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Best Writing Resources
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Writing requires both skill and patience. It can be daunting to stare at a blank computer screen and devastating to read rejection letters. But don’t give up. Skills take time to hone. If you believe in your work - or just enjoy doing it - keep going. Be willing to learn. Below are some of the best writing resources that you may find helpful. Whether you are writing non-fiction or fiction, you will find some content writing resources to suit your needs. Free writing resources and paid ones are both included below. Be sure to check back often, as I will add new content writing resources as I come across them.
If you would like to share your best writing resources, please let me know so I can add them to enrich all. If you are the first to suggest a resource I use, I will include your name and possibly a link to your site.
Don’t forget that if you have a published book, you can present it on our New Author’s Page, or if you have several books in print, you may want to offer one as a free PDF on our site to introduce yourself to new readers.
Best Writing Resources:
Grammar And Style
The Free Dictionary is the one I like to use, although there are several good online references. The Free Dictionary also has a Thesaurus [which spreads out in a neat spidering action with links to further words], a medical dictionary, a legal dictionary, a financial dictionary, an acronym and an idiom reference guide.
Grammarly has both a free and a paid version. I use the paid version. This program makes suggestions on grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity and more. Since I have it on my desktop, it constantly makes recommendations on whatever I am writing. I find it very helpful [although it doesn't like the word 'very'], especially with those troublesome commas!
Thesaurus.com is recommended by author Art Enns as a quick and easy way to find synonyms.
The Best Punctuation Book, Period is recommended by author Art Enns. It is available both as a paperback and on Kindle.
The Chicago Manual Of Style is recommended by author Art Enns as helpful in getting details like Source Citations correct. This can be purchased as a book, or the online version has an annual subscription.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary Of English Usage is recommended by author Art Enns.
Literary Terms is a website which describes the different parts of writing with examples. Referred to by author Lynette Eason.
Best Writing Resources:
Reference Material
The Bible Gateway is an excellent source for finding Bible verses and researching Biblical topics. Many different Bible versions are available.
The Bible Hub is a great place to look up verses, use Strong’s numbers and view multiple commentaries.
If your writing involves using weapons, you may want to go to Writer’s Guide To Weapons to ensure you accurately use the right weapon.
The Thesaurus Series by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman is excellent resource material for fiction writers to add depth and understanding to their characters. I have only used The Emotional Thesaurus and the Occupational Thesaurus; the others look good as well. They are available in hardcopy and Kindle versions.
The Emotional Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Character Expression. This book has 130 entries on emotions. Each emotion is defined, and possible physical signals and behaviours are described along with internal sensations and mental responses. The long-term effects of the emotion are listed, as well as signs that the feeling is being suppressed. Finally, we are told what this emotion may escalate or de-escalate to, along with some power verbs which describe it. A convenient tool!
The Occupational Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide To Jobs, Vocations and Careers. This book has over 120 entries describing various jobs. Each entry begins with an overview of the job, then the training necessary along with valuable skills, talents, abilities for the job, helpful character traits, and more. It is an excellent tool for understanding the occupations of people your main character[s] may run into and fundamental research on their jobs.
Other books in the series:
The Emotional Wound Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Psychological Trauma
The Conflict Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Obstacles, Adversaries, and Inner Struggles (Volumes 1 & 2)
The Positive Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Attributes
The Urban Setting Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to City Spaces
The Negative Trait Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Flaws
The Rural Setting Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Personal and Natural Places
Best Writing Resources:
Training
The Steve Laube Agency is an agency that represents Christian writers and, so, could be under Publishing, but their site has a lot of good information on the writing and publishing process. They also have a free newsletter, which is both instructive and encouraging.
The Christian Writer’s Institute provides in-depth training. Courses can be purchased individually; however, for a monthly fee of $25US, you can access all the courses plus the online version of Christian Writer’s Market.
The Writer’s Market is a publisher of books on all aspects of writing and publishing, including The Writer’s Market, which lists thousands of publishing opportunities along with contests and rewards.
Flourish Writers is recommended by author Sandi Langston. They are a community for Christian women writers in all genres. Great free resources, conferences (online and in person) and encouragement. Also a great place to ask questions. I have learned so much about writing and publishing (self and traditional) from them. They have introduced me to many other resources and professionals in the writing world.
Chad R. Allen's Boot Camp is recommended by author Sandi Langston. Boot Camp is an online hub full of resources for learning about every aspect of the path to publishing (self or traditional). Membership can include personal feedback on your writing. Sign up for their emails, as every now and then, they offer discounted fees or a free month of membership. Blog
Allen Arnold is recommended by author Sandi Langston. He is a great encourager, author, speaker, and writing coach. Especially great to listen to be reminded that our first and most important task is to connect with God. He has written several books regarding writing and creativity.
Money Saving Guide For Authors And Writers is recommended by Anna as a excellent page for new authors and writers. It contains good basic information as well as links to other helpful sites.
Jeanette Windle is an accomplished writer of award-winning books and offers reasonably priced editorial services which will enable writers to build on their strengths and overcome their weakness.
Best Writing Resources:
Publishing And Promotions
Christian Book Proposals. Most publishing companies do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. This site is a way to present your book proposal where publishers may see it and, if interested, contact you. At the time of this writing, the cost was $ 98 USD for a 6-month listing. The site also has good general information on it.
Christian Editors. On this site, you can request an editor, proofreader, etc., and they will send your request to available freelance editors. Editors who are interested and available will reply to you with the services they provide, the time frame when they will be able to work on your project and their rates. You then choose the person who best meets your needs. This referral service is free.
Christian Writer’s Market Guide. This guide lists all the Christian publishers and agents, what they do and do not want, and more. This is essential if you desire to submit your writing to magazine and book publishers.
Amazon KDP allows you to self-publish your book to Kindle. They also have paperback and hardcover options for the Amazon Store.
Draft 2 Digital is a company which allows you to upload your book and submit it to major digital publishers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo and more. It can also publish paperbacks. There are no upfront costs, but they take 10% of your book sales. If you are going to be self-publishing, check them out.
Reedsy is a company which links to editorial and other services for writers. It is recommended by author Daelin Knightson for its editorial services.
Fiverr is recommended by author Daelin Knightston as a place to find cover artists.
Story Origin is a company that helps author's build email lists to promote their books to as well as other services.
Booksweeps is company that provides email and other tools to help authors build email lists and promote their books.
AuthorsXP is a company that helps authors with their promotions and reviews.
A.I. art will never replace human artists, but if you, like me, have no artistic skill and a limited budget, A.I. can generate amazing drawings. It is an excellent alternative to using Stock Photos. Many companies are offering A.I. generated images. Often, they have both free and paid plans. At the moment, I am using Recraft. It is all web-based and is free. It comes up with amazing faces and scenery but struggles with things like fingers. The artwork on this page was made on Recraft. Below is another example. I used the text prompt: Bible, light, lion in Photorealism mode and this is what it came up with.
Night Cafe is another excellent AI art generator. It has a lot of variety. There is both a free plan [five credits/artwork] a day and a paid plan. The image below was made on Night Cafe using the same text prompt as above: Bible, light, lion.
Playground AI seems to have many tools for adjusting the AI images you create, and it does have a free version. You do have to sign in with a Google account. Below is the image generated from the same prompt as above. It is not quite what I asked for, but there are a lot of editing tools.
Websites
Solo Build It is a superior product for web-building and training. It is all-inclusive and continues to expand with cutting-edge tools and training. Its customers have a much higher success rate than the customers of its major competitors. If you want a website that is more than just a fancy business card, I highly recommend SBI.
PicMonkey is a web-based program for editing pictures and art. It is the one I use. I pay for its use. I am not sure if it has a free option.
Canva is also an editing and designing program. It is recommended by SBI and has both a paid and free version.
If you are uploading pictures/art to your website, I suggest you run them through an image compressor first. This will reduce the file size without harming the image and allow your pages to load faster. Remember, if you haven’t caught a person’s attention in 3 - 5 seconds, they’ve probably already left your page.
Website Planet is recommended by Emma.
Handbrake is a free program that can be downloaded and will reduce the size of your videos and optimize them for the Web.
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