Be sure to scroll all the way down! There is an amazing list of subject-specific articles and blog posts at the bottom of this page that you won’t want to miss.

(If any of the links below have expired, try running the URLs through the Wayback Machine.)


AUTHORITY SELF PUBLISHING (PODCAST)

An excellent podcast that goes over the production aspects of self-publishing, including how to format an ebook, costs and means for marketing an ebook, etc.


THE BOOK DESIGNER (BLOG)

Joel Friedlander’s blog on getting work published. Don’t sign up for his email newsletter, though (each is a sales pitch for his services and products). Friedlander says, “I’ve used my background in book design, advertising, graphic design to create this collection of over 700 articles that are authoritative, easy to understand, and fair-minded. The information here has helped guide thousands of authors just like you as they made their way through the publishing process.”


DAILY WRITING TIPS (BLOG)

“Whether you are an attorney, manager or student, writing skills are essential to your success. The rise of the information age – with the proliferation of emails, blogs and social networks – makes the ability to write clear, correct English more important than ever. Daily Writing Tips is about that. Every day we publish a new article, with topics ranging from grammar to punctuation, from spelling to usage and vocabulary.”


GRAMMAR GIRL (PODCAST & BLOG)

“Grammar Girl provides short, friendly tips to improve your writing. Covering the grammar rules and word choice guidelines that can confound even the best writers, Grammar Girl makes complex grammar questions simple with memory tricks to help you recall and apply those troublesome grammar rules. Whether English is your first language or second language, Grammar Girl’s punctuation, style, and business tips will make you a better and more successful writer. Mignon Fogarty is the creator and host of Grammar Girl. Grammar Girl is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast.”


HELPING WRITERS BECOME AUTHORS (MULTIMEDIA BLOG)

K. M. Weiland’s blog is legendary among writers. “K.M. Weiland lives in make-believe worlds, talks to imaginary friends, and survives primarily on chocolate truffles and espresso. She is the IPPY and NIEA Award-winning and internationally published author of the Amazon bestsellers Outlining Your Novel and Structuring Your Novel, as well as Jane Eyre: The Writer’s Digest Annotated Classic, the western A Man Called Outlaw, the medieval epic Behold the Dawn, and the portal fantasy Dreamlander. When she’s not making things up, she’s busy mentoring other authors on her award-winning blog. She makes her home in western Nebraska.”


JANE FRIEDMAN (BLOG)

Friedman is one of my heroes. Her range of on-line offerings — blog, classes, consulting — are some of the best in the industry. “Jane Friedman has more than 15 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media strategy for authors and publishers. From 2001–2010 she worked at Writer’s Digest, where she ultimately became publisher and editorial director of the $10-million multimedia brand. Most recently, she served as the digital editor for the Virginia Quarterly Review, where she led a strategic overhaul of its website and launched digital subscriptions. Jane specializes in educating authors about the publishing industry (without drama or hype) to help them make the best long-term decisions for their careers. She is known for thought-provoking talks on the future of authorship, and recently delivered keynotes at The Muse & The Marketplace, the University of Wisconsin Writers’ Institute, and PubSmart. She currently teaches digital media and publishing at the University of Virginia and is working on a Great Courses lecture series on writing for publication.”


THE NARRATIVE BREAKDOWN (PODCAST)

“This is a creative writing podcast and a screenwriting podcast. In The Narrative Breakdown, Cheryl Klein, James Monohan, and other guest co-hosts discuss storytelling tips and techniques of interest to any writer, student, or fan of quality creative writing, screenwriting, playwriting, fan fiction, English literature, etc. Each episode, Cheryl and James draw upon their respective experiences in publishing and filmmaking to analyze popular novels, movies, plays, television shows, short stories, and song lyrics. Featuring various co-hosts and writers, as well as material from Cheryl Klein’s book Second Sight and James’ iPhone app The Storyometer.”


NEIL GAIMAN’S JOURNAL (BLOG)

Neil Gaiman doesn’t need much of an introduction, considering how much his work has penetrated society and popular culture at large across the globe. His blog is worth reading both for pleasure and learning. I suggest that you read every (or at least most) of Gaiman’s blog posts in chronological order, working back from 2001 through to the present. Hint: look for the Archives link near the top left of his site.


READ TO WRITE STORIES (BLOG)

“Read to Write Stories features weekly writing exercises based on a story, novel excerpt, or essay that has been published or made available online.”


STORY WONK (PODCAST)

“StoryWonk is as much a way of life as it is a business. Since founding StoryWonk in 2010, husband and wife Lani Diane Rich and Alastair Stephens have kept one principle in mind; there is nothing in the world that can’t be made better by a solid command of story. That’s why they’ve dedicated themselves to analyzing, studying and understanding the force of narrative in not just books, movies and television, but personal relationships, identity politics and pop culture. Story is everywhere, and once you see it, you can’t unsee it. For writers in particular, understanding story in this way is a powerful path to stronger work.”


TERRIBLE MINDS (BLOG)

“Chuck Wendig is a novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. This is his blog. He talks a lot about writing. And food. And pop culture. And his kid. He uses lots of naughty language. NSFW. Probably NSFL. Be advised.”


WRITER BEWARE® (BLOG)

An excellent and informative blog sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, with additional support from the Mystery Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. “Writer Beware […] provides warnings about literary schemes and scams, along with information on how writers can protect themselves; the Writer Beware blog, which covers schemes and scams in real time along with publishing industry news and advice for writers; and the Writer Beware Facebook page, which links to writing-related articles, blog posts, and news items and provides a forum for discussion. […] Although we’re sponsored by US-based organizations of professional fiction authors, our efforts aren’t limited by country, genre, or publication history. We’ve designed the Writer Beware website so it can be used by any writer, new or established, regardless of subject, style, genre, or nationality.”


WRITING EXCUSES (PODCAST)

There isn’t a good summary or description of the podcast on its site, so we’ll go with what’s on Wikipedia about it: “Writing Excuses is a (nominally) fifteen-minute-long podcast hosted by authors Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal and web cartoonist Howard Tayler. Promoted as “fifteen minutes long, because you’re in a hurry, and we’re not that smart”, the four hosts discuss different topics involved in the creation and production of genre writing and webcomics.”


THE WRITING SHOW (PODCAST)

“Since 2005, The Writing Show has provided engaging information and inspiration for writers of all kinds. We deliver high-quality, in-depth interviews, reality shows, and other features designed to shed light on some aspect of writing, publishing, and other topics of interest to people who write or aspire to do so.” The Writing Show ended in 2012, but their archive is still available on-line. You can find their podcasts for free on iTunes, too: The Writing Show


THE YARN (PODCAST)

“The Yarn was created by and is produced by Travis Jonker and Colby Sharp. This show celebrates their love for children’s literature as take a behind the scenes look at books for kids.”


SUBJECT-SPECIFIC BLOG POSTS & ONLINE ARTICLES

Action

Adjectives

Adverbs

Advice from Published Writers & Other Experts

Backloading (a.k.a. Back Loading)

Backstory

Beats

Beta Readers, Critique Partners, & Writing Groups

Body Language

Chapter & Scene Breaks

Characters

Conflict

Description

Dialogue

Diversity in Literature & Writing

Emotion

English Language History, Dialects/Variants, & Evolution

Entrepreneurship & Freelancing

Expectations versus Reality

Exposition

Figurative Language (allusions, analogies, metaphors, similes, hyberbole, etc.)

Flashbacks

Foreshadowing

General Discussions (on writing, storytelling, and literature overall)

Genre-Specific Advice: Crime, Horror, Mystery, Suspense, & Thriller

Genre-Specific Advice: Historical Fiction

Genre-Specific Advice: Speculative/Science Fiction/Fantasy

Goals

Head Hopping (please check out the links in the Point of View section, too)

Hooks

Imagery

Info Dumping

Interiority

Intellectual Property & Copyright

Internalization (Internal Dialogue)

Literary Agents

Literary Magazines

Logistics

Mood

Motivation (for characters)

MRU (Motivation-Reaction Units)

Narrative

Outlining

Pacing

Pitching Your Work

Plagiarism

Plot

Plot Twists

Plotting & Plot Devices

Point of View (POV)

Prepositions

Pronouns

Query Letters

Redundancy

Reviews

Scenes

Self Editing

Self Publishing

Sensory Details

Sentence Structure

Setting

Showing versus Telling

Social Media & Online Marketing

Stakes

Story & Storytelling

Style

Subtext

Suspense

Symbolism

Tension

Theme

Traditional Publishing

Translators & Translation

Tone

Verb Tense

Voice

Word Choice

World Building

(If any of the links above have expired, try running the URLs through the Wayback Machine.)


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