these ten words in your MS, as they may very well send your work to the ‘Do Not Publish’ pile. Some may surprise you.
Eight Reasons I Hate Your Book
There seem to be a few negative posts around lately, but helpful, none-the-less. In fact, I found this one to be VERY helpful. Freelance editor and agent intern, Cassandra Marshall, shares eight of the most annoying (and totally fixable) things she comes across in manuscripts. It helped me realise one of the biggest downfalls of my current WIP, it might help you with yours too.
10 Tips for Writing a Short Story
Short story writer, Amanda Lohrey, shares her tips for writing a first-rate short story.
Besides Using Google, How Can I do Research For My Book?
Sometimes it can be hard to navigate Google to find the information you’re looking for. How can you be sure the information is accurate? This post has some great (and easy) tips on how to find accurate sources of information for your research.
Need a Jump? Four Ways to Fix a Stalled Story
This isn’t about writer’s block. This is for when you know where you want your story to go and you have your plan, but the story just won’t write. The scene you’re writing feels boring and lifeless. Something just isn’t working. This post can help you pinpoint why your story has stalled and how to fix it so you can get momentum going again.
25 Reasons Readers Will Quit Reading Your Story
As writers we want our readers to keep reading until they turn the very last page. If we don’t want readers to close our book half way through, or, even worse, after the first page, this list provides tips on what to avoid in your novel to ensure your readers will keep turning pages. A great checklist for revision.
A great list of tips to keep in mind when critiquing fellow writers’ work.
Some Advice to New or Aspiring Authors
Some great advice and tips for writers new to the writing/publishing journey.
13. Word Count
Casey McCormick has compiled a post on appropriate word counts for picture books based on her knowledge as an agent intern and research (she lists her sources at the end of the post if you want to check them out).
We see a lot of posts on how to write spare or cut down the word count of a novel if the novel is too long, but I tend to write spare to begin with and often fall short on word count. This post has some tips on bolstering your word count (without padding it out with unnecessary words).
Five Fun and Easy Ways to Lengthen Word Count
While some writers write long novels that ultimately need to be trimmed, if you’re anything like me and tend to write spare, sometimes you may find you fall short in the word count department. I have this problem with my current WIP and I found this post to be quite helpful. It suggests ways to lengthen your word count without adding unnecessary fluff or padding.
Counting Chickens: A Few Words About Word Counts
For anyone writing any form of kidlit (from picture books to young adult novels), Hope Vestergaard’s post is handy to bookmark as a reminder on appropriate word counts for kidlit.
Literary agent Jennifer Laughran (aka literaticat) has put together a very comprhensive post on word counts in kidlit (PBs through YA) including examples of published books.
14. Picture Books
The Top 3 Considerations and Top 3 Pitfalls of Children’s Picture Books
Although this post is primarily aimed at those self-publishing picture books, there are some valid points in this post for all picture book writers to consider.
A great an in-depth overview on the various elements that go into writing a picture book. I love the diagram included at the end.
Casey McCormick has compiled a post on appropriate word counts for picture books based on her knowledge as an agent intern and research (she lists her sources at the end of the post if you want to check them out).
12 Common Picture Book Mistakes
A list of common errors picture book writers make.
Story Skeletons: Teaching Plot Structure with Picture Books
Although this post is meant to be a teaching tool for young readers/writers in the classroom, it’s a great post for writers of picture books as well. It focuses on the basic structures used in picture story books and includes examples of each structure.
5 Rules for a Breakout Picture Book: A Quick and Dirty Guide
An editor gives 5 tips on making your picture book great.
5 Tips for Creating Characters for Kids
Character development is not just important for novel length manuscripts, it’s important to create fully developed characters for children’s stories and picture books as well.
Picture Book Construction: Know Your Layout
A must read post for picture book writers on picture book layout and having an awareness of page breaks.
Tips for Writing Picture Books
5 great tips for writers of picture books.
Getting Your Children’s Book Published
A checklist of things you need to do when preparing to send your MS to publishers, specifically for children’s writers.
Only One Published Book? Aaack!
What picture book writers can do on library/school visits if they only have one published book.
Do You Want to Write Books for Children?
This post covers some common misconceptions and mistakes made by picture book writers and how you can fix/avoid them.
Try This Picture Book Editing Checklist
For anyone out there writing or editing a picture book this is a great checklist to refer to, from the editors of Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers.
Writing the Longer Picture Book
Mara Rockliff talks about writing longer picture books (over 600 words), including important tips for authors to keep in mind when writing a longer picture book.
How Not to Write a Rhyming Picture Book
Children’s author Juliet Clare Bell shares her 7 top tips on how not to write a rhyming picture book.
9 Factors That Make a Picture Book Successful
If you are a picture book writer this is a post well worth reading. These are nine important elements to writing an effective picture book.
The 6 Most Common Mistakes Made by Aspiring Children’s Book Authors
6 common mistakes this editor sees made by picture book authors and some advice on how to avoid them.
For All Picture Book Writers, Read This
Links to a four-part interview with Vice President and Editorial Director of HarperCollins Children’s Books and a three-part interview with Golden Books/Random House Editorial Director. Lots of great little nuggets of advice for picture book writers in both interviews.
Picture Book Tips from Successful Agents
Children’s book author and editor Tamson Weston consulted with agents on what makes a picture book successful and shared the top five tips for making your submission stand out.
Writing Easy Readers – Or How To Get 2nd Graders to Love You
5 quick tips for appealing to early readers as shared by an author of children’s chapter books.
15. Writing a Series
In A Series, Foreshadowing A Character
Using the Harry Potter series as an example, this post shows how characters can be foreshadowed in a series before making their major appearance.
Does Your Book Have Series Potential?
This post was a lead-in to a scribechat that took place in early October, so the topic of whether your book has series potential isn’t discussed in this post. It does however have a handy little list describing the different types of series that exist.
How Not to Turn Readers Against You as an Author of Series Books
This post looks at what can turn a reader off wanting to read the next book in a series (and what will make them want to read the next one).
16. Revision
Top Ten Things I Know About Rewriting
A fantastic post on rewriting by Alexandra Sokoloff. She gives an in-depth look at revising a novel. It would honestly have to be the best post on rewriting I have come across. If you are serious about revising your novel you should check out this post.
Three Simple Stages of Self-Editing
If you are in the process of editing or about to start editing your novel then Jody Hedlund’s blogpost is worth a look. She describes the three main types of edits: Substantive/macro-edits; line-editing; and copy-editing/proofreading.
Try This Picture Book Editing Checklist
For anyone out there writing or editing a picture book this is a great checklist to refer to, from the editors of Children’s Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children’s Writers.
Tips For Writing A Great Second Draft of You Novel
Five tips for those who have finished the first draft and are ready to start editing.
Tightening Your (Manuscript’s) Belt
A checklist for eliminating unnecessary prose.
The Doctor is in the House – Novel Diagnostics
An exploration of common problems found in the beginning of a manuscript that can be an indicator of problems in the rest of the manuscript.
10 Lies You Might Tell Yourself When Editing
Do you tell yourself these lies when editing? This list will either give you a laugh or make you hide your head in shame.
Top Ten Reasons You Should Rewrite That Scene
A literary agent intern’s guide to why a scene is not working in your manuscript and some tips on how to fix it.
Ponder, Polish, Perfect: How to Successfully Revise
Literary Agent Natalie Fischer goes over some ideas to help you ‘re-envision’ your work.
Editing Your MS in 30 Days or Less
Some tips from author Elana Johnson on how to edit your novel in a month. While the tips in the post are probably easier to achieve for those of us who don’t have children, they are invaluable tips none-the-less and can still help with editing your novel in a shorter amount of time.
10 Proofreading Tips to Ensure Your Self-Published Works are Flawless
This is another post that, although it’s written for self-publishers, can just as easily be used by all writers. A great checklist to keep in mind when revising.
A great checklist of things to look out for when revising to make your manuscript as good as it can possibly be before submitting.
Five Tips for Revising Your Novel
Literary Agent Courtney Miller-Callihan gives five tips that look at your novel as a whole when doing revisions, including a tip on character names and another on dialogue tags.
17. Before You Submit
Are you looking for a critique partner for your WIP? Mary Kole has posted this on her kidlit website for writers of YA/MG/PB to hook up and find the perfect critique partner.
20 Questions to Ask Before Submitting Your Work
A great checklist for making sure your writing is perfectly polished.
Top Ten Novel Writing Mistakes
Check this list to make sure your novel doesn’t contain any of these common errors.
Are You Ready To Submit Your Novel?
This post covers three critical elements to knowing if your work is ready to submit.
How do you know if your writing is as polished as it can get and is ready to submit? This post covers ways to know it’s ready and ways to know if it’s not ready.
This truly awesome checklist has been compiled by an editor/publisher. The comprehensive checklist includes everything you need to remember when submitting your manuscript. It even includes a handy printable version with check boxes.
Formatting Your Manuscript – The Silent Scream
All the things you can do to ‘keep your editor’s hair from turning white’.
How to Get Published: A Flowchart
A great flowchart (and checklist) on the writing process and a great way to know if you’re ready to query.
Standing Out in the Slushpile: Some Basic Tips
Some tips on increasing your chances of being picked from the slushpile as observed by an editor. Can be applied to short story submissions or novel length stories.
16 Manuscript Format Guidelines
Getting ready to send of your manuscript to a publisher and all the guidelines say are, ‘Standard Manuscript Format’ and you’re not sure what that means? This helpful post outlines what standard manuscript formatting entails. A couple of the points are a little outdated, so I would also suggest scrolling down through the comments that correct them. And in particular have a look at the comment by NEB which is quite informative.
Wherein I Answer an Awkward Question
A few months ago I wrote a post called Writers Beware. This post gives the same warning and similar advice to my post, but takes it a step further with some great information about vanity presses pretending to be traditional publishers.
The Biggest Submission Mistakes
Writers Relief interviewed a range of editors to find out what they considered to be the biggest submission mistakes.
I’ve bookmarked this page. The post itself is presented as the manuscript would be formatted giving a visual example to go along with the explanation of how a manuscript should be properly formatted. This is especially helpful if a publisher/editor/agent does not have specific submission guidelines for manuscript format or requests standard manuscript format.
The Twelve Steps I Followed to Format “My Cheeky Angel” for Kindle Direct Publishing
Although this post is primarily directed towards self-publishing authors, there are some valuable formatting tips for all writers to follow before submitting to agents/publishers to make your novel stand out as polished and professional.
18. Pitches/Queries
Agent Janet Reid is dedicated to helping writers write effective queries through brutal honesty.
If you ever go to a writer’s conference or happen to meet an agent in an elevator, do you have a pitch prepared? Literary agent Rachelle Gardner outlines the important points you should include when pitching your novel (and also what you should avoid).
Tips for Pitching and Querying Agents
YA writer Ingrid Sundberg shared a hand-out from Andrea Brown agent Mary Kole that she received at an SCBWI agent day on pitching and querying. It includes some great advice, as well as step-by-step questions you should address in your pitch.
Will Literary Agents Really Read Your Query Letter?
This posts covers reasons why a query letter may not be read, the problems with many queries and some tips on how to write better queries.
Another great post from YA Writer Ingrid Sundberg, this time sharing some advice from Agent Jill Corcoran of the Herman Agency. A comprehensive list of what not to do in a query letter.
What Writers Wish They’d Known Before Pitching
A list of 12 things that matter to agents and editors when being pitched by writers.
Agent intern Amie (who also does great query sessions on Twitter using the hashtag #queryslam) lists 4 big mistakes you should avoid in your writing. And even though the post is titled ‘Some Query Mistakes’, the mistakes she lists can really be applied to your writing as a whole, not just your query letter or first five pages.
16 Reasons Why Your Manuscript Got Rejected Before Page 1
A former assistant editor outlines 16 common problems found in query letters and offers some solutions.
How to Ensure 75% of Agents Will Request Your Material
This post caused a little bit of controversy, and not everyone agrees the 75% request rate is accurate, but nonetheless Marcus Sakey makes some noteworthy points.
Agent Nathan Bransford outlines how to write a query letter. This is a really good post for anyone in the process of writing a query letter as it has lots of great information on the steps involved, from researching the right agent to the most important points to include in your letter.
Kidlit agent Mary Kole has also posted on pb queries this month. She describes how pb queries need to be simple and gives an example. (Where were these insightful posts two months ago when I was writing my pb query?)
A short simple post on how to craft a logline for your novel.
Writing a Logline/The One-Sentence Pitch
This post goes a little more in-depth into writing a logline. It sets out the elements of a hook line and gives examples.
The #1 culprit of Why Pitch Paragraphs in Adult or Children’s SF&F Query Letters Miss
As well as outlining the number one culprit of rejection of science fiction and fantasy book queries, agent Kristen also includes a list of the top ten reasons why SF&F query letters get rejected.
Top 25 Reasons Your Submissions Are Rejected
A list of reasons why agents and publishers reject writers’ submissions.
The Five Elements of a Novel Query
The first post in a blog series on writing novel queries, this post outlines the five elements that should be included in your query, and follows up with some examples.
6 and 1/2 Ways to Impress an Agent
Literary agent Tina Wexler outlines six and a half ways to impress an agent.
Author Jody Hedlund talks about query statistics and how you can improve your chances of getting an agent.
The Difference Between ‘Pitch’ and ‘Query’
Query Shark, Janet Reid, outlines the difference between giving a verbal pitch to an agent and writing a query.
Your Professional Bio: Query Letter and Cover Letter Tips for Writers
As part of a query or cover letter, writers are asked to include a bio paragraph. This post outlines the things you should and shouldn’t include in your bio paragraph, and what to do if you have no writing credentials.
The Biggest Mistakes Writers Make When Querying Literary Agents
This is a long post, but well worth reading. J.M. Tohline e-mailed 100 literary agents and asked them the same question, “What is the single biggest mistake writers make when querying you?” This post looks at the answers received from these agents, including some of the detail agents went into when answering.
How to Write a Bio for Your Query
Dot point list of what to include and also includes an example of what to do if you have no writing credentials.
What Your Query Says About Your Book
Your query letter is your first impression of your manuscript. This post tells you how much an agent can tell about your manuscript just by reading your query letter.
Corinne Jackson shares an original query letter she wrote that kept getting rejected, tips she received from a literary agent to improve the query and a revised query she wrote using the tips from the agent that resulted in requests for partials and fulls.
A look at how to write an effective query in only 140 characters.
Rites of Submission: Cover Letters and Query Letters
This article includes two sample letters: an example of what not to do (including common mistakes) and a successful letter.
How I Got My Agent (Part 1: The Parts of a Good Query)
Author Susan Dennard shares advice on writing a good query letter, using her own successful query letter as an example.
The Call – Questions to Ask the Agent
An agent likes your manuscript and wants to offer you representation. Now what? A printable list of questions to ask when you get ‘The Call’.
Hook ‘Em In (in three seconds or less)
Literary agent Natalie Fischer gives some helpful hook tips.
Three reasons why pitches fail.
Whether you’re published, unpublished, querying, have a Twitter or Facebook account or a blog, at some point in your writing career you will need to write an author bio (multiple times!). Think you’re boring? Or haven’t done enough yet? This post offers 5 simple and logical ways to spice up your author bio.
Questions You Might Be Asked When Offered Representation
Literary agent Mary Kole gives insight into the questions you might be asked by an agent if he/she calls to offer representation and why the agent is asking them.
What Will Make an Agent ‘Gong’ Your Query
Thirteen reasons why an agent will stop reading your query–things to avoid when writing query letters.
19. Synopses
Workshop: Writing the Novel Synopsis
This in-depth article by Sheila Kelly sets out step by step how to write an effective synopsis for your novel.
Author Ebony McKenna gives some helpful advice on writing a novel synopsis.
How to Write a Synopsis for Your Novel
7 steps to writing an effective synopsis. This post gives advice on how to avoid ending up with a boring summary of your story (‘and then this happened and then that happened’), and tells you how you can include the emotional twists and turns that make your story interesting.
How to Write a 1 Page Synopsis
A break down of the key elements needed for a one page synopsis. Includes worksheet.
20. Marketing
Your Book is Coming Out… Now What? – 5 Easy Things to Get You Started
Where to begin when promoting your book after it’s been published.
Designing Your Cover – Part One: Concept Part Two: The Rough Draft Part Three: Revisions, Titles and Printing
This is a three part series for self-publishers on designing an effective cover for your book.
The Seven Book Marketing Mistakes That Authors Make
Want your book to sell? Make sure you’re not making these marketing mistakes. A couple of these are more applicable to self-published authors, but some of them are applicable to all authors.
5 Questions to Ask Yourself After Hearing: We Can’t Sell Enough to Justify Publishing It
Some tips on what to do next. I’ve put this under the heading of marketing because in most part the tips relate to making your book more marketable or building your author platform.
Creating Effective Presentations for Schools
Some great tips from picture book author Tania McCartney on doing schools visits to promote your book, including how to keep your audience’s attention, taking age into account and what sort of content to include.
Five Ways Authors Can Promote Books on Facebook
Tips for using your Facebook profile/page to promote your book (in a subtle way).
Literary agent Natalie Fischer shares her best tips on marketing your novel, from the pre-sale phase (before you even sign a publisher) right through to the book release. Perfect for any writer at any stage of the process.
Eleven Deadly Sins of Online Promotion for Writers
Another one for writers in any stage of the process, including those who are seeking to attract an agent. 11 things you should never do when you’re promoting your writing online.
Whether you’re published, unpublished, querying, have a Twitter or Facebook account or a blog, at some point in your writing career you will need to write an author bio (multiple times!). Think you’re boring? Or haven’t done enough yet? This post offers 5 simple and logical ways to spice up your author bio.
A literary agent, who is not generally a fan of business cards, talks about how to make a stellar business card that won’t get thrown in the trash. Some really great tips!
Mastering Your Author Headshot
Author August McLaughlin offers some helpful tips on making sure your author headshot gives the right impression and how you can get the most out of a headshot photo session. She includes an interview with headshot photographer Ken Dapper.
Grandma Mary Can’t Market Your Book
Whether you intend to self publish or go the traditional publishing route, authors need to consider marketing. This post gives 7 steps to building a marketing plan and reaching out to your readership. It even includes a nifty chart you can use.
21. Conferences
Write on Con is an annual free online conferences for writers of kidlit (picture books, middle grade, young adult). It takes place around August each year. There are vlogs, posts and chats led by writing professionals (such as agents and published authors). There are competitions. And there are the forums where you can post your stories/pitches for critique by your peers (and, if you’re lucky, by agents, too).
If you ever go to a writer’s conference or happen to meet an agent in an elevator, do you have a pitch prepared? Literary agent Rachelle Gardner outlines the important points you should include when pitching your novel (and also what you should avoid).
The Difference Between ‘Pitch’ and ‘Query’
Query Shark, Janet Reid, outlines the difference between giving a verbal pitch to an agent and writing a query.
Hook ‘Em In (in three seconds or less)
Literary agent Natalie Fischer gives some helpful hook tips.
How to Avoid 10 Common Conference Mistakes that Most Writers Make
10 conference organisers share the major mistakes they see writers making at conferences and how to avoid making them.
A literary agent, who is not generally a fan of business cards, talks about how to make a stellar business card that won’t get thrown in the trash. Some really great tips!
22. Encouragement/Motivation
Rachelle Gardner (literary agent) has a great blog, with lots of fantastic posts for writers. This particular post was quite an inspiring one encouraging writers to believe in themselves. My favourite line: “God gave you something powerful – a story or a message, and the desire to share it. God is not in the business of tricking people, or of squandering anything – not talent, not passion, not time. Pursue your God-given passions with an unwavering faith. Praise and bless the obstacles. And keep believing.”
I quoted this in a blog post last week, but I thought it was worth linking to it again. Agent Natalie Fischer gives some encouragement to all of us querying and facing rejection.
50 Strategies For Making Yourself Work
If anyone else is like me, procracstination and distraction can sometimes get in the way of getting writing done. This post has lots of ways you can stop the distractions and get down to writing.
In celebration of J.K. Rowling’s birthday (and her of course Harry Potter’s birthday too) last month, Harry Potter for Writers posted some quotes from J.K. Rowling relating to her writing journey, including some on getting rejected and being persistent.
A reminder from author/agent Mandy Hubbard that is hard to become published, and why it is important to stick to it and not give up.
The Only 12 1/2 Writing Rules You’ll Ever Need
A great motivational poster for writers with some great tips.
Advice from an author who recently sold her book, and the long journey it took her to get there. She gives hope to those of us who are still hoping to get there some day.
23. Author Platforms/Social Media
10 Things Authors Should Never Blog About
Some things authors should remember when blogging.
Should Writers Talk About Their Rejections
A post tackling the issue of how much a writer should share of their rejections on social media.
10 Ways to Create a Better ‘About Page’ for Your Blog
If a publisher or agent comes across your blog and checks out your ‘About Page’ you want to present yourself in the most effective way possible. This post tells you how you can do just that.
Writing in the Age of Distraction
Tips on how to balance writing with social media/the internet. What I most like about this post is that Cory Doctorow outlines how the internet has benefited his writing as much as it’s been a distraction and that there can be balance – you don’t have to black-ban yourself from the internet to get writing done.
A comprehensive list of the various twitterchats for writers (from children’s writers to script writers to genre writers) and the days and times they take place. It also outlines what twitterchats are and a few tips for those who are new to twitterchat.
25+ Favourite Twitter Hashtags for Writers
A list of the best hashtags for writers on Twitter (with links).
Using these writer hashtags on Twitter is a great way to meet fellow writers. A comprehensive list of writer hashtags, including a schedule of writer chats on Twitter.
8 Sentence to Immediately Cut From Your Twitter
These 8 bio mistakes may be costing you followers and you may want to avoid them. Includes two things you may want to include instead.
Blogging Tips: Tips for Increasing Your Followers and/or Subscribers
Rachael Harrie has some great simple tips for building up a following on your writing blog.
Facebook for Authors: How to Get Started
Agent Nathan Bransford gives some helpful tips on starting up a Facebook author page.
This list highlights the little things you can do to make your site more effective. It comes with a printable checklist.
Your Facebook Fan Page – 11 Tips to Captivate Your Audience
It’s sometimes hard to know what to do next once you’ve set up your author page on Facebook. This post gives some tips on how to attract and keep people on your page.
3 Reasons to Interview Other Authors on Your Blog
A self-explanatory title. The 3 reasons are very convincing.
Geared towards WordPress users, but helpful to other blogging platform users too, this post outlines the golden rule for formatting your blog posts to make them easier for your readers to read (hence keeping their attention).
Blog Law – Is Your Giveaway Legal?
Many writers I know do giveaways/ have competitions on their blogs. But are those giveaways/competitions legal? An attorney and blogger provides information on running blog giveaways in simple/easy to understand terms.
5 Simple Ways to Make Your Blog More Visually Appealing to Readers
Tips for creating a blog with an appealing look and feel and how to avoid a poorly designed blog.
THE Facebook Cheat Sheet: 21 Sneaky Tactics to Generate a Buzz on Facebook
21 Tactics for getting people to ‘like’ your Facebook page.
6 points YA writers should keep in mind to use Social Media effectively.
What Social Media Stats Should You Include in Your Book Proposal
A look at blog stats agents and publishers deem relevant.
6 Secrets to Writing a Killer Author Bio
On our blogs, Twitter, guest posts, interviews, etc. it’s important to have an author bio. This post gives tips on writing an effective bio.
The 5 Biggest Mistakes Writers Make on their Websites
The five most common (and easily fixed) mistakes writers make on their website.
The Facebook Author Page: 10 Status Updates to Embrace, 10 to Avoid
Author and Novel Publicity president, Emlyn Chand, outlines the difference between Facebook page status updates that will engage and win you fans (and thus lead to book sales) and status updates that will annoy and drive away fans. In her words, “When it comes to self-promotion, less is more. If you promote yourself graciously, book sales will follow.”
5 Points to Ponder on Pottermore (for Writers)
A look at how writers can use J.K. Rowlings new Pottermore site as an example for creating an engaging website (even if you don’t have Ms. Rowlings budget).
Five Ways Authors Can Promote Books on Facebook
Tips for using your Facebook profile/page to promote your book (in a subtle way).
8 Incredibly Simple Ways to Get More People to Read Your Content
Not getting many reads on your blog? This post offers some simple solutions to help get your blog posts noticed (and shared).
How to Write a Popular Writing Blog
Tips for what makes a blog popular (a post for writers who blog).
24. Self Publishing
Designing Your Cover – Part One: Concept Part Two: The Rough Draft Part Three: Revisions, Titles and Printing
This is a three part series for self-publishers on designing an effective cover for your book.
Three Reasons to Self-Publish (and a big one not to!)
Advice for anyone considering self-publishing.
There is a Learning Curve to Creating Ebooks
For those interested in self-publishing and creating your own ebooks, this post recommends two free programs you can use to convert your MS into ebook format.
The Twelve Steps I Followed to Format “My Cheeky Angel” for Kindle Direct Publishing
Although this post is primarily directed towards self-publishing authors, there are some valuable formatting tips for all writers to follow before submitting to agents/publishers to make your novel stand out as polished and professional.
10 Proofreading Tips to Ensure Your Self-Published Works are Flawless
This is another post that, although it’s written for self-publishers, can just as easily be used by all writers. A great checklist to keep in mind when revising.
11 Self Publishing Strategies for Success
A lot of authors now look to self publishing as an alternative to traditional publishing, but it is by no means an easy road. This post offers some strategies to help ensure your self publishing journey is a success.
So You’re Thinking About Self Publishing
A round up of helpful sites for those thinking about self publishing.
The Seven Worst Mistakes of Indie Authors and How to Fix Them
If you are taking the self-publishing route, this post by Joanna Penn is a must-read. She has some great advice, with solutions to oft-made mistakes by self-publishers. She speaks from the experience of someone who has been down the self-publishing path and had to learn from her own mistakes.
Amazon Bestseller: Top Ten Tips for Hitting #1 on the Amazon Store
A post from author Rachel Abbot, whose book has topped the Amazon charts. She shares her experience of starting out thinking all she had to do was upload her book and the profits would roll in, to discovering the key factors to marketing her book successfully.
When to Quit Querying and Self-Publish
This post does a great job of presenting the various aspects you need to consider if you’re thinking about self-publishing after having little success with querying. It takes a very honest look at the possible reasons your work may be getting rejected and whether self-publishing is a viable alternative and also gives the honest facts about what it takes to self-publish. I love how honest, balanced and unbiased this post is in regards to self-publishing vs. traditional publishing.
25. Just for Fun
A funny (and embarrassingly true) look at the journey of a writer.
Against Promotional Author Photographs
I laughed when I read this post as I recognised all the ‘author poses’ listed. As well as being a funny look at the typical ‘author pose’, it also made me determined to make sure I come up with something original when I do my own ‘author pose’ one day!
Anyone who is an official NaNoWriMo participant would have got this in their inbox during November, but if you’re not an official participant or you never got around to opening the e-mail you should read this. Quite funny.
So You’ve Discovered That You’re A Fictional Character
Humourously outlines all those amateur mistakes we writers make when we first start writing by speaking with a fictional character who is the result of bad writing. (I’m sure a few of our NaNoWriMo characters are still in this stage until we go back and start editing.)
Weren’t we all that naive when we first started out, before we started reading agent blogs and realising there is more to writing than just slapping words on a page? I got a good giggle from this video.
For anyone on Twitter, you’ll be able to relate to these ‘stages’.
9 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Writers.
Very funny and very true. Pass this list on to all your non-writing friends.
The Seven Stages of Receiving Critique on a Manuscript
A funny (and true) evaluation of the stages a writer goes through after receiving a manuscript critique.
The Periodic Table of Storytelling
Based on the periodic table of elements, this table covers different aspects of storytelling, such as character archetypes and plot devices. A couple of my favourites: NEO (The Chosen One) and LOL (Evil laugh).
A Day in the Life of a Writing Mum
If you’re a writing mum like me, I’m sure you will relate!
Type in a modern word and it will tell you the equivalent word Jane Austen would have used.
Jo Hart - Author 
Jo, I cannot imagine the amount of time you put into compiling this! What an incredible resource. You must be one organized person. I’ll bookmark it and refer to it often.
You’ve got several of my favorites on here — LOVE the evil overlord list.
And thank you for including my site as well!
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You’re welcome! You have some great posts.
It took me a whole morning to go through all my previous ‘Helpful Writing Sites and Blog Posts’ posts to copy and paste all the links and sort them into categories, but it was worth it to have them all easily accessible in one place instead of having to comb through past posts to find a specific link. And now whenever I do a new post I can just add the new links to the master list and keep it updated. There are so many great resources for writers out there and I love sharing them with fellow writers. 🙂
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There’s some really, really great links here–thanks so much for collecting them into such a helpful reference. 🙂
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
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No problem, Angela. I’m always happy to share great resources with fellow writers. 🙂
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Jo, you really did a great job by posting this article. It is too much helpful and inspiring.
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That is a good tip particularly to those new to
the blogosphere. Brief but very accurate information Thanks for sharing this one.
A must read article!
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