Resources

This is a work in progress. Visit often as we add to the list frequently and will not always post about a new addition to the resource section. We endeavour to seek out unique resources - not the same 'ol stuff you find everywhere.

So we six ladies are all huddled in a virtual back room sorting through the common resources to find the gems, the ones you may never find without our help.

ASSOCIATIONS and ORGANIZATIONS (alphabetical)

BOOKS

The Christian Writers’ Market Guide by Sally Stuart

The Writers Market by Robert Brewer

Elements of Style by Strunk and White. THE authoritative book on writing effectively. An older but free online version here.

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Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell

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Write Away by Elizabeth George

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The Scene Book: A Primer for the Fiction Writer by Sandra Scofield

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The Marshall Plan For Novel Writing & The Marshall Plan Workbook by Evan Marshall. This is what Latayne used to “plot” her novel, Latter-day Cipher. (May we brag? Marshall said of Cipher: “An ingenious new take on the religious thriller. Well-written and highly suspenseful, it opens a door onto a world few of us know. I highly recommend it. Scott

is an author to watch.”)

The Snowflake Method by Randy Ingermanson. Innovative and effective method, mainly for fiction.

Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. Writing exercises and inspiration.

The Tao of Writing: Imagine. Create. Flow. By Ralph L. Wahlstrom. Theory and exercises for increasing creativity in your writing.

CANADIAN

Bonnie Grove collects unique writer sites for Canadians - if you have a contribution to this list, e-mail her

Places for Writers Since 1997 Places for Writers has been posting writing contests and submission calls, occasional literary news, publishing information, and links to great Canadian writers and organizations.

ONLINE GEMS (by category)

Author Tools:

Writer Beware: Warnings About Literary Fraud and Other Schemes, Scams, and Pitfalls That Target Writers

Conferences:

Religious:

Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference

Sierra Foothills Christian Writers Conference

Secular:

Dictionaries:

Merriam-Webster online dictionary. Best feature about this is its pronunciaton feature - helps you to learn a new word by sound.

Encouragement:

Video: Elizabeth Gilbert On The Creative Genius
Elizabeth Gilbert's Thoughts On Writing

Enquiring Minds:

Daily Routines - How writers, artists, and other interesting people organize their days.

Writers Rooms - Pictures of where they write - or, if they are dead - where they wrote.

Timelines:

OurTimelines.com Fill in your character's birth date, and find out what went on in the world from the time he was born to the moment he swung from the gallows (or whatever).

Dipity.com Lets you create a timeline of the major events in your character's story, with notes, pictures, and even video attached. Nice way to organize research.

Words: (confusing, usage, verbs, adjectives/adverbs, definitions etc.)

Confusing Words Is John an agnostic, or an atheist? Should you put capital into the capitol? To what affect? Or is that effect? Ever been confused? Confusing Words is a collection of 3210 words that are troublesome to readers and writers. Words are grouped according to the way they are most often confused or misused.

Redundancies A list of reduntant phrases and their alternatives.

Writing Prompts

Unphotographable. Photographer Michael David Murphy created this site as a salute to "Occasions when I wished I'd taken the picture, or not forgotten the camera, or had been brave enough to click the shutter." It's an ode to photos, but savvy writers can use it as an exercise in writing short, dense, complete stories with words. Espresso writing, if you will.

Writing Tips

Jeff Gerke's Fiction Writing Tips are an excellent resource, covering every aspect of writing your novel.