I am a writer. This should seem obvious since that’s exactly what I’m doing right now, but it’s not always easy to say out loud. Like many things declaring to the world what or who you are can be scary. Especially if it it’s something you care deeply about. I have learned, however, that the more you do it. The easier it gets. So… I AM A WRITER! Today, I’m going to share five of my favorite resources in case you’re a writer too.
Anything about writing by Natalie Goldberg
Love. Love. Love her! My first experience with Ms. Goldberg was when I purchased her book Wild Mind: Living the Writer’s Life from the UMD bookstore. I made this particular purchase in order to complete homework in one of Linda Miller-Cleary’s Teaching English classes. The assignment was to read and report on a book about writing. Though I’d dabbled in writing from a very young age, it had never occurred to me there’d be actual books on the craft of writing. (No, I didn’t live under a rock. This was pre-Amazon days when merely having an internet account was new and exciting). I read the book, and it spoke to me. I knew I needed to read more by Natalie Goldberg.
Since then, I’ve read her well-known, pocket-sized book Writing Down the Bones at least three times. I’ve read Wild Mind again at least once, and also read The True Secret of Writing and Banana Rose. As I’m perusing her books to write this post, I’m excited to see many I still need to read.
National Novel Writing Month
In 2008, my friend Emily gave me one of the most thoughtful and impactful birthday gifts I would ever receive. She knew I liked to write. At the time, I hardly dared call myself a “writer” as I was paralyzed by imposter syndrome. I unwrapped my present to discover a strange, orange box that sort of looked like a book.
Inside the box was a small book as well as a wall chart, coupons, cards that corresponded to each day of the month and some stickers. The book explained National Novel Writing Month which is held in November. The other items were all aimed at helping the aspiring novelist write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. When November rolled around, I gave it a go. Since 2008, I’ve participated every year and “won” (hit goal within the month) 12 times. I wrote a post after participating this year, you can read it here.
I’ve yet to publish any of these novels, but I am working on revising the one I wrote in 2019.
Thanks to the resources provided through Nanowrimo, I discovered the next two writing resources.
Save the Cat Writes a Novel
This book on writing a novel is based on the screenwriting must-read book Save the Cat. The author of Save the Cat Writes a Novel, Jessica Brody, took what she learned from reading Save the Cat and made it applicable to the novel writing process. Brody collaborates with Nanowrimo as well as participates and has published several of the novels penned during the month.
Brody also worked with Nanowrimo to present a YouTube revision series for the “Now What” months that come in February and March. After you’ve penned 50 thousand words in November and set it aside for a breather through the holidays, the “Now What?” months are aimed at helping nanowrimo writers polish their first draft manuscript into something fit for publishing.
Because…
The first draft of anything is s*&t.
Ernest Hemingway
It was during this YouTube revision series, that I discovered, Kristina Stanley who is the founder and creator of the next resource…
Fictionary
This is a subscription service in which the author can import their work in progress and the program walks the author through every imaginable step of the process. Since I first subscribed to Fictionary, it’s improved and added features. I’m currently using it to revise my novel, so when you see my completed novel for sale at the bookstores, you’ll know it was effective!
And last but not least…
On Writing
This book on craft is authored by the one and only king of horror – Stephen King. The information King provides about what it takes to be a writer is realistic, informative and inspiring. He also is insistent that a good writer must be a good reader and includes book lists in the appendix. I’ve added every title he mentions to my Goodreads “Want to Read” list. At this point I think I’ll have to live to be 502 to get everything on my list read, especially when I keep adding titles.
This list is far from exhaustive
There’s countless resources on the web as well as more books on craft than you can shake a stick at. Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention my local writing group. We called ourselves Writers Read for years and have only recently taken a new name that I can never remember. We meet once a month at the Ely Folk School to read each others work, offer suggestions, laugh and enjoy the company of other people who get what it means to write.
If you share a love for the written word, check out the resources above, and I’d love to hear about new ones too.