Useful Links - December 2017

If you're like me, you've probably subscribed to more blogs and newsletters than you'll ever have time to read. In this month's column, I'm listing links on story structure and craft that I visit quite often. These sites have tons of free information, many with blogs, searchable indexes, and further links. You'll often find the search box halfway down the page. I first came across some in WVU classes, writers' groups, and online studies. Others have been mentioned in writers' magazines. Many of these writers have written books on craft.

Brigitte Whiting - Nonfiction Editor

Writerunboxed has blog posts by Lisa Cron and Donald Maass, among a long list of other writers. This one opens as one of the tabs on my browser because I read it often. It has a searchable index by topic and writer.   

Larry Brooks' website Storyfix: this one is subtitled "Hardcore Craft for Serious Authors." He brings his engineering background into his focus on story structure.

Shawn Coyne's website Storygrid. You can sign up for his newsletter. He has a number of available templates at his site in exchange for your email address. This is one I don't visit too often but I've heard good recommendations for his story system.

KM Weiland'sHelping Writers Become Authors has tabs to various writerly crafts, including "How to Structure Your Story" and "Most Common Writing Mistakes." Clicking the tabs brings up links to each topic.

Stanley D. Williams, Ph.D., has two sites on the Moral Premise, one subtitled "Harnessing Virtue and Vice for Box Office Success" and the other saying he helps writers "structure their stories to connect with audiences." He has an extensive searchable Blog.

Blake Synder's Save the Cat. This is another site that I've heard good reviews on. It's a good source for information on beat-sheets.

Janice Hardy's Fiction University: Take Your Writing to the Next Level." This is a searchable site on everything from outlining to premise.

Romance University: a writer friend has mentioned that she always reads their newsletters, they're so helpful.

I hope you'll find some of these sites helpful, interesting, and even inspirational.