Q: Where can I get help with my writing?
A: Here are a few places to start.
LINKS
There are an amazing number of on line resources for writers. Just Google ‘writing resources’ and stand back. Be aware that some are better than others and some are scams. (See Writer Beware below for warnings about scams.) These are a few I like.
Story Sensei – Q & A about writing
Writer Beware – warning about scams, shady publishers, and other pitfalls awaiting writers
Forensics Handy answers for writers interested in fiction mayhem
Writers Digest lots of good advice
BOOKS
There are many, many books on writing – don’t get so consumed in reading them that you forget to write. That said, here are some I enjoyed and found useful/inspiring.
Don’t Sabotage Your Submission by Chris Roerden -- a highly enjoyable must-read for any writer of popular fiction and a wonderful tool for self editing.
On Writing by Stephen King
Write Away! by Elizabeth George
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
ASHEVILLE AREA CLASSES
Great Smokies Writing Program -- Poetry, non-fiction, sort stories, novels, memoirs – all kinds of excellent classes
Wildacres –Week- long summer workshops
AB Tech, Continuing Education - Sometimes a creative writing class is offered
Clarity Works – classes, retreats, and workshops for women
Again, Mr. Google is your friend in finding classes in your area. And there are online classes, but I don't have any experience with them.
10 comments:
Did Dickens, Jane Austin, Shakespeare and all those authors we know, get any help? I think that you don't want to be a writer, you are one or you aren't.
Of course publishers can demand that you stick to the rules they make.
nice...on writing and bird by bird are two of my favs...will have to check out the others...thanks for the links as well...
Dear Vicki: Any good writer worth their salt is a reader par aficionado and labourously studies the masters, be they ancient or pop. Where can I sign up? Thanks for the info dear!
And knows how to spell labouirously!
Thank you for these resources, Vicki. I've always felt a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of online writing sites and have wondered how to know which are legitimate.
I have always loved Bird by Bird. I appreciated Anne Lamott's self-deprecating tone and her honesty in sharing her own insecurities. It made me feel less alone to know that even well-known, successful writers can be prone to doubts.
I think Chris Roerden and Stephen King's books you mentioned are must reads. Helpful for writers and enjoyable to read.
Along with all that good advice, you're teasing us Northerners with Spring. Not fair says I, looking out of big piles of dirty snow.
LOVE the photo of the dog sunbathing... :-) Thanks for the resources!
Thanks for the info. There's somebody in my Creative Writing Class who will be interested in the advice for thriller writers. She's writing her first whodunnit.
Wil, your comment raises an interesting question which I'll answer maybe next week.
And Chiccoreal is right -- to be a writer one must first be a reader -- an avid reader.
Oh, Beth, I suspect all writers, no matter how successful, have doubts.
Post a Comment