A Writer's Tool Box?

Do you have one? You know, certain websites, real life places, people, whatever you need in order to get you through tough writing spots. It could be a naming resource, an idea factory, favorite research place or person you bounce ideas off of. We all have them, but do we recognize how important they are?

Share your resources and links with us in the comments today!

Here's what my toolbox looks like.

Google--my go to when starting any kind of research. The internet is so full of articles on everything! You just have to be careful to find credible sources.

seventhsanctum.com--My naming go to! There are also generators for combat moves, organizations, settings, equipment/technology, skills/abilities/traits, etc. I mostly use it for naming, but I did get my miniblasters from the equipment generator. When I get writers block I just browse this site and it sparks all kinds of ideas. I love to mix and match stuff here.

Grooveshark or Pandora--great for creating moods with music. I noticed today that Grooveshark has changed their format and it took forever to find where to log in.
Pandora is easier to use. However I like having control over exactly what songs play in my lists for each novel. Can I do that on Pandora?

Writers Helping Writers--this is a great site for resources. It's run by Angela and Becca of the Emotions Thesaurus. They have a toolbox of free pdfs as well as lots of links.

The Emotions Thesaurus--I have it. It's a great way to get past the telling words and think about the visual cues and internal sensations to help show those emotions. Mine is a print version because it's easier to flip back and forth.

When things are really tough and I know I just need to write something, and it doesn't matter what. I head over to Write or Die. It really helps me to get over myself and let the words flow by turning off the inner editor. You just don't have time to edit yourself when the screen is flashing at you and sirens are going off.

The last site is one I should probably visit more often. I saved it thinking it would help me avoid cliches. The truth is tropes don't really change, but we can shake things up a bit if we know what's overdone. TV Tropes covers everything. All genres, any situation, all character personalities.

There are other places I frequent, but they come and go. Those are the ones in my writing bookmarks folder on my browser.

What's in your bookmarks?

Where to Go

One thing I promised to do (a while ago...) was to provide links to help that new writer figure out this crazy thing we do--writing things with the hope of someday publishing them. You all have been so helpful in this. That's what's great about the writing community. You are there to help us newbies out.

For writing your novel, there are so many books out there. Just go to Amazon and search "writing" and you'll get a huge list. This is not an exhaustive list, but only some of the ones that more people seem to rave about (thanks, Carol, for your recommendations):

• On Writing by Stephen King 
• Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott 
• The Elements of Style by Strunk and White 
• The Emotion Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi 
• How to Write a Novel by Nathan Bransford 
• Hooked by Les Edgerton 
• Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder 
• Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass

While you're writing, you may have some grammar questions. And of course, we all swear by the Grammar Girl.  

When I started out, one of the first blogs I followed was Nathan Bransford's. He used to be a literary agent, and his blog had all sorts of great tips for those of us starting out. He's since gone from agent to author, and I haven't been back to his blog in a while, but it looks like he still might be a good resource for those just learning about all of this. 

If you're planning on submitting your novel to publishers, you're going to need a query (whether you plan on getting an agent or querying smaller publishing houses yourself). A couple good places to start: 

• Query Shark
• The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experiment

As for marketing your novel, I've found a couple good successful self-published writers who offer their advice about how they got where they are and how one can follow in their footsteps:

• Lindsay Buroker
• Bree Bridges

And, of course, if you want to wade into the blogging community (which is a great place to network as well as learn from other writers on this journey of ours), you need to start with Alex J. Cavanaugh and/or join in (or just visit) the blogs doing the A to Z starting next week.  

I haven't even scratched the surface. But this is a start. What are some other good sites? Any other books to recommend to a newbie? 

Some Publishing Basics

This week I'm giving advice to the new member of my writers' group. Feel free to chime in with anything I miss.

Most of the discussion we had on his first meeting had to do with publication. Sure, he knew the novel wasn't quite finished, but he's anxious to get it out into the world. He found a "publisher" that would put together his book... for a fee. And now he's been getting emails from them urging him to submit his novel.

We directed him to step away from the vanity publisher...

The first thing to do is to finish the novel. And by finish, I mean it should have been read by critique partners and/or beta readers. It would be a good idea to have an editor take a look at it (this is one thing to definitely pay for).

Then, once you're sure you're ready... (Are we ever truly ready? There's always more tinkering to do. But at some point we must dive in.)

You must decide what route you want to take. You can submit to traditional publishers or do it yourself. (Last week we had a great post on the differences in publishers. Thanks, Carol. Perfect timing.)

Which is the right way to go? Well, that's a very individual decision. There are pros and cons on both sides, so I'm going to open this question up to you.

Did you (are are you planning to) publish with a publishing house (large or small), or did you go it on your own? Why? If you could go back and do it differently, would you?

Writing It

The new member of my writing group had completed a first draft. He's in the process of editing it. Rewriting.

He gave the manuscript to his wife who's offering her feedback. But they're kind of flying blind.

He contacted local universities to find classes on how to write a novel, but the people he talked to were no help. They offered basic English classes. He knew he needed more, and that's how he ended up joining our group.

How does one write a novel? Are there classes? Or do we all go into this and just see where it takes us?

There is no one way to write a novel. We all do it differently. We must find what works for us and go with that. We'll figure out how to tell our story. There will be road bumps along the way.

He has done the two most important things. Things that many writers starting out have not done:

1. He wrote a draft.
• This is huge! How many times do we hear people moaning that they have a novel idea, but don't have the time to write it? He sat down and pounded out the pages. 
2. He joined a writing group.
• He's found us now, and we're a resource to help him on his journey. As we are there to help each other.

So, while he might not think that he knows what he's doing, he's made a very good start. But as he's not sure where to go from here, it's time to point him in the right direction. He doesn't feel his novel is finished, but mostly because he needs the feedback of other writers.

Other things he could do: 

• Read books on writing
• Join online writing groups 
• Find beta readers and critique partners
• Follow good writers' blogs

What else can you think of? What have I missed? Do you have any good books to recommend? Any other tips?

Where to Start?

A new member joined the local writing group I'm a member of. We hadn't quite started, so he was asking us all sorts of questions about writing, editing, and publishing. He joined the group because he has been working on a novel that has turned into a trilogy, and he wasn't sure what to do next.

As I listened to his questions, I realized that I haven't been spinning my wheels all this time. I've actually been learning something. From you all. From around the Internet. From books. From writing.

I guess if you plug away at it long enough, you do get better at it.

We all had different advice for our new member, and I commented that there's a lot out there on the Internet if you go looking. He had been searching, but he wasn't finding anything that was helping him. I offered to point him to some good writing sites...um...two months ago...  

When I sat down to do it, I realized there was so much. I didn't know where to start. I kind of got overwhelmed by it. And I wanted to formulate it into something that made some sort of sense.

So, this week all my posts are for him. It's novel writing and publishing for novices. And since the rest of you are experts, I'm counting on your help as well. Because he had a lot of questions, and I think we all know how it feels to wade into this thing called writing.

What do you wish you had known after finishing your very first (and/or second) draft? What's a good site for someone who is new to all this to visit?

Ask Chrys

Dear Unicorn Bell Readers,

My posts Dear Uninspired Writer and Dear Time-Strapped Writer gave me an idea that I hope you all will enjoy, support, and find useful.

I’ve always liked to help writers in whatever way I can. That’s why I started blogging in the first place. And after I got an email from a writer looking for advice, I knew I wanted to help even more than I already am. Therefore, I am extending an invitation to Unicorn Bell readers (and all writers, really) to email me their questions and concerns if they are seeking advice about writing. I’ll reply back to every single email I get and will select 3-5 to showcase on Unicorn Bell when it’s my turn to co-host.

Think of it as an advice column for writers in the blogosphere.

Do you have a writing insecurity?

Do you want advice on something writing-related?

Please email me at ChrysFey(at)yahoo(dot)com and put “Dear Chrys” in the subject line. I don’t claim to know everything, but I’ll help you as much as I possibly can.

If you do email me, and I think other writers could benefit from the advice I give you, you could see your question designed as a post right here like my previous two posts.

I look forward to your emails!

Xoxo

Chrys

P.S. I'm revealing the covers for my two short stories over at my blog, Write with Fey. Come check them out! :D 

All Ask Chrys posts so far:

Dear Withdrawn Writer

Dear Time-Strapped Writer

Dear Un-inspired Writer

Dear Blocked Writer

Dear Degree-less Writer

Dear Young Writer

Dear Aspiring Author

Dear Confused Facebook Author

Dear Scrambling Writer

Dear Writer Not Writing

Author of Hurricane Crimes, 30 Seconds, Ghost of Death, and Witch of Death. Blogger. Reader. Auntie. Vegetarian. Cat Lover.

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